Folger Book Club: 'Queen B' by Juno Dawson
The origin of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven shows us the strength, steel and sacrifice it takes to make a sisterhood
Booking and details
Dates Thu, Jun 5, 2025, 6:30pm
Tickets Free, Registration required
Duration 6:30pm - 8:00pm (ET)
Registration for this session opens Tuesday, May 6 at 4pm, with early access for members beginning at 10am.
Our June 2025 Pick
Queen B
by Juno Dawson
Book Club resources
Interested in reading this book on your own or with a group? Enhance your reading experience with our Book Club resources, including quick links for exploring related topics, historical context, and fascinating connections with relevant items in the Folger collection.
'Queen B' Resource Guide
On June 5, 2025 the Folger’s virtual book club continues with a discussion of Queen B by Juno Dawson. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to witches and Anne Boleyn.
Collection Connections: Magic and Mayhem in the Tudor Court: Juno Dawson's "Queen B"
We revisit Beth DeBold’s June 2025 presentation as part of our Folger Book Club discussion of Juno Dawson’s Queen B.
Why did we choose this?
The Folger Shakespeare Library’s collection explores not only Shakespeare’s life and works, but also the plays’ historical context, source material, critical and performance histories, and the ways in which they inspire and are adapted by contemporary novelists.
Queen B offers a fun, fast-paced origin story for the popular ‘Her Majesty’s Royal Coven’ series set in the court of King Henry VIII. The mother of Queen Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn would have been remembered by Shakespeare’s audiences and her time on the throne is shown in Shakespeare’s play, Henry VIII.
About the Book Club
Our informal Book Club is free and open to all. Our picks range from historical fiction to adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, encompassing a wide variety of genres.
Each session begins with a guest speaker exploring that month’s pick and highlighting items from the Folger collection related to the plot and themes of the novel. After the presentation, participants will be broken into smaller groups for breakout discussions, moderated by a team of staff and volunteers.
Content transparency
Queen B includes potentially sensitive subjects. Expand below for a full list of content (includes spoilers).
- Death
- Grief
- Miscarriage
- Fire/Fire injury
- Misogyny
- Classism
- Animal death
Guest Speaker
Beth DeBold
Beth DeBold is a postgraduate researcher in early modern British social history and culture at Newcastle University in the UK. After a ten-year career in libraries, she now focuses on the human labour of the book and print trades during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Her doctoral project examines the lives and social networks of the apprentices who came to London to learn how to make their living at the press or in the bookshop. She is owned by two cats, John Quincy and Abigail.
Support the Folger
Spring Folger Book Club selections are now available online and in-person through the Folger Shop!
Click below to purchase your copy of Queen B online or come visit us at 201 East Capitol St SE during our opening hours.
You can also choose to support your favorite local bookstore through Bookshop.org or Libro.fm.
We would like to thank the following organization for its generous support of this program
