selmandt's review against another edition
emotional
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
elle_loves_reading's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful historical novel very well written by an author whose other books I look forward to reading. I recommend this one!
aliceee3's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Very long but in digestible chunks. Fascinating the way the tone of the world was portrayed. The book did a good job of portraying the opinions towards other religions at the time without penalising them or offering a negative view of them to the reader. Hopefully I’ve explained that well. I enjoyed it.
bamairi's review against another edition
informative
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kandicez's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoy Gregory's style. She makes us not only feel we know these historical characters, but tells us things we haven't heard or imagined even though most of her subjects are pretty infamous. That was certainly the case here, with Catalina/Katherine of Aragon, first Queen to Henry the Eighth.
I've read quite a few books about the Tudors, and Katherine tends to come across as a good woman, but something of a religious zealot. Gregory's Katherine is religious, every woman of the time was to an extent, but she was no zealot. She simply feels she was chosen by God and groomed by her mother to be the Queen of England. Nothing else. Since the age of three. God and her mother are never wrong, so Queen she will be despite the obstacles she faces.
Everyone knows the story. Was she Arthur, her first husband's lover, or was he impotent? If they were never lovers, then her marriage to Arthur's younger brother Harry, later, King Henry, is valid. Here Gregory decides Arthur and Katherine were true lovers, but because they have plans for the Kingdom England can become, Arthur begs Katherine on his deathbed not to reveal this. They both know her only path to the throne is through marriage to Harry. A marriage to Harry can only be valid if she comes to him a virgin. This is Katherine's Great Lie. Gregory presents this in a way that seems not only reasonable, but actually honorable.
After many years of waiting, and thwarting other plans for her, Katherine finally does become Queen of England. She is a good queen, proving that, once again, God and her mother are never wrong. Gregory leaves no doubt Katherine is a much better ruler and manager than Henry. He was, after all, the second son, so not really trained to be King. Katherine lives her life in service to her country and her King and it comes across the page as a labor of love. Unfortunately Henry is not a faithful man.
I had to rate this book 3 stars, instead of the 4 stars most of it deserved because of the ending. Katherine's story is told in exquisite detail, from her young girlhood until she is accused by Henry of being Arthur's true wife and therefor not his. Gregory leaves us, literally, on the threshhold of the court. The abrupt ending was very unsettling to me. My guess is that Gregory wants us to go on to read [b:The Other Boleyn Girl|37470|The Other Boleyn Girl|Philippa Gregory|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255579290s/37470.jpg|3248536], and I will, but this was Katherine's story. I wanted a proper ending.
I've read quite a few books about the Tudors, and Katherine tends to come across as a good woman, but something of a religious zealot. Gregory's Katherine is religious, every woman of the time was to an extent, but she was no zealot. She simply feels she was chosen by God and groomed by her mother to be the Queen of England. Nothing else. Since the age of three. God and her mother are never wrong, so Queen she will be despite the obstacles she faces.
Everyone knows the story. Was she Arthur, her first husband's lover, or was he impotent? If they were never lovers, then her marriage to Arthur's younger brother Harry, later, King Henry, is valid. Here Gregory decides Arthur and Katherine were true lovers, but because they have plans for the Kingdom England can become, Arthur begs Katherine on his deathbed not to reveal this. They both know her only path to the throne is through marriage to Harry. A marriage to Harry can only be valid if she comes to him a virgin. This is Katherine's Great Lie. Gregory presents this in a way that seems not only reasonable, but actually honorable.
After many years of waiting, and thwarting other plans for her, Katherine finally does become Queen of England. She is a good queen, proving that, once again, God and her mother are never wrong. Gregory leaves no doubt Katherine is a much better ruler and manager than Henry. He was, after all, the second son, so not really trained to be King. Katherine lives her life in service to her country and her King and it comes across the page as a labor of love. Unfortunately Henry is not a faithful man.
I had to rate this book 3 stars, instead of the 4 stars most of it deserved because of the ending. Katherine's story is told in exquisite detail, from her young girlhood until she is accused by Henry of being Arthur's true wife and therefor not his. Gregory leaves us, literally, on the threshhold of the court. The abrupt ending was very unsettling to me. My guess is that Gregory wants us to go on to read [b:The Other Boleyn Girl|37470|The Other Boleyn Girl|Philippa Gregory|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255579290s/37470.jpg|3248536], and I will, but this was Katherine's story. I wanted a proper ending.
gooberdawn's review against another edition
5.0
lively and vibrant characters as always. Always enjoyable to have historical figures come to life in new perspectives.
emilyusuallyreading's review against another edition
3.0
What I Liked
Gregory is a wonderful storyteller. I was wrapped up into the lives of the Tudors (a historical family that I find so fascinating).
I loved seeing Catherine of Aragon as a strong, young figure instead of only the old, unwanted queen. I also enjoyed glimpses of her mother and her incredible historical role. Something I never thought about until reading this novel was the language difficulty when Catherine moved from Spain to England. She was expected to be a royal leader, a wife, and essentially a member of this family - but she couldn't even communicate with them outside of Latin and a little French.
What I Didn't Like
Switching point of views from first person (in italics of all things too) to third person didn't work for me. Instead, it seemed like Gregory couldn't decide if she wanted to tell the story from Catalina's perspective or from an omniscient narrator, so she went with both. I found the perspective switch distracting and the constant italics annoying.
Gregory is a wonderful storyteller. I was wrapped up into the lives of the Tudors (a historical family that I find so fascinating).
I loved seeing Catherine of Aragon as a strong, young figure instead of only the old, unwanted queen. I also enjoyed glimpses of her mother and her incredible historical role. Something I never thought about until reading this novel was the language difficulty when Catherine moved from Spain to England. She was expected to be a royal leader, a wife, and essentially a member of this family - but she couldn't even communicate with them outside of Latin and a little French.
What I Didn't Like
Switching point of views from first person (in italics of all things too) to third person didn't work for me. Instead, it seemed like Gregory couldn't decide if she wanted to tell the story from Catalina's perspective or from an omniscient narrator, so she went with both. I found the perspective switch distracting and the constant italics annoying.
lindasdarby's review against another edition
yes, this isn't going to happen. I am really interested in books a little more historically based on Katharine of Aragon but this one is just too...
lady_astrid's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
plisetskys's review against another edition
3.0
“i realize that i can laugh, that it is possible to be happy, that laughter and hope can come back to me.”