The Queen’s Pawn tells the story of two wonderful medieval women - Eleanor of Aquitaine and Princess Alais of France - and it is told through their eyes, with each woman having a voice in the novel. The novel opens with Alais finding out that her father. King Louis VII of France, is sending her to England to marry the son of the woman who broke his heart, his ex-wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, the present wife of Henry II of England. Alais is understandably worried about going to the court of the woman who she has always though of as a “devil”, but she knows she has to do her duty to her father and France, and play her part as a pawn on the chessboard of Europe.

When Alais arrives in England, she meets Eleanor and falls under her spell, coming to love her as a mother. Although Alais is simply a pawn, a tool that Eleanor can use to further her son Richard’s ambitions, Eleanor comes to love this innocent girl and takes her under her wing. The two women form a deep friendship, a real bond of love, but this is threatened when Alais feels betrayed by Richard and by the woman she has come to look on as a mother. Eleanor has taught Alais well and Alais uses her new found power to punish those who’ve hurt her and to make her own way in the world. From friends to bitter rivals, can these women ever be friends again?

Well, I won’t spoil the book for you, but I can tell you that this book has all of the ingredients of a top class historical novel: love, passion, intrigue, betrayal, revenge, grief, happiness and strong characters. By giving Alais and Eleanor their own chapters and telling the story from both of their points of view, Christy English makes the reader empathise with both women and you just can’t take sides. You fall in love with both characters and you feel their pain. A veritable rollercoaster of emotions!

I always say that a good historical novel makes you want to know more about the characters and this is exactly what this book did. Although the High Middle Ages is not my specialism, the book has made me research both Eleanor and Alais - I love strong women characters! Christy has included a useful “Afterword” at the end of the novel where she explains the history behind “The Queen’s Pawn” and where she has deviated from what is thought to have happened. There is also a “Reader’s Guide” with questions for discussion which will prove useful for book clubs and reading groups. It is evident that Christy put her heart and soul into this book and it is a fantastic debut novel, I can’t wait to read her next book.

The Queen’s Pawn was released in paperback by NAL (New American Library) in April 2010 and is available from Amazon.com (click on book cover) and also Amazon UK - click here for details. It’s a wonderful read.

Margaret Beaufort: The Mother of the Tudor Dynasty by Elizabeth Norton - Due to be released in the UK on the 1st September - click on book cover for details. Book blurb from Amazon UK: Divorced at ten, a mother at thirteen & three times a widow. The extraordinary true story of the ‘Red Queen’, Lady Margaret Beaufort, matriarch of the Tudors. Born in the midst of the Wars of the Roses, Margaret Beaufort became the greatest heiress of her time. She survived a turbulent life, marrying four times and enduring imprisonment before passing her claim to the crown of England to her son, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor monarchs. Margaret’s royal blood placed her on the fringes of the Lancastrian royal dynasty. After divorcing her first husband at the age of ten, she married the king’s half-brother, Edmund Tudor, becoming a widow and bearing her only child, the future Henry VII, before her fourteenth birthday. Margaret was always passionately devoted to the interests of her son who claimed the throne through her. She embroiled herself in both treason and conspiracy as she sought to promote his claims, allying herself with the Yorkist Queen, Elizabeth Woodville, in an attempt to depose Richard III. She was imprisoned by Richard and her lands confiscated, but she continued to work on her son’s behalf, ultimately persuading her fourth husband, the powerful Lord Stanley, to abandon the king in favour of Henry on the eve of the decisive Battle of Bosworth. It was Lord Stanley himself who placed the crown on Henry’s head on the battlefield. Henry VII gave his mother unparalleled prominence during his reign. She established herself as an independent woman and ended her life as regent of England, ruling on behalf of her seventeen-year-old grandson, Henry VIII.

Katherine of Aragon: A New Biography by Julia Fox - Due to be released in the UK on the 10th February 2011 - click on book cover for details. Book blurb from Amazon UK: She was a queen well-loved by the English people. Manipulated by her family and abandoned by her husband, Katherine of Aragon has earned an unforgettable place in English history. Youngest daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, Katherine was born into a world of privilege and luxury that came at a devastating personal price. In an age of family politics, the daughters of Isabella and Ferdinand were useful only as a way to secure new alliances through marriage. Given limited academic study and provided with no knowledge of the country to which she was to be sent, Katherine, like her sister Juana, was at the mercy of the man she was to marry. Vividly narrated from Katherine’s point of view, this book recounts a familiar story in a completely refreshing way. Detailing Katherine’s upbringing as the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand, her marriages to both Prince Arthur and Henry VIII, her failure to produce a male heir, the emergence of Anne Boleyn, the divorce from Henry VIII that started the English Reformation and her fight to ensure her daughter’s accession to the throne, KATHERINE OF ARAGON redefines Katherine’s role in English history. In this first major biography in over fifty years, Julia Fox breathes new life into Katherine’s story. By placing Katherine in her own setting and showing how her family affected her thinking and outlook, the book compellingly explores her inner, material world, and ultimately, the role of princesses in a male-dominated world.

The Spanish Queen of Henry VIII by Giles Tremlett - Released in the USA on 23rd November 2010 - click on the book cover to order. Also available in the UK from November - click here for details. Book blurb from Amazon UK: The image of Catherine of Aragon has always suffered in comparison to the vivacious eroticism of Anne Boleyn. But when Henry VIII married Catherine, she was an auburn-haired beauty in her 20s with a passion she had inherited from her parents, Isabella and Ferdinand, the joint-rulers of Spain who had driven the Moors from their country. This daughter of conquistadors showed the same steel and sense of command when organising the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Flodden and Henry was to learn, to his cost, that he had not met a tougher opponent on or off the battlefield when he tried to divorce her… Reformation, revolution and Tudor history would all have been vastly different without Catherine of Aragon. Giles Tremlett’s new biography is the first in more than four decades to be dedicated entirely and uniquely to the tenacious woman whose marriage lasted twice as long as those of Henry’s five other wives put together. It draws on fresh material from Spain to trace the dramatic events of her life through Catherine of Aragon’s own eyes.

US Cover Mary Tudor by Anna Whitelock - Released in the USA on 7th September 2010 - click on the book cover to order. Also available in the UK now - click on UK cover for details. In the USA, the book is called “Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard and Queen” and in the UK it is called “Mary Tudor: England’s First Queen”. Book blurb from Amazon UK: In the summer of 1553, against all odds, Mary Tudor was the first woman to be crowned Queen of England. Anna Whitelock’s absorbing debut tells the remarkable story of a woman who was a princess one moment, and a disinherited bastard the next. It tells of her Spanish heritage and the unbreakable bond between Mary and her mother, Katherine of Aragon; of her childhood, adolescence, rivalry with her sister Elizabeth and finally her womanhood. UK Cover Throughout her life Mary was a fighter, battling to preserve her integrity and her right to hear the Catholic mass. Finally, she fought for the throne. The Mary that emerges from this groundbreaking biography is not the weak-willed failure of traditional narratives, but a complex figure of immense courage, determination and humanity.

US Cover Elizabeth’s Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen by Tracy Borman - Released in the USA on 28th September 2010 in hardback - click on the book cover to order. Also available in the UK in paperback - click here for details. Book blurb from Amazon UK: Elizabeth I was born into a world of women. As a child, she was served by a predominantly female household of servants and governesses, with occasional visits from her mother, Anne Bolyen, and the wives who later took her place. As Queen, Elizabeth was constantly attended by ladies of the bedchamber and maids of honour who clothed her, bathed her and watched her while she ate. Among her family, it was her female relations who had the greatest influence: from her sister Mary, who distrusted and later imprisoned her, to her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, who posed a constant and dangerous threat to her crown for almost thirty years. Despite the importance of women in Elizabeth’s life, most historians and biographers have focused on her relationships with men. She has been portrayed as a ‘man’s woman’ who loved to flirt with the many ambitious young men who frequented her court. Yet it is the women in her life who provide the most fascinating insight into the character of this remarkable monarch. With them she was jealous, spiteful and cruel, as well as loyal, kind and protective. She showed her frailties and her insecurities, but also her considerable shrewdness and strength. In short, she was more human than the public persona she presented to the rest of the court. UK Cover It is her relationships with women that hold the key to the private Elizabeth. In this original chronicling of the life of one of England’s greatest monarchs, historian Tracy Borman explores Elizabeth’s relationships with the key women in her life. Beginning with her mother and the governesses and stepmothers who cared for the young princess, including her beloved Kat Astley and the inspirational Katherine Parr, “Elizabeth’s Women” sheds new light on her formative years. Elizabeth’s turbulent relationships with her rivals are examined: from her sister, ‘Bloody’ Mary, to the sisters of Lady Jane Grey, and finally the most deadly of all her rivals, Mary, Queen of Scots who would give birth to the man Elizabeth would finally, inevitably have to recognise as heir to her throne. It is a chronicle of the servants, friends and ‘flouting wenches’ who brought out the best - and the worst - of Elizabeth’s carefully cultivated image as Gloriana, the Virgin Queen, in the glittering world of her court.

Anne Boleyn: Fatal Attractions by G W Bernard - G W Bernard’s book on Anne Boleyn was released in the USA in May 2010 (click on cover for details) and in the UK in April 2010 - click here for details. Book blurb from Amazon.com: In this groundbreaking new biography, G. W. Bernard offers a fresh portrait of one of England’s most captivating queens. Through a wide-ranging forensic examination of sixteenth-century sources, Bernard reconsiders Boleyn’s girlhood, her experience at the French court, the nature of her relationship with Henry, and the authenticity of her evangelical sympathies. He depicts Anne Boleyn as a captivating, intelligent, and highly sexual woman whose attractions Henry resisted for years until marriage could ensure legitimacy for their offspring. He shows that it was Henry, not Anne, who developed the ideas that led to the break with Rome. And, most radically, he argues that the allegations of adultery that led to Anne’s execution in the Tower could be close to the truth. Read my review of Bernard’s book at The Anne Boleyn Files.

Anne Boleyn by P. Friedmann, edited by Josephine Wilkinson - Published in the UK in March 2010 (click on book cover to order), this book is a new release of Friedmann’s 19th century biography. Book blurb from Amazon UK: The classic biography of the most engaging of Henry VIII’s wives. Anne Boleyn entered Henry’s life just as he was seeking to discard his wife, Catherine of Aragon, for failing to give him a son. Henry courted Anne, but she refused to yield to his advances until he promised her marriage. At that moment, Anne was his. Driven by his love for a woman who refused her sexual favours unless she was certain of becoming queen, Henry took on the might of the Catholic Church, challenging papal authority as he strove to divorce Catherine and marry Anne. The process, urged on by Anne and her increasingly powerful family and supporters, cost the lives of many great and powerful men as, one by one, Wolsey, Fisher and More, went to their deaths. While Henry became the head of the church in England, supported by ambitious ministers and a pliant archbishop, his country faced invasion as the pope, King Francis and the Emperor Charles in their turn threatened the king who now stood isolated in Europe. Friedmann charts the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, from her origins as the daughter of a gifted and ambitious courtier, her elevation to the greatest heights a woman could reach, to her tragic fall and execution, the victim of the man who had once loved her, and who had altered the course of his country’s history forever in order to have her.

Elizabeth, Dudley and the Mysterious Fate of Amy Robsart - Published in the UK and US in February 2010 - click on book cover to order in the US and click here to order in the UK. Book blurb from Amazon UK: Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558 a 25-year-old virgin - the most prized catch in Christendom. For the first ten years of her reign, one matter dominated above all others: the question of who the queen was to marry and when she would produce an heir. Elizabeth’s life as England’s Virgin Queen is one of the most celebrated in history. Christopher Skidmore takes a fresh look at the familiar story of a queen with the stomach of a man, steadfastly refusing to marry for the sake of her realm, and reveals a very different picture: of a vulnerable young woman, in love with her suitor, Robert Dudley. Had it not been for the mysterious and untimely death of his wife, Amy Robsart, Elizabeth might have one day been able to marry Dudley, since Amy was believed to be dying of breast cancer. Instead, the suspicious circumstances surrounding Amy Robsart’s death would cast a long shadow over Elizabeth’s life, preventing any hope of a union with Dudley and ultimately shaping the course of Tudor history. Using newly discovered evidence from the archives, Christopher Skidmore is able to put an end to centuries of speculation as to the true causes of her death. This is the story of a remarkable and frenetic period in Elizabeth’s life: a tale of love, death and tragedy, exploring the dramatic early life of England’s Virgin Queen.

Elizabeth I: Virgin Queen? by Philippa Jones - Released in the UK in July 2010 - click on the book cover to order. Book blurb from Amazon UK: ‘Gloriana’, ‘Faerie Queene’, ‘Queen Bess’ are just some of the names given to Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. But the name for which she is perhaps best remembered and which best explains why Elizabeth was the last of the Tudor monarchs, was the ‘Virgin Queen’. But how appropriate is that image? Were Elizabeth’s suitors and favourites really just innocent intrigues? Or were they much more than that? Was Elizabeth really a woman driven by her passions, who had affairs with several men, including Thomas Seymour, while he was still the husband of her guardian Catherine Parr, and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester - a man adjudged to have been the great love of her life? And, are the rumours of Elizabeth’s illegitimate children true? Was the ‘Virgin Queen’ image a carefully thought out piece of Tudor propaganda? Historian Philippa Jones, author of the acclaimed “The Other Tudors”, challenges the many myths and truths surrounding Elizabeth’s life and reveals the passionate woman behind the powerful and fearless ‘Virgin Queen’.

Do remember that Amazon ship worldwide so if you’re in the US and a book you like the look of is only available in the UK, just order it from Amazon UK. You don’t have to wait months for a book to be released in your country!

Check out Recent and Upcoming Historical Fiction Books too.

His Last Letter: Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester

by Jeane Westin

As soon as I received “His Last Letter” through the post I stopped reading everything else and spent my weekend reading it and not doing a lot else. I was hooked from the very beginning and I am not exaggerating when I say that the Prologue had me in tears! To be in tears in the first few pages just shows how Jeane was able to get me empathising with the characters straight away and how I was already part of their lives.

The Prologue is set in September 1588, just after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and Elizabeth is waiting for the Earl of Leicester to return to join the court celebrations. Instead, a messenger arrives to tell the Queen that Leicester is dead:-

“She opened her mouth to shout down his lie, but at that moment came a great boom of cannon from the Tower and what the queen howled was neither heard nor understood by anyone in the presence chamber, least by herself. It was a cry of denial from the deepest well of her heart.”

Those words perfectly described the raw emotion, the grief and heartbreak that Elizabeth felt and they struck a chord with me and I too felt her emptiness, her anger and her sense of betrayal. Her best friend, the love of her life and her soulmate, her “sweet Robin”, was gone, he had left her and she was left with just memories and a letter, his last letter. I hope you can see how and why I was instantly hooked!

The Prologue sets the scene for the book which is the story of Elizabeth and Leicester and the marriage that could never be. The novel travels through time, rather than a chronological retelling of their relationship, skipping about and touching upon all of the scenes of importance between the two of them and how they each felt about them: the wedding of Robert and Amy, Elizabeth’s time in the Tower in 1554, Elizabeth’s coronation, the marriage question and Elizabeth’s suitors, including the Duke of Alencon, Robert’s relationship with Lettice Knollys “the she-wolf” and his other “dalliances”, Robert’s desire to go to the Netherlands to fight the Spaniards, the fall of Mary Queen of Scots and her execution, Elizabeth’s visit to Kenilworth, Robert’s illnesses, the Spanish Armada and Elizabeth’s visit to Tilbury. Although the novel skips about, it is never confusing and each chapter starts with either “Elizabeth” or “Earl of Leicester” and the date and place so you know exactly where you are and whose perspective you’re getting.

The last chapter comes all the way back round to where the novel started, with Leicester’s death and Elizabeth’s reaction:-

“All love was dead to her. Love was a face inside her head, a hundred - nay, a thousand pictured memories. Without Robin, there was no other love in her.”

With her beloved Robin’s death, Elizabeth loses it, she lets the mask slip and shocks her advisers with her unqueenly behaviour. She locks herself away in her room with only Leicester’s last letter for company and forgets her title, her country and duty and grieves for the man who she was never able to lead a normal married life with. Not only is she grieving for the loss of this man, she is grieving for the life she never had. Again, the writing in this chapter has the reader crying (well, I did!) along with Elizabeth and feeling the depth of her loss. Elizabeth is finally broken out of her wallowing by her door being beaten down and she picks herself up and commands “normalcy” to return. The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, Leicester’s “Bess” is ready to be Queen once more and you admire her for this.

“Did they or didn’t they?” is what many of you will be asking about this novel, “does Jeane Westin allow Elizabeth and Leicester to consummate their relationship?”. Well, I don’t want to spoil your enjoyment of this novel by giving too much away, but Jeane does give the couple a moment of happiness and reckless abandonment and although I do feel that Elizabeth truly was the Virgin Queen I had no problem with this storyline. As the reader of what is, at the end of the day, a fictional novel, you want Elizabeth to have that passionate encounter, that joy. Who knows what really happened between Elizabeth and Leicester? There is no evidence either way and this scene was perfectly in keeping with the storyline.

Final words: I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I fell in love with Leicester, just as Elizabeth did, and Elizabeth’s character was vividly brought to life. In fact, Jeane did a wonderful job at bringing all of the characters - Walsingham, Cecil, Dee, Lettice Knollys etc. - to life, along with the times they lived in, the Elizabethan world. As someone who has just visited Kenilworth Castle and read up about Elizabeth’s visit there, I was happy to see that episode described so beautifully , with all of its pageantry and the efforts Leicester went to to win Elizabeth’s heart once and for all - pure magic! This book will have you smiling and crying, it grabs you, draws you in and tears at your heartstrings. It is a joy to read and I now want to repeat the experience and read it all over again!

Readers Guide

“His Last Letter” also includes an “Author’s Historical Note”, which includes a copy of Leicester’s last letter to Elizabeth, “A Conversation with Jeane Westin” which is a Q&A session with the author, and “Questions for Discussion” which are perfect for book clubs. I was very humbled by Jeane’s mention of The Elizabeth Files in one of her answers - thank you, Jeane.

Availability

“His Last Letter: Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester” by Jeane Westin is released straight into paperback by NAL (New American Library) on the 3rd August 2010. Click here, or the book cover above, to purchase it from Amazon.com or click here to purchase from Amazon.co.uk.

Virgin Widow (UK cover)

This is not a book that I’d normally pick up, as I tend to stick to historical fiction about the Tudor era, but, boy, am I glad that I got to read this book!

I was hooked from the start and I read all 601 pages in one weekend, completely ignoring my family and the housework. I even told a few white lies, making excuses about why I had disappeared for half an hour at a time - I wasn’t really locked in the bathroom reading!! It’s one of those books which grabs you from the outset and won’t let you put it down until the last page. On the front, it has a quote from The Bookseller: “Better than Philippa Gregory” and that is so true.

The Story

Anne O’Brien’s “Virgin Widow: England’s Forgotten Queen” is set during the tumultuous reign of Edward IV, in the Wars of the Roses. The protagonist is Anne Neville, daughter of Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick, a man known as The Kingmaker. Although she was both Princess of Wales and Queen of England in her lifetime, the name Anne Neville does not mean much to people, but this book seeks to rectify this by telling her story, albeit in a fictional novel.

In “Virgin Widow”, Anne’s life is far from easy. Her father’s power games mean that Anne and her sister, Isabelle, are used as political pawns and have no control over their future. One minute, Anne is betrothed to a man she has come to love and admire and the next she is forced to give him up and flee from her home and everything she knows and loves. At the French court Anne is at the mercy of Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI and mother of Edward of Lancaster, and before she knows it, she has become embroiled in her father and Margaret’s plot to depose Edward IV and replace him with Prince Edward. As her father commits the ultimate treason, Anne’s future hangs in the balance, just what will happen to her as Lancastrians take on Yorkists.

Anne’s story grabs the reader and draws you into her world. She is such a strong character and yet always seems to be at the mercy of everybody else’s actions, particularly her father’s. Just when you think that she has found happiness and a future with the man she has come to love, it is cruelly taken away from her and, instead, she is taken away from everything she knows and loves. You may know how the story ends but you want to know how she gets to that ending and what happens to her on the way. You can’t help but admire her tenacity, courage and determination, and you also can’t help but fall in love with Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who is so often villified and made into a murdering hunchback.

Virgin Widow (US Cover)

Does Anne get her happy ending? Does she survive the plots and intrigues of the Wars of the Roses, and betrayal by her own family? I can’t tell you, you’ll just have to read the book. However, I can tell you that it is a fabulous read and that you won’t be able to put it down, just don’t blame me when you stay up til all hours reading it!

The publisher, Mira Books, describes “Virgin Widow” as:-

“A rich and compelling tale of love, ambition, lust, and intrigue, Virgin Widow introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the very centre of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.”

So true!

The novel is perfect for a book club or reading group as it has discussion questions at the end and also a Q&A with author, Anne O’Brien. Very handy.

So, if you need a good book for holiday reading or for relaxing with in the garden on a sunny day, you just cannot go wrong with this one. All of the right ingredients: romance, intrigue, betrayal, glamour, history, murder… Brilliant!

Availability

Anne O’Brien’s “Virgin Widow” was released in paperback in the UK on the 21st May 2010 and is available from Amazon UK and UK book shops. It is due to be released on the 2nd November in the USA and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.com - click on the book covers to order.

After Anne Boleyn, Catherine Parr is my favourite wife. “Why?”, you may ask, “Why choose a woman whose life was so boring and who was nothing but a nurse to Henry at the end of his life?”. Well, that is the traditional picture of Catherine Parr, a picture that has been firmly blasted out of the waters with Elizabeth Norton’s book. As Norton says, on the very first page, “She was the most reluctant of all Henry VIII’s queens, but she was also one of the greatest”, and this biography does a great job of celebrating Catherine Parr’s life and telling her real story.

As many of you know, I don’t just review a book, I actually give a rundown of its content too so that you know what is covered. Here is a rundown on “Catherine Parr: Wife, widow, mother, survivor, the story of the last queen of Henry VIII” by Elizabeth Norton:-

Chapter 1 - The Parrs of Kendal: 1512 - 1523

This chapter tells the reader about Catherine Parr’s family background, a background that Norton feels is important because “the roots of her good sense and ability to survive lay in her childhood.” Here we learn about Catherine’s parents, Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal and his wife Matilda (or Maud) Green, the family seat (a castle in Kendal, Cumbria), the family’s rise to prominence, Catherine’s birth and childhood, and Catherine’s education. It is fascinating to learn that Catherine was in fact named after Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, how ironic!

Chapter 2 - Mistress Burgh of Gainsborough Old Hall: 1523 - Spring 1533

Catherine’s mother, Maud, knew the importance of marrying well and this chapter covers Maud’s plans for Catherine to marry Lord Scrope, Catherine’s brother William’s marriage to Anne Bourchier and Catherine’s subsequent marriage to Edward Burgh (or Borough), eldest son of Sir Thomas Burgh of Gainsborough Old Hall, Lincolnshire.

Elizabeth Norton clears up the confusion over which Edward Burgh Catherine actually married, saying that it is impossible that it was the elderly Edward, Lord Burgh, who was insane at this time and under the guardianship of his son, Sir Thomas Burgh. Norton goes on to give details of the Burgh family and Thomas Burgh’s reformist religious beliefs, which probably affected Catherine’s own beliefs (she was raised as a Catholic) and caused her conversion, which Norton writes of as “an intensely powerful and personal experience”. The chapter ends with Edward Burgh’s death in Spring 1533 and Catherine being a widow for the first, but not last, time.

Chapter 3 - Lady Latimer of Snape Castle: Spring 1533 - September 1536

In this chapter, Norton covers Maud Parr’s death, the rise at court of Catherine’s brother and sister (William and Anne), the legend that Catherine spent her first widowhood at Sizergh Castle with Catherine Neville, and Catherine’s second marriage to John Neville, Lord Latimer, a kinsman of Catherine Neville and a friend of Cuthbert Tunstall, a man who was kinsman to Catherine Parr and who became Bishop of Durham in 1533. We learn about the Latimer family, how the marriage was a rise in status for Catherine and how Catherine got her first experience of running a household and being a mother to her two stepchildren.

Chapter 4 - A Pilgrimage of Grace: 1 October 1536 - June 1537

Chapter 3 ended with Elizabeth Norton writing that “in October 1536 her quiet life at Snape Castle was shattered forever with Latimer forced, under duress, to choose between his loyalty to his faith and to his king during the greatest rebellion of Henry VIII’s reign, the Pilgrimage of Grace” and this chapter tells the story of how Catherine found herself caught up in this rebellion and lives of her family in real danger. Not only were their lives in danger when Latimer was forced to swear the rebel’s oath, while his family were threatened, but they were also in danger when the rebels later took control of Snape Castle AND when the rebellion was put down and Henry sought vengeance on the rebels.

Chapter 5 - Not Much Favour: June 1537 - March 1543

This chapter covers the aftermath of the Pilgrimage of Grace - Latimer’s arrest and imprisonment, and his later release which may have been secured by bribing Thomas Cromwell. Also covered in this chapter are the marital problems of Catherine’s brother, William Parr, the legend of Catherine’s intervention in the imprisonment of Sir George Throckmorton, Catherine’s first meeting with Henry VIII, Cromwell’s fall and the death of Lord Latimer. Elizabeth Norton ends the chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger: “by February 1543, she [Catherine] had two suitors waiting for her husband’s death to release her for a third marriage.”

Chapter 6 - Better Your Mistress Than Your Wife: March 1543 - 12th July 1543

Here we are introduced to the real love of Catherine’s life, Thomas Seymour, the man who Catherine hoped to marry after Latimer’s death. Unlike some authors and historians who see Seymour as just after Catherine’s money, Norton points out that Catherine was “not conspicuously wealthy” and that Seymour probably had genuine feelings for her. Of course, their relationship was not to be, at this time, and we are introduced to Catherine’s second suitor, the King, and their subsequent marriage on the 12th July 1543.

Chapter 7 - Catherine the Queen: July 1543 - Spring 1544

Norton points out that although Catherine had been initially reluctant to marry Henry VIII, “she was determined to make the most of the opportunity presented to her” and “was determined to ensure that her position was one of importance.” In this chapter, we learn about her household, the way she sought to promote religious reform, her image and her love of fine clothes, her pastimes, her prominent role in foreign diplomacy and her close relationship with Mary, Henry’s daughter by Catherine of Aragon.

Chapter 8 - Beloved Mother: Spring 1544 - Summer 1544

In this chapter, Elizabeth Norton writes about the close relationships Catherine formed with her new stepchildren: Mary, Elizabeth and Edward. Catherine was a great friend to Mary, the mother that Edward had never known and a huge influence on the young Elizabeth. Norton writes that the fact that Mary and Elizabeth were reinstated to the succession in 1544 was “a triumph for Catherine’s work in bringing her stepchildren back into the royal family.

Chapter 9 - Regent General of England: July 1544 - Autumn 1545

Elizabeth Norton ended the previous chapter by writing that “in the summer of 1544 she [Catherine] received a great compliment from the king which demonstrated just how influential she was” and this chapter explains what that compliment was - Catherine being left to rule over England in the King’s absence as Henry went to France - and how she did Henry proud.

Chapter 10 - The Lamentation of a Sinner: Autumn 1545 - Spring 1546

Here, Elizabeth Norton examines Catherine’s religious beliefs, the beliefs held by her husband, Henry VIII, and points out that Catherine Parr can actually be called England’s first Protestant queen because although Anne Boleyn sought to advance reform she was not a fully fledged Protestant and died a Catholic; Catherine, however, was Protestant to the core.

Norton also points out that Catherine was also “the first queen of England to be a published author in her own right” and Norton goes on to examine Catherine’s works: “Prayers or Meditations” and “Lamentation of a Sinner, and how her work and her beliefs came to put her in “grave danger” and at risk of following “the path of her two executed predecessors, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.”

Chapter 11 - Danger for the Gospel: Spring 1546 - July 1546

This is my favourite chapter as it examines the danger that Catherine faced in 1546 when she realised “just what a dangerous and unpredictable husband her royal spouse could be.” In this chapter, Elizabeth Norton examines the conservative plot against Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, Catherine’s ally, the arrest and interrogation of Anne Askew, and Gardiner’s move against Catherine. Norton has an interesting theory about why and how Catherine escaped this plot, she sees it as a kind of test set by Henry. A fascinating theory and one which makes sense when you read the details of what happened in this chapter. The chapter ends with the execution of Anne Askew, an event that must have haunted Catherine when she realised how close she had come to it herself.

Chapter 12 - Yielded His Spirit To Almighty God: Summer 1546 - 28 January 1547

Here we have the declining health of Henry VIII, rumours regarding the royal marriage and how Henry was considering another wife, the execution of the Earl of Surrey, the drafting of the King’s new will (which did not leave Catherine as Regent), and the subsequent death of the King.

Chapter 13 - Weeks Be Shorter at Chelsea: January - May 1547

This chapter covers the days and months after Henry’s death - how Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, took possession of the new boy King, Edward VI, to establish himself as “the new power in England”, the shock that Catherine must have felt when she found out that she was not Regent, the rumours regarding Thomas Seymour and his ambitions, the King’s funeral, Catherine’s appointment as Elizabeth’s guardian, her move to Chelsea and her relationship and marriage to Thomas Seymour.

Chapter 14 - Much Offended by the Marriage: June to December 1547

Here, Norton writes of the aftermath of the rather sudden marriage of Catherine Parr and Thomas Seymour, the reactions and anger it provoked, and the damage it did to Catherine’s relationship with Mary. Norton also looks at Catherine’s fall from power and how her sister-in-law, Anne Stanhope, snubbed her. She also considers the row over Catherine’s jewels and how this, and the hostility directed at Catherine from the Protector and his wife, caused Thomas Seymour to plot against his own brother.

Chapter 15 - Lady Seymour of Sudeley: Winter 1547

This chapter covers Catherine’s life at Chelsea - her guardianship of Elizabeth, her husband’s wardship of Lady Jane Grey, Catherine’s involvement in the education of the girls, Seymour’s growing hatred of his brother, and Catherine’s patronage of the leading reformers. Finally, Catherine seems to be happy - she’s retreated from the hostility at court to her own happy household and has married the love of her life, nothing can go wrong can it?

Chapter 16 - The Queen Was Jealous: Winter 1547 - May 1548

In this chapter we learn of how Catherine’s heart is broken by the love of her life, Thomas Seymour, and her beloved stepdaughter, Elizabeth. Here, Norton examines the growing “relationship” between Elizabeth and Seymour, Catherine’s bizarre behaviour, the rumours surrounding the relationship, Catherine’s surprise pregnancy and the breaking point of May 1548 which caused Catherine to send Elizabeth away from Chelsea.

Chapter 17 - Not Well Handled: May 1548 - March 1549

This chapter covers Catherine’s pregnancy and the happiness the couple felt as they waited for the birth of their first child, Thomas’s continued attempts to undermine his brother, Catherine’s rapprochement with Mary, her move to Sudeley, the birth of Catherine’s daughter, Mary, Catherine’s subsequent illness and death, her funeral, Thomas’s plot and his subsequent arrest and execution. I find it so sad that Catherine’s life ended the way it did - she finally had the marriage that she’d always wanted, a real love match, and then she gets her heartbroken and dies just days after the birth of her first child. Not only that, her husband then loses all control and is executed just months later!

Chapter 18 - How Many Husbands Will She Have?

Here, Elizabeth Norton considers Catherine’s legacy - her daughter, Mary Seymour, her family and her stepdaughter, Elizabeth. Her greatest legacy was Elizabeth, the girl she had brought up as her own daughter and friend, and a girl who was to become one of the greatest monarchs that England has ever known.

I will leave you with Elizabeth Norton’s final paragraph which is a great summation of Catherine Parr:-

“Catherine Parr is remembered as one of the greatest of Henry VIII’s queens. She was the last wife that he married and is often credited with providing him, at last, with the stable home life that he had long desired. Catherine was a reluctant queen and, while she accepted the fate that Henry decided for her, her final marriage for love is a testament that her heart always belonged to Thomas Seymour. Catherine Parr survived a dangerous husband through her clever management of him and her intelligence. Throughout her adult life she sought happiness for herself but rarely found it. Finally, in marrying for love she hoped to choose her own destiny and enjoy, at last, the freedom that she had always longed for. She was destined to be deeply disappointed and, after three husbands chosen for her, Catherine proved to be a poor judge of her fourth. Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s reluctant queen, was one of the best that he had, but her time as queen was fraught and filled with danger and she was never able to find the peace and contentment that she desired.”

Notes

Detailed notes on the sources used for each chapter.

Bibliography

A useful bibliography divided into Primary Sources and Secondary Sources.

Illustrations

Full details on the 52 illustrations in the book, which include portraits, photos of places such as Kendal Castle, Gainsborough Old Hall and the tomb of Catherine Parr at Sudeley Castle, an extract from Henry VIII’s will and beautiful stained glass windows.

Final Words

I would heartily recommend this biography to anyone who wants to know the truth about Henry VIII’s sixth wife and who wants to know her full story, from birth to death. When I spoke to Elizabeth Norton about her books on our recent Anne Boleyn Experience Tour, she said that there are enough heavy, academic books out there about Henry VIII’s wives and that her aim is to bring these women’s stories to everyone, to make their stories readable and interesting - she has definitely accomplished her aim with this one, it is an excellent book.

Availability

“Catherine Parr” by Elizabeth Norton is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and your usual bookseller.

There has been lots of controversy over this new Anne Boleyn biography because, unlike other modern historians like Eric Ives, G W Bernard is of the opinion that Anne Boleyn may have been guilty. This theory has had Anne Boleyn fans around the world up in arms but I decided to read Bernard’s book with an open mind and refrain from judging a book by its cover, or rather all of the newspaper articles about it. I was pleasantly surprised and my blood actually did not boil once.

My history teacher used to say that you can argue any point of view in an essay as long as you back it up with evidence and Bernard has made a good use of primary sources in backing up his views.

Read more…

I was dying for this book to be released because I loved Porter’s book on Mary I (”Mary Tudor: The First Queen”), which, I would go as far as to say, is THE Mary I biography and a complete guide to the Queen. Porter’s book on Katherine Parr is just the same, a must-read for those who want to know more about Henry’s sixth and final wife, and a complete guide to Katherine’s life, from a background on her family to the discovery of Katherine Parr’s tomb at Sudeley Castle in the late 18th century. It covers everything, nothing is missed, and I heartily recommend it.

Rather than writing a straight review, I like to give a breakdown of what is covered in the book as I myself find that helpful when I’m considering a book. Here is a breakdown of what Porter covers in “Katherine the Queen”:-

Beginning

• Family Trees - Family trees of the Tudors, the Parrs and the Seymours.
• Prologue - The book’s opening scene is Whitehall Palace on the 28th January 1547, the day that King Henry VIII died. I love this prologue because it’s like the start of a novel and explores Katherine’s feelings about Henry, her stepchildren and Thomas Seymour.

Part One: The Northern Inheritance 1512-1529

• Chapter One: The Courtiers of the White Rose - This chapter gives the background to Katherine Parr’s family’s beginnings in Westmoreland, border country. Porter writes of how the family made their money, their role in the War of the Roses and the rewards they reaped afterwards, Sir William Parr and Richard III’s regime, Thomas Parr and family under Henry VII, how the family’s situation was transformed by the accession of Henry VIII, Maude Parr as lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon and the birth of Maude’s daughter, Katherine Parr, named after the Queen, and the death of Katherine’s father, Sir Thomas Parr.
• Chapter Two: A Formidable Mother - The opening quote of this chapter shows just how well respected Maude Parr was: “Remembering the wisdom of my said Lady Parr… I assure you he might learn with her as well as in any place that I know” (Lord Dacre’s advice on the education of his grandson”, and this chapter explores the woman who shaped Katherine Parr: her mother. Porter also looks at people like Katherine’s uncle, Sir William Parr, and Cuthbert Tunstall, archdeacon of Chester, who became a major influence on the young Katherine when her father died and who was a friend of Sir Thomas More and even Erasmus. This chapter also covers Katherine’s education, her interests and her mother’s search for a suitable husband for her and her brother. It ends with William Parr’s marriage to Anne Bourchier and Katherine travelling to Lincolnshire to marry Edward Borough.

Part Two: Wife and Widow 1529-1543

• Chapter Three: The Marriage Game - Here, Porter covers Katherine’s arrival in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the Borough family, her new home of Gainsborough Old Hall, the fact that Katherine was married to the younger Edward Borough and not his elderly father, the death of Maude Parr  and the death of Katherine’s husband in 1533, and the impact that this had on the twenty year old Katherine. The chapter ends with Katherine becoming the third wife of John Neville, Lord Latimer, and moving to Snape Castle in Yorkshire.
• Chapter Four: Lady Latimer - Porter considers Katherine’s marriage to Lord Latimer, who was twice her age, their relationship, what kind of man he was, his background, his children, Katherine’s relationship with her stepdaughter Margaret, the changes sweeping over England due to Henry VIII’s break with Rome and marriage to Anne Boleyn and how this affected Katherine, her good friend Tunstall and the North.
• Chapter Five: The Pilgrimage of Grace - Porter discusses the rebellions of 1536 and their impact on Katherine and her family who lived in Yorkshire. Katherine’s husband, Lord Latimer, took “The Oath of Honourable Men”, the oath composed by rebel leader Robert Aske, and became one of the rebels. The rebellion was happening on Katherine’s doorstep - Snape Castle was near to Jervaulx Abbey, where the King’s troops were heading to stamp on the rebels, and her husband was involved in the rebellion. Katherine and her step-children were actually held hostage for a time by the rebels to ensure that Latimer stayed true to the cause.
  There is immense detail in this chapter on the Pilgrimage of Grace and I like the way that Porter gives a fantastic rundown on what went on but also makes it personal to Katherine and her family. In the end Latimer had a lucky escape but “knew he would need to dance to the tune of the king and his ministers for the rest of his days”. The family moved to Worcestershire then Northamptonshire, and Porter believes that it was at this time (late 1530s) that Katherine went to court. The chapter ends with Latimer’s death in early 1543.

Part Three: “Kateryn the Quene” 1543-1547

• Chapter Six: Two Suitors - This chapter opens with Katherine’s own words on how she came to marry the King: “God… through his grace and goodness… made me to renounce utterly mine own will” and carries on to explain and explore Katherine’s dilemma. In 1543, Katherine was a widow at court and she caught the eyes of both Thomas Seymour, brother of the late Jane Seymour, and King Henry VIII, and Porter attempts to “disentangle” Katherine’s emotions in 1543, saying that “it is worth the effort of unravelling what happened because it illuminates her later attitudes and behaviour… there are strong hints that the decision she eventually made was one that her intellect, if not her heart, had accepted sooner than she subsequently acknowledged.”
  A great chapter on Thomas Seymour, his background and interest in Katherine; Henry VIII, his character, his beliefs and his search for a suitable wife; and Katherine’s position, caught between a man she loved and the King. The chapter ends with Katherine and Henry’s wedding on the 12th July 1543 at Hampton Court. Katherine was Queen.
• Chapter Seven: The Queen and Her Court - In this chapter, Linda Porter gives us details on reactions to the marriage and to Katherine as Queen, including that of Anne of Cleves, the development of a bond and affection between Henry and Katherine, how Katherine approached her role as Queen and developed her image, Katherine’s household, “her inner life” and beliefs, and what Katherine was like as a woman. I am so glad that Porter dispenses with the old Victorian idea of Katherine as a nursemaid to the sickly King and I love the way she portrays Katherine as an intelligent woman who loved books and cultural pursuits, but who also loved clothes and jewels.Porter concludes this chapter by saying:-
  “These details paint a picture of an energetic, determined but also vivacious woman who very consciously set about establishing an image and role for herself”.
• Chapter Eight: The Royal Children - Katherine Parr has often been credited with reuniting Henry VIII with his children and bringing the family back together, but Porter points out that Henry had something to do with it too as he had realised that he needed to think of the future. In this chapter, Porter gives detailed information on each of Henry’s children, and their upbringing up until this point, and the influence that Katherine had on each one of them. Porter end the chapter with Elizabeth: “While Elizabeth watched, Katherine governed England. This practical lesson was far more valuable than anything her tutors could have devised, and it left an indelible impression.”
• Chapter Nine: Regent of England - A chapter on Katherine’s regency as Henry leaves England for France. It includes a look at the members of the council Henry had chosen to help Katherine - Cranmer, Thirlby, Edward Seymour, Wriothesley and Petre - Katherine as an active regent, rather than a passive one, the situation in Europe at the time, Henry’s relationship with Charles V and Francis I, the prayer that Katherine wrote for the English men to say before battle, Katherine’s correspondence with the King, Charles V’s betrayal and its consequences, Katherine’s prayer for the King and their “second honeymoon” at Leeds Castle on Henry’s return.
• Chapter Ten: The Queen’s Gambit - This long and detailed chapter opens with Chapuys’s records of a conversation between himself and the Queen, proving what a brilliant diplomat Katherine was and how involved she was in royal affairs. It also covers Katherine’s sadness at the death of her stepdaughter, Margaret Neville, Katherine’s “epiphany” and her decision to express her faith publicly, her faith, her relationships with Cranmer, her almoner George Day and Nicholas Udall, Katherine’s “Lamentation of a Sinner”, Katherine’s relationship with the King, Henry’s realisation that Katherine was upstaging him, Henry’s Christmas Eve 1545 oration to Parliament, tensions in the royal marriage and Henry’s declining health, Katherine’s links to Anne Askew, the plot against Katherine and how she escaped, the campaign against reformers, the story of Anne Askew, her arrest, torture and burning, Henry’s love for Katherine and his death on the 28th January 1547.

Part Four: The Last Husband 1547-1548

• Chapter Eleven: The Secrets of Spring - The opening lines of this chapter are from a poem by Thomas Seymour for Katherine: “Set doubts aside, And to some sporting fall” - I didn’t know that he wrote a poem for her! This chapter covers Henry VIII’s burial, Katherine’s dismay on learning that she would not be Regent and her struggle for power, the secret relationship between Katherine and Thomas Seymour, their marriage, Mary’s disapproval, the relationship between Thomas Seymour and Edward Seymour, the relationship between Katherine Parr and Edward Seymour’s wife, Anne Stanhope, and Elizabeth and Lady Jane Grey arriving to live with Katherine and Seymour. The chapter concludes with “So, in the summer of 1547, Thomas Seymour effectively controlled the destiny of three royal ladies and had good grounds for believing that his quest for greater power could progress still farther. Soon, though, he was to find that maintaining a queen was an expensive undertaking and that sheltering a king’s daughter would tempt him down the path of scandal and ruin.”
• Chapter Twelve: “This Frail Life” - Chapter Twelve opens with Katherine’s dying words: “Those that be about me careth nothing for me, but standeth laughing at my grief.” How tragic that Katherine felt that as she lay dying. This chapter explores how she went from being a happy bride to uttering those words. In this chapter, Porter covers a lot of ground: Katherine’s work on religious publications -”Lamentation of a Sinner” and “Paraphrases of Erasmus”, her relationship with William Cecil, Katherine’s involvement in the upbringing and education of Lady Jane Grey and Elizabeth, Thomas Seymour’s discontent with his lack of power and his sexual jealousy, Seymour’s scandalous behaviour with Elizabeth (and Porter’s explanation for it) and Katherine’s involvement, Elizabeth’s move to live with Sir Anthony Denny, Katherine’s pregnancy and her move to Sudeley Castle, the couple’s joy at having a child, the preparations for the baby, the birth of Mary Seymour, Katherine’s illness  and her delirium, Katherine’s death on the 5th September and her burial, Seymour’s grief, his scheming and downfall, and his execution. Interestingly, Porter also has a section on Mary Seymour, Katherine’s baby daughter, what happened to her after her father’s death and how she disappears from records after 1550.
  The chapter ends in 1782 with some ladies exploring the ruins of Sudely Castle and finding Katherine’s uncorrupted body. When the body was examined again a few years later “the face was worn to bone. But a crown of ivy had wound itself around Katherine’s skull, a poignant reminder that this remarkable woman, attractive and sensual, intelligent and capable, deeply loving God as well as man, had been the last queen of Henry VIII.”

Epilogue

The epilogue takes us to Hatfield on the 17th November 1558, the day that Elizabeth learns that she is Queen of England. Porter makes the point that:-

“The adult Elizabeth was very much the product of Katherine Parr. Her education, her religious beliefs, her consciousness of personal image owed much to the stepmother who guided and loved her during those formative years. Katherine had brought up a talented and determined girl, open-minded by the standards of her day, who was not afraid to rule… Her long reign, with its flowering of culture and the establishment of a small country on the north-western fringes of Europe as a world power, is Katherine Parr’s achievement.”

Author’s Note

Here Linda Porter talks about how Katherine has been portrayed and the stereotypes that exist, and how Katherine was much more than any of them. Porter expresses the hope that her biography “will bring her to life for a wider audience” and that hope has been accomplished, Porter has definitely brought Katherine to life and has delved into her background, her character, her life and the times in which she lived in such a detailed way that you feel that you really know Katherine at the end of the book. You understand what drove her, what Henry and Seymour (and her other husbands) saw in her and why she was such a major influence on the young Elizabeth. Thank you, Linda, for challenging the myths regarding Katherine and portraying her as a vibrant and influential queen, not a nursemaid. “Katherine the Queen” is a fitting tribute to my second favourite of Henry VIII’s wives.

Linda Porter’s book also includes illustrations (photos of portraits and places), Notes with references meticulously cited and a bibliography.

Availability

This book was published in hardback by Pan Macmillan in the UK on the 19th March 2010 and can be found at Amazon UK - click here and other UK book sellers.

Article by Linda Porter

You can read an article by Linda Porter, “Last But Not Least: The Enduring Fascination of Katherine Parr”, over at The Anne Boleyn Files - click here

I think I might be Professor Eric Ives’s number one fan as I constantly recommend this book, along with his book on Lady Jane Grey, to Tudor fans. I’m always having emails from people asking for book recommendations, help with their homework, tips for Anne Boleyn projects etc. and this is the book that I always say is a “must-read”. Every Anne Boleyn fan should have it hand-cuffed to their wrist and sleep with it under their pillow, you just can’t live without it!

So, what makes “The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn” such a must-read and must-have? It is the fact that it is a comprehensive, detailed account of Anne Boleyn’s life based on real, solid historical evidence - not conjecture, rumour or myth - and Ives does a fantastic job of citing his sources, so it’s perfect for people like me who are researching Anne’s life and who want to go back to the primary sources, and it’s great for students writing essays or dissertations. Unlike some authors, the notes at the end don’t just say LP (Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII) and leave you to guess which part of which volume, Ives gives you the full reference, e.g. LP vi 700. This brilliant referencing, combined with Ives’s readable style, wealth of knowledge and balanced views, make this the number one Anne Boleyn book in my view and nothing comes close to it.

“The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn” - Contents

In the preface of “The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn”, Eric Ives says:-

“This book is structured in four parts. “Background and Beginnings” deals with Anne’s origins, her education, her launch into English court life and the reasons for the impact she made. That leads on to a discussion of the romantic relationships which she had or is supposed to have had, and hence to her agreement to marry the king. “A Difficult Engagement” looks at the oft-told history of Henry VIII’s attempt to free himself to marry, but with a focus on Anne which undermines male-dominated interpretations of tradition. Part III, “Anne the Queen”, examines Anne’s marriage and consequent lifestyle, offering a picture of what it meant to be the consort of an English king at a magnification well in excess of what is possible for almost all her predecessors. Illustrating this is is a nearly complete display of such visual evidence as has survived, which, in turn, supports detailed discussions of Anne’s portraiture, of her role as an artistic patron, of the day-to-day context of royal living and of her mind and beliefs. The final section, “A Marriage Destroyed”, concentrates on the closing months of the queen’s life, demonstrating the sudden and unexpected nature of her fall, the coup which precipitated it, the dishonesty of the case against her and the tensions of her last days.”

That is a pretty good precis of the contents of this 400+ page book (2004 revised version), but I know that some of you appreciate more detail, so here is a rundown - I’ve just listed what each chapter covers:-

Beginning

• List of Illustrations - Details of all 64 portraits, sketches and photos.
• Preface - Here, Ives explains exactly why he is writing a book on Anne Boleyn when there is so much already out there and every Anne fan will understand his comment “it is true that once she [Anne] interests you, fascination grows, as it did for men at the time, and finally for Henry himself”! He also argues Anne’s worth, why she matters and why she is an icon. This preface is spine-chillingly good and sets the scene for the whole book.
• Titles and Offices - A “who’s who” of the characters mentioned in the book - very handy!
• Family Trees - The Royal Houses of Europe, the Nobility of Henry VIII’s Court and the Boleyn and Howard Families.

Part I Backgrounds and Beginnings

• A Courtier’s Daughter - Anne’s family background, who the Boleyns were, the Tudor Court, Thomas Boleyn and his role at court, and the Boleyn family.
• A European Education - Anne’s education at the Habsburg Court under the care of Margaret of Austria, the skills Anne would have learned, life at the Habsburg Court, her time in France in the household of Queen Claude and the recalling of Anne to England to marry James Butler.
• Debut at the English Court - The Shrove Tuesday pageant “The Chateau Vert” and Anne’s debut as Perseverance, Anne’s appearance and the myths surrounding her, and Anne’s style.
• Sources - A look at the controversies over Anne and how historians and sources disagree over her. Was she “the cause of all evil”? Was she like Salome in wanting Fisher and More dead? Was she a Protestant martyr? Ives looks at the different sources that biographers can draw on to build up a picture of who Anne was.
• Passion and Courtly Love - Between 1522 and 1527, Anne was linked to Henry Percy, Thomas Wyatt the elder and Henry VIII, and Ives looks at what sources say about these 5 years.
• A Royal Suitor - How Henry turned his attentions from Anne’s sister to Anne herself, how Anne responded, what Henry offered Anne, Henry’s letters to her and how the relationship developed.

Part II A Difficult Engagement

• A Marriage Arranged - The divorce, Anne’s role in the divorce, Tudor factions in regards to Anne, Catherine and Henry’s divorce plans , and Wolsey’s role.
• Anne Boleyn and the Fall of Wolsey - Ives starts this chapter by saying that “it is tempting to draw a straight line - and a short one - from the events of July-September 1527 to Wolsey’s fall in 1529. The battle had been arrayed: Wolsey against Anne and her allies…” but what exactly was Anne’s role in Wolsey’s fall, what happened and why?
• Stalemate, 1529 - 1532 - The struggle between Henry VIII and the Pope, Anne’s sharing of “The Obedience of the Christian Man” and Simon Fish’s work with Henry, the role of Thomas Cranmer, the “Collectanea” and how Henry came to believe that he was “an emperor answerable only to God”, the “Pardon of the Clergy”, factions and who supported Anne and the King.
• The Turning Point, 1532 - 1533 - The misery of Christmas 1531, Thomas Cromwell’s arrival, the change in Anne and Henry’s relationship as marriage was contemplated, Anne being given the title of Marquis of Pembroke, hr visit to France with Henry and the consummation of their relationship.
• Wedding Nerves - Anne and Henry co-habiting, a secret wedding, Anne’s pregnancy, Cranmer’s success at ruling in Henry’s favour, the demotion of Katherine of Aragon to Dowager Princess of Wales and Anne becomes known as Queen, and the different thoughts regarding Henry and Anne’s secret marriage and when it actually happened.
• A Coronation and a Christening - Preparations for the Whitsun Coronation of Queen Anne, the coronation itself and the birth of Princess Elizabeth.

Part III Anne the Queen

• A Royal Marriage - The controversy regarding Henry’s sexual problems, Anne’s first miscarriage, a discussion of the opinions on when a rift in the royal marriage began, Henry’s affairs, what Anne and Henry’s relationship was like, Anne and Mary, and the problems Anne faced.
• Influence, Power and Wealth - Anne’s position as Queen Consort, Anne as patron, Anne and Cromwell, Anne’s influence and Anne’s finances.
• Image - Anne’s love of finery, Anne’s coronation and the analogies between Anne, St Anne and the Virgin Mary, Anne’s white falcon heraldry, and how Elizabeth I drew on her mother’s use of iconography and symbolism.
• Art and Taste - How Anne had learned from Margaret of Austria and Queen Claude that “magnificence was a regal virtue”, Anne’s ownership of gold and silver plate, Anne’s patronage of Holbein, Holbein’s “The Ambassadors” and its link with Anne, Anne’s Book of Hours and her interest in art and fine objects.
• Life at Court - Henry’s building projects and Anne’s involvement, Anne’s new suite at Hampton Court, Anne’s taste in furnishings and clothes, her domestic life and Anne’s interest in music.
• The Advent of Reform - Ives says “Anne Boleyn was not a catalyst in the English Reformation; she was a key element in the equation” and here he discusses Anne’s influence in the Church, her religious patronage, the Boleyns’ links with reformers abroad, what reform meant to Anne, and her link with French reform.
• Personal Religion - Anne wrote “le temps viendra”, “the time will come”, in her Book of Hours so what did this mean for her personally? How did Anne become interested in French reform? What was her personal faith? Also, Anne’s involvement in poor relief and her patronage of education.

Part IV A Marriage Destroyed

• The Rival, 1535 - 1536 - When did the rift in the royal marriage happen and when did Jane Seymour come into it? Katherine of Aragon’s death, Henry VIII’s jousting accident, Anne’s miscarriage  and the deformed foetus story, the stories regarding Anne, Henry and Jane Seymour, and Henry’s new love interest.
• The Response, January - April 1536 - Jane Seymour and her backers versus Anne Boleyn and supporters, Anne’s quarrel with Cromwell and its cause, how Anne became a threat to Cromwell, and Cromwell’s decision to remove Anne.
• The Coup, April - May 1536 - How Cromwell’s decision turned to action, the sequence of events leading up to Anne’s downfall, Smeaton’s confession and the evidence gathered, the stories and rumours, who provided the Crown with evidence, and Norris and Anne.
• Judgement - The trial of Norris, Smeaton, Brereton and Weston, details on the jury, the pleas of the men and their conviction. This chapter also covers Anne’s trial, her behaviour, her conviction, George’s trial and the executions of the five men, it then goes on to examine the Crown’s case against Anne and the men, looking at the dates of the offences on the indictments and how the majority could be disproved, and the annulment of Anne and Henry’s marriage.
• Finale - Anne’s execution, her appearance, her behaviour, her speech, the moment of execution, her burial and the consequences of her death.

Epilogue

In this final part of the book, Ives writes of Anne’s legacy, Elizabeth I, and concludes by saying:-

“In 1558, however, the miracle happened. On Monday, 28 November, to the cheers of the the London crowd and the roar of the Tower artillery, Elizabeth came through the gates to take possession of the fortress as queen. The bastardized daughter of the disgraced Anne Boleyn, with her father’s complexion but her mother’s face, splendidly dressed in purple velvet: Elizabeth, by the grace of God, queen of England, France and Ireland, defender of the faith. Is it fanciful to feel that after twenty years, the mother in the nearby grave in the chapel of St Peter was at last vindicated?”

No, Professor Ives, it is not fanciful, and I like to think of Anne smiling down from Heaven at that point. She had the last laugh don’t you think? It was her daughter who became one of England’s greatest monarchs and not the son that Henry so desperately wanted.

Final Thoughts

What else can I say about this book? Only that if you have only got enough money for one Anne Boleyn book then this is the book to buy. I also use the books by Alison Weir, Retha Warnicke, Elizabeth Norton, Josephine Wilkinson and the many six wives books that are out there, and they all have their good points and their own unique perspectives, but this book is the one that I use every single day and the one that I trust when I really need to know something.

It is a book that recognises Anne’s importance as Queen, her impact on England and her legacy, and it is also a book that gives you an inkling of what the real Anne was like, it will satisfy you.

“The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn” by Eric Ives is available from Amazon UK or Amazon.com, or your favourite book store.

You would be mistaken if you thought that this was a children’s book, although the title and cover may make you think so, because it is a serious, but highly readable, history book which sets out to sift through the mystique of royalty and separate fact from fiction, truth from myth, and history from legend. It does a wonderful job.

The book is divided into nine sections which each have questions within them, along with very detailed answers which draw on historical evidence. Here are the nine sections with some examples of the questions explored in them:-

• Royal Conundrums - Includes “How fat was Henry VIII?”, “Did King Canute harness the waves?”, “Why did Charles II hide in an oak tree?”, “What was the real relationship between Queen Victoria and her Highland servant John Brown?” and “Was Elizabeth I a Virgin Queen?”.
• Pretenders and Usurpers - Includes “Was Empress Matilda an early promoter of women’s rights?”, “Was Lady Jane Grey a rightful queen or a child victim?”, “Who was England’s lost queen?” and “Which rival queen disturbed Elizabeth I’s peace of mind?”

• Royal Marriages and Romances - Includes “Which king expressed his love in stone monuments?”, “Why did Henry VIII marry six times?”, “Was George III a bigamist?”, “Were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert the perfect couple of her diaries?” and “Did British monarchs use contraceptives?”
• Murders, Plots and Assassinations - Includes “Could Richard III be innocent of the death of the Princes in the Tower?”, “What made Queen Mary I “Bloody”?”, “How many plots were there to kill Elizabeth I?”, “Which monarchs were deemed “bumped off” by their doctors?” and “Was Amy Robsart, Lady Dudley, murdered by a queen’s command?”
• Farms and Fads, Values and Vinegar Bibles - Includes “Why was George III called Farmer George?”, “Who rank as the most superstitious monarchs?”, “Why does Queen Elizabeth II have corgis?” and “Which monarch had the most hobbies?”
• Courtiers, Crowns and Coronations - Includes “Did King John lose the Crown Jewels?”, “Which kings pawned their crowns?”, “Who stole the Crown Jewels?”, “Who was the first woman to have a coronation” and “When were jesters and dwarves made courtiers?”
• Quaint and Quirky - Includes “Who was the last British king to lead his troops into battle?”, “Which king invented the handkerchief?”, “Which queen pretended to be invisible?”, “Was King Richard III really a hunchbacked monster?”, “Which monarchs had nicknames or were immortalised in nursery rhymes?” and “Which king joined a sex club?”
• Palaces, Castles and Love Nests - Includes “Which monarch built a love nest for his mistress?”, “Which royal built the most bizarre residence?”, “How many prisons held Mary, Queen of Scots?” and “Which railway station can be dubbed the most royal?”
• Rumour and Scandal - Includes “Which monarch topped the list for siring royal bastards?”, “Which British monarchs were put in prison or appeared in court?”, “Was there a case of incest in the royal family?”, “Which reigning English, Scottish and British monarchs were rumoured to be homosexual?” and “Did the House of Windsor leave their royal Russian cousins to be murdered?”

It is fascinating stuff and I particularly enjoyed the sections related to Tudor history and the question “Which monarch topped the list for siring royal bastards?” - Henry I had 25, Charles II had 16 and William IV had 10! Wow, they were busy kings!

There is something to interest everyone in this book and you’ll find that you just can’t help reading bits out to your nearest and dearest and stunning them with your history knowledge!

But not only does it provide answers to all of these very interesting questions, Lamont-Brown also uses real historical evidence to back up the answers and provides handy charts and lists giving dates and sequences of events etc. There is also a comprehensive bibliography. So, a fun book but also a great history resource and I have found myself dipping into it regularly when researching Elizabeth I and Henry VIII.

So, would I recommend it? You bet! It’s interesting, readable and rather addictive, just don’t blame me if your family flush it down the toilet when they get fed up of you reading bits out!

Availability

“How Fat Was Henry VIII?” is published by the History Press and is available from both Amazon UK and Amazon.com, as well as from your favourite book store.