Weir, Alison "Six Tudor Queens. Katheryn Howard"

Weir, Alison "Six Tudor Queens. Katheryn Howard. The Tainted Queen" (US Title: The Scandalous Queen) - 2020

I have read all of Alison Weir's Tudor Queen books and this is the one about Henry VIIIs fifth wife. I have always read about her as being frivolous which she probably was. But the background about her and her family, I never heard of that.

A poor little girl who lost her mother when she was very young is sent from one place to the next and gets her "education" mainly from other young women who want nothing else than their enjoyment.

Alison Weir lets us see Katheryn Howard from a whole different point of view and that is the main reason why I think everyone who is interested in the Tudors should read the book. In her book about Anna of Kleve she took some liberties and invented "facts" that cannot be proven. Maybe she also did this with Henry's next queen though I doubt it because she even mentioned the stuff she had invented about Anna in her epilogue.

A pleasant read, as always. Looking forward to the book about the sixth and last wife, Katharine Parr.

From the back cover:

"Alison Weir, historian and author of the Sunday Times-bestselling Six Tudor Queens series, relates one of the most tragic stories in English history: Katheryn Howard, Henry VIII's fifth queen.

A naïve young woman at the mercy of her ambitious family.

At just nineteen, Katheryn Howard is quick to trust and fall in love.

She comes to court. She sings, she dances.

She captures the heart of the King.

But Henry knows nothing of Katheryn's past - one that comes back increasingly to haunt her. For those who share her secrets are waiting in the shadows, whispering words of love ... and blackmail.

Katheryn Howard

The Fifth of Henry's Queens.

Her story.

History tells us she died too soon.

This mesmerising novel brings her to life."

There is also a non-fiction book by Alison Weir about all of the ladies: "The Six Wives of Henry VIII".