Philippa Gregory - The Taming of the Queen

Details
Paperback

In this latest chapter in the Tudor saga, glorious King Henry has receded into a bloated tyrannical child-king, fretfully trying to make sense of his marital history while his latest wife acts as his nurse. The story is narrated by Kateryn Parr, who sets aside her own hopes for marriage with her lover, to become Henry's last queen. While Gregory can only speculate about the thoughts and motives of these colourful historical characters, she does it superbly within a carefully researched historical context.Kateryn is haunted by her predecessors and tries to avoid their fatal "mistakes" yet she also finds that a living queen cannot compete with the dead Jane Seymour, mother to Henry's only living son. She even finds it difficult to deal with Anne of Cleves, who had graciously side-stepped marriage with the King, and was now a favoured member of court. In a double irony that Tudor lovers will appreciate, while Henry's previous wives were obsessed with delivering a healthy male heir, Kateryn is portrayed as terrified of becoming pregnant to Henry, because another failed pregnancy would humiliate the King, endangering her life.While Kateryn navigates these challenges and becomes a loyal loving step-mother to Henry's three motherless children, she also makes her own significant contribution to the era, translating religious passages into English. Gregory's examination of the changing church and attitudes to education, particularly for women, is extremely illuminating. Kateryn also takes the role of Regent when Henry is away at war, competently managing the country in his absence - a formidable task for a young woman who has only previously run a small estate. There are also interesting glimpses of the man Henry could have been if he hadn't been gluttonous for power and for food - a man who respected higher education for women as well as men; a man who was prepared to make changes to the Church.Kateryn's secret love story runs as a recurring thread throughout the book, the lost passion between the lovers creating a dramatic contrast to the sordid sickly business of intimacy with King Henry.

Disclaimer

All books are second hand. Prices are according to condition of the book which may vary from used to almost new. No books are sold in unacceptable conditions.