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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
DNF’d at 25%. I had to return this book to the library before I could finish it. Though I’m interested in the Tudors, I don’t think I’ll have the desire to return to this particular series in the future. I’d either prefer a non-fiction read or one that takes more creative liberty. Sitting somewhere in the middle, this book’s writing is meh.
I did enjoy this book, but I enjoy her non fiction even more. The history itself is so interesting it needn't be fictionalized.
Absolutely perfect! Alison Weir could write a phone book and I'd read it. Total page turner.
Although fictional, I suspect that this book brings us closer to how Catherine might have felt, than most other works. That sensual line in her last letter to Henry, "My eyes desire you above all things," speaks to what was once a deeply passionate connection between the two of them.
How different the world would be today if that first son had lived instead of dying at 52 days old. (Although I can't quite figure out all the permutations - can anyone?) She was brilliant, and once, beautiful, and certainly fertile, if plagued by unsuccessful pregnancies and still births. Henry's fault? Possibly. He seems to be the common factor in his quest for a son in his subsequent marriages.
If you like Tudor fiction as well as non-fiction, this book, and I suspect, the series, is a great addition to your collection.
How different the world would be today if that first son had lived instead of dying at 52 days old. (Although I can't quite figure out all the permutations - can anyone?) She was brilliant, and once, beautiful, and certainly fertile, if plagued by unsuccessful pregnancies and still births. Henry's fault? Possibly. He seems to be the common factor in his quest for a son in his subsequent marriages.
If you like Tudor fiction as well as non-fiction, this book, and I suspect, the series, is a great addition to your collection.
I had always heard great things about Alison Weir’s non fiction, but this is the first book I’ve read by her, and it’s historical fiction. I picked this one up because I had located it for my mom. There were weird, unimportant details that were obviously thrown in from the author’s knowledge of contemporary correspondence, things that had no impact on the narrative. Then there were omissions of details that would have helped me understand Katharine’s world a little better. It felt as if Weir is so steeped in history she doesn’t realize that there are things the average person wouldn’t know, like what a Farthingale looks like. I had to just stop. It’s terrible. It’s like medieval Twilight. Maybe worse - medieval Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
Balancing accuracy with artistry in historical fiction is a tough job, and on the whole I enjoy the way Weir walks that tightrope. This fictionalized biography of the first king of Henry VIII delves deeply into Katherine’s motivations and world. Surprisingly, I especially liked her depiction of Katherine’s long banishment from court—she captures the dragging sense of isolation and tedium while keeping the narrative so tightly focused on Katherine’s internal life that it was still engaging.
This took me a couple of false starts, but I'm so glad I stuck with it... even though it's not a happy story, it was fascinating.
I felt terribly sorry for Katherine (Kate, as Henry called her) for most of the story--nearly all of it, really. She had a very brief interlude of happiness in her marriage, as Henry's first wife. But we see Henry VIII through her eyes, so even though the story could certainly have been spun such that I'd have found him eminently hatable, through Katherine's, I saw him as a petulant, spoiled child who never grew up. She adored him throughout (at least in this version), even as she watched the intrigues in court steal him away from her, followed by her one time lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn. Even though Katherine was portrayed as saintly, and never said anything against Anne even in private, the way the story depicted Anne made her the most loathsome creature I could possibly imagine. I was eagerly awaiting the moment when Katherine would learn that Henry had turned on Anne, only to find that Katherine died before Anne's downfall. She essentially died because Henry more or less imprisoned her for refusing to acknowledge that her marriage to him had been illegitimate all along, and she wasted away as a result. Henry was almost as culpable for Katherine's death as he was for Anne's later, or for another wife named Catherine whom he also had executed for adultery.
I also felt terribly sorry for Katherine and Henry's one surviving daughter, Mary. Now I understand far better why she became "Bloody Mary," and where her hatred for Protestants came from. At least as depicted in this story, Katherine was a devout Catholic, and truly believed she was serving God as best she knew how--she was even willing to die a martyr's death for her beliefs, if it came to that. Henry, on the other hand, had such obvious ulterior motives for the church split that his hypocrisy was evident to all, even if he himself could not see it--and this was why all the people adored Katherine and despised Anne. They could see it too. Mary was caught in the middle of all of this, forced to watch her father banish her mother, separate mother from daughter, and declare Mary illegitimate, while parading the smug other woman in court. And he called all of this God's will.
I don't know if I want to keep reading about all the rest of the Tudor intrigues, as the whole thing is so sordid, but I did look up the Wikipedia summaries of Henry's life and Anne's, and found that when I read the latter, I didn't hate her nearly so much as I did while reading this novel. Anne was a much more nuanced character, depending upon which historian handles her, I guess.
I felt terribly sorry for Katherine (Kate, as Henry called her) for most of the story--nearly all of it, really. She had a very brief interlude of happiness in her marriage, as Henry's first wife. But we see Henry VIII through her eyes, so even though the story could certainly have been spun such that I'd have found him eminently hatable, through Katherine's, I saw him as a petulant, spoiled child who never grew up. She adored him throughout (at least in this version), even as she watched the intrigues in court steal him away from her, followed by her one time lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn. Even though Katherine was portrayed as saintly, and never said anything against Anne even in private, the way the story depicted Anne made her the most loathsome creature I could possibly imagine. I was eagerly awaiting the moment when Katherine would learn that Henry had turned on Anne, only to find that Katherine died before Anne's downfall. She essentially died because Henry more or less imprisoned her for refusing to acknowledge that her marriage to him had been illegitimate all along, and she wasted away as a result. Henry was almost as culpable for Katherine's death as he was for Anne's later, or for another wife named Catherine whom he also had executed for adultery.
I also felt terribly sorry for Katherine and Henry's one surviving daughter, Mary. Now I understand far better why she became "Bloody Mary," and where her hatred for Protestants came from. At least as depicted in this story, Katherine was a devout Catholic, and truly believed she was serving God as best she knew how--she was even willing to die a martyr's death for her beliefs, if it came to that. Henry, on the other hand, had such obvious ulterior motives for the church split that his hypocrisy was evident to all, even if he himself could not see it--and this was why all the people adored Katherine and despised Anne. They could see it too. Mary was caught in the middle of all of this, forced to watch her father banish her mother, separate mother from daughter, and declare Mary illegitimate, while parading the smug other woman in court. And he called all of this God's will.
I don't know if I want to keep reading about all the rest of the Tudor intrigues, as the whole thing is so sordid, but I did look up the Wikipedia summaries of Henry's life and Anne's, and found that when I read the latter, I didn't hate her nearly so much as I did while reading this novel. Anne was a much more nuanced character, depending upon which historian handles her, I guess.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Star rating is with the caveat that I think Alison Weir's fiction books tend to land better with people who haven't consumed a lot of Tudor Queens content. Her interpretation does turn historical figures into people, but because her approach has that in mind, if you're attached to previous intrigue or slanted narratives, you won't have a good time. You would probably benefit from reading these versions, but at this size, I can't push the point...