Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen (Six Tudor Queens, #1)

by Alison Weir

"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, Weirbrings 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. Advance praise for Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen "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 toenthrall."--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 Acclaim for the novels of Alison Weir The Marriage Game "Entrancing. Weir manages to weave actual history and the imagined kind together seamlessly."--Huntington News "Weir's credible characters and blend of the personal and political will sweep up readers of this engrossing behind-the-scenes psychological portrait of Elizabeth."--Publishers Weekly A Dangerous Inheritance "A juicy mix of romance, drama and Tudor history. pure bliss for today's royal watchers."--Ladies' Home Journal "Highly compelling [with] plenty to keep readers enthralled."--Historical Novel Review Captive Queen "Should be savored. Weir wastes no time captivating her audience."--Seattle Post-Intelligencer "Stunning. As always, Weir renders the bona fide plot twists of her heroine's life with all the mastery of a thriller author, marrying historical fact with licentious fiction."--The Denver Post"--

"Young Katherine of Aragon, daughter of Spain's powerful monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, was an exquisite prize in the royal marriage market. Golden-haired, sixteen years old, she was sent to England to marry the future king, Arthur, Prince of Wales. But when Arthur died a few months after their wedding, Katherine's bright future was suddenly eclipsed. It took his younger brother Henry VIII eight long years to do the honorable thing and marry her. Their union was briefly happy until Katherine failed to bear a son, and Anne Boleyn caught Henry's eye.."--

• ISBN10: 1101966483
• ISBN13: 9781101966488
• Publish Date: 31 May 2016 (first published 5 May 2016)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Imprint: Ballantine Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 624
• Language: English

Reviews

[Beth C.]

Katherine of Aragon, the first wife – and many would say the only *true* wife – of Henry VIII. A devout woman who watched her King become a monster. In this book, the first in a series called The Six Tudor Queens, Allison Weir gives Katherine the voice that she often didn’t have during life, and that has been brushed aside by the notoriety of her husband after death. Always being interested in this portion of history, I was excited to read about her. In most ways, the book fulfilled my hopes and expectations, though there were a few things that bothered me.

For most, Katherine of Aragon is mostly a footnote in history, a queen who was put aside as her king became more and more debauched. In this book, Weir shows the human side of Katherine. The woman who truly came to love her king, though she had been married to (and widowed by) his older brother, who had been extremely ill when they married. The marriage was never consummated, and Katherine, ever a pawn between countries, was left in a state of limbo. For several years, her status at court diminished, until she was forced to pawn her own jewelry to keep food on her table and clothes on her back. Eventually, she was married to Henry, and from there the book really takes off. The reader gets an inside look into Katherine’s life, from her marriage to two kings, to her death far away from court, broke and mostly alone.

I found myself riding a bit of a roller coaster while reading this book. First of all, it is historical fiction, so by and large it is one person’s attempt at recreating history. My biggest peeve with this particular attempt was that Weir often made Katherine out to be an absolutely blind fool. Over and over again, it seems that Katherine was used, and never did she see it. This goes equally for Henry – I struggle to believe that this queen would have insisted for so long that Henry would recognize the error of his ways and all would be right again with the world. Katherine was in every sense a strong Spanish woman, who (I believe) would have recognized at some point that Henry was well on his way to destroying himself and his country. Court back then was a vicious game, and for her to have survived as long as she did suggests to me that she was no simpering princess.

However, having said that – the book is fascinating. As Weir explains in the back, it is absolutely necessary to try and understand Katherine from the time in which she lived, and this book definitely brings that period to life. Women then, whether queens or not, were mostly just pawns in a vast political game where no one knew all the score at any given time. Overnight, they could be reduced to poverty when they had been raised in riches. Intrigue sprang up in every corner, people vying to be favored in court. It was a dangerous time, when disagreeing with the king could quite literally get you killed. Weir brings all of this to life, and I found myself in tears as the book ended.

I look forward to the next book in the series, for a couple of reasons. One, I’m curious to see if/how Weir overlaps Queens (as Henry certainly did). It could potentially be tedious to read so much of the same information over again, even from another perspective. However, Weir’s writing is such that she has a way of truly wrapping the reader into the story and bringing the characters alive, which makes reading about history that much more interesting. Overall, I highly recommend this and will be waiting for book number two!