Threads

de Nell Gavin

In 1536, Henry and Anne are at the mercy of influences outside their control, explosively incompatible, and caught in a marriage that ends in betrayal so shocking that Anne requires lifetimes to recover. Henry, seemingly in defense of Anne (but more likely acting out of "stubborn perverseness", she observes), terrorizes England and decrees widespread political murder in order to protect her. Ultimately, to Anne's horror, this once passionate husband turns on her and has her executed as well. Threads, a reincarnation fantasy, opens with Anne's execution. Her fury at her husband’s betrayal has enough momentum to survive centuries, but in Threads she learns that she has been assigned a hard task: she must review their history together through a number of past lives, and find it within herself to forgive him. This may prove difficult and take some time. The husband in question is Henry Tudor, the notorious Henry VIII. The narrator is the stubborn, volatile Anne Boleyn, who is not at all inclined to forgive. It is a very unusual love story. William Faulkner Competition finalist for best novel.