Skip to main content

Katheryn Howard, The Scandalous Queen (Six Tudor Queens #5) by Alison Weir: A Book Review

Katheryn Howard, The Scandalous Queen (Six Tudor Queens #5)
Author: Alison Weir

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Release Date: 2020

Pages: 480

Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir tells the tragic story of Henry VIII’s fifth wife, a nineteen-year-old beauty with a hidden past, in this fifth novel in the sweeping Six Tudor Queens series. 


     In the spring of 1540, Henry VIII is desperate to be rid of his unappealing German queen, Anna of Kleve. A prematurely aged and ailing forty-nine, with an ever-growing waistline, he casts an amorous eye on a pretty nineteen-year-old brunette, Katheryn Howard. Like her cousin Anne Boleyn, Katheryn is a niece of the Duke of Norfolk, England’s premier Catholic peer, who is scheming to replace Anna of Kleve with a good Catholic queen. A flirtatious, eager participant in the life of the royal court, Katheryn readily succumbs to the king’s attentions when she is intentionally pushed into his path by her ambitious family.


     Henry quickly becomes besotted and is soon laying siege to Katheryn’s virtue. But as instructed by her relations, she holds out for marriage and the wedding takes place a mere fortnight after the king’s union to Anna is annulled. Henry tells the world his new bride is a rose without a thorn, and extols her beauty and her virtue, while Katheryn delights in the pleasures of being queen and the rich gifts her adoring husband showers upon her: the gorgeous gowns, the exquisite jewels, and the darling lap-dogs. She comes to love the ailing, obese king, enduring his nightly embraces with fortitude and kindness. If she can bear him a son, her triumph will be complete. But Katheryn has a past of which Henry knows nothing, and which comes back increasingly to haunt hereven as she courts danger yet again. What happens next to this naïve and much-wronged girl is one of the saddest chapters in English history.


     My Review: Katheryn Howard is the fifth wife of Henry VIII. In this new novel, Mrs. Weir chronicles Katheryn Howard’s short life from her early beginnings to her tragic death. Katheryn Howard is from an impoverished but noble family. She longs for love. When two handsome men confess their love for her, she gives them her heart. When she becomes a lady-in-waiting to Queen Anna of Kleve, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Shortly afterwards, she marries him. As queen, she falls in love with Thomas Culpepper. Katheryn tries to keep her romance with Thomas Culpepper and her past a secret. Katheryn fights to hold onto all that she holds dear at the cost of her own life.


Katheryn is not a likable character. She seems to be a selfish character. She does not realize that her actions hurt others. She makes many foolish decisions and does not have any common sense. I find it odd that she did not learn her lesson from Anne Boleyn. Therefore, I had no sympathy for Katheryn Howard. This is because the novel shows that it was Katheryn herself who caused her own downfall. Katheryn also was unprepared as queen and did not seem to be a good queen. She does not seem to want to establish a close relationship with her stepchildren. Instead, she seemed interested only in pretty clothes, jewels, and dancing. Thus, Katheryn does not take her queenship seriously but only uses it to pursue her own personal pleasure.


Overall, this story is about betrayal, secrets, and trying to conceal one’s past. Out of all the Six Tudor Queens series, this is the worst. The characters are very flat and many of their actions do not make sense. For instance, why would Jane Rochford help Katheryn Howard make clandestine meetings with Thomas Culpepper? What was her own gain? The book does not explain her motivations. The writing of the book is very stilted and some lines were so awful that I laughed. Also, there were many repetitive scenes and the story was very drawn out. Thus, this novel seemed more like a rushed first draft hoping to meet a certain deadline. Mrs. Weir is usually an experienced writer that is known for meticulous details and attention to history. Her books, both nonfiction and fiction, are usually a treat. However, this was not her best work, and I expected more. I recommend this for those fans of Tudor Queens. However, I find The Rose Without A Thorn, The Boleyn Inheritance, and The King’s Rose to be far superior historical retellings of Katheryn Howard’s life.


Rating: 2 out of 5 stars


This is a video of Alison Weir talking about the fifth book in the Six Tudor Queen series, Katheryn Howard, The Scandalous Queen:


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki: A Book Review

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post Author: Allison Pataki Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Release Date: February 15, 2022 Pages: 381 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. . . . So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds. Marjorie had an insatiable drive to live and love and to give more than she got. From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood’s biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweath...

Last Impressions (Jane Austen Investigations #2) by Laura Martin: A Book Review

Last Impressions (Jane Austen Investigations #2) Author: Laura Martin Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: Sapere Books Book Release Date: 2023 Pages: 274 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Can solving a mystery mend a broken heart…?       1796, Hampshire, England        After having her heart broken by the man she thought she was going to marry, Jane Austen is in desperate need of a distraction. So her sister, Cassandra, accepts every social invitation going, and one of them is to stay with a family friend at Melmont Hall.        Mrs Paulson welcomes them to her home and introduces them to the other guests who have arrived for a dinner party. But when they sit down to eat, Mr Paulson is nowhere to be found.       After discovering his study is locked, the guests break in and find a shocking scene....

A Poisoned Fortune (Jane Austen Investigations #3) by Laura Martin: A Book Review

A Poisoned Fortune (Jane Austen Investigations #3) Author: Laura Martin Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: Sapere Books Book Release Date: 2023 Pages: 270 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: When a fortune is at stake, anyone could be a suspect… 1797, Bath, England       Devastated by the news of the death of her fiancé, Cassandra Austen has slipped into a melancholy that her sister Jane is desperate to relieve.       Jane suggests a short trip to stay with their aunt, Mrs Leigh-Perrot, in Bath with the aim of lifting Cassandra’s spirits.      Whilst out walking they meet Lady Arabella Waters, and they receive an invitation to meet her at the musical celebration in the Parade Gardens by the river.        But after taking a sip of his drink, Lady Arabella’s husband, Lord Waters collapses, dead.   ...