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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
This is about Catherine/Katherine/Catalina of Aragon and her betrothal to Arthur and her ultimate marriage to Henry VIII. There is not a lot of insight into Henry, but a much different likeness of Arthur then we are accustomed to. Was a bit drawn out and not too dramatic except that there were a few moments that were very sad and tugged at my heart. There is also a strange scene with Henry VII, which is pretty lame.
It's not bad. I liked how the author would alternate between telling the story in third person with first person. It's not a hard read. I was bored by all the war talk... I don't care about strategy and every detail of every little battle. I wanted to read a story about people. I also don't like just how detailed the author is with sex. It's just not necessary. Thankfully, it wasn't so distracting to the rest of the story.
When I picked this up, I loved the idea of a novel written about Katherine of Aragon, who overall is a fascinating person in English history. I was expecting, like all of the other novels I've read by Philippa Gregory, something told from the point-of-view of the main character, not the sloppy third-person point-of-view this turned out to be (with some inserts of first-person between them).
Philippa Gregory is good at getting down the voice of her characters, and writing from their perspectives, but I just couldn't get over how poor this read while in third-person. It jumped around between thoughts of other characters, and it just didn't read naturally in that way at all. In this way, there was also a whole lot of just flat-out telling that read in such a dry, uninteresting way that I actually did find myself a bit bored at times.
This just lacked the usual flair I've gotten used to in Gregory's works. Some parts were fascinating, and I loved her interpretation that Arthur and Katherine were very much in love before he died (and the reasons for Katherine lying about her marriage being consummated, which has always been a very fascinating question), but overall this just fell flat of what I was expecting.
Philippa Gregory is good at getting down the voice of her characters, and writing from their perspectives, but I just couldn't get over how poor this read while in third-person. It jumped around between thoughts of other characters, and it just didn't read naturally in that way at all. In this way, there was also a whole lot of just flat-out telling that read in such a dry, uninteresting way that I actually did find myself a bit bored at times.
This just lacked the usual flair I've gotten used to in Gregory's works. Some parts were fascinating, and I loved her interpretation that Arthur and Katherine were very much in love before he died (and the reasons for Katherine lying about her marriage being consummated, which has always been a very fascinating question), but overall this just fell flat of what I was expecting.
adventurous
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book had such a strong lead character.
Catalina went through so much in this portion of her life it is unreal!
Beautiful writing!
Catalina went through so much in this portion of her life it is unreal!
Beautiful writing!
I enjoy this author a lot. Some of the book is weighty, but the story is always a good one! Can't wait to grab the neat one and continue the series.
I don't fully know why I even keep on reading these. The constant narrative changes get annoying really quick. The story also drags on impossible long in certain pages and then fully glosses over some of the actually interesting parts (liek the time she spent as an "outsider" but still betrothed to the Prince of Wales). And then you obviously have to allow yourself to slip into the mindset of the PGCU (Philippa Gregory Cinematic Universe). And that was really hard to do with this one. Maybe even just 2.5 stars.
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
Genre: Historical Fiction
The woman that we have all come to know as Queen Katherine of Aragon began as the Infanta Catalina of Spain. As is expected of any princess, a marriage is arranged for her; she is to marry Prince Arthur – England’s King Henry VII’s eldest son. Upon reaching England, Catalina finds that this marriage is not what she expects it to be, and neither is the boy she married. As fate would have it, Arthur’s life is extinguished during The Sweat that swept England soon after their marriage. King Henry, not wanting to lose the valuable asset he just brought to England, soon marries her to his other son, who would later become Henry VIII…
This was my first Philippa Gregory book that I read and I was NOT disappointed. There is an amazing love story that really pulled on my heart strings. I instantly connected with Catalina (I continued to think of her as that throughout the whole book) and very strongly felt what she felt. Gregory’s writing style instantly pulls you in and never lets go until the end. I enjoyed getting to know Catalina from her early days, something that is not really focused on in other novels.
Gregory DOES change many events in the book from what is known to have really happened. The good thing about this though, is that this is Historical Fiction and that is what I expect. If you are looking for true facts, check out a non-fiction book, but for a good story, try this on for size.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Genre: Historical Fiction
The woman that we have all come to know as Queen Katherine of Aragon began as the Infanta Catalina of Spain. As is expected of any princess, a marriage is arranged for her; she is to marry Prince Arthur – England’s King Henry VII’s eldest son. Upon reaching England, Catalina finds that this marriage is not what she expects it to be, and neither is the boy she married. As fate would have it, Arthur’s life is extinguished during The Sweat that swept England soon after their marriage. King Henry, not wanting to lose the valuable asset he just brought to England, soon marries her to his other son, who would later become Henry VIII…
This was my first Philippa Gregory book that I read and I was NOT disappointed. There is an amazing love story that really pulled on my heart strings. I instantly connected with Catalina (I continued to think of her as that throughout the whole book) and very strongly felt what she felt. Gregory’s writing style instantly pulls you in and never lets go until the end. I enjoyed getting to know Catalina from her early days, something that is not really focused on in other novels.
Gregory DOES change many events in the book from what is known to have really happened. The good thing about this though, is that this is Historical Fiction and that is what I expect. If you are looking for true facts, check out a non-fiction book, but for a good story, try this on for size.
4.5 out of 5 stars.