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starsal 's review for:
The Constant Princess
by Philippa Gregory
What I learned from this book is that one should never read a Philippa Gregory book immediately after finishing a Neal Stephenson book. Occam's razor just really has no place in a Gregory novel, because it killed a lot of my enjoyment. Usually, I like Greogory's novels as nice travel or beach reads; something to amuse but not engage too deeply. But this time, I wasn't really amused, and I certainly wasn't engaged.
The problem is this: Queen Katherine, who was born Catalina of Spain, daughter of Isabel and Ferdinand, married King Henry VII's oldest son, Arthur. They were married for five months before he died. Katherine later was able to marry Henry VIII, Arthur's younger brother, by claiming that her first marriage was never consummated. This doesn't really add up. The entire court put them to bed on their wedding night, the sheets were shown in the morning (doesn't that just make you cringe?) and nobody mentioned this non-consummation until after Arthur was dead, when it became extremely convenient for the people involved to believe Katherine never slept with Arthur. Henry, of course, divorced Katherine many years later by announcing that their marriage was never legal because she hadn't been a virgin. Now, because we all like Katherine a lot more than we like Henry, we went with her story, even though it doesn't really ring true. However, just because Katherine and Arthur's marriage may have been formally consummated, that does not mean that they were hopelessly in love with each other, sneaking around to secret romantic interludes, and pledging their undying love. It seems far simpler to conclude that they had the relationship contemporaries witnessed: formal, stilted, but fully legal. And the Razor says the simplest conclusion is most likely the truest.
But of course that wouldn't make a good novel. So in this story, Arthur and Katherine had the kind of legendary love that makes for good stories, and, as he lay dying, he made her promise to marry his younger brother, become queen of England, and fulfill all their plans as they'd laid them. And Katherine spent seven years mourning her dead lover (husband) and reluctantly putting all the pieces into place that would make her King Henry VIII's wife, and Queen of England. And, just for spice, Gregory also has Henry VII lusting after her, while he's still alive.
I'm not saying it was bad. I just didn't enjoy it. There were some good scenes, especially Queen Katherine's interactions with her Moorish doctor. And Katherine's life was extremely interesting without all the romance frippery added. So it was good. Just . . . not really captivating.
The problem is this: Queen Katherine, who was born Catalina of Spain, daughter of Isabel and Ferdinand, married King Henry VII's oldest son, Arthur. They were married for five months before he died. Katherine later was able to marry Henry VIII, Arthur's younger brother, by claiming that her first marriage was never consummated. This doesn't really add up. The entire court put them to bed on their wedding night, the sheets were shown in the morning (doesn't that just make you cringe?) and nobody mentioned this non-consummation until after Arthur was dead, when it became extremely convenient for the people involved to believe Katherine never slept with Arthur. Henry, of course, divorced Katherine many years later by announcing that their marriage was never legal because she hadn't been a virgin. Now, because we all like Katherine a lot more than we like Henry, we went with her story, even though it doesn't really ring true. However, just because Katherine and Arthur's marriage may have been formally consummated, that does not mean that they were hopelessly in love with each other, sneaking around to secret romantic interludes, and pledging their undying love. It seems far simpler to conclude that they had the relationship contemporaries witnessed: formal, stilted, but fully legal. And the Razor says the simplest conclusion is most likely the truest.
But of course that wouldn't make a good novel. So in this story, Arthur and Katherine had the kind of legendary love that makes for good stories, and, as he lay dying, he made her promise to marry his younger brother, become queen of England, and fulfill all their plans as they'd laid them. And Katherine spent seven years mourning her dead lover (husband) and reluctantly putting all the pieces into place that would make her King Henry VIII's wife, and Queen of England. And, just for spice, Gregory also has Henry VII lusting after her, while he's still alive.
I'm not saying it was bad. I just didn't enjoy it. There were some good scenes, especially Queen Katherine's interactions with her Moorish doctor. And Katherine's life was extremely interesting without all the romance frippery added. So it was good. Just . . . not really captivating.