The sixth wife of Henry VIII. And the sixth book in the Tudor Queens series by Alison Weir.
I think I knew far too little about Katharine Parr. She was Henry's last wife. She survived him. She had two husbands before him. She married again when he died only to die herself in childbed. That's about all I knew.
Of course, this is a novel based on the life of the queens. However, there is a lot in it that is history and where we can learn about that time in England.
We see through the eyes of Katharine Parr that women were just a commodity, and not worth a lot for that. At her first marriage, she doesn't even know the husband. Then she has to look for another one because otherwise a woman has no means to live. When she falls in love with Thomas Seymour, she has to marry the king who also wants her. What a life!
In any case, Alison Weir has brought the Tudor queens to life in a way no history book could ever have done. For that, I thank her profoundly.
From the back cover:
"Two husbands dead; a life marred by sadness. And now Katharine is in love for the first time in her life.
The eye of an ageing and dangerous king falls upon her. She cannot refuse him. She must stifle her feelings and never betray that she wanted another.
And now she is the sixth wife. Her queenship is a holy mission yet, fearfully, she dreams of the tragic parade of women who went before her. She cherishes the secret beliefs that could send her to the fire. And still the King loves and trusts her.
Now her enemies are closing in. She must fight for her very life.
KATHARINE PARR – the last of Henry’s queens.
Alison Weir recounts the extraordinary story of a woman forced into a perilous situation and rising heroically to the challenge. Katharine is a delightful woman, a warm and kindly heroine – and yet she will be betrayed by those she loves and trusts most.
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.
Well, knowing how the book ends didn't add to my enjoyment on the book, probably on the contrary. I am not surprised, the author didn't get the Booker Prize for this third book in the series (although it was longlisted) because I have the feeling, Hilary Mantel was dreading it as much as the reader did.
It starts with a lot of repetition, not as in someone is retelling the whole story but Cromwell more or less reliving the execution of Anne Boleyn, more or less a pre-shadow of the end of his own life.
I think we have all come to like Thomas Cromwell in the first two books, as opposed to what many historians try to tell us. Maybe it's good to recognize that not everyone in history was the way they have been portrayed. If any book teaches us this, "Wolf Hall" is the right one for that.
However, just as in the first two books, the writing was fantastic. The author managed to catch our attention, maybe not from the very first page but certainly soon thereafter. The Tudors always get there.
What surprised me most was how quick the fall from grace took place and how swiftly everyone stood there to see it and help bringing it to an end. You would have thought something really bad had happened, but no, just a few words here or there that are twisted in your mouth and you're a traitor. Incredible.
I would have liked a list of all the characters at the end, as I always find that useful in any historical book, fiction or non-fiction.
Now that Cromwell's life is over, I wonder who Hilary Mantel is going to write about next.
From the back cover:
"England, May 1536. Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Thomas Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The blacksmith’s son from Putney emerges from the spring’s bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen before Jane dies giving birth to the male heir he most craves.
Cromwell is a man with only his wits to rely on; he has no great family to back him, no private army. Despite rebellion at home, traitors plotting abroad and the threat of invasion testing Henry’s regime to the breaking point, Cromwell’s robust imagination sees a new country in the mirror of the future. But can a nation, or a person, shed the past like a skin? Do the dead continually unbury themselves? What will you do, the Spanish ambassador asks Cromwell, when the king turns on you, as sooner or later he turns on everyone close to him?
With The Mirror & the Light, Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the trilogy she began with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. She traces the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power, offering a defining portrait of predator and prey, of a ferocious contest between present and past, between royal will and a common man’s vision: of a modern nation making itself through conflict, passion, and courage."
One of my blogger friends (Brona from Brona's Books) organized a read-along here.
They encourage us to not only read a non-fiction book this month but also to look at non-fiction books in general.
This week, we are asked to Be The Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert: "Three ways to join in this week! You can either share 3 or more books on a single topic that you have read and can recommend (be the expert), you can put the call out for good nonfiction on a specific topic that you have been dying to read (ask the expert), or you can create your own list of books on a topic that you’d like to read (become the expert)."
I was thinking about a lot of subjects for this, the first one that sprang to my mind was history. My old history is either turning in his grave or laughing his head of, if he's still alive. I hated history lessons in school. But I have come to love it once I left school and learned about real history, not just learning dates by heart. Of coures, there are many topics there that I've read a lot about. World War II, Holocaust, history of Germany and Austria, history of the United Kingdom, Ireland, France. But in the end, I chose the part that I think is most exciting, a very busy time, a scandalous time,
No matter how many books they will write about this time or television series or movies make about it, I'll be there.
Starting with Henry VII who united the Houses of Lancaster and York after the war of the Roses, then Henry VIII and his six wives, his children Edward VI, (Bloody) Mary I and Good Queen Bess (the Virgin Queen). They all represent a part of the House of Tudor who ruled from 1485-1603, only 150 years but what a reign it was!
There are two books about the Tudors in "Horrible Histories" by Terry Deary: "The Terrible Tudors" and "The Terrifying Tudors" (aka
Even More Terrible Tudors). They usually hit the descriptions of the
peoples spot on.
I have also read a lot of novels about the Tudors, a lot of them are almost as informative as the non-fiction editions. You can find them here.
He describes Shakespeare and his stories just as well. The stories are all told in a modern way, a video, a blog, a diary, anything that kids today might use. And it is also quite interesting for adults
With every story comes a chapter that explains either more about what was in the story or the general topic from the story. In any case, in a way that even kids who don't like reading or don't want to hear of former times might be interested in them and maybe … just maybe, read some of them one day.
Whether you agree with the list or not, this certainly is a great way to introduce children to classic reading.
This is his list.
10. A Midsummer Night's Dream
9. King Lear (I read a retold version by Jane Smiley, "A Thousand Acres")
8. Twelfth Night
7. The Tempest (I read a retold version by Margaret Atwood, "Hag-Seed" and watched the wonderful musical "Return to the Forbidden Planet" which is also based on this play)
6. The Merchant of Venice
5. Romeo and Juliet
4. Julius Cesar
3. The Taming of the Shrew
2. Macbeth. He also explains why they call it "The Scottish Play".
1. Hamlet (plus a retold version by David Wroblewski "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle")
I have added links to my reviews of those books I read. As you can see, others have rewritten the stories for the more modern reader, before and I'm sure, they will continue doing so. After all, Shakespear has written at least 39 plays that are all worth retelling.
From the back cover:
"What was top of the pops in Tudor times? Want to know which Shakespeare story's had the number one slot since the 16th century?
Hamlet - ten dead bodies litter the stage. Horatio is number one suspect … but is it an open and shut case? A Midsummer Night's Dream - strange things are happening in the woods. Puck mucks things up and Bottom makes an ass of himself. Puck reveals all. King Lear - eye-gouging, stabbing and poisoning … act out the play yourself - it's a laugh a minute! With top ten fact sections, including Shakespeare's suffering spectators, the curse of the Scottish play, and top then actors' tales.
Shakespeare stories as you've never seen them before."
Weir, Alison "Six Tudor Queens. Anna of Kleve. Queen of Secrets" (US Title: The Princess in the Portrait) - 2019
Finally, it's the turn of the next of Henry's queens. Queen #4, the German queen.
I was looking forward to this, especially since I had just watched "The Tudors", a series that should really be called "Henry VIII" since it only portrays his life and everyone during his reign, nothing before or after (where we had four other Tudor kings and queens).
I quite liked Anna in the series and already had liked her in "The Six Wives of Henry VIII". Now I got to "know" her a little better.
Granted, Alison Weir took quite a few liberties with spinning this story into an interesting one, I wasn't too happy that she elaborated on some speculations as if they really had happened that way.
Spoiler:
Anna had two children by a lover, only because Henry believes she wasn't a virgin when she got married.
***
But I suppose that's why they call it historial "fiction". Comparing the book to her other novels, I must say I did not enjoy this as much, mainly due to the made-up part. I now wonder how much she invented about the previous queens. She did lose a lot of her credibility.
Other than that, I loved how life both in Germany as well as in England was portrayed, how young Anna came to a foreign country without speaking the language and had to fear for her life when she noticed that she wasn't what the king wanted.
She must have been a strong woman to get through all of this and keep the king's love, something none of his other queens managed. Maybe Jane Seymour would have managed in the long run but we'll never know.
Find my reviews of Alison Weir's other books here.
From the back cover:
"A GERMAN PRINCESS WITH A GUILTY SECRET.
The King is in love with Anna's portrait, but she has none of the accomplishments he seeks in a new bride.
She prays she will please Henry, for the balance of power in Europe rests on this marriage alliance. But Anna's past is never far from her thoughts, and the rumours rife at court could be her downfall. Everyone knows the King won't stand for a problem queen.
ANNA OF KLEVE THE FOURTH OF HENRY'S QUEENS
HER STORY
Acclaimed, bestselling historian Alison Weir draws on new evidence to conjure a startling image of Anna as you've never seen her before. A charming, spirited woman, she was loved by all who knew her - and even, ultimately, by the King who rejected her.
History tells us she was never crowned. But her story does not end there."
Another description:
"Bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir tells the little-known story of Henry VIII’s fourth wife, as a grieving king chooses a bride sight unseen in the fourth novel in the epic and intrigue-filled Six Tudor Queens series. Newly widowed and the father of an infant son, Henry VIII realizes he must marry again to insure the royal succession. Now forty-six, overweight and unwell, Henry is soundly rejected by some of Europe’s most eligible princesses, but Anna of Kleve - a small German duchy - is twenty-four and eager to wed. Henry requests Anna’s portrait from his court painter, who enhances her looks, painting her straight-on in order not to emphasize her rather long nose. Henry is entranced by the lovely image, only to be bitterly surprised when Anna arrives in England and he sees her in the flesh. She is pleasant looking, just not the lady that Henry had expected. What follows is a fascinating story of this awkward royal union that had to somehow be terminated tactfully. Alison Weir takes a fresh and surprising look at this remarkable royal marriage by describing it from the point of view of Queen Anna, a young woman with hopes and dreams of her own, alone in a royal court that rejected her from the day she arrived."
I'm also a little annoyed with the book itself. I ordered it and received an edition that is totally different from the others that I already have although there is one that would fit in the series. I probably should have checked better before reviewing this but it still is annoying that there are always so many different covers around - even in the same country.
The cover I have looks a little more like chick lit. This would be the one that fits into my collection:
Weir, Alison "Six Tudor Queens: Jane Seymour. The Haunted Queen" - 2018
This was a book about Queen #3 in the series "Six Tudor Queens".
We meet Jane Seymour while Anne Boleyn is still alive, follow her through King Henry's courtship and everything involved, her family wanting her to encourage the King to fall in love with her so they can move higher in society, the other ladies observing what's going on, her own feelings. Alison Weir calls her the "Haunted Queen" and you can understand why this is a good description.
Jane Seymour had initially served Katharine of Aragon whom she loved and always regarded as the "True Queen". When she was forced to leave that household and serve under the new wife of Henry VIII, she did not do that voluntarily. That must have been so hard since those women shared everything.
We know that nobody is certain how those women lived their lives exactly but Alison Weir has a great talent to make us understand how it might have been. We learn so much about the life in their time and we can imagine how it all came to pass.
While reading this, I kept wondering what would have happened, if Jane Seymour had lived, if she hadn't died after giving birth to her first child. Maybe she would have had more male children who would have taken over after Edward died? Maybe Henry VIII would only have had three wives? After all, he is buried beside her.
I also liked how the author explained at the end, why she wrote the book the way she did, why she described Jane Seymour this way and not in a different way.
Eleven days after the death of Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour is to marry the King.
She has witnessed the danger and deceit that lie behind courtly play, and knows she must bear a son . . . or face ruin.
Queen Jane must step out of the shadows cast by Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, but, in doing so, can she expose a gentler side to the brutal King?
Jane Seymour The Third Of Henry's Queens
Her Story
History tells us how she died.
This spellbinding novel explores the life she lived."
Find my reviews of Alison Weir's other books here.
Weir, Alison "Six Tudor Queens. Anne Boleyn. A King's Obsession" - 2017
After having read "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" and "Six Tudor Queens. Katherine of Aragon. The True Queen", I had to read the story of the next queen, probably the most well-known and disputed one of King Henry's wives, Anne Boleyn. A wonderful portrayal of a young woman who seemed to have it all, at least for a while.
Just as the story about Katherine of Aragon, this one is told from the point of view of the new queen, Anne Boleyn. We hear about so many other facts about her life and can understand her a little better, I believe. Was she really the woman who wanted to break up a marriage for the sake of her own advantage, to become queen, and was she thereby responsible for the creation of the Church of England? Or was she simply just another playball in men's politics, a way for her father advance into higher royal circles and thereby getting richer and more important, a new toy for the king to play with?
We may never know the real truth behind her but Alison Weir gave us the chance to have a look at her from a different side, to try to get to know the real Anne Boleyn. The author has a great knowledge about the Tudors and therefore is able to bring them closer to us.
When I was younger, I always wondered how this despotic king managed to find six women who were willing to marry him but I have since learned that getting married back then wasn't the same as it is today, certainly not in the royal and aristocratic circles. I am really looking forward to reading about the other four wives in the next books.
A wonderful novel.
From the back cover:
"The young woman who changed the course of history. Fresh from the palaces of Burgundy and France, Anne draws attention at the English court, embracing the play of courtly love. But when the King commands, nothing is ever a game. Anne has a spirit worthy of a crown - and the crown is what she seeks. At any price. ANNE BOLEYN. The second of Henry's Queens. Her story. History tells us why she died. This powerful novel shows her as she lived."
Find my reviews of Alison Weir's other books here.
Ackroyd, Peter "The History of England, Vol. 2 Tudors" - 2012
After having read the first part of Peter Ackroyd's History of England, "Foundation", this was the second one in the series. He is planning to write six but I am sure this is my favourite since I find the Tudors the most fascinating part of British history.
Peter Ackroyd is a great writer, he just knows all the little details and can put them together so that you get the feeling, you have been there. All the problems the Tudor's encountered, how the Anglican church started, what the problems were etc. I grew up in a country that is half Catholic and half Protestant and there wasn't always much love lost between the two, so it was interesting to see how it all came to pass in England. I have always observed in Anglican services that they were a lot like Catholic ones and this book explains it all. Henry VIII really wanted to remain Catholic, just have nothing to do with the Pope and rule the church himself. That is just a very short explanation, so you better read the book if you want to know more.
In any case, whilst the author focuses a lot on the reformation in this edition, there is also a lot about Henry VIII's successors and how the island carried on after his death. Totally interesting.
From the back cover:
"Peter Ackroyd, one of Britain's most acclaimed writers, brings the age of the Tudors to vivid life in this monumental book in his The History of England series, charting the course of English history from Henry VIII's cataclysmic break with Rome to the epic rule of Elizabeth I. Rich in detail and atmosphere, Tudors is the story of Henry VIII's relentless pursuit of both the perfect wife and the perfect heir; of how the brief royal reign of the teenage king, Edward VI, gave way to the violent reimposition of Catholicism and the stench of bonfires under "Bloody Mary." It tells, too, of the long reign of Elizabeth I, which, though marked by civil strife, plots against her, and even an invasion force, finally brought stability. Above all, it is the story of the English Reformation and the making of the Anglican Church. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, England was still largely feudal and looked to Rome for direction; at its end, it was a country where good governance was the duty of the state, not the church, and where men and women began to look to themselves for answers rather than to those who ruled them."
After reading "Six Tudor Queens. Katherine of Aragon. The True Queen", I discovered that Alison Weir is not just going to write a book about every single one of Henry VIIIs wife but that she has already written a description of all their lives. In this book. I just had to go and read it.
Just as in the novel I read, we get to know the characters very well. There is so much information here about the six ladies who were married to Henry VIII as well as a lot about the king himself and the children. You get a complete picture of the Royal Tudor family, not just the Tudors but all their contemporaries, the European Royal families, the people and families of influence a the time. At the beginning of the book, you find a chronology beginning with the Battle of Bosworth in 1458 and ending with the accession to the throne by Elizabeth I. in 1558. At the end there are several family trees of the families involved. There is so much to learn and Alison Weir makes it so easy to get into the lives of the people living at the time. I sometimes got confused with people having two different names, e.g. if someone is a Duke or an Earl he is named by his title but he also has a Christian name and you only see the relationship to his family by that name. But, the author has thought about that, as well. There is an Index at the end that gives you all the names and pages where they are mentioned.
I always found the Tudors interesting but this book taught me more than all the other books and documentations I read about them. A well written non-fiction book that reads almost like a novel and comprises everything you would look for in almost every other genre. Love and friendship, birth and death, murder, intrigues, betrayal, religion and politics and, of course, politics. What else do you need to find a fascinating book?
From the back cover:
"One of the most powerful monarchs in British history, Henry VIII ruled England in unprecedented splendour. In this remarkable composite biography, Alison Weir brings Henry's six wives vividly to life, revealing each as a distinct and compelling personality in her own right. Drawing upon the rich fund of documentary material from the Tudor period, The Six Wives of Henry VIII shows us a court where personal needs frequently influenced public events and where a life of gorgeously ritualised pleasure was shot through with ambition, treason and violence."
Find my reviews of Alison Weir's other books here.
Weir, Alison "Six Tudor Queens. Katherine of Aragon. The True Queen" - 2015
I always found the Tudor period captivating, I have read about Elizabeth I in Margaret George's great Novel "Elizabeth I" and other works about the Virgin Queen, I have read Hilary Mantel's novels "Wolf Hall" and "Bring up the Bodies" where I learned about the Boleyns, Thomas Cromwell, I have read about Shakespeare in the time of Elizabeth I. but I have never read a whole book about Katherine of Aragon, I have always seen her through the eyes of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, the "old" wife who didn't want to get divorced and therefore forced her husband to break with the church.
Now here is a chance to see it all through Katherine's eyes, learning her side of the story, how she came to England to become the wife of Henry's brother Arthur first but then was taken by Henry after his brother died. Only to be cast aside when she couldn't provide a male heir.
This novel certainly makes us more acquainted with Katherine, her life, her love, her desires, her problems. She was a strong woman, courageous, someone who tried to make the best of what life threw into her way but in the end, her husband was more powerful. Not better, not stronger, he just had more power behind himself.
Alison Weir manages to write about all this and more, how life in Tudor times was, especially in the court, of course, but she introduces so many characters that you can well imagine life anywhere, you even think it was better to be poor and have nothing to do with aristocracy at all.
So many occurrences during Katherine's life determine history and the way we live today.
What if?
Katherine of Aragon had died on her way to England?
Prince Arthur had not died?
Prince Arthur had died before marrying Katherine?
Prince Arthur had died after having had a son?
Katherine had not married Henry after Arthur died?
One of Katherine's sons had survived?
Ann Boleyn had married at the French court?
Henry and Ann Boleyn had never met?
Ann Boleyn had died of "the sweat"?
Queen Mary had not died?
If either of these incidents had or had not occurred, there would be no Anglican church today. At least not the way Henry created it.
It's interesting to follow Katherine's life and ask yourself those questions. A phenomenal book.
"A Spanish princess. Raised to be modest, obedient and devout. Destined to be an English Queen. Six weeks from home across treacherous seas, everything is different: the language, the food, the weather. And for her there is no comfort in any of it. At sixteen years-old, Catalina is alone among strangers. She misses her mother. She mourns her lost brother. She cannot trust even those assigned to her protection. KATHERINE OF ARAGON. The first of Henry’s Queens. Her story. Acclaimed, bestselling historian Alison Weir has based her enthralling account of Henry VIII’s first wife on extensive research and new theories. She reveals a strong, spirited woman determined to fight for her rights and the rightful place of her daughter. A woman who believed that to be the wife of a King was her destiny. History tells us how she died. This captivating novel shows us how she lived."
Find my reviews of Alison Weir's other books here.
Arnold, Catharine "Globe: Life in Shakespeare's London" - 2014
I have read a few books of and about William Shakespeare and so far have enjoyed most of them a lot even though I always say a play is written to be played, not to be read.
However, this is a great non-fiction book about The Globe, how it first was built in Shakespeare's time and what it meant for the world of acting back then and how it influenced our world of the theatre today.
I love reading about historical times but the Tudor times belong to my favourites. There was just so much going on, the world was about to change. The world of great rulers was always the world of great art. And no matter what people say about Elizabeth I, she did a great job in a man's world and with her encouragement, the theatre flourished.
We learn a lot about the theatre here, about Shakespeare's plays, Shakespeare's life and life in Shakespearean times in general.
Informative, interesting, excellent book about interesting, adventurous times.
Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to visit the new Globe but I am determined that I will during my next visit to London.
From the back cover:
"The life of William Shakespeare, Britain's greatest dramatist, was inextricably linked with the history of London. Together, the great writer and the great city came of age and confronted triumph and tragedy. Globe takes its readers on a tour of London through Shakespeare's life and work as, in fascinating detail, Catharine Arnold tells how acting found it's place in the city. We learn about James Burbage, founder of the original Theatre in Shoreditch, who carried timbers across the Thames to build the Globe among the bear-gardens and brothels of Bankside in 1599, and of the terrible night in 1613 when the theatre caught fire during a performance of King Henry VIII. Rebuilt, the Globe continued to stand as a monument to Shakespeare's genius until 1642 when it was destroyed on the orders of Oliver Cromwell. And finally we learn how, 300 years later, Shakespeare's Globe opened once more upon the Bankside, to great acclaim, rising like a phoenix from the flames.
Arnold creates a vivid portrait of Shakespeare and his London from the bard's own plays and contemporary sources, combining a novelist's eye for detail with a historian's grasp of his unique contribution to the development of the English theatre. This is a portrait of Shakespeare, London, the man and the myth."
After reading "Wolf Hall", I knew I'd have to read any sequel to this. I am looking forward to the next one, "The Mirror and the Light" because the story of Thomas Cromwell and/or Henry VIII has not ended, yet.
In this novel, the author focuses on the king's wish to divorce Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell's role in this. Same as the first, Booker Prize-winning novel, we can see a lot what is going on behind the scenes, what the history books don't tell us. Hilary Mantel has a great talent to make the characters come alive again on the pages, to describe them so you really get to know them.
Apparently, Hilary Mantel has written twelve books so far, I am sure I will read more of them.
Hilary Mantel won the Booker Prize for "Bring up the Bodies" in 2012.
From the back cover:
"By 1535 Thomas Cromwell, the blacksmith’s son, is far from his humble origins. Chief Minister to Henry VIII, his fortunes have risen with those of Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife. But Anne has failed to bear a son to secure the Tudor line. At Wolf Hall, Cromwell watches Henry fall in love with plain Jane Seymour. The minister sees what is at stake: not just the king’s pleasure, but the safety of the nation. As he eases a way through the sexual politics of the court, he must negotiate a ‘truth’ that will satisfy Henry and secure his own career. But neither minister nor king will emerge undamaged from the bloody theatre of Anne’s final days. In Bring up the Bodies, sequel to the Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel explores one of the most mystifying and frightening episodes in English history: the destruction of Anne Boleyn."
If you like historical fiction at all and haven't read "Wolf Hall", yet, you should that put on top of your list. This is such a great novel about Thomas Cromwell and all the other people that played an important part in the life of probably the most interesting king among all the kings of England, Henry VIII. Hilary Mantel tries to look behind the curtain of the throne, of the court, of the royal family.
I think it is highly interesting, all the little tidbits of the life of people during the Tudor time. I hardly knew anything about the background, about Thomas Cromwell's childhood, his life. Also all the intrigues behind the divorce from Catherine of Aragon and the subsequent wedding to Ann Boleyn, truly worth looking into.
This has encouraged me to read further, to explore that part of history more. That's what I always love about a book, if it awakens my interest in a subject.
It's not always an easy read and I would have loved a better family tree in the book but all in all, a great novel, a chunky book, just the way I love them. I ordered the follow-up "Bring up the Bodies" right away and hope to read it soon.
I'm also looking forward to watching the TV series. Damian Lewis as Henry VIII? Should be fantastic.
Hilary Mantel won the Booker Prize for "Wolf Hall" in 2009.
From the back cover:
"In this simply one of the finest historical novels in years, the opulent, brutal world of the Tudors comes to glittering, bloody life. It is the backdrop to the rise and rise of Thomas Cromwell; lowborn boy, charmer, bully, master of deadly intrigue, and, finally, most powerful of all Henry VIII’s courtiers."
I am a member of a photo group where we get a prompt for every day and have to take an appropriate picture. Because we had the alphabet one month, I decided to do a book theme.
I always added either the link to my
blog or to the books. I have decided to post a picture every week so my
booky friends can enjoy them, as well.
Q is for ... Queens and Kings
All the books I read that belong to the category "history" (where you will find most of the books I read that include kings and queens) can be found here.
Bryson, Bill "Shakespeare: The World as a Stage" - 2007
Bill Bryson belongs to one of my favourite authors. I first started to love him for his hilarious travel stories, then admire him for his knowledge about the English language and in the end respect him for his in-depth research into all sorts of knowledge.
He has outdone himself again. I knew that we didn't know much about Shakespeare's life but I never knew that we knew so little. But to make a whole book out of the little that is known and to paint a good picture about one of the most important people in history, that requires quite a talent and I can't imagine a better writer for this than Bill Bryson.
He guides us into the world of playwrights, almost the beginning of theatre as we know it. We visit the England of Elizabeth I with all its glory and horror, we see how people lived and died. All that through the description of one man of whom little is known. But what a man, he had a profound impact on this world, even on today's society. His contribution to the English language is huge and anyone who learns it comes across him at one point or another. Having said that, even if people don't learn the English language, his plays have been translated into every major language, and will have been watched by more people than those of any other writer dead or alive.
And, as I said before, I think only Bill Bryson would know how to tackle this enormous task of writing about someone who has been dead for almost 400 years and left little behind than his plays.
"World-famous writer Bill Bryson brings us this brilliantly readable biography of our greatest dramatist and poet William Shakespeare. Examining centuries of myths, half-truths and downright lies, Bill Bryson makes sense of the man behind the masterpieces. In a journey through the streets of Shakespeare's time, he brings to life the hubbub of Elizabethan England and a host of characters along the way. Bryson celebrates the glory of Shakespeare’s language - his ceaseless inventiveness gave us hundreds of now indispensable phrases, images and words - and delights in details of his fall-outs and folios, poetry and plays. Stitching together information from a vast array of sources, he created a unique celebration of one of the most significant, and least understood, figures in history - not to mention a classic piece of Bill Bryson."
I first heard about his book through the Chunkster Reading Challenge. I probably would have come across it anyway since it belongs to the kind of genre I do like to read. Historical Fiction. The story of Elizabeth I. 680 pages of it. Told by herself and her cousin Lettice, the granddaughter of her mother's sister. So we can see various sides of the Queen's life.
Of course, this is a historical novel, that means most of it is fiction based on the life of the protagonist. The facts that can be traced back (year of birth and death, people they met etc.) have to be correct but the rest can only be guessed. What I still like about these kind of novels it what we learn about the life of people during that time in general. How did the poor live, how the aristocrats. What went on behind closed curtains, what did they need the different servants for? That is why I love historical novels.
And this one was very well written. I am sure I will read more by this author.
"1588. In the height of her power is the legendary Elizabeth Tudor, history's most enigmatic queen. She is the virgin with many suitors; the victor of the Armada who hated war; the jewel-bedecked woman always pinching pennies.
Elizabeth's flame-haired cousin, Lettice Knollys, is her bitter rival. In love with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and mother to the Earl of Essex, the mercurial nobleman who challenged Elizabeth's throne, Lettice has been intertwined with Elizabeth since childhood.
This is a story of two women of fierce intellect and desire: one trying to protect her country and throne; the other trying to regain power and position for her family. Their rivalry soon involves everyone close to Elizabeth - from the famed courtiers who enriched the crown to the legendary poets and playwrights. And, for Elizabeth, to be married to her people meant she must rule as much with her heart as with her head . . ."
