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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Historical accuracy was very good, and you could tell it was written by a historian. I enjoyed the focus on faith and Katherine’s perspective was a compelling look at the “Great Matter” which is often reduced to an affair of lust, but Weir manages to remove Anne Boleyn from the picture in a way that makes this (at least for Katherine) an affair of the church, not the heart. I imagine that the situation will be explored very differently in the next book.
This was not just a retelling of a story that has been told many, many times before, but felt fresh as it invested me in a perspective that is so far removed from my own views, so at odds with a secular, 21st reader, but I was still on her side. Most retellings fail to make me look at the situation with 16th century values in this way.
The style of writing was slightly odd, and did often feel like a non fiction account/slightly dry. It’s no Wolf Hall.
TLDR: I don’t usually find myself on the side of Catholicism, especially after having studied the state of the Church in England at the time, but this made me root against the reformers, not just for moral outrage on Katherine’s behalf.
This was not just a retelling of a story that has been told many, many times before, but felt fresh as it invested me in a perspective that is so far removed from my own views, so at odds with a secular, 21st reader, but I was still on her side. Most retellings fail to make me look at the situation with 16th century values in this way.
The style of writing was slightly odd, and did often feel like a non fiction account/slightly dry. It’s no Wolf Hall.
TLDR: I don’t usually find myself on the side of Catholicism, especially after having studied the state of the Church in England at the time, but this made me root against the reformers, not just for moral outrage on Katherine’s behalf.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I found this to be very interesting, but also too long. It could have stood for some trimming, but I learned so many things about Katherine's time as Queen (if it is all factually accurate). Well written, and I might continue the series.
3.5 Stars
3.5 Stars
Oh how I struggled with this one... The history was really interesting, but the wordiness completely overwhelmed me, and made the whole thing drag a lot. Sorry! I've read a few Alison Weir books in the past and don't remember this being an issue in any of those.
I loved getting an in depth portrayal of Katherine, but parts of the book were a bit repetitive and dragged.
Been wanting to read this for a while and bought the first three is what I think is a 6 books series but think there is perhaps one more.
This didn't disappoint one bit, it's a fiction of real people and real events and felt very realistic to what might have been the real deal. Very curious to read about Anne Boleyn next after the drama in this one. I want to hear from her side of the story.
This didn't disappoint one bit, it's a fiction of real people and real events and felt very realistic to what might have been the real deal. Very curious to read about Anne Boleyn next after the drama in this one. I want to hear from her side of the story.
"At just sixteen, she was a widow, and a virgin. There was no reason for her to stay in England. The new heir to the throne was Prince Henry, a child, even if he seemed old for his years. Maybe she could go home to Spain. At this moment she wanted nothing more than to be with the mother she had not seen in months, to be in a warm climate, away from this cold, damp, gray land, and to know what the future held for her. It cheered her to think that within weeks she might be back in Spain, with England a sad memory that would fade as the years passed."
Though it's now known that fore sure Katherine and Arthur never did consummate their marriage, I was surprised to learn one thing about that incident and why perhaps Henry VIII and other's didn't believe Katherine about whether or not she and Arthur did do the deed was because Henry VII told Katherine to not consummate the marriage whatsoever because of Arthur's health and he was worried that if Arthur might have consummated the marriage, having sex might kill him and die of sexual over-exertion as it was rumored that Katherine's brother John, Prince of Asturias had died from tuberculosis (as I googled the cause of death) but it said it was rumored her brother had died of "sexual over-exertion at aged 18" hence why Henry VII could have bee worried about such a thing happening to Arthur who just happened to be the next king and heir of England; and so therefore it also seemed Henry VII would do anything to not let anything happen to Arthur considering his position as the next King of England. But unfortunately Arthur died at the age of 15 and not able to consummate his and Katherine's marriage so for that time period they were only married by name and that was it. The other problem of that was not only did Henry VII tell Katherine and Arthur to not consummate because of the boys' health, but to not tell anyone and pretend it was consummated and with that Henry VIII didn't know about that secret which also explained as to why he was convinced his brother did consummate with Katherine and we know the rest of the story. That part I did find interesting to learn about and made sense to Henry's reasonings in such thoughts on that subject matter later in his marriage to Katherine.
"It thrilled Katherine to see how deeply Henry loved and respected her. He did nothing without her approval. He often brought his councillors and foreign ambassadors to see her saying, 'The Queen must hear this.' Or he would enthuse, 'This will please the Queen,' hastening to show her some letter or book he had received. Soon he would do nothing without first discussing it with her and asking for her her father's opinion."
I absolutely loved and I mean LOVED Henry and Katherine's story and they truly did love each other like none other for a while before Henry went a bit crazy in the head. He did seem to truly love Katherine in the beginning and even through the times they lost 6/7 of their children and him trying to comfort her with each loss of those children including the two stillborn children they had. Besides of knowing Henry had mistresses on the side, he did show his love for Katherine and showed that he was interested in declaring war on Spain's mortal enemy along with England's which was France. That is, for Henry, until one particular key player came into play and though history says that this man couldn't fool Henry and whatnot, part of me after this book kinda wants to disagree on that (personally for me and not saying I'm right or anything, just what I know about manipulation from experience) and I do believe this next historical figure really did manage to manipulate Henry but a little bit differently than most of his victims while playing 'King of England' himself and as it said when looking up this man's manipulation, it was said that
"While Wolsey was very good at manipulating others, it does seem that this was less true with regards to Henry VIII. The king was not a fool and it was be untenable to think that Wolsey could fool Henry for the fifteen years he was chief minister."
"Henry....was now leaving a lot of state business to his almoner, Thomas Wolsey. Henry constantly praised Wolsey to Katherine as a capable, loyal servant, but there was something about the man's heavyset, fleshy face and unctuous manner that repelled her. He never failed in his courtesy to her, and he took many burdens from the King's shoulders--burdens that Henry was too willing to slough off--but she found herself resenting his influence, and avoiding his company if she could.
'He is the son of a butcher!' Maria snorted with all the disdain of the long line of noble ancestors behind her. 'It is not fitting that he should advise the King.'
Katherine agreed--as, she was aware, did most of the great lords at court. They hated Wolsey for a lowborn upstart who was usurping their time-honored role of chief advisers to the King, and they made no secret of their enmity--unless, of course, the King was within earshot. But Katherine did not want to be seen to be criticizing Henry--or Wolsey--in any way.....
Wolsey was all powerful. Think of What had happened to the Duke of Buckingham last year. Buckingham had been accused of treason--not, she believed, because he had a claim to the throne and had conspired to seize it, but because of his hatred for Wolsey. A rumor conveniently reached the King's ear that Buckingham had designs on his crown: the Duke had been rash enough to express the opinion, not realizing there were informers among his hearers, that God had punished Henry for the Earl of Warwick's death by smiting down his sons. Buckingham himself, the Duke then implied, was more fit to rule. It was no secret that Buckingham, the descendant of a long line of kings, had despised Wolsey. Katherine had been present on the day the Cardinal was about to wash his hands it the same bowl as the Duke, and Buckingham deliberately tipped the water over Wolsey's shoes. He had paid dearly for that and other slights. He had died on the block, and at that bloody stroke, his vast lands came into the King's hands and Henry had been rid of a rival for his throne, which gave him more good reasons to be grateful and beholden to Wolsey. Katherine had not liked Buckingham, but she did not believe that he had been guilty of treason."
Now getting the historical context of Buckingham's execution and all after the Tudors show, I personally think in a different way Henry was in fact manipulated to execute Buckingham and Wolsey knew how to twist the knife and words and even make things sound like someone is treasonous if he got offended; but he knew how to word and present things to Henry in a way to convince the King to get rid of Wolsey's enemies by also persuading him to think these people were Henry's enemy as well and Henry unfortunately believed Wolsey and fell in the spider's web and was wrapped around the Cardinal's finger. But that's just me and what I think happened and one reason Henry became more trustworthy of Wolsey who also tried to veer Henry's attention away from his wife because it clearly showed Wolsey didn't like any of the Spaniards and Spain in general so most likely didn't care for Katherine of Aragon and was more a French lover and again, he manipulated his way to create treaties with France and England and when Henry wanted to ally with Spain again (and this was well acted in the show) Wolsey seemed to not be a happy camper like at all but still did as the King had ordered. In a nutshell, Wolsey was as corrupt as one could get and then his prodigy Thomas Cromwell came into the picture and he's a whole other story so I won't rant on him.
"What I suffer is enough to kill ten men, much more a shattered woman who has done no harm. I can do nothing but appeal to God and your Majesty. For the love of God, procure a final sentence from His Holiness as soon as possible. I am the king's lawful wife, and while I live I will say no other. At the More, separated from my husband without having offended him in any way, Katherine, the unhappy Queen."
Though we know Anne Boleyn was in fact being used and manipulated through her father, Thomas Boleyn and her uncle the Duke of Norfolk and also it seemed she didn't want to seduce the king like at all but only did so because of duty and pressure; it was interesting to see Anne through Katherine's eyes/lenses and POV in this book and how she had to have truly felt about the woman who was stealing her husband away from her and well, now that I felt like I was in Katherine's shoes and place with the way Alison Weir had written this book, I felt so much for Katherine like crazy and the more her story unfolded with the Anne Boleyn scandal and whatnot I swear I felt my heart getting heavier by the chapter near the end and it was just heartbreaking and I can see where Katherine was coming from even more so.
In other words, putting/setting aside to what we now know who was really behind Anne's seducing and as sad as it is to know that her uncle and father did nothing to defend her in the end even her brother George who was falsely accused of some other things (which I'm jumping way ahead I know), to have that all set aside and see this story with Katherine's side and her lenses was an incredible experience and all I have to say after this is that she was definitely the true Queen of England no doubt about that.
I could go on to how much I loved this book and learned more about this amazing woman's story who is now a new unsung hero and underrated heroine in her own story to me now after this book now that I see Katherine of Aragon in a whole new light.
One thing I do want to share is a letter to Henry when she was dying and I'm including the original spelling/lettering of a letter Katherine had to have one of the women with her pen for her because she was so weak to write and it was to Henry and I have to say it was such a tender letter but how she openly forgives him in it and to show her true loyalty and love she still felt for him is amazing! She truly was an amazing and phenomenal woman like none other and so closing this review I'm going to close with the original wording/lettering of this final letter to Henry VIII said by Katherine herself I had to find online and copy/paste it since it's worded more modern in the book but I though why not copy/paste the original?
My most dear lord, king and husband,
The hour of my death now drawing on, the tender love I owe you me, my case being such, to commend myself to you, and to put you in remembrance with a few words of the health and safeguard of your soul which you ought to prefer before all worldly matters, and before the care and pampering of your body, for the which you have cast me into many calamities and yourself into many troubles. For my part, I pardon you everything, and I wish to devoutly pray God that He will pardon you also. For the rest, I commend unto you our daughter Mary, beseeching you to be a good father unto her, as I have heretofore desired. I entreat you also, on behalf of my maids, to give them marriage portions, which is not much, they being but three. For all my other servants I solicit the wages due them, and a year more, lest they be unprovided for. Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things.
Katharine the Quene."
LONG LIVE THE TRUE QUEEN OF ENGLAND IN THIS STORY, KATHERINE OF ARAGON AND OF ENGLAND!
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4 stars.
This is a long book, 624p. I think that it does represent a very good representation of Katherine's viewpoint and also what it was like to be a queen 500 years ago. I was raised Roman Catholic and taught that Henry VIII's move to divorce Katherine was based on lust for Anne Boleyn. But the book makes clear Henry's fear that if he did not have a lawful son and heir, his country might descend into civil war when he died. He had an illegitimate son by a mistress, but his sons by Katherine died. He became convinced that he was cursed because he married his brother's widow. The battle of Bosworth, ending the civil war with Henry VII triumphant, took place in 1485, only 6 years before Henry VIII's birth. Henry VII impressed upon his sons the importance of carrying on on the royal lineage to avoid another civil war.
Katherine refused to accept any of the alternatives Henry VIII offered her, annulment, entering a nunnery or divorce. She was defending her daughter Mary's right to royal lineage and her own conscience, which said that she was Henry VIII's lawful wife. She believed that it would be a great sin to give in to Henry VIII.
Henry VIII became mean and vindictive toward Katherine and even had his messengers threaten her with arrest for treason. The author does a very good job of portraying intrigue at the royal court and painting a picture of England 500 years ago. I recommend it to historical fiction fans.
Two quotes:
"Heading his chamber was his fair haired Groom of the Stool, William Compton..."
"The melodious sounds of shawms, crumhorns, lutes, sackbuts, regals, pipes and tabors echoed from a leafy bower where musicians played unseen."
This book was a Goodreads giveaway and I thank the publisher, Ballantine books. I apologize for taking so long to read it.
This is a long book, 624p. I think that it does represent a very good representation of Katherine's viewpoint and also what it was like to be a queen 500 years ago. I was raised Roman Catholic and taught that Henry VIII's move to divorce Katherine was based on lust for Anne Boleyn. But the book makes clear Henry's fear that if he did not have a lawful son and heir, his country might descend into civil war when he died. He had an illegitimate son by a mistress, but his sons by Katherine died. He became convinced that he was cursed because he married his brother's widow. The battle of Bosworth, ending the civil war with Henry VII triumphant, took place in 1485, only 6 years before Henry VIII's birth. Henry VII impressed upon his sons the importance of carrying on on the royal lineage to avoid another civil war.
Katherine refused to accept any of the alternatives Henry VIII offered her, annulment, entering a nunnery or divorce. She was defending her daughter Mary's right to royal lineage and her own conscience, which said that she was Henry VIII's lawful wife. She believed that it would be a great sin to give in to Henry VIII.
Henry VIII became mean and vindictive toward Katherine and even had his messengers threaten her with arrest for treason. The author does a very good job of portraying intrigue at the royal court and painting a picture of England 500 years ago. I recommend it to historical fiction fans.
Two quotes:
"Heading his chamber was his fair haired Groom of the Stool, William Compton..."
"The melodious sounds of shawms, crumhorns, lutes, sackbuts, regals, pipes and tabors echoed from a leafy bower where musicians played unseen."
This book was a Goodreads giveaway and I thank the publisher, Ballantine books. I apologize for taking so long to read it.