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jol69's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable. Well narrated on the audio book. I'm interested enough to find out how far from the truth the novel with regard to Katherine Parr.
bookph1le's review against another edition
3.0
I thought the beginning was a little weak and it took me a while to hat into the story. Once I did, this turned out to be a pretty good read. More complete review to come.
Full review:
Queen's Gambit was a book that took a while to grow on me. There was a period where I thought I would stop reading it because I just wasn't invested in the story. Then, about a third of the way through, I found myself turning pages, wanting to know what would happen next. It didn't take long for me to pinpoint what it was about the book that initially turned me off, and why I eventually did start enjoying it. Some spoilers to follow.
The weakest point in the book, in my opinion, was the way it handled the relationship between Katherine and Thomas Seymour. In a lot of ways, I felt like that aspect of the book was sort of like window dressing, or just there because it had to be, given that it was an event of such historical significance. We're told that Katherine is crazy about Seymour, but I could never really figure out just why this is. The first time she sees him, Katherine writes him off as a fop and a flirt and, yet, a few pages later she can't stop obsessing about him. This might have made sense for a different character, but it didn't feel in keeping with how the book had portrayed Katherine up to that point. It goes to great pains to show how sophisticated Katherine is when it comes to the court, yet she's totally taken in by Seymour. In order for me to really buy into that, I would have had to see some more evidence of what she saw in him. Instead, it was like she had some sort of mental vacation, an otherwise competent character becoming a simpering fool for no real, obvious reason.
Needless to say, I was glad to get beyond that initial bit about Katherine and move into the real meat of the book: Katherine's marriage to Henry and the tensions of trying to stay afloat with a fickle husband who's fond of ridding himself of wives that he finds tiresome.
Of all his wives, Katherine may be the most interesting because she was the last and the one who may have been most cognizant of what being Henry's Queen meant--not to mention that Katherine served not only as wife, but also as nursemaid. Sometimes I was under the impression that the real reason Henry wanted her was because she was skilled with herbs. It was interesting to watch Katherine go from being horrified of being the man's wife--and who could blame her?--to developing on awareness of the advantages it posed. Since so many women in that era had no say in who they married, it always strikes me as fascinating to watch them make the best of their situation and influence, which was why this part of the novel resonated with me.
Katherine's relationship with the Tudor children is also very interesting. She starts out as a friend of Mary's and goes to court because Mary wants her there, but the tension between the two of them grows as Katherine becomes more interested in the Reformation, which goes against Mary's staunch Catholic ways. Katherine tries her best to be a mother to the three Tudor children, and to bring them back into their father's fold. For Henry, they seem like little more than pawns, but Katherine sees them for the motherless children they are, and tries her best to be as much a mother to them as she can be. This says a lot about both Katherine's character and Henry's.
Equally fascinating to me was the way Elizabeth is portrayed in this book. In some ways, Katherine's view of her step daughter does provide some support for her being taken in by Seymour: Katherine has a sort of blindness to the faults of the more charismatic characters. Katherine also finds a lot to admire in Elizabeth's cleverness, and it is interesting to see what Elizabeth takes away from their relationship.
I also liked the character of Dot, who provides the reader with a different, less sophisticated view of the court, and who therefore probably sees more than her mistress does. Because Dot is more down-to-earth and grounded in practicalities, she's not as susceptible to the veneer the court personalities so carefully apply. Though she's a trusted servant of Katherine, they can never be anything like equals, and so Dot sometimes has to hold her tongue where a true friend would have been able to confide.
In the end, I was less interested in Katherine than I was in the historical events, and I think this tempered my enjoyment of the book. It was a good read, but I didn't come away feeling as if I'd learned something new about Katherine, which was a disappointment. Still, Fremantle has a nice handle on writing compellingly on the machinations of court, and I'd be interested in reading another of her books.
Full review:
Queen's Gambit was a book that took a while to grow on me. There was a period where I thought I would stop reading it because I just wasn't invested in the story. Then, about a third of the way through, I found myself turning pages, wanting to know what would happen next. It didn't take long for me to pinpoint what it was about the book that initially turned me off, and why I eventually did start enjoying it. Some spoilers to follow.
The weakest point in the book, in my opinion, was the way it handled the relationship between Katherine and Thomas Seymour. In a lot of ways, I felt like that aspect of the book was sort of like window dressing, or just there because it had to be, given that it was an event of such historical significance. We're told that Katherine is crazy about Seymour, but I could never really figure out just why this is. The first time she sees him, Katherine writes him off as a fop and a flirt and, yet, a few pages later she can't stop obsessing about him. This might have made sense for a different character, but it didn't feel in keeping with how the book had portrayed Katherine up to that point. It goes to great pains to show how sophisticated Katherine is when it comes to the court, yet she's totally taken in by Seymour. In order for me to really buy into that, I would have had to see some more evidence of what she saw in him. Instead, it was like she had some sort of mental vacation, an otherwise competent character becoming a simpering fool for no real, obvious reason.
Needless to say, I was glad to get beyond that initial bit about Katherine and move into the real meat of the book: Katherine's marriage to Henry and the tensions of trying to stay afloat with a fickle husband who's fond of ridding himself of wives that he finds tiresome.
Of all his wives, Katherine may be the most interesting because she was the last and the one who may have been most cognizant of what being Henry's Queen meant--not to mention that Katherine served not only as wife, but also as nursemaid. Sometimes I was under the impression that the real reason Henry wanted her was because she was skilled with herbs. It was interesting to watch Katherine go from being horrified of being the man's wife--and who could blame her?--to developing on awareness of the advantages it posed. Since so many women in that era had no say in who they married, it always strikes me as fascinating to watch them make the best of their situation and influence, which was why this part of the novel resonated with me.
Katherine's relationship with the Tudor children is also very interesting. She starts out as a friend of Mary's and goes to court because Mary wants her there, but the tension between the two of them grows as Katherine becomes more interested in the Reformation, which goes against Mary's staunch Catholic ways. Katherine tries her best to be a mother to the three Tudor children, and to bring them back into their father's fold. For Henry, they seem like little more than pawns, but Katherine sees them for the motherless children they are, and tries her best to be as much a mother to them as she can be. This says a lot about both Katherine's character and Henry's.
Equally fascinating to me was the way Elizabeth is portrayed in this book. In some ways, Katherine's view of her step daughter does provide some support for her being taken in by Seymour: Katherine has a sort of blindness to the faults of the more charismatic characters. Katherine also finds a lot to admire in Elizabeth's cleverness, and it is interesting to see what Elizabeth takes away from their relationship.
I also liked the character of Dot, who provides the reader with a different, less sophisticated view of the court, and who therefore probably sees more than her mistress does. Because Dot is more down-to-earth and grounded in practicalities, she's not as susceptible to the veneer the court personalities so carefully apply. Though she's a trusted servant of Katherine, they can never be anything like equals, and so Dot sometimes has to hold her tongue where a true friend would have been able to confide.
In the end, I was less interested in Katherine than I was in the historical events, and I think this tempered my enjoyment of the book. It was a good read, but I didn't come away feeling as if I'd learned something new about Katherine, which was a disappointment. Still, Fremantle has a nice handle on writing compellingly on the machinations of court, and I'd be interested in reading another of her books.
utahmomreads's review against another edition
4.0
Read my review on my blog : http://utahmomslife.blogspot.com/2013/06/queens-gambit-book-review.html
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
I couldn't resist trying this book. Tudor history, from the women's point of view? Of course I wanted to read it.
While I felt the writing was standard, certainly to start with, with clunky-feeling exposition to convey the backstory of Henry's wives and the recent history, I felt this improved halfway through and was definitely more caught up with Katherine and her maid Dot, even knowing the history of what was going to happen. It was more about the journey than the destination. I enjoyed the historical detail very much, could picture the ladies, the king, the fine clothes. The insights into the various characters' thoughts were well done, and seemed to me as though it could really have been how they did think and feel.
I learnt several new things about the period, and about several key players in history if beer even heard of.
Only a few niggles regarding the writing once I was done (a "string" of babies was mentioned at least three times), but the period details and illuminating glance into the mind of Katherine carried me through.
While I felt the writing was standard, certainly to start with, with clunky-feeling exposition to convey the backstory of Henry's wives and the recent history, I felt this improved halfway through and was definitely more caught up with Katherine and her maid Dot, even knowing the history of what was going to happen. It was more about the journey than the destination. I enjoyed the historical detail very much, could picture the ladies, the king, the fine clothes. The insights into the various characters' thoughts were well done, and seemed to me as though it could really have been how they did think and feel.
I learnt several new things about the period, and about several key players in history if beer even heard of.
Only a few niggles regarding the writing once I was done (a "string" of babies was mentioned at least three times), but the period details and illuminating glance into the mind of Katherine carried me through.
leandrasreads's review against another edition
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
3.5
ijholets's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
bec_wheels's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable read about a time period in history that focuses on the lives of men. Katherine Parr is a underrated women who is predominantly remembered as surviving as her husband, and not as a woman of intellect and reform.
jelena666's review against another edition
challenging
informative
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jenscozylife's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bmg20's review against another edition
3.0
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A copy of Queen's Gambit was provided to me by Simon & Schuster/Edelweiss for review purposes.
'One day, hundreds of years from now, people will tell stories about the court of King Henry and the romance of it all - the Eighth King Henry and his Six Wives. But will they tell of the terror that came with it, she wonders, or will it be made to seem a golden age?'
Queen's Gambit opens with the eminent death of Katherine Parr's second husband, John Neville, Lord Latimer. While still in mourning, she is requested by the King's daughter Mary, a childhood friend, to visit her at court. Shortly after her arrival she meets and falls in love with Thomas Seymour, the man who will leave an indelible mark upon her. The idea of a life with Thomas is snubbed out when King Henry VIII offers her a marriage invitation where no is not an option.
The story is ultimately told from the POV of Katherine, however, we are also given glimpses from the POV of her lady's maid and of her doctor Huicke. It portrayed how it was like to live in this time period as royalty and as a low-born. Unfortunately, the change in POV felt very jarring when you're absorbed in the story of the Queen and I think I would have enjoyed it much more if it was solely Katherine's story.
Towards the middle-part of the story the pace slowed down and it became infinitely less interesting to me mainly because it became less about the characters and more about the politics and strife going on in England at the time. Considering I know quite a bit about the history in England during the Tudor time period this was a bit redundant for me, albeit still somewhat interesting. I understand that this of course needs to be included some-how but I felt that the characters ultimately got placed on the back burner while the refresher course on 'The History of England' was taking place.
Queen's Gambit managed to maintain historical accuracy to a degree without overdoing the embellishing in areas that are less known. It's a well-told story of one of the lesser known queens, yet she's still without a doubt one that has the greatest story to tell: the story of how she managed to survive.
A copy of Queen's Gambit was provided to me by Simon & Schuster/Edelweiss for review purposes.
'One day, hundreds of years from now, people will tell stories about the court of King Henry and the romance of it all - the Eighth King Henry and his Six Wives. But will they tell of the terror that came with it, she wonders, or will it be made to seem a golden age?'
Queen's Gambit opens with the eminent death of Katherine Parr's second husband, John Neville, Lord Latimer. While still in mourning, she is requested by the King's daughter Mary, a childhood friend, to visit her at court. Shortly after her arrival she meets and falls in love with Thomas Seymour, the man who will leave an indelible mark upon her. The idea of a life with Thomas is snubbed out when King Henry VIII offers her a marriage invitation where no is not an option.
The story is ultimately told from the POV of Katherine, however, we are also given glimpses from the POV of her lady's maid and of her doctor Huicke. It portrayed how it was like to live in this time period as royalty and as a low-born. Unfortunately, the change in POV felt very jarring when you're absorbed in the story of the Queen and I think I would have enjoyed it much more if it was solely Katherine's story.
Towards the middle-part of the story the pace slowed down and it became infinitely less interesting to me mainly because it became less about the characters and more about the politics and strife going on in England at the time. Considering I know quite a bit about the history in England during the Tudor time period this was a bit redundant for me, albeit still somewhat interesting. I understand that this of course needs to be included some-how but I felt that the characters ultimately got placed on the back burner while the refresher course on 'The History of England' was taking place.
Queen's Gambit managed to maintain historical accuracy to a degree without overdoing the embellishing in areas that are less known. It's a well-told story of one of the lesser known queens, yet she's still without a doubt one that has the greatest story to tell: the story of how she managed to survive.