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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
Loved this, as I knew I would! Kateryn Parr was such an interesting and multifaceted woman, so glad to leave more about her story.
Mills and Boon bible edition, absolutely appalling!
I bought this book for my adult daughter one Christmas, I wanted her to read about a woman who survived the horrors of Henry VIII and who was the first woman to be published under her own name in Britain. Yes, I know it's fiction but Philippa Gregory is superb at her craft so I knew it would be well researched. It tells the tale of Henry's last wife, Katherine Parr. She had been widowed twice and was having an affair with a man she hoped would be her next husband once she was out of mourning. She caught the eye of Henry and there was no refusing him. They marry and all seems well. I had then assumed the story would follow the line of her writing and his falling into further physical decline until he dies. How wrong I was. He was still a nasty, cruel, vindictive, manipulative and lecherous man who, had he not died, would have sent her to the chopping block too. It reminded me again of why I avoid the Tudor period. I am not someone who normally shies away from the grim realities of life but this period is especially vicious towards women and since a child, I've not been able to swallow my horror. In the book, Gregory writes a fictional rape scene which is particularly graphic and she makes mention of why she did at the end and it really makes the vileness of the man even more real. Gregory tells the story well and we know Katherine Parr outlives Henry VIII. In the notes afterwards, we find out she marries her former lover but dies in childbirth just 18 months later. That was it for me, just when she had everything to live for, she dies in childbirth. Gut-wrenching. I can't cope with the Tudors anymore!!
Today is a sad day, a very sad day. Today is the day I am breaking up with Philippa Gregory. One of my all-time favourite authors - the lady who inspired my love of the Tudor period and the reason I have devoured documentary after documentary about these historical figures. But I could not finish this book, I would put it down for weeks when there was a time that I would devour her novels in less than a week - but now I feel like I'm reading work by an author who just doesn't care anymore. Who's lost the fear her novels will be enjoyed or sell, who can just churn it out in her sleep and has editors who fear editing her work so the quality has gradually dipped over time. I considered pushing through and finishing it, but I've decided life is just too short to spend on a book that is just not working for me.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Perfect holiday reading. Well paced; interesting without becoming too bogged down in the historical and biographical detail most readers will already be familiar with. Conveys roller-coaster of emotions of Parr being the last queen of Henry VII, while admitting to a little artistic licence. This is a work of fiction after all.
The sixth Queen of Henry VIII is a Bible translator one of the first people to translate scripture for the common people to understand!! What can be more precious than giving the word of God to the people. Some of her scholar friends die to protect the Queen and their cause of Reform in the Church. Ahead of her time and done anonymously this Queen is a scholar and unites the children of Henry to his household. Henry is at war with France in this next book of the Tudor saga by the amazing historical author that is Philippa Gregory. Who on earth would want to be married to such a well known abuser and murder!
I'll write this just to explain my rating. Philippa Gregory is renown among historical fiction writers so I have higher expectations of her. If she was a starting writer I would give her three stars for the effort. I did not care about Kateryn Parr and several chapters in, I found myself zoning out. The only person that appeared deeper was Henry VIII likely because he was half crazed and sick. I appreciated the glimpses of true history, the food they ate, the jewels they wore and the bits of political machinating, but all that seemed marginal. At the forefront were the boring sisters and their noble effort to translate the bible into the vernacular.
I quite enjoyed this novel like so many others if Gregory’s ... but it took me awhile to get into it. I was about to quit if I had to read one more description of how fat Henry was or his “moon” face or his stinking, rotting leg. However, I decided to push on and am glad I did. Katheryn is an interesting and pretty amazing woman of her time and the story fully absorbed me by the end.