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edressa's review
2.0
*Content warning for mentions and discussion of child and teen sexual abuse*
This is 500+ pages for a historical fiction novel, by an author who is a best-seller when it comes to biographies and fiction about the Tudors, and 500 pages later... I do not feel as if I know Katharine Parr any better. Like, at all. This almost reads like a biography that got dialogue sprinkled into it, because while we stay in Katharine's perspective throughout the novel, not only her character isn't very well-developed beyond what is usually known of her (namely, that she was a literate woman for her time who was a proponent of the Reformation), she also doesn't come off as particularly intelligent or insightful when it comes to what's happening around her.
Her conversion from Catholicism to Protestantism is shallow at best, since it happens from the influence of her first father-in-law, Thomas Burgh (who is painted as abusive and whose entire household is terrified of), and later on, during her second marriage to John Latimer, because pilgrims from the Pilgrimage of Grace were not very nice to her. *sigh* While I do not deny that these events must have been very difficult and terrifying times for Katharine, I do not get the impression from this book that the author understands the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism (because, yes, Catholics *do* pray directly to God, we say the Lord's Prayer as well), but whatever theological debates are put forward in this book fall flat and demonstrate unfortunately a lack of understanding on the author's part. For a woman praised for her intellect and for being the first woman to publish her own works under her own name in England, Katharine's evolution in her beliefs, how it affects her world (she was Katherine of Aragon's goddaughter, after all), how her view of Henry VIII evolves is dealt with in a way that comes off as superficial at best.
The most egregious fault of this book, however, is the casualness displayed when it comes to mentions of CSA. While I acknowledge those were different times (which is a little funny since Katharine acts more like a 21st century woman than a Tudor woman more often than not), and while I shouldn't be surprised given how Katheryn Howard was treated in her own book for these series, there is a worrying tendency to brush off the abusers' crime while, sometimes, blaming the victim as well. First instance of this is Nicholas Udall, former headmaster of Eton College, who was dismissed and put on trial for physical as well as sexual abuse of his pupils. While I was not able to find the age of the victims, they are implied in all documents I have read to have been young (since they are referred to as boys consistently). And while it was true he became eventually a tutor to Mary and Elizabeth Tudor despite his previous deeds, the book presents Henry VIII and Katharine Parr examining his previous deeds by having them go: "Ah poo, well, he only touches little boys, so Mary and Elizabeth will be fine, right?" And given how little impact Udall has on the story beyond name-dropping, I am honestly baffled as to why Weir had to include this in the first place, or why no editor kindly pointed out why this might be a bad idea, given what happens later on.
And then there's the whole business with Thomas Seymour and Elizabeth, where, as you may have guessed, Elizabeth proves to be a bratty teenager who has her mother Anne Boleyn's wiley wiley ways, and who appears quite flattered with Thomas' attentions while maliciously fooling Katharine with claims that she is but an innocent maiden. And that is, despite the book ALSO providing the evidence from Kat Ashley that Elizabeth wasn't all that comfortable with Thomas coming into her bedchamber in the morning, and also with the big glaring fact that Thomas, despite Elizabeth being second in line to the throne, being very much in a position of authority where he can freely take advantage of Elizabeth. While I'm not comfortable with calling Katharine an abuser on the same level as Thomas was, she as well as Kat Ashley were however guilty of neglect when it came to the whole situation. Therefore, it also isn't fair (to say the least) to portray her as a Tired Mom who has to deal with a bratty teenager who is quite content to seduce her step-DILF just because she can. I do not understand how one of the sources used for this book is Elizabeth Norton, who wrote an excellent biography focusing solely on the power dynamics between Thomas Seymour and Elizabeth (The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor, which presents a much better view of what went down while balancing the mores of the time as well as our modern perspective), and yet here she is, blaming Elizabeth.
Overall, the writing is clinical and tedious more often than not, which led me to wonder why this author is so popular, but I will give Alison Weir this: she doesn't fall into the trap of assuming her readers have a good basic knowledge of the period, which may make her historical fiction much more accessible to people who want to start learning about the Tudor period. Still... I guess I could simply say that she may not be a good fit for me, and I feel safe enough saying this given I read all six books in this series on a dare (NEVER AGAIN).
(Oh, and there's no mention of Henry VIII's body exploding during his funeral and let me tell you, I am very disappointed)
This is 500+ pages for a historical fiction novel, by an author who is a best-seller when it comes to biographies and fiction about the Tudors, and 500 pages later... I do not feel as if I know Katharine Parr any better. Like, at all. This almost reads like a biography that got dialogue sprinkled into it, because while we stay in Katharine's perspective throughout the novel, not only her character isn't very well-developed beyond what is usually known of her (namely, that she was a literate woman for her time who was a proponent of the Reformation), she also doesn't come off as particularly intelligent or insightful when it comes to what's happening around her.
Her conversion from Catholicism to Protestantism is shallow at best, since it happens from the influence of her first father-in-law, Thomas Burgh (who is painted as abusive and whose entire household is terrified of), and later on, during her second marriage to John Latimer, because pilgrims from the Pilgrimage of Grace were not very nice to her. *sigh* While I do not deny that these events must have been very difficult and terrifying times for Katharine, I do not get the impression from this book that the author understands the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism (because, yes, Catholics *do* pray directly to God, we say the Lord's Prayer as well), but whatever theological debates are put forward in this book fall flat and demonstrate unfortunately a lack of understanding on the author's part. For a woman praised for her intellect and for being the first woman to publish her own works under her own name in England, Katharine's evolution in her beliefs, how it affects her world (she was Katherine of Aragon's goddaughter, after all), how her view of Henry VIII evolves is dealt with in a way that comes off as superficial at best.
The most egregious fault of this book, however, is the casualness displayed when it comes to mentions of CSA. While I acknowledge those were different times (which is a little funny since Katharine acts more like a 21st century woman than a Tudor woman more often than not), and while I shouldn't be surprised given how Katheryn Howard was treated in her own book for these series, there is a worrying tendency to brush off the abusers' crime while, sometimes, blaming the victim as well. First instance of this is Nicholas Udall, former headmaster of Eton College, who was dismissed and put on trial for physical as well as sexual abuse of his pupils. While I was not able to find the age of the victims, they are implied in all documents I have read to have been young (since they are referred to as boys consistently). And while it was true he became eventually a tutor to Mary and Elizabeth Tudor despite his previous deeds, the book presents Henry VIII and Katharine Parr examining his previous deeds by having them go: "Ah poo, well, he only touches little boys, so Mary and Elizabeth will be fine, right?" And given how little impact Udall has on the story beyond name-dropping, I am honestly baffled as to why Weir had to include this in the first place, or why no editor kindly pointed out why this might be a bad idea, given what happens later on.
And then there's the whole business with Thomas Seymour and Elizabeth, where, as you may have guessed, Elizabeth proves to be a bratty teenager who has her mother Anne Boleyn's wiley wiley ways, and who appears quite flattered with Thomas' attentions while maliciously fooling Katharine with claims that she is but an innocent maiden. And that is, despite the book ALSO providing the evidence from Kat Ashley that Elizabeth wasn't all that comfortable with Thomas coming into her bedchamber in the morning, and also with the big glaring fact that Thomas, despite Elizabeth being second in line to the throne, being very much in a position of authority where he can freely take advantage of Elizabeth. While I'm not comfortable with calling Katharine an abuser on the same level as Thomas was, she as well as Kat Ashley were however guilty of neglect when it came to the whole situation. Therefore, it also isn't fair (to say the least) to portray her as a Tired Mom who has to deal with a bratty teenager who is quite content to seduce her step-DILF just because she can. I do not understand how one of the sources used for this book is Elizabeth Norton, who wrote an excellent biography focusing solely on the power dynamics between Thomas Seymour and Elizabeth (The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor, which presents a much better view of what went down while balancing the mores of the time as well as our modern perspective), and yet here she is, blaming Elizabeth.
Overall, the writing is clinical and tedious more often than not, which led me to wonder why this author is so popular, but I will give Alison Weir this: she doesn't fall into the trap of assuming her readers have a good basic knowledge of the period, which may make her historical fiction much more accessible to people who want to start learning about the Tudor period. Still... I guess I could simply say that she may not be a good fit for me, and I feel safe enough saying this given I read all six books in this series on a dare (NEVER AGAIN).
(Oh, and there's no mention of Henry VIII's body exploding during his funeral and let me tell you, I am very disappointed)
ky_a's review against another edition
4.0
I have to admit that apart from the fact that she was his last wife and survived to the end of their marriage, there's not much that I know about Katharine Parr and her life. That being said, this book was an enjoyable read, a little heavy on religion and protestant views at times, but I guess it was needed as Katharine Parr was a protestant.
I really loved the fact that Katharine remained as close as she could to all her step-children, even from her second marriage and especially her third marriage, her longingness for a child really showed in the way that she treated her step children, it's sad to think that when she finally got her child, she succumbed to 'childbed fever' just as Queen Jane did with Prince Edward.
I really loved the fact that Katharine remained as close as she could to all her step-children, even from her second marriage and especially her third marriage, her longingness for a child really showed in the way that she treated her step children, it's sad to think that when she finally got her child, she succumbed to 'childbed fever' just as Queen Jane did with Prince Edward.
hmalagisi's review against another edition
5.0
A woman twice widowed with no children of her own has the opportunity to choose who she will marry next. Will she marry the man of her dreams or marry the man who has been married numerous times and has killed two of his wives already? It seems like a no-brainer who she should choose, but the man she married for her third marriage was the man who was married numerous times before simply because he is the notorious King Henry VIII and you do not disobey the king. However, his last wife, Katharine Parr, is willing to fight for the religious reforms and her stepchildren that she loves dearly. In the last book of the Six Tudor Queens series, “Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife”, Alison Weir takes her readers on an extraordinary journey to explore who this brave woman was and why she is the one who survived Henry’s last days.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House/ Ballantine Books for sending me a copy of this novel. I have enjoyed the Six Tudor Queens series so far and I was looking forward to reading the last book. Like many people, I know what happened with Katharine during her marriage to Henry VIII and her fourth marriage to Thomas Seymour, but I am not well informed when it comes to her first two marriages. Katharine Parr has been my favorite wife of King Henry VIII for a while now and I wanted to read a novel about her life, to see what Weir’s interpretation of her life story would be like.
Katharine Parr’s story begins with her childhood and her connection with her family. It was unique to see how her childhood helped shaped what type of queen she would become as her mother pushed hard for her daughters to be well educated. Katharine’s first husband, Sir Edward Burgh, was just a boy who followed whatever his father, Sir Thomas Burgh, asked him to do. I think Weir has a unique spin on Katharine’s life with Edward Burgh and their marriage, but it did not last long as Edward Burgh would die in 1533.
Katharine’s second husband, John Neville 3rd Baron Latimer, was her longest marriage. Although they had no children of their own, like Katharine’s marriage to Edward Burgh, it was a happy relationship. They may have differed when it came to their views on religion, but they did seem to love each other. Their happy household was thrown asunder when the Pilgrimage of Grace and Robert Aske knocked on their door and asked for help. There was a real sense of danger during this episode and the bravery that Katharine showed was nothing short of astounding.
When John died, Katharine was left with a choice of who her third husband would be; either the ailing Henry VIII or the suave and debonair Thomas Seymour who deeply loved Katharine. Katharine’s choice was Henry VIII who she hoped she could sway to accept the religious reforms that she believed in strongly. She developed a friendship with the king and his children, but she was still in love with Thomas Seymour. She wrote books during this time that gave her comfort during the difficult times when the court tried to attack her for what she believed and wanted to pit her against Henry. In the end, love triumphed over sorrow and Katharine survived to live with her beloved until the end of her days.
I found this book an absolute treat to read. As someone who loves Katharine Parr and her story, this novel just made me love her even more. The one problem that I had was actually with the spelling of her name as Weir spelled it a bit differently than what I am used to, but it was really a minor detail. I am a bit sad that this is the last book in this wonderful series, but this book was worth the wait.
This novel was a delight to read. It was full of action and intrigue, intense love, and immense sorrow. Katharine was one remarkable woman, just like every wife of Henry VIII Weir has written about in this marvelous series. “Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife” by Alison Weir is a masterpiece in historical fiction and the perfect conclusion to the Six Tudor Queens series that will leave readers satisfied.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House/ Ballantine Books for sending me a copy of this novel. I have enjoyed the Six Tudor Queens series so far and I was looking forward to reading the last book. Like many people, I know what happened with Katharine during her marriage to Henry VIII and her fourth marriage to Thomas Seymour, but I am not well informed when it comes to her first two marriages. Katharine Parr has been my favorite wife of King Henry VIII for a while now and I wanted to read a novel about her life, to see what Weir’s interpretation of her life story would be like.
Katharine Parr’s story begins with her childhood and her connection with her family. It was unique to see how her childhood helped shaped what type of queen she would become as her mother pushed hard for her daughters to be well educated. Katharine’s first husband, Sir Edward Burgh, was just a boy who followed whatever his father, Sir Thomas Burgh, asked him to do. I think Weir has a unique spin on Katharine’s life with Edward Burgh and their marriage, but it did not last long as Edward Burgh would die in 1533.
Katharine’s second husband, John Neville 3rd Baron Latimer, was her longest marriage. Although they had no children of their own, like Katharine’s marriage to Edward Burgh, it was a happy relationship. They may have differed when it came to their views on religion, but they did seem to love each other. Their happy household was thrown asunder when the Pilgrimage of Grace and Robert Aske knocked on their door and asked for help. There was a real sense of danger during this episode and the bravery that Katharine showed was nothing short of astounding.
When John died, Katharine was left with a choice of who her third husband would be; either the ailing Henry VIII or the suave and debonair Thomas Seymour who deeply loved Katharine. Katharine’s choice was Henry VIII who she hoped she could sway to accept the religious reforms that she believed in strongly. She developed a friendship with the king and his children, but she was still in love with Thomas Seymour. She wrote books during this time that gave her comfort during the difficult times when the court tried to attack her for what she believed and wanted to pit her against Henry. In the end, love triumphed over sorrow and Katharine survived to live with her beloved until the end of her days.
I found this book an absolute treat to read. As someone who loves Katharine Parr and her story, this novel just made me love her even more. The one problem that I had was actually with the spelling of her name as Weir spelled it a bit differently than what I am used to, but it was really a minor detail. I am a bit sad that this is the last book in this wonderful series, but this book was worth the wait.
This novel was a delight to read. It was full of action and intrigue, intense love, and immense sorrow. Katharine was one remarkable woman, just like every wife of Henry VIII Weir has written about in this marvelous series. “Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife” by Alison Weir is a masterpiece in historical fiction and the perfect conclusion to the Six Tudor Queens series that will leave readers satisfied.
gabrielleint's review against another edition
5.0
This book is the final installment in Alison Weir’s Six Tudor Queens series. I have been a fan of Alison Weir’s for years and have read a lot of her nonfiction books on the Tudors. I have been reading this series since the first installment was released.
I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. I have always been most interested in Anne Boleyn, and Catharine of Aragon because of how her story overlaps with Anne’s. But Katharine Parr is very interesting and this novel really demonstrated that. She was highly educated for a woman of her age, and made sure to pass that learning onto her stepchildren. She managed to remain in Henry’s favor even through plots designed to unseat her as queen. She had three marriages that were arranged for her and chose a man she loved in her fourth and final marriage. Weir really made Katharine shine in this novel.
Also, the ending and Katharine’s final speech to her husband was very satisfying for me as a lifelong Thomas Seymour hater. Fuck that guy
I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. I have always been most interested in Anne Boleyn, and Catharine of Aragon because of how her story overlaps with Anne’s. But Katharine Parr is very interesting and this novel really demonstrated that. She was highly educated for a woman of her age, and made sure to pass that learning onto her stepchildren. She managed to remain in Henry’s favor even through plots designed to unseat her as queen. She had three marriages that were arranged for her and chose a man she loved in her fourth and final marriage. Weir really made Katharine shine in this novel.
Also, the ending and Katharine’s final speech to her husband was very satisfying for me as a lifelong Thomas Seymour hater. Fuck that guy
lunaseassecondaccount's review against another edition
4.0
And so ends the Six Tudor Queens collection by Alison Weir.
Katharine Parr is a figure I truthfully haven't read much about. Beyond being the most educated and, some would say, the biggest feminist of Henry VII's wives, I have never spent much time thinking of her place in history. Alison Weir has definitely had me reconsider that.
Perhaps it's because it's the last of the six novels Weir wrote in six years, but this book is definitely the strongest of the six. Whatever shakiness Weir had when writing the childhood of Aragon and Boleyn is gone here; she confidently transitions through Parr's childhood to her adult years and first marriages. The ground is set for her convictions and beliefs she carries as an adult, and the wit that allows her to take King Henry VIII head on.
The supposed affair and/or molestation between Thomas and Elizabeth is treated with a grace that I still wish Weir had afforded Kathryn Howard. The youngest queen was not that much older than Elizabeth, and Manox would have been of a similar age to Thomas Seymour. I found this section of the novel to be perhaps the weakest, and I'd have liked more of a decision as to whether the behaviour had been illict or not. It all felt a little wishy-washy and a little like Weir was excusing Thomas' actions.
I'm sorry to have finished this series. I really did enjoy them, the historical accuracy and the author's notes at the end who explained her considerations. I've already got some of Weir's other novels on my to-read list and look forward to devouring more of her works.
My own personal ranking of Weir's novels, from top to bottom:
Katharine Parr
Katherine of Aragon
Anne Boleyn
Jane Seymour
Kathryn Howard
Anna of Kleve
Katharine Parr is a figure I truthfully haven't read much about. Beyond being the most educated and, some would say, the biggest feminist of Henry VII's wives, I have never spent much time thinking of her place in history. Alison Weir has definitely had me reconsider that.
Perhaps it's because it's the last of the six novels Weir wrote in six years, but this book is definitely the strongest of the six. Whatever shakiness Weir had when writing the childhood of Aragon and Boleyn is gone here; she confidently transitions through Parr's childhood to her adult years and first marriages. The ground is set for her convictions and beliefs she carries as an adult, and the wit that allows her to take King Henry VIII head on.
The supposed affair and/or molestation between Thomas and Elizabeth is treated with a grace that I still wish Weir had afforded Kathryn Howard. The youngest queen was not that much older than Elizabeth, and Manox would have been of a similar age to Thomas Seymour. I found this section of the novel to be perhaps the weakest, and I'd have liked more of a decision as to whether the behaviour had been illict or not. It all felt a little wishy-washy and a little like Weir was excusing Thomas' actions.
I'm sorry to have finished this series. I really did enjoy them, the historical accuracy and the author's notes at the end who explained her considerations. I've already got some of Weir's other novels on my to-read list and look forward to devouring more of her works.
My own personal ranking of Weir's novels, from top to bottom:
Katharine Parr
Katherine of Aragon
Anne Boleyn
Jane Seymour
Kathryn Howard
Anna of Kleve
charlottar's review
3.0
I really liked most of this book right up to she blaimed 14 yo for her own rape. Also the part were she told what was fiction and what was not felt hastely written compared to other books in this series.
juliekaavanagh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kasshall's review against another edition
5.0
A return to form - the best in the series since Jane Seymour.