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Book Reviewed by:Philippa Gregory brings to life one of history's most inspiring women and creates one of the most compelling characters in historical fiction - Katherine of Aragon, Queen of England.
I am Catalina, Princess of Spain, daughter of the two greatest monarchs
the world has ever known...and I will be Queen of England."
Thus, bestselling author Philippa Gregory introduces one of her most
unforgettable heroines: Katherine of Aragon. Daughter of Queen Isabella and
King Ferdinand of Spain, Katherine has been fated her whole life to marry
Prince Arthur of England. When they meet and are married, the match becomes
as passionate as it is politically expedient. The young lovers revel in each
other's company and plan the England they will make together. But
tragically, aged only fifteen, Arthur falls ill and extracts from his
sixteen-year-old bride a deathbed promise to marry his brother, Henry;
become Queen; and fulfill their dreams and her destiny.
"They tell me nothing but lies here and they think they can break my
spirit. I believe what I choose and say nothing. I am not as simple as I
seem."
Widowed and alone in the avaricious world of the Tudor court, Katherine
has to sidestep her father-in-law's desire for her and convince him, and an
incredulous Europe, that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated, that
there is no obstacle to marriage with Henry. For seven years, she endures
the treachery of spies, the humiliation of poverty, and intense loneliness
and despair while she waits for the inevitable moment when she will step
into the role she has prepared for all her life. Then, like her warrior
mother, Katherine must take to the battlefield and save England when its old
enemies the Scots come over the border and there is no one to stand against
them but the new Queen.
"It was my dying husband's hope, my mother's wish, and God's will that
I should be Queen of England; and for them and for the country, I will be
Queen of England until I die."
Raised on the battlefield and in the most beautiful Moorish palace in the
world, sent to England alone at the age of sixteen to take her place in a
court where she couldn't speak the language, and abandoned and forced to
endure poverty after the death of her husband, Katherine remained a woman of
indomitable spirit, unwavering faith, and extraordinary strength. Philippa
Gregory brings to life one of history's most inspiring women and creates one
of the most compelling characters in historical fiction.
It would seem that Philippa Gregory makes considerable efforts to be historically accurate - but as we all know history is, to a greater or lesser extent, a matter of interpretation. The only significant criticisms of this book are from a reviewer who questions Gregory's interpretation of events - for example, whether it is credible that Katherine led the defence against the Scots. I don't have enough knowledge of the period to cast an opinion, other than to say that as the daughter of the formidable Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, who had jointly driven the Moors from Granada, it doesn't seem beyond reason to believe that Catalina of Aragon would be able to hold off a few Scots while her husband was off fighting the French!..continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Philippa Gregory was born in Kenya in 1954, and moved to
England with her family at the age of two. She was a rebel at school,
attempting to organize her fellow pupils into a Union and barely scraping
through her A Levels (exams taken before leaving school at 18). Needing
to earn a living she trained as a journalist before realizing that she ought to
be at University. She went to Sussex University to read English but had to
take a compulsory Introduction to History course in her first year - the studies
were a revelation which would transform her life; she swapped her degree to
History and discovered a passion for the past.
She lives in the North of England with her husband and two children; in ...
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