Diana Hendry

The lust of kings

In a poetic novel of power and adultery, Cook draws parallels between Henry VIII and the biblical King David

issue 08 June 2019

The novel is a wonderfully commodious creature. One might wish they made trousers like it, for it can stretch or shrink to accommodate almost anything, from Ali Smith’s Spring (part story, part polemic) to Max Porter’s prose-poem/fable, Lanny. Then there’s the current vogue for re-tellings: Margaret Atwood’s version of The Tempest and Pat Barker’s feminist look at the Iliad.

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