Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen: A Novel (Six Tudor Queens)
Bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir takes on what no fiction writer has done before: creating a dramatic six-book series in which each novel covers one of King Henry VIII's wives. In this captivating opening volume, Weir brings to life the tumultuous tale of Katherine of Aragon, Henry's first, devoted, and "true" queen. A princess of Spain, Catalina is only sixteen years old when she sets foot on the shores of England. The youngest daughter of the powerful monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, Catalina is a coveted prize for a royal marriage--and Arthur, Prince of Wales, and heir to the English throne, has won her hand. But tragedy strikes and Catalina, now Princess Katherine, is betrothed to the future Henry VIII. She must wait for his coming-of-age, an ordeal that tests her resolve, casts doubt on her trusted confidantes, and turns her into a virtual prisoner. Katherine's patience is rewarded when she becomes Queen of England. The affection between Katherine and Henry is genuine, but forces beyond her control threaten to rend her marriage, and indeed the nation, apart. Henry has fallen under the spell of Katherine's maid of honor, Anne Boleyn. Now Katherine must be prepared to fight, to the end if God wills it, for her faith, her legitimacy, and her heart. Praise for Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen
"Alison Weir starts off her fictional series about the wives of Henry VIII with a nuanced portrayal of Katherine of Aragon."--The Christian Science Monitor
"Weir is excellent on the little details that bring a world to life."--The Guardian "As always, Weir demonstrates a keen eye for crafting dramatic scenes of beautiful, accurate detail, instilling in the reader a vivid sense of being there. . . . If this greatly impressive inaugural installment is any indication, Tudor lovers have much to look forward to."--Booklist (starred review)
"Vividly detailed . . . Weir brings considerable expertise to her fictional retelling of the life of Katherine of Aragon. . . . [The author] portrays her sympathetically as both credulous and steely."--Kirkus Reviews
"An illuminating and engaging portrait of 'the true queen.'"--Historical Novels Review
"[Weir's] fresh approach to Henry's first wife [is] a wonderful place to start for those unfamiliar with Katherine's story. Weir's portrayal is far from that of a weak, victimized woman, but one of a courageous, strong, devoted queen fighting for her life and rights. An easy, quick read to begin the series."--RT Book Reviews "In this first novel of the Six Tudor Queens series, Alison Weir dazzlingly brings Katherine of Aragon to life. Based on extensive new research, it is a portrayal that shatters the many myths about Henry VIII's long-suffering first wife. Far from being the one-dimensional victim of history, she emerges as a charismatic, indomitable, and courageous heroine whose story never fails to enthrall."--Tracy Borman, author of Thomas Cromwell "Yet again, Alison Weir has managed to intertwine profound historical knowledge with huge emotional intelligence, to compose a work that throws light on an endlessly fascinating figure. But her real gift in all of this is making it feel so fresh and alive."--Charles Spencer, author of Killers of the King
"Alison Weir starts off her fictional series about the wives of Henry VIII with a nuanced portrayal of Katherine of Aragon."--The Christian Science Monitor
"Weir is excellent on the little details that bring a world to life."--The Guardian "As always, Weir demonstrates a keen eye for crafting dramatic scenes of beautiful, accurate detail, instilling in the reader a vivid sense of being there. . . . If this greatly impressive inaugural installment is any indication, Tudor lovers have much to look forward to."--Booklist (starred review)
"Vividly detailed . . . Weir brings considerable expertise to her fictional retelling of the life of Katherine of Aragon. . . . [The author] portrays her sympathetically as both credulous and steely."--Kirkus Reviews
"An illuminating and engaging portrait of 'the true queen.'"--Historical Novels Review
"[Weir's] fresh approach to Henry's first wife [is] a wonderful place to start for those unfamiliar with Katherine's story. Weir's portrayal is far from that of a weak, victimized woman, but one of a courageous, strong, devoted queen fighting for her life and rights. An easy, quick read to begin the series."--RT Book Reviews "In this first novel of the Six Tudor Queens series, Alison Weir dazzlingly brings Katherine of Aragon to life. Based on extensive new research, it is a portrayal that shatters the many myths about Henry VIII's long-suffering first wife. Far from being the one-dimensional victim of history, she emerges as a charismatic, indomitable, and courageous heroine whose story never fails to enthrall."--Tracy Borman, author of Thomas Cromwell "Yet again, Alison Weir has managed to intertwine profound historical knowledge with huge emotional intelligence, to compose a work that throws light on an endlessly fascinating figure. But her real gift in all of this is making it feel so fresh and alive."--Charles Spencer, author of Killers of the King
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Community Reviews
I'm going to be perfectly honest. I didn't finish reading this book. It's not because it was badly written or any such thing! In fact, if it were an option I would have given this read a solid three and a half stars instead of just three simply based on what I managed to read. The reason that I couldn't get through this book was simply because I knew how it was going to end. The book follows Katherine of Aragon, her betrothal, and marriage to Henry the VIII of England. The author has a very nice style of writing that made the tale very enjoyable. She is the first author to write historical fiction that actually made me stop and consider what it must have been like during that time period as a woman and, not only that, what it must have been like as a woman of royal blood whose marriage is arranged and based more on politics than love. The issue with me and anything historical is that if I know how the story went and how it ends I am automatically going to have a harder time pushing forward to complete the book. That is my issue and nothing to do with the book itself or the author. In fact, I pushed and pushed further than I might have originally intended because, quite frankly, Alison Weir made the story easy to enjoy. In the end, though, my knowledge of what was going to happen won out and I began to crave something that I don't know the ending to.
I appreciate what liberties Weir may or may not have taken with the story of Henry the VIII's first marriage, but I kind of wish she had woven a tale that was loosely based on historical facts and just went wild with the story even if that meant re-writing history for a 'what if' tale. I've read other accounts of historical fiction where authors played around with history enough for me to want to see where they were going to take it in the end (e.g. the element of surprise where I can't tell if it's going to be based on fact or fiction). That's not to say there weren't plenty of liberties taken because there's no way for anyone to truly know what discussions certain players in the story had and didn't have. The overall story, though, was there enough for me to realize that it was pretty much going to end up where Katherine of Aragon ended up.
However, if you're not overly familiar with the historical account of Henry's first marriage to Katherine then I would definitely recommend this book. It has a very nice style that makes it easy to understand without dumbing it down. It's compelling enough that if you DON'T know what's going to happen you will definitely enjoy where the story takes you regarding this historical couple. For me, there is not going to be a surprise at the end because those aren't the types of liberties that the author took. I give her props for that and will keep an eye out for any original works that don't have a strong basis in history.
I would recommend this book for any lovers of historical fiction who don't mind re-reading about history as well as anyone that is interested in the topic but doesn't know a whole lot about it.
As I stated before, this is a solid three and a half stars.
I appreciate what liberties Weir may or may not have taken with the story of Henry the VIII's first marriage, but I kind of wish she had woven a tale that was loosely based on historical facts and just went wild with the story even if that meant re-writing history for a 'what if' tale. I've read other accounts of historical fiction where authors played around with history enough for me to want to see where they were going to take it in the end (e.g. the element of surprise where I can't tell if it's going to be based on fact or fiction). That's not to say there weren't plenty of liberties taken because there's no way for anyone to truly know what discussions certain players in the story had and didn't have. The overall story, though, was there enough for me to realize that it was pretty much going to end up where Katherine of Aragon ended up.
However, if you're not overly familiar with the historical account of Henry's first marriage to Katherine then I would definitely recommend this book. It has a very nice style that makes it easy to understand without dumbing it down. It's compelling enough that if you DON'T know what's going to happen you will definitely enjoy where the story takes you regarding this historical couple. For me, there is not going to be a surprise at the end because those aren't the types of liberties that the author took. I give her props for that and will keep an eye out for any original works that don't have a strong basis in history.
I would recommend this book for any lovers of historical fiction who don't mind re-reading about history as well as anyone that is interested in the topic but doesn't know a whole lot about it.
As I stated before, this is a solid three and a half stars.
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