The White Princess
7.8
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Plot * when Henry Tudor picks up the crown of England from the mud of Bosworth field, he must marry...
Conspiracy
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The No. 1 bestseller - perfect for fans of C.J. Sansom - and the fifth historical thriller featuring...
Fixeur (2016)
6.5
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Radu works occasionally as a fixer for European media, dreaming of becoming a journalist. Given the...
international drama thriller
Lottie disney bookworm (1056 KP) rated Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife in Books
Mar 23, 2021
To Netgalley and Headline, thank you, thank you, thank you!
It is my opinion that Katharine Parr is often the most overlooked of Henry VIII's wives: indeed most novels focus only on her life after becoming Queen. That is why this novel from Alison Weir was simply brilliant.
Weir introduces us to Katharine Parr as a girl, constantly surrounded by family and, after losing her father at a young age, being brought up by her uncle, aunt and her mother who was an attendant to Queen Katharine of Aragon.
The reader instantly falls in love with Katharine, an intelligent, caring child who is acutely aware of her eventual duty to her family but desperately wishes to remain in her carefree days with her siblings.
As we know, Tudor girls married young and Weir explores each of Katharine's four marriages in great detail: combining historical fact and storytelling in the way that only she can.
It struck me that, in three of Katharine's four marriages, she was used as a pawn, marrying for rank, power and connections as was the norm at the time.
However, in every one of these marriages Katharine was able to find love; even when marrying an old overweight Henry, already famous for disposing of numerous wives.
The writing during each of these marriages is rarely emotional: Katharine is a very rational and practical character, only showing real passion for religion. She is even super calm when she believes she is being investigated as a heretic!
It isn't until Katharine's fourth and final marriage that she marries for herself and for love. The passionate relationship between Katharine and Tom Seymour seeps into the writing at this point: introducing jealousy and anger where there has previously been merely a stoic resolve.
The fact that this novel spans the lifespan of Henry's marriages is fitting and really allows Weir to paint a picture of Tudor society throughout the religious reforms and upheavals associated with its monarch.
No one who has read Alison Weir's books before will be surprised that this is yet another success. Together with Philippa Gregory, Weir is a Queen of historical fiction and this novel is only the latest jewel in her crown.
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Do you want to speak English with a beautiful native accent? ▶ Use "iSpeak English" and native...
So High a Blood: The Life of Margaret, Countess of Lennox
Book
'Who hopes still constantly with patience shall obtain victory in their claim' Sometime heir to the...
Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Shadow of Night in Books
Feb 17, 2019 (Updated Feb 17, 2019)
This was a good story affected by some pacing issues in my opinion, thus the rating which might surprise some people. Overall, I feel good about the storyline, the character development and the gut-punching emotions. I do think it could have been a little shorter and more dynamically paced. I wasn’t sure if I was going to settle into Tudor England, it took some time but I did settle.
Matthew and Diana’s relationship dynamic was rather different in past times, I found it inevitable, interesting and sometimes annoying. I enjoyed the band of waifs and strays that became part of their family.
Great narration and I’m already lamenting that Times Convert won’t have Ikeda.
Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Shadow of Night in Books
Dec 24, 2018
Matthew and Diana’s relationship dynamic was rather different in past times, I found it inevitable, interesting and sometimes annoying. I loved the band of waifs and strays that became part of their family.
Great narration and I’m already lamenting that Times Convert won’t have Ikeda.
Deborah (162 KP) rated Dangerous Days in Elizabethan England: Thieves, Tricksters, Bards and Bawds in Books
Dec 19, 2018
There was some off-beat facts thrown in, but would have been nice to have some explanation too. It mentions a fine if you sold the meat of a Bull without it having been baited but doesn't explain why (this might have driven me mad, but I had just read Ruth Goodman's How to be a Tudor, which explains about how they believed this would tenderise the meat! I highly recommend the book!).
Medieval Houses
Book
Anthony Emery is a leading authority on the medieval houses of England and Wales. A founder...