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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Essa com certeza foi a primeira de muitas leituras que farei dessa autora! Adorei a maneira como ela conciliou história e ficção!
This isn’t my usual kind of book but I did enjoy it. Very compelling way of writing, heavily fictionalised but it was also clear where the basis in history was. Pretty good.
Audiobook -- Incredibly depressing (I took a long break)
Ugh, this book was just excellent. It really made me love Katherine Parr.
Like a lot of these long series, I’ve read them completely out of order and enjoyed them nonetheless. This tells the story of Catherine Parr, Widow, Northern Lass and final wife of Henry VIII. From her initial revulsion to her acceptance of her fate as Henry’s sixth Queen, Gregory is just brilliant at weaving fact and fiction seamlessly together. I will be forever grateful to my late mum for introducing me to this series.
**disclaimer- I was a giveaways winner and thus received this ARC in the mail for my enjoyment**
I love anything Tudor-related and when I saw the subject that Gregory was going to tackle in this book, I was excited. I have to say that I was not disappointed. I was transported into Kateryn Parr's world and into her life as the last wife of King Henry VIII--the wife who lived.
So little is known of her, that it is a treat to read about her and connect with her on many levels: as a woman, as a wife, as a reader/scholar. The woman wore many hats!!! The pictures of the court are lushly described and in some parts of the book, brutally honestly as well. We have a true vision of what the Queen was looking at, what the England and France of her time looked like. Gregory also has a tough job in bringing to life King Henry as an older man; suffering daily with his wounds and acting as impetuously as a child. Gregory's description of Parr's revulsion as she first had to put aside thoughts of youthful love and came face-to-face with an old dying man, is so honest that you can't help but pity the Queen and be glad you aren't her all at the same time!!
We all know the storied of The Wives of King Henry, but I find it absolutely refreshing that someone has taken this much care and respect into bringing their own story, as they may have told them, back to life for all to see, and maybe learn from. What a tumultuous time to be alive and to be a woman. The many emotions that this woman went through; the games she had to play against a game-master such as Henry, is enough to drive the sanest of people into the darkest of depressions. I'm happy to say that Ms. Gregory was successful in everything she set out to do with this novel and then some! It was a great read and I cannot wait to see what new literary world she immerses us in next.
I love anything Tudor-related and when I saw the subject that Gregory was going to tackle in this book, I was excited. I have to say that I was not disappointed. I was transported into Kateryn Parr's world and into her life as the last wife of King Henry VIII--the wife who lived.
So little is known of her, that it is a treat to read about her and connect with her on many levels: as a woman, as a wife, as a reader/scholar. The woman wore many hats!!! The pictures of the court are lushly described and in some parts of the book, brutally honestly as well. We have a true vision of what the Queen was looking at, what the England and France of her time looked like. Gregory also has a tough job in bringing to life King Henry as an older man; suffering daily with his wounds and acting as impetuously as a child. Gregory's description of Parr's revulsion as she first had to put aside thoughts of youthful love and came face-to-face with an old dying man, is so honest that you can't help but pity the Queen and be glad you aren't her all at the same time!!
We all know the storied of The Wives of King Henry, but I find it absolutely refreshing that someone has taken this much care and respect into bringing their own story, as they may have told them, back to life for all to see, and maybe learn from. What a tumultuous time to be alive and to be a woman. The many emotions that this woman went through; the games she had to play against a game-master such as Henry, is enough to drive the sanest of people into the darkest of depressions. I'm happy to say that Ms. Gregory was successful in everything she set out to do with this novel and then some! It was a great read and I cannot wait to see what new literary world she immerses us in next.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've always loved British historical fiction and no one does it better than Philippa Gregory. The story of Kateryn Parr's marriage to the obese, syphilitic, murderous Henry VIII is an exciting one as this intelligent learned woman works to stay alive when Henry, yet again, tires of his current wife and wants another. Gregory writes so vividly of the bombastic ginger bully, whose mind changes with the wind, believes himself to be God, is always right, and kills his advisors on a whim that I was grossly reminded of a current cartoon character of a man who is even more dangerous, but could possibly end up in a similar position of power.
Some of my earliest reading memories are plucking historical fiction from my Mom's bookshelves to read late into the night. Jean Plaidy was a great favourite - as was Philippa Gregory.
The Taming of the Queen is very much the vein of her earlier books. I really enjoyed her portrayal of an ageing Henry. Sometimes things were a bit too overblown (there's a certain scene involving a whip which I didn't feel fit in with the rest of the story too well!) but overall the changeable, sickly, murderous King was well done. Katheryn Parr I flicked between liking and loathing - occasionally she would misunderstand something so shockingly that I could only wonder how a lady of such intelligence could be so very slow. However for the most part Katheryn was what she was - a woman placed in an impossible situation, with an incredibly heavy, unasked for burden.
If you're a Tudor Court fan, you'll enjoy this.
The Taming of the Queen is very much the vein of her earlier books. I really enjoyed her portrayal of an ageing Henry. Sometimes things were a bit too overblown (there's a certain scene involving a whip which I didn't feel fit in with the rest of the story too well!) but overall the changeable, sickly, murderous King was well done. Katheryn Parr I flicked between liking and loathing - occasionally she would misunderstand something so shockingly that I could only wonder how a lady of such intelligence could be so very slow. However for the most part Katheryn was what she was - a woman placed in an impossible situation, with an incredibly heavy, unasked for burden.
If you're a Tudor Court fan, you'll enjoy this.