Meet the Badly Behaved: Six Authors Rewriting History
Written by Jillian Laine
If you could go back in time to any era to right one of history’s wrongs, where would you go?
Honestly, I wouldn’t last very long in the court of Henry VIII before my 16th-century counterparts declared me a witch and burned me at the stake. But if I could sneak back there long enough to help “the six,” I would do it.
“The six,” of course, are the ill-fated wives of Henry VIII: Catalina de Aragón, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna von Kleve, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. They are also the stars of my upcoming novel, Henry Tudor Must Die.
When I joined my debut class—the group of debut authors being traditionally published in 2026—I found five other writers who had chosen a specific person, time period, or story they wanted to retell. My new friends found ways to make the women at the heart of those stories into the heroines who get much better endings than their original fates. And best of all, their heroines were no longer playing by the rules.
It’s my honor to introduce you to the Badly Behaved, six authors rewriting history one book at a time.
Jillian Laine, author of Henry Tudor Must Die
That’s me! I’m a lifelong writer and editor who went from penning Sesame Street stories in the 2010s to creating the Inglourious Basterds edition of Anne Boleyn’s life in the 2020s. (The classic Elmo to Tudor pipeline!)
Here’s the short version: Six the musical meets My Lady Jane in Henry Tudor Must Die, a feminist historical fantasy that imagines what could have happened if Anne Boleyn had survived her execution…and teamed up with Henry VIII’s other wives to get revenge. Oh, and she’s a witch, just like the rumors said.
In her quest to get even, Anne befriends her former rival, Catalina de Aragón, gets swept up in a secret society trying to advance womankind, and may even meet the long-lost descendant of Joan of Arc, who is just as dangerous with a sword as she is with her prophecies.
This is a tale of vengeance, yes, but it’s also a tale about sisterhood. For too long, we have pitted these women against each other, and I wanted to explore what would happen if they united against a common enemy…and rescued a few other women and witches along the way.
Mona Tewari, author of Burn the Sea
Do you know the story of Abbakka Chowta, the queen of Ullal (part of what is now India) who fought off Portuguese colonizers in the 1500s? Well, even if you know your history, Mona Tewari’s Burn the Sea will turn it upside down.
In this retelling, the Portuguese are the Porcugi, giant half-men/half-sea snakes who want to plunder the riches of Ullal. Abbakka is willing to do anything to defend her home, including marry a wealthy raja who promises to help protect her people. But as it turns out, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself (with some fierce and loyal friends), and Abbakka must use her cunning and her battle training to fight the beasts back and keep her people free.
Bestselling World Fantasy Award-winning author Tasha Suri called Burn the Sea a “gorgeous feminist epic with a ferocious heart,” and I couldn’t agree more. The 2026 version of Abbakka reclaims a story that has been quietly tucked into the pages of history books and emerges proud, strong, and fearless.
Danai Christopoulou, author of Vile Lady Villains
Vile Lady Villains contains a one-two-punch (or should I say, one-two-stab?) when it comes to rewriting women’s fates.
Lady Macbeth famously has blood on her hands…but so does Klytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon, who kills her husband upon his return from Troy. (Yes, this is the perfect book to read as a companion to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey this summer.)
Thanks to a bit of “be careful what you wish for” magic, the Scottish lady and the Greek queen find themselves trapped in a terrifying, deadly “realm of stories,” where they must find common ground and trust each other to survive. And if trust turns into feelings…all the better for us readers.
Danai manages to take two infamous villains and give them depth, agency, and the chance at redemption. Or maybe it’s just the chance to finally be understood as their own people and to step out of their husbands’ shadows. Either way, it’s a wild, fantastical ride through time, space, and stories.
Jennifer Mandula, author of The Geomagician
What kid didn’t dream of digging up a dinosaur egg? If you’re still in your paleontology era, snag a copy of The Geomagician, which stars real-life fossil collector and paleontologist Mary Anning…with a twist.
Mary really was one of the leaders in her field of study in the 1800s, and unsurprisingly, she faced plenty of prejudice from her male counterparts along the way. In Jennifer’s rendition, Mary aspires to be a geomagician, someone who can wield magic through fossils, though she is shut out of the good ol’ boys club. But when she finds an egg that hatches baby pterodactyl Ajax, suddenly everyone wants to include her, discredit her…or steal her work. (And Ajax!)
But there’s more to the Geomagical Society of London than just regular old sexism, and Mary will have to do more digging (get it?) to get to the bottom of their corruption…and try not to fall in love with her former rival along the way.
I’d describe this buried treasure as Jurassic Park meets Emily Wilde—and it’s the first in a duology, so there’s more to come from Mary, Ajax, and the whole prehistoric crew!
Tanaz Bhathena, author of Witch Daughter
Tanaz has been penning young adult books since 2018 with her award-winning debut A Girl Like That. After starting in contemporary fiction (see also The Beauty of the Moment), Tanaz dipped into the world of fantasy with her The Wrath of Ambar series and Of Light and Shadow, both of which are loosely based on snippets from Indian history.
She’s following that thread with her upcoming adult debut, Witch Daughter, out in September. It takes on the legend of Tahmineh, a princess whose story is told in the Persian epic the Shahnameh. (It also has one of the most gorgeous covers I’ve ever seen!)
Tanaz doesn’t have to stray too far from her source material, as both the original and fictitious Tahmineh learns her husband will one day kill her son in battle. In Witch Daughter, our heroine refuses to let that future come to pass, and she’s willing to pull the world apart at the seams to keep her son safe. Expect all the power of a mother’s love…and then some.
Clare Edge, author of Hamlet & Juliet
If you haven’t already read Clare’s middle grade Accidental Demons, which follows the misadventures of a young diabetic witch who can’t stop conjuring demons when she tests her blood sugar, get ye to a library or bookstore! And you must also keep an eye out for her YA debut, Natural Selection, which comes out in August and quite literally explores the “choose the bear” mentality when a grizzly starts picking off abusive men in a small mountain town.
But its Clare’s 2027 adult debut, Hamlet & Juliet, that brought her to the Badly Behaved. Part Shakespearean crossover, part gothic fantasy, the novel gives a resurrected and grown-up Juliet an entirely new story. You’ll travel from fair Verona to Denmark and across the Globe (caps and pun intended) as the title characters—and a ghostly Romeo—manage their personal hauntings and growing feelings, all while a malevolent magic spreads.
Shakespeare nerds will also love seeing Ophelia, Cordelia, Cesario, and other characters from their favorite plays brought to life in a fresh and modern way.
About the Author
Jillian Laine is an author and journalist. She has written multiple children’s books and has worked as an acquisitions editor, book festival director, and literary award judge. She and her husband live with their pride of cats in the Great Lakes State. Henry Tudor Must Die is her first novel, releasing July 21 from Berkley in the U.S. and July 23 from Penguin Michael Joseph in the UK.
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