Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen: Six Tudor Queens 1

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Her maid-of-honour and dear friend, Maria de Salinas, was standing beside her. ‘It cannot be long now till we come into port,’ Catalina said. ‘When I think how many years I have dreamed of coming to England, I cannot quite believe I am nearly there. I thank God that you are with me, Maria. I would not want to face this alone.’ There was no one else to whom she would have admitted that. This comes through from the start, when we join the young Catalina arriving in England, unable to even speak the language yet full of hope and optimism. I like the skilled development of even the minor characters we’ve come to expect of Alison Weir, particularly her harsh Spanish ‘Duenna’, clinging on the old traditions, and Katherine’s maidservants, driven by their own self-interest. Philippa Gregory για την Αικατερίνη της Αραγωνίας, το The Constant Princess, δεν έμεινα εντελώς ικανοποιημένος οπότε ήθελα να διαβάσω κάτι καλύτερο για το θέμα. Τελικά αυτό το βιβλίο μου προσέφερε αυτό ακριβώς.

Six Tudor Queens Series by Alison Weir - Goodreads

I am not giving you any summary's story, the events we all know... it strikes me, however, that the "big question" revolved above all on the terror of Henry, the big fear of not leaving any heir to the Throne, risking therefore to leave England to other houses. His obsession was not born in one day, but grew little by little, Catherine always remained faithful and close to her husband, helping him with his great wisdom and humanity, to understand the madness of the thing.... but nothing to do. Whether girl or woman, princess or queen, females are to be chaste and demure. A wife’s duty is to be silent, to put her husband’s image before hers, and to prioritize her husband’s needs before all else. “[T]he voices of women, even queens, counted for very little.” Even education is beyond reach, as teaching women is considered frivolous with emphasis directed, instead, on a woman being moral and pure. Alison Weir is the top-selling female historian (and the fifth best-selling historian overall) in the United Kingdom, and has sold over 2.7 million books worldwide. She has published seventeen history books, including The Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Princes in the Tower, Elizabeth the Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry VIII: King and Court, Katherine Swynford, The Lady in the Tower and Elizabeth of York. Alison has also published five historical novels, including Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth. Her latest biography is The Lost Tudor Princess, about Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox. She is soon to publish Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen, the first in a series of novels about the wives of Henry VIII. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences and an Honorary Life Patron of Historic Royal Palaces, and is married with two adult children.The Princess of Scotland is an e-short and companion piece to Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen, the compelling fifth novel in the Six Tudor Queens series by bestselling author and historian Alison Weir. 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.

Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen: Six Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen: Six

Margery Otwell, a self-made gentleman’s young daughter, gets her first taste of courtly life when she takes up a position as chamberer to Lady Peche of Lullingstone Castle. Dances, music, feasting – and a seduction – follow, and Margery learns the rules of courtly love the hard way. It amazes me very much how it is perfectly in line with the true historical facts, let us clarify not only the rise of Henry VIII, the court life, about all the Dukes and Counts that revolve around the figure of the King., but absolutely true are all the epistolary references that we find reported in the book, obviously leaving room for all that romanticized component that keeps the story of Catherine standing up.I actually enjoyed this portrait of Katherine from first arrival in England to her death. I'm a fan of the Tudor period. This was well written and easy light enjoyable reading.

Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife: Six Tudor Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife: Six Tudor

A novel told from the perspective of Katherine of Aragon, stretching from those first heady days when she arrived in England as the bride-to-be of Arthur, first-born son of King Henry VII, to her last painful and ignominious hours she spent as the discarded, yet defiant, wife of King Henry VIII. But, only a month later, the King has begun his search for a new wife. Will Mary accept this new queen, or will she be forced to live in the shadows of Queen Katherine, Queen Anne Boleyn and Queen Jane for ever? This was a wonderful telling of the life Katherine of Aragon, the true Queen and wife of Henry the Eighth. Katherine is presented as a woman of high morals and standards who stood by both the love she had for Henry and the life that she ultimately was condemned to lead. Hers was a sad life, deprived of her husband's love and denied the ability to be and see her daughter. Her loss of so many children while being married to Henry, was so tragic and yet her Christian faith allowed her to continue on. I enjoyed reading this but Weir is not a natural novelist: where her historical writing is often dense and alive to the complications of the period, this fictional rendering of the life of Katherine is simple, uncomplicated and straightforward. It follows her life from the marriage negotiations with Henry VII through till her death and smooths out all the unknowable and, perhaps, most interesting things about her life: so here we know exactly what happened (or didn't) on her wedding night with Prince Arthur, for example. This is a tale recounted by a beloved queen and by all accounts a principled and courageous person.We will see her little more than a little girl, arriving from Alcalá de Henares because she was engaged to Arthur, Prince of Wales, eldest son of Henry VII of England... Alison Weir was very good at creating dialogues rich in historical and cultural references, makes Catherine speak as a true Queen, or rather, as a Queen so learned and wise ( so everyone at the time believed her) to encourage the reader to deepen some historical event or philosophical or humanistic works reported in the Queen’s dialogues. Katherine of Aragon’ is the first in the ‘Six Tudor Queens’ series by best-selling British author, Alison Weir. Each chapter covers a year or two in Katherine’s life, charting events from her arrival in England in 1501 to her death in 1536. The King’s Painter by bestselling historian Alison Weir is an e-short and companion piece to the captivating fourth novel in the Six Tudor Queens series, Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets.

Katherine of Aragón: The True Queen (Six Tudor Queens, Katherine of Aragón: The True Queen (Six Tudor Queens,

Katherine refused to accept any of the alternatives Henry VIII offered her, annulment, entering a nunnery or divorce. She was defending her daughter Mary's right to royal lineage and her own conscience, which said that she was Henry VIII's lawful wife. She believed that it would be a great sin to give in to Henry VIII. Throughout the book, Weir drops people into the story whom we know will feature in the future. She tells us that Thomas Boleyn was a favourite and we discover that Henry had a relationship with his daughter, Mary. We then find that Mary has a younger sister, Anne who ultimately becomes Katherine’s nemesis. Jane Seymour, a gentle lady-in-waiting, has arrived at court and Maud Parr, mother of Kate, plays a pivotal role in Katherine’s household. Brought up in the magnificent castles of Scotland under the storm of her parent’s turbulent marriage, Margaret Douglas is well-acquainted with the changing whims of those who hold power. And when her father is exiled by King James V, Margaret is sent to England to seek refuge with her uncle, King Henry VIII.Alison Weir è stata bravissima a creare dei dialoghi ricchi di riferimenti storici e culturali, fa parlare Caterina come una vera Regina, o meglio, come una Regina così dotta e sapiente ( così tutti all' epoca la ritenevano) da spingere il lettore ad approfondire qualche avvenimento storico o opera filosofica o umanistica riportata nei dialoghi della Regina. 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, Weir brings to life the tumultuous tale of Katherine of Aragón. Henry's first, devoted, and "true" queen. While this is considered a piece of fiction, any reader who knows their history or has devoured much of Weir's past work will realise that it is steeped in reality. As I read, I became aware that the 'fiction' moniker was placed there more to validate the detailed dialogue than a shuffling of facts to create a more dramatic story. Weir lays down a powerful narrative that flows effectively throughout Katherine's life and shows that while she was isolated from her Spanish parents, she held firm to protect herself and her daughter from Henry's self-centred approach to life. While long and highly detailed, Weir offers the reader an insightful look into the life of this first of Henry's six wives, perhaps the strongest advocate of them all. Weir brings Katherine of Aragon to life in this opening novel and leaves readers itching for the next instalment, sure to be filled with as much drama, bridging from the narrative peppered throughout this book. There is surely crossover material to be explored more thoroughly within the second novel, though Weir is able to secure focus on events from Katherine's perspective. This novel offers everything the reader could expect from perusing its title, with chapters full of anecdotes woven into powerful dialogue. 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? The book is divided in chapters labeled with the years. The narrative moves from scene to scene, generally brief, with any amount of time passing in between. Sometimes this style is annoying, but it was totally appropriate for this story. I ended up Googling a lot of historical figures and events relating to the book and learned a lot that way, thanks to the book. A lot of research went into this to make it as accurate as possible.