Not her best, but a good yarn as usual

Thanks Mum!

Yes, I would agree that it's not her best. Katherine is an interesting character, but her story is hardly helped by the fact that she sits around for seven years waiting for something to happen. I heard recently that there's actually a better book around telling the story of Katharine of Aragon; if only I could remember what it was...

I'll see if AceofHearts still wants this...

Thank you so much for the RABCK!! It quite made my day!!!. Thanks also for the postcard!!!

Katherine of Aragon is born Catalina, the Spanish Infanta, to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. At a very young age she is betrothed to Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII of England. She has been raised to become first Princess of Wales and then Queen of England. She must learn new ways and customs as she travels to England to marry. He father-in-law to be is a tyrant and Arthur is little more than a boy.

After she marries she adapts and eventually a passionate love develops between her and Arthur. She is devastated when Arthur dies far too prematurely. Bearing in mind her constant upbringing of that to be Queen of England she becomes determined to marry Arthur's spoiled brother, Henry. With no help from her parents and unable to return home due to her dowry which is in question she manipulates and maneuvers herself to be Queen.

I found this book fascinating. Instead of covering the years with Henry so speedily, I wish Gregory had written it as a sequel.

Reading now!

Ever since she was born, Catalina the Infanta of Spain knew she was betrothed to Prince Arthur of England, set to become the Queen of England. She watches her parents fight against the Moors and drive them out of Spain, pulling from their strength when she is sent to England at the age of 16. She marries Arthur and becomes the Princess of Wales and the two learn to love each other after a rocky start. However Arthur dies after only five months of marriage and Catalina has to find a way to still become the Queen of England.

This is a very interesting look at what things may have been like for Queen Katherine. Many suspected that her marriage was consummated with Arthur and this novel tells the story of a woman in love with her husband who makes him a promise on his deathbed to become the Queen.

I found the first 50 pages of this book to be quite slow and I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy the book. Once Catalina got to England, things started to get more interesting and I got in to the novel. The book focuses on her marriage to Arthur and her fall from grace after that. Once she marries Henry, it seems that Gregory no longer has any use for the story, skips a bunch of details, and then ends the book. This novel is definitely an interesting read but is not Gregory's best.

This book is back with me!

mailed to my birthday partner today. Have a great day!

this got here safely!

Thank you for such a wonderful and thoughtful birthday gift.

I've ended up with two copies of this book. So, I'm making one available to pass on now. I'll let you know what I think of the book after reading it.

currently reading

Like previous readers I thought that the last portion of the book was extremely rushed. I know that Katherine of Aragon's latter years are more well known and documented, but I thought that the book lacked something by cutting off before the birth of princess Mary, and the court scene proclaiming her marriage to King Henry VIII not legal.

I did find the idea of love in her marriage to Henry's brother Arthur an interesting one. They were married for such a short time, and nothing has really survived history regarding this earlier part of her life compared to her time as Queen of England.

I agree that this was not her best book, but I did enjoy it much more than some of her other books (The Virgin's Lover comes to mind immediately).

I am reserving this copy to pass on to my sister when I see her in a few weeks for her spring break as she has The Other Boleyn Girl waiting to be read currently and shares a love of historical fiction with me.

Passed on to my sister.