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lisamshardlow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a little bit slow in places. But I loved Katharine. How she put up with Thomas Seymour is beyond me, though! What an awful husband he was! I think I'd have preferred Henry VIII to him, and that’s saying something!
rebekahy's review
4.0
I love reading about the Tudors and didn't know much about Katherine Parr. This was an easy read for the most part but sometimes the politics are confusing!
lisabinder's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bargainsleuth's review
4.0
For this and other book reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com
Many, many years ago I picked up some history books on various royalty including the Tudors written by Alison Weir, but I never got around to reading them. Recently I discovered that Weir also wrote historical novels about the wives of Henry VIII. Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife, is the final volume in the series. It goes on sale to the general public May 11. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it took me quite a while to get into the book. I knew nothing of Katharine Parr beyond the fact that she was Henry VIII’s last wife, and that she outlived him. The book begins when Katharine is a child, and as she comes of age, her marriage to a man in his early 20’s. The marriage was short-lived because her husband died. Then, she was married to a man who had teenagers and two wives buried. Her early life and marriages make up the first 40% of the book, and while many of the events were historically accurate I came to find out while listening to The Six Wives of Henry VIII on audiobook, also by Weir, I was pretty bored. It wasn’t until Katharine went to court and met Henry that things picked up for me.
Katharine was really in love with Thomas Seymour, Jane Seymour’s older brother and uncle to Prince Edward, but once Henry sets his sights on her, she could not refuse him, choosing her sense of duty instead of love. And for the most part, Henry treated her well. Why he chose Katharine is a bit of a mystery, what with Henry obsessed with the line of succession and only having one son in a time when many children did not live to adulthood. And Katharine had no children in her previous two marriages, so the fact that she might not be able to have children must have crossed his mind. Yet Henry still chose her.
Katharine was a closet Protestant, and a faction in Henry’s court suspected her of as much and attempted to have her arrested for heresy. But she knew it was coming and disposed of all her “heretical” books and advised those close to her to do the same. She threw herself at Henry’s mercy and for once in his life, he backed off and tore up the arrest papers.
Henry trusted Katharine enough to declare her regent while he was off fighting the French, and relied upon her to be a good step-mother to his three children. Many historians believe that Katharine’s tutelage of young Elizabeth showed the princess how to behave when she became queen herself. Katharine proved to be a good step-mother to all three children, although Mary refused to speak to her after Henry died and Katharine married Thomas Seymour only four months later.
Finally, with her fourth husband, Katharine got pregnant and delivered a healthy baby girl. But as with many women during centuries past, childbirth could be dangerous for a woman, and Katharine developed an infection and died twelve days later.
While the first part of the book bored me, the second part was compelling. The fact that I was listening to the nonfiction book by Weir at the same time as reading this book helped me figure out which events were fabricated and which were historically accurate; surprisingly, most of the fictional story contains accurate information. I’ll have to pick up Weir’s other five books on Henry VIII’s queens at the library because overall, I did enjoy the book.
Many, many years ago I picked up some history books on various royalty including the Tudors written by Alison Weir, but I never got around to reading them. Recently I discovered that Weir also wrote historical novels about the wives of Henry VIII. Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife, is the final volume in the series. It goes on sale to the general public May 11. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it took me quite a while to get into the book. I knew nothing of Katharine Parr beyond the fact that she was Henry VIII’s last wife, and that she outlived him. The book begins when Katharine is a child, and as she comes of age, her marriage to a man in his early 20’s. The marriage was short-lived because her husband died. Then, she was married to a man who had teenagers and two wives buried. Her early life and marriages make up the first 40% of the book, and while many of the events were historically accurate I came to find out while listening to The Six Wives of Henry VIII on audiobook, also by Weir, I was pretty bored. It wasn’t until Katharine went to court and met Henry that things picked up for me.
Katharine was really in love with Thomas Seymour, Jane Seymour’s older brother and uncle to Prince Edward, but once Henry sets his sights on her, she could not refuse him, choosing her sense of duty instead of love. And for the most part, Henry treated her well. Why he chose Katharine is a bit of a mystery, what with Henry obsessed with the line of succession and only having one son in a time when many children did not live to adulthood. And Katharine had no children in her previous two marriages, so the fact that she might not be able to have children must have crossed his mind. Yet Henry still chose her.
Katharine was a closet Protestant, and a faction in Henry’s court suspected her of as much and attempted to have her arrested for heresy. But she knew it was coming and disposed of all her “heretical” books and advised those close to her to do the same. She threw herself at Henry’s mercy and for once in his life, he backed off and tore up the arrest papers.
Henry trusted Katharine enough to declare her regent while he was off fighting the French, and relied upon her to be a good step-mother to his three children. Many historians believe that Katharine’s tutelage of young Elizabeth showed the princess how to behave when she became queen herself. Katharine proved to be a good step-mother to all three children, although Mary refused to speak to her after Henry died and Katharine married Thomas Seymour only four months later.
Finally, with her fourth husband, Katharine got pregnant and delivered a healthy baby girl. But as with many women during centuries past, childbirth could be dangerous for a woman, and Katharine developed an infection and died twelve days later.
While the first part of the book bored me, the second part was compelling. The fact that I was listening to the nonfiction book by Weir at the same time as reading this book helped me figure out which events were fabricated and which were historically accurate; surprisingly, most of the fictional story contains accurate information. I’ll have to pick up Weir’s other five books on Henry VIII’s queens at the library because overall, I did enjoy the book.
bec_wheels's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I personally feel that Katharine Parr is rather underrated as both a Queen and a woman. I think that she was one of Henry's most successful Queen's as she was able to repair the relationship between Henry and his daughters, getting them restored to the succession, avoided a plot to remove her, became the first published Queen and acted as regent in her own right which probably provided Elizabeth 1 with her model for queenship. This book is informative and emphasises how much of a strong and independent woman Katharine was as well as surprisingly highlighting how these woman were able to fall in love with Henry as he is portrayed as dangerous but gentle and kind at the same time.
ali2444's review against another edition
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review
4.0
Alison Weir winds up her fictional study of Henry VIII's six wives with "Katharine Parr, the Sixth Wife." It's fictional because this is a novel, and because like so many women in the period, we only know the bare outlines of their lives. More is known about Katharine Parr than Kathryn Howard (whose birthdate is unknown) but there is still lot for a historian/novelist like Weir to fill in.
Katharine is different from the other wives in that there are fewer connivers around her, she was older, and she was more educated. By the time she met Henry, she had been widowed twice and was just about to announce her engagement to Thomas Seymour, a man with whom she had truly fallen in love. But when the King takes an interest, a woman cannot say no. Knowing that Henry was ill and did not have a long life ahead, they put their plans off.
The marriage of Katharine and Henry was a happy one. They liked each other, she did a lot of work to give his children a mother (although Mary was already 29) and create a warm household. Henry could discuss matters of religion with her, as long as she always conceded to his kingly knowledge. She took his New Religion to heart and even a step forward, believing that everyone had the right to read the Bible in their own language. This brought her closer to Lutheranism, and her enemies were listening at the keyhole.
Henry's other wives fell because of their passions, but Katharine approached the brink because of her intellect. There were many in Henry's court who wanted to return to Catholicism and kept sharp eyes out for people who got too close to the teaching to Martin Luther. Katharine and a number of her ladies gathered to read forbidden texts. With Henry's power waning, she came oh, so close, to being arrested and burned.
But she wasn't. After Henry's death, she secretly marries Tom Seymour before her mourning period is out. And, after being married to three other men with no issue, she becomes pregnant. If you need another sad Tudor story, look into what happened to their little girl, Mary, after Katharine dies in childbed and Seymour is executed for treason.
Alison Weir, what historical period will you take on next to weave into novels? I've enjoyed every book in this series and am excited to find out!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this excellent series.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
Katharine is different from the other wives in that there are fewer connivers around her, she was older, and she was more educated. By the time she met Henry, she had been widowed twice and was just about to announce her engagement to Thomas Seymour, a man with whom she had truly fallen in love. But when the King takes an interest, a woman cannot say no. Knowing that Henry was ill and did not have a long life ahead, they put their plans off.
The marriage of Katharine and Henry was a happy one. They liked each other, she did a lot of work to give his children a mother (although Mary was already 29) and create a warm household. Henry could discuss matters of religion with her, as long as she always conceded to his kingly knowledge. She took his New Religion to heart and even a step forward, believing that everyone had the right to read the Bible in their own language. This brought her closer to Lutheranism, and her enemies were listening at the keyhole.
Henry's other wives fell because of their passions, but Katharine approached the brink because of her intellect. There were many in Henry's court who wanted to return to Catholicism and kept sharp eyes out for people who got too close to the teaching to Martin Luther. Katharine and a number of her ladies gathered to read forbidden texts. With Henry's power waning, she came oh, so close, to being arrested and burned.
But she wasn't. After Henry's death, she secretly marries Tom Seymour before her mourning period is out. And, after being married to three other men with no issue, she becomes pregnant. If you need another sad Tudor story, look into what happened to their little girl, Mary, after Katharine dies in childbed and Seymour is executed for treason.
Alison Weir, what historical period will you take on next to weave into novels? I've enjoyed every book in this series and am excited to find out!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this excellent series.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
underwaterlily's review
4.0
I’m reading Alison Weir’s Tudor Queens series out of order. (I started with Katheryn Howard, The Scandalous Queen.) Katharine Parr, the Sixth Wife was published in 2020; as a result, I see parallels between depicted outbreaks of sweating sickness and the COVID-19 pandemic. Katharine’s story is a sad one, losing her father early on to the sweat. She then loses two husbands, her mother, and a beloved stepdaughter, all to various sixteenth century illnesses. Katharine mourns the children she fears she’ll never have, along with her first real love, the rakish Thomas Seymour, whom she gives up in order to marry Henry VIII. The tyrant-king is surprisingly kind to Katharine, and she grows fond of him, though she's aware he could execute her at any moment—for her past romance, for her secret Protestant faith, or because it's Tuesday. She has enemies at court, including a powerful Catholic bishop, Stephen Gardiner. When Henry VIII dies, Katharine isn't informed for several days. She realizes she's lost the opportunity to take charge of young King Edward's education, but she delights in the freedom to finally marry her great love. Alas, Katharine gains even more enemies (including the Princess Mary) for remarrying so soon after Henry VIII's death. Thomas Seymour cheats on her, of course (with Princess Elizabeth, no less), and Katharine ultimately dies giving birth to her longed-for first child, a daughter, Mary, now lost to history. My heart aches for this long-dead queen.
centurylore's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0