The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory

The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory --- 450 pages including Author's Note and Bibliography.

The final volume in the Tudor Court Series tells the story of Henry VIII's sixth and final wife, Kateryn Parr. The twice-widowed daughter of a northern knight, Kateryn is ordered to put off her mourning and attend the court, where the King announces his intention of marrying her.  Kateryn had hoped to marry Thomas Seymour, one of the brothers of the late Queen Jane, but both she and Thomas understand their lives will be forfeit if the King ever hears even a hint of their affair.

Kateryn, a woman with strong religious convictions, does her best to be a good wife to her aging and devious husband, a good mother to the king's three motherless children, and a good queen to the people who have endured Henry's increasingly tyrannical rule.  She convinces herself that her devotion has secured the King's affection and respect. It is a terrible shock to discover that no one, not even his wife --- especially his wife --- should rely on Henry for anything at all, ever.

An  mix of historical fact and true confessions-style fiction.

Click HERE to read a review from the UK Telegraph.

Click HERE to read a review from Kirkus Review.

Click HERE to read a review from Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read a review from the Historical Novel Society web site.

Click HERE for a video Q&A with the author from Amazon.com.

The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory

The King's Curse: The Cousins' War, Volume Six by Philippa Gregory --- 612 pages with Author's Note and Bibliography.

Philippa Gregory has retold the oft-told tale of the War of the Roses and the emergence of the Tudor dynasty through her Cousins' War series. Each volume is narrated by one of the principal women involved. Overall they present the viewpoint of the Plantagenets, whose internecine feuds eventually lost the crown to the cunning schemes of Margaret Beaufort and her son, Henry Tudor.

In an effort to mend the country and secure his hold on the throne, Henry Tudor married the York princess Elizabeth, whose two young brothers had disappeared into the Tower of London when their uncle Richard II usurped the throne. The "Little Princes in the Tower" were never seen alive again. But their disappearance and presumed death cast a shadow over the new Tudor regime that continued to roil the peace of the realm. Henry VII was never easy on his throne, and the early death of his eldest son and heir, Prince Arthur, was a devastating blow. His younger son, Henry, was charming but willful and jealous of Arthur's preferment over himself.

The King's Curse tells the sad end of the Plantagenets in the person of Margaret Plantagenet, first cousin of Elizabeth of York. Over the course of her long life, Margaret's fortunes rise and fall and rise and fall again, dependent upon the good will or paranoia of Henry VIII.

As several reviewers have noted, this book chillingly portrays how Henry VIII began his reign, a young man of brilliant promise and immense popularity that lasted for twenty years, then insidiously metamorphosed into a brutal, malicious tyrant who destroyed everyone he touched.

In the book the curse is a witch's curse that predicts the death of sons and the end of the Tudor line. In her Author's Note Gregory cites recent medical speculation that a genetic defect passed through the maternal line to Henry VIII could have been responsible for both the deaths of so many of his children by Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, and his own mental and physical deterioration over time.

Click HERE for a British review of The King's Curse; click HERE for an American review.

The Spanish Queen by Carolly Erickson

The Spanish Queen: A Novel of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon by Carolly Erickson --- 276 pages

I've never read any of the author's nonfiction, which from their titles appear to be slanted towards the usual historical personages (mostly female) of the British monarchy. Her historical fiction she refers to as "historical entertainments," a blend of minimal historical facts and maximum "imaginative inventions," with a preference for "fresh interpretations" over "traditional ones."

If The Spanish Queen is a typical example, then this author is just the thing for female readers who are looking for a romantic fantasy dressed up in elaborate historical costumes and sets.