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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I have a certain soft spot for Kathryn Parr so I really enjoyed this!
Philippe Gregory has done it again! This final instalment in the life of the tyrannical wife killer, every bit as compulsive as the first.
The author relates the marriage of Katherine Parr with Henry Tudor, through Katherines eyes. In her usual style she mingles documented facts with imagination of they're more private moments to bring history to life.
Katherine was a scholar prior to her undesired marriage to the psychopath monarch. She was the first English woman in recorded history to write and publish her own works, and that nearly cost her her head. As always Gregory writes as a strong, intelligent woman trying to vocalise how it was for women of the Tudor times, powerless pawns in the games and intrigues of their lords and masters.
Thoroughly enjoyed finding out a little more of Henrys wife - the one that survived!
The author relates the marriage of Katherine Parr with Henry Tudor, through Katherines eyes. In her usual style she mingles documented facts with imagination of they're more private moments to bring history to life.
Katherine was a scholar prior to her undesired marriage to the psychopath monarch. She was the first English woman in recorded history to write and publish her own works, and that nearly cost her her head. As always Gregory writes as a strong, intelligent woman trying to vocalise how it was for women of the Tudor times, powerless pawns in the games and intrigues of their lords and masters.
Thoroughly enjoyed finding out a little more of Henrys wife - the one that survived!
My favourite Philippa Gregory book so far. I absolutely loved it from start to finish. Kateryn is a very interesting and likeable character. I had never really considered her time on the throne very much, so I was very interested to find out how close her reign came to ending in disaster. Loved it!
Philippa Gregory is one of the first authors that really turned me on to historical fiction as an adult. Her books are always a lot of fun to read and she is pretty much on my must read list. There is some criticism as to how realistic her storylines are but they definitely are entertaining and perfect for when I am looking for a story to just get sucked into.
In "The Taming of the Queen," the popular historical fiction writer Philippa Gregory takes on Kateryn Parr, the wife who will outlast Henry VIII. I like Gregory's books because they're kind of like candy. Gregory weaves a story about Kateryn, who is an expert at appearing to stay in line while going her own way in the background. There are a lot of elements of romance in this historical fiction.
I have read a couple other books about Kateryn Parr and what's so interesting to me is that by the time she marries Henry VIII, she knows that her life may be an danger if she displeases him. I really like the way that Gregory was able to show how she tried to do everything in her power in order to keep her relationship with Henry VIII on the up and up. I flew through this book very quickly because I got so into Kateryn's character. She is smart and was one of the first women to be published under her own name which is pretty impressive. This story doesn't go as far as I would have liked. I was ready to hear more about Parr after Henry VIII but that was not covered so the book seems to suddenly stop
This is a good pick for anyone who's looking for a fun and frothy read on the end of Henry VIII's reign.
In "The Taming of the Queen," the popular historical fiction writer Philippa Gregory takes on Kateryn Parr, the wife who will outlast Henry VIII. I like Gregory's books because they're kind of like candy. Gregory weaves a story about Kateryn, who is an expert at appearing to stay in line while going her own way in the background. There are a lot of elements of romance in this historical fiction.
I have read a couple other books about Kateryn Parr and what's so interesting to me is that by the time she marries Henry VIII, she knows that her life may be an danger if she displeases him. I really like the way that Gregory was able to show how she tried to do everything in her power in order to keep her relationship with Henry VIII on the up and up. I flew through this book very quickly because I got so into Kateryn's character. She is smart and was one of the first women to be published under her own name which is pretty impressive. This story doesn't go as far as I would have liked. I was ready to hear more about Parr after Henry VIII but that was not covered so the book seems to suddenly stop
This is a good pick for anyone who's looking for a fun and frothy read on the end of Henry VIII's reign.
I do like a Philippa Gregory book every now and again - whilst she perfectly blends truth with sensibly crafted fiction, these books are always a learning opportunity and shine a spotlight on the women who often were the byline in a very famous monarchy.
Overall a nice and light read, too much repetition though. There was a lot of scenes, character descriptions and plot that just kept happening over and over again. I wish Gregory would trust the reader to remember things after the first two times instead of reminding the reader at every turn of things that has already been stated several times.
Hot take: Trump is like Henry VIII, only he's less able to chop off heads at random and instead of going through 6 wives he's gone through countless staff people.
This book is a fictionalized story of Henry VIII's last wife, Kateryn Parr. She managed to outlive him, despite the fact that Henry VIII signed warrant for her arrest at one point. Kateryn Parr was an intelligent, scholarly, and talented woman: the first woman to publish original work under her own name in England, and one of the only of Henry VIII's wives to survive the relationship. This book tells the terrifying story of a temperamental, unpredictable, easily offended, powerful man. Everyone around him walks on eggshells trying not to offend him, and no one is successful in that attempt- at one point or another, Henry VIII rebuffs all of those who were closest to him just days before. I couldn't help but wonder if this is what it is like to work on Trump's staff: tweet-based policies that change daily, constant insistence that Trump is ' ~the greatest, most successful president ever, believe me ~' , and staff members who are in and out of favor in a matter of weeks. Not sure how far this analogy can be pushed 😂 but it was a funny thought.
Regardless of modern day politics, this book was great! It was exactly what I love from Philippa Gregory. It is engaging and vivid, the characters are excellent, and it pulled me in. I am glad that I started with The Other Boleyn Girl and continued the series to this book, but really each of these books stands alone. I fully recommend.
This book is a fictionalized story of Henry VIII's last wife, Kateryn Parr. She managed to outlive him, despite the fact that Henry VIII signed warrant for her arrest at one point. Kateryn Parr was an intelligent, scholarly, and talented woman: the first woman to publish original work under her own name in England, and one of the only of Henry VIII's wives to survive the relationship. This book tells the terrifying story of a temperamental, unpredictable, easily offended, powerful man. Everyone around him walks on eggshells trying not to offend him, and no one is successful in that attempt- at one point or another, Henry VIII rebuffs all of those who were closest to him just days before. I couldn't help but wonder if this is what it is like to work on Trump's staff: tweet-based policies that change daily, constant insistence that Trump is ' ~the greatest, most successful president ever, believe me ~' , and staff members who are in and out of favor in a matter of weeks. Not sure how far this analogy can be pushed 😂 but it was a funny thought.
Regardless of modern day politics, this book was great! It was exactly what I love from Philippa Gregory. It is engaging and vivid, the characters are excellent, and it pulled me in. I am glad that I started with The Other Boleyn Girl and continued the series to this book, but really each of these books stands alone. I fully recommend.
Another absolute gem of a book filled with suspense and menace and of course madness. You can almost feel Henry VIII's mad filled eyes looking at you from the page. Love love it
I have a weakness for all things Tudor. I also am obliged to roll my eyes at romantic historical fiction...this skill was included as a part of my master's level history courses. So I went into this a bit ambivalent. I did enjoy the book though, and was impressed with the level of accuracy Gregory maintained in her fictional space. I thought Kat's longing was over the top, but that's just my opinion. Definitely better than a textbook. But as far as stories go, there aren't really any happy endings when your dealing with Henry VIII.
