Rose Without a Thorn

Queens of England #11

by Jean Plaidy

From the pen of legendary historical novelist Jean Plaidy comes an unforgettable true story of royalty, passion, and innocence lost.Born into an impoverished branch of the noble Howard family, young Katherine is plucked from her home to live with her grandmother, the Duchess of Norfolk. The innocent girl quickly learns that her grandmother's puritanism is not shared by Katherine's free-spirited cousins, with whom she lives. Beautiful and impressionable, Katherine becomes involved in two ill-fated love affairs before her sixteenth birthday. Like her cousin Anne Boleyn, she leaves her grandmother's home to become a lady-in-waiting at the court of Henry VIII. The royal palaces are exciting to a young girl from the country, and Katherine's duties there allow her to be near her handsome cousin, Thomas Culpepper, whom she has loved since childhood.But when Katherine catches the eye of the aging and unhappily married king, she is forced to abandon her plans for a life with Thomas and marry King Henry. Overwhelmed by the change in her fortunes, bewildered and flattered by the adoration of her husband, Katherine is dazzled by the royal life. But her bliss is short-lived as rumors of her wayward past come back to haunt her, and Katherine's destiny takes another, deadly, turn.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Tudor Period, British Literature, Royalty, 16th Century

Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katherine Howard has always been my least favorite of the wives of Henry VIII. She lacked the royal dignity of Katherine of Aragon, the wit and sophistication of her cousin Anne Boleyn, the quiet calculation of Jane Seymour, the sweet (yet canny) acceptance of Anne of Cleves, and the mature calm of Katherine Parr. Katherine Howard was little more then a uneducated, teenage nitwit. The fact that she was uneducated was completely out of her control. The fact of her youth is more an indictment against fat, salacious King Henry then herself. However, the fact of her nit-wittery can be firmly laid at the foot of her royal bed, beside the equally stupid figure of Thomas Culpepper. Were these two people on crack? Who the heck thought that carrying on an adulterous sexual affair under the nose of their rampantly paranoid sovereign was a smart move? Does this monumental lapse of self-control (not to mention good judgement) completely cement the fact that sex IS the most driving force in the universe?

I've read several fiction and non-fiction accounts of Katherine Howard's rise and fall, and have always been glad to come to the end of her wretched story. This royal marriage always feels more like a Tudor-era Entertainment Tonight special on the nuptual exploits of Kim Kardashian - all flash, no substance.

So when I give a fictionalized book about Katherine Howard 4 stars, you have to know that it takes one heck of a writer to render the fifth Tudor wife worthy of any sympathy and understanding that I possess. Jean Plaidy is that writer, and her tale of Katherine's sorry excuse for royal adultery makes me a bit verklempt by the time she has her pretty little empty head removed from her body. Under Plaidy's pen, Katherine is a girl more wronged against then in the wrong. She has a type of emotional purity that makes you want to put your arms around her, go buy a gallon of ice-cream with two spoons and find a quiet place to sit and have a nice long girl-chat. You sympathize with her struggles as she realizes that she's not an intellectual powerhouse - only a warm, beautiful girl who exudes a sexual charm she can't control. In the end, Katherine knows her faults, accepts them, but still stays true to her loving nature. And in the end, you as the reader can't help but love her, too.

The real Katherine Howard will never be known to anyone; how she acted, what she thought about, why she did the things she did are forever lost. But if you want to read a good story about how Katherine Howard could have been, and want a story that shows this fifth wife with some redemptive qualities, this is the book for you.

[Maureen Grigsby · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always fascinating to read about the assorted wives of King Henry VIII. Young and unworldly, Katherine Howard was set on a deadly path when the king noticed her. Although her heart was with another young man, there was basically no way to refuse the King. Before long, she became the fifth wife, and then shortly after, the second to be beheaded. This historical novel is written completely from Katherine’s point of view, by the prolific Jean Plaidy/Victoria Holt/Philippa Carr.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the books about Katherine Howard she is either portrayed as the sluttish Queen who cheated on Henry VIII or a young and hapless girl who was never taught proper behaviour and ended up dead at her family's ambition. The author casts Katherine in this book as a bit silly, over enthusiastic with her feelings and a victim.

I have always liked Jean Plaidy as a Tudor writer because she really brings the characters to life and takes time to develop them through the story. This book is the same. Katherine is sent away from her family to live a better life with the Dowager Duchess who barely remembers she is there and has little time to bother about her education. She is much more focused on Anne Boleyn's rise and fall from power. She knows nothing of what is happening at Court, has not had the same education or life experience as the other girls and feels stupid all the time. It is easy to see how she fell for the flattery of Henry Mannox. She feels betrayed and used when she discovers what his intentions really are-and you feel as if you are watching a sad puppy as poor Katherine vents her feelings.

Her misery leaves her ripe for the seduction of Francis Dereham and her lack of guile means she tells everything to the other girls, including the decision to marry. The portrayal of Francis in this book is not the boastful braggart who gets Katherine into trouble at Court, but instead is a man who loves her deeply and will do nothing to betray her or cause her trouble. I liked seeing a different version of him. Of course the relationship is broken up and the Duchess will hear nothing of Katherine's pleas about being betrothed, telling her to pretend none of it happened. Katherine is broken hearted...for about five minutes, and then the excitement of a real betrothal to Thomas Culpepper and a position at Court serving Anne of Cleves has her forgetting Francis and being ashamed of her behaviour with him.

Katherine is shocked to discover that she was used to bait the King and that he will be her new husband. Despite her growing love for Thomas, Katherine finds herself as a mostly happy wife, treated well by Henry. I liked the portrayal of Henry as a sad and lonely old man who thinks that nobody could love him as a man if her wasn't King. Katherine has sympathy for his feelings and does everything to make him feel young and happy. Thomas and Katherine are portrayed as being deeply in love and conflicted over whether to start an affair, which is different from a lot I've read about the cruelty of Culpepper. It can be nice, however, to see these different versions of a person in the different books.

The other interesting character in the book is Jane Boleyn, who befriends Kathrine as soon as she comes to Court. Jane is shown here as someone who loves to gossip and meddle, and who is excited by the intrigue of helping Katherine meet Thomas. It is a dangerous game made worse when people from Katherine's murky past come looking for work at Court. She is horrified to have Mannox and Dereham anywhere near her for fear of the gossip from her women who knew her at the home of the Duchess. As her past catches up with her, Katherine fears for everyone she cares about, Jane included.

The story is well told and kept me interested the whole time. I had sympathy for a lot of the characters including Henry and the crusty old Duchess! I recommend all of this author's Tudor books very highly.

[ToniS · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first Jean Plaidy book that I have read. The story is told from the perspective of Katherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry the VIII. I picked it up after watching season 3 of the The Tudors, where she is introduced. I realized I knew nothing about her and thought the way she was portrayed was totally scandalous and I needed to know more! This book isn't quite as titillating as the TV show, of course, but it is probably closer to the truth.

I found the writing very repetitive. I know the family trees and history are complicated, but I really don't need the same paragraph, word-for-word every time a character shows up explaining who he is. Sometimes I literally thought I had lost my place and was re-reading the same page again. Totally irritating. It is a very quick read, though, so I wasn't irritated for very long.

This might be better for a younger reader who is just getting into historical fiction. The sex scenes are fairly mild. I'd say this is a PG kind of a book.

[Rio (Lynne) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw this book at the library I thought it might give me some new information on Katherine. I know of her life at court and what brought her downfall, but was hoping for a new look into her childhood and what made her make the decisions she made. This is also my first Plaidy novel. This book was not fluffy, but not heavy either. I felt it was accurate, from Kat's poor upbringing due to her great-grandfather fighting for Richard III, to her moving into her aunt's house where there was little supervision. This is where Katherine's life started to turn for the worse. I liked Plaidy's portrayal of her. She wasn't the dim wit we tend to know her as, but simply a naive, uneducated girl who was looking for love and fulfillment. The only part that I wasn't sure about was where Plaidy added that Katherine knew Thomas Culpepper as a child (since he was her cousin) and was later almost betrothed to him, until of course Henry saw her. A lot of this book can be skimmed as Plaidy recalls a lot of the history which I was already familiar with. Overall Plaidy did help me look at Katherine in a new light. I recommend this for people who want to learn more about her story and are interested in the Tudor period.

[BookishBliss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jean Plaidy's "A Rose Without a Thorn" offers a captivating glimpse into the turbulent life of Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth queen. More than a historical romance, the novel paints a vivid portrait of a young woman thrust into the treacherous world of the Tudor court, forced to navigate political intrigue and the capricious whims of a powerful, aging king.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed from Open Library.

Catherine Howard is probably my least favourite of Henry VIII's queens, not because of anything she did but because I simply am more intrigued by the other wives. That being said, I wanted to try a historical novel with her and I settled on Jean Plaidy's, since I have enjoyed all her books I read so far. This one didn't disappoint either.

I really liked Catherine's characterization. She was likeable, but she wasn't completely innocent either. She was very kind hearted and sweet, naive and immature, but her defects didn't make her annoying, on the contrary I felt even more sorry for her. Most of the mistakes she made were understandable and justified by the fact that she never once had a more mature figure to guide her in a difficult world.

The other characters were also well characterized, especially Henry who, despite being an awful person, was almost sympathetic at times. And I loved the little scene between Catherine and Anne of Cleves. It is a shame Jean Plaidy didn't write a novel about Anne because I would have loved it!

[Mónica Cordero Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historia novelada de la quinta esposa de Enrique VIII.
Me parece bien documentada, y que los diálogos y las situaciones son bastante creíbles.
Me gustó mucho, y es fácil empatizar con los personajes, que por otro lado existieron de verdad.
me gustó tanto, que tengo pendientes el resto de libros de Plaidy.

[A. E. S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pros: This author has more experience and thus is a better writer than Gregory, being much older and wiser by this point in her career (it's Victoria Holt using a pen name). She paints a lovely picture of those days and times; my favorite part was Katherine's sweet yet haphazard childhood.

Cons: Granted, the times were far more difficult than the author would lead you to believe. This book is great for fans of Katherine Howard who are ready to apply a lot of suspension of disbelief to her character as well as nearly everyone in this book. Also - though not Holt's problem at all - a lot of the information is either distorted or outdated, seeing as this book was written in 1993.

[Sarah Coller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't her best story, but it was alright. The author takes a verrrrry sympathetic view of the king, which I just can't bring myself to consider. Henry's flirting with Katherine grossed me right out---him being old enough to be her father and quite bloated and unattractive. There was a lot of repetition in the narrative and dialogue ("troth-plighted"...ugh. So awkward and there are so many other synonyms for being engaged.) I must say though, she jumped right into the story and it grabbed my attention from the very beginning. This won't put me off Plaidy, by any means, but I just wasn't all that impressed with this story.

[Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars

I truly can’t stop researching the wives of Henry VIII so I ate this up. I loved Katherine’s voice and I think Plaidy did a great job of portraying her youth, naïveté and the pawn she was for most of her short life. She was silly and frivolous but also lovable and endearing. A sad and infuriating and TRUE (?!?!?!) story. Man, historical fiction really gets me going sometimes. So glad I found this at Savers for $2.99 and promptly let it take over my whole life.

[katezsz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.60 stars

i blame six the musical for my obsession with katherine howard.

really, this book was great. it traces the lines beginning with katherine’s transportation to the dowager duchess’ household and ends with her chilling final words as she lays her head on the block. i’ve read a lot of historical fiction about the wives of henry viii and while this one is good, it’s not amazing or anything. it’s just good, and i enjoyed it.

[Phil Syphe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Queens of England series is Jean Plaidy's retelling of novels she's already written. The difference being the earlier novels are in the third person; TQOE books are in first person. Originally, this author wrote about Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard in one novel. In TQOE series, she gave them a book each.

That said, Katherine technically shares this one with Anne. Anne is referred to many times throughout the novel, yet at no point does she feature in a scene with Katherine. Too much second-hand reporting of Anne proved to be an irritating element.

This quote, for example, is one of Katherine's dry second-hand reports about Anne that sounds like part of a textbook, not a novel:

'The King and Queen had been together at the May Day joust, seated side by side in the royal box. The King did not speak to the Queen, and it was clear to everyone that all was not well between them. The King was glum, while the Queen put on an air of false gaiety in an effort to maintain the pretense of harmony.'

Following another dry and detailed paragraph about Jane taking Anne's place as queen, including remarks on how the king was feeling, we get this sentence:

'I suppose I did not give a great deal of thought to these matters then.'

The above quote sums up a key problem with the whole story. We hear reports that come to Katherine, rather than the matters that she did give a great deal of thought about. In other words, there's not much character development and we arguably know more about a character who doesn't appear in any scenes (Anne) that we know about Katherine who's narrating.

Presenting dry facts, like the quote below, that have nothing to do with Katherine's story are off-topic and should have been cut:

'What was particularly shocking in the case of Anne and her brother was that it was due to Lady Rochford’s evidence that the case against her husband and sister-in-law was brought.'

Below is a reference to Wyatt, who until this point receives no mention in the story:

'Thomas Wyatt was lucky. He escaped death and went abroad.'

Why mention Wyatt? He's part of Anne's story, not Katherine's. Anything like this should've been edited out.

Unneccesary info on Wolsey, who again was part of Anne's story, not Katherine's, is included:

'We were at Hampton Court—one of the King’s favorite palaces, presented to him by Cardinal Wolsey in an attempt to regain his favour.'

For Katherine's narrative, the reader doesn't need to know about Wolsey's attempts to regain favour.

Katherine's life is covered from age ten to eleven, then skips to fifteen, and subsequently to eighteen. That's five years that could've been dramatized instead of including overlong sections of reporting on other people whom Katherine has no direct involvement.

Instead of the author using her imagination to build Katherine's character, we get more secondhand reports:

'The boy was to be named Edward. I heard accounts of his baptism: how he was taken from his nursery in Hampton Court to his mother’s chamber, accompanied by the sound of trumpets, while poor Jane lay there, pale, wan, desperately trying to take part in the ceremonial ritual. It lasted for three hours and at the end of it Jane was in no condition to understand what was happening. The King, however, insisted on her presence. They said he could not take his eyes from the baby Prince, who behaved with impeccable good manners throughout the proceedings and gave only the occasional whimper.'

The above is Jane's story. Why 'tell' the reader about this instead of 'showing' what Katherine's doing and relating her feelings, and so on?

Like with other Plaidy novels, the author is trying to squeeze in every historical event of note into one back, as this second-hand report on Anne of Cleves demonstrates:

'This is what Hans Holbein did, and he painted a beautiful picture. It came in an ivory box, shaped like a rose, I heard, and when it was opened, the portrait was disclosed, lying at the bottom of the box. The King was enchanted. He was not interested in the lady’s religion. What he cared about were her personal attractions and, according to the exquisite miniature, they were completely desirable. So the King would marry Anne of Cleves.'

The above is followed soon after by this apt sentence:

'Now there were reports of what had happened at the royal meeting.'

'Reports' being the right word for this dull book.

We get some backstory on Katerine of Aragon too, just to make sure everyone of note is mentioned, though the author has written a lot on Henery's first queen, so luckily this isn't overdone.

Sadly, we do get more dry reports of other people of note, including Thomas Cromwell:

'He had been very annoyed when Cromwell had been made Chamberlain and the title of Earl of Essex had been bestowed on him. The Duchess had let that slip during one of the massage sessions.'

The above dry quote also overuses 'had', which is repeted a lot throughout the book. This is inevitable when you're reporting events and using reported speech. The frequent use of ‘had’ in the past perfect tense is something all authors should avoid. It reports on the scene as opposed to taking the reader into the action as it unfolds.

Reported speech is another dry element:

'“How old are you, Katherine?”
I told her.
“You seem younger,” she said.'

Why not put 'Eighteen' in dialogue and keep the prose active, rather than the passive reported speech of 'I told her'?

Reported speech is worse when it's written in a paragraph like this:

'I began to stammer that I knew he would be grieved, and I was sorry for it. I had wanted to tell the King what had happened right at the beginning, but had been prevented from doing so.'

The above quote could've been dramatized if put into dialogue, rather than 'telling' what happened.

Dialogue must have a sense of place for a scene to be properly envisioned. Yet, at times there's no sense of place. A scene opens with dialogue but the reader doesn't know where the characters are, if they're sitting or standing, in a crowd or indoors, etc.

Similar to the above, there are a couple of instances where there are numerous people speaking, but you don't 'hear' them, because it's a series of lines of dialogue. It's meant to represent a group of women gossiping, but it's poorly done.

'Telling' with descriptions like 'She was really surprised' shows a lack of imagination. Even worse is:

'When he was brought to me, I thought he looked very sad.'

In the above quote, we don't 'see' him enter, and we are 'told' how he looks. This could easily have been dramatized for a more visual scene.

Most people reading this book will know of Katherine's fate, so I won't mark the following as a spoiler, but in case anyone reading this isn't familiar with her historty, please skim to the last paragraph.

The scribe, whom Katherine's been relating her story (and everyone else's!) throughout takes over the narrative to tell (and I do mean 'tell') us of Katherine's beheading. It lacks emotion and feeling and it's soon over. Yet, the book does not end here.

Rather than briefly exploring the feelings of Katherine's grandmother or King Henry, or someone else relevant to Katherine's life to round the story off, it instead closes like pure non-fiction, discussing Henry's children (all three being future monarchs, so the author couldn't overlook them, despite their having no relevance to Katherine's story), and then we get this textbook-like quote:

'On the twelfth of July of the year 1543, one year and five months after Queen Katherine Howard had lost her head, the King was married to Catherine Parr.'

So, the author had to include all six of Henry's queens, including the one who was crowned after Katherine's death. Not the ending I recommend to anyone who's writing a first-person account of Katherine Howard.

Something about Jean Plaidy’s books keep me coming back for more. Perhaps it’s her obvious love for English and French history, which I share, that draws me back. I wish she’d focused less on turning out as greater quantity of novels as possible and concentrated more on quality writing. A novel like this one should be revised about 20 times, yet this at best feels like a third draft. This one was badly put together. Endless second-hand reports, most of which have no relevance to Katherine Howard, ruin what could've been a great novel. Some scenes in the early part of the book, when Katherine's a child and goes to live with her grandmother, are good at times. For this reason only have rather 'A Rose Without a Thorn' two stars instead on one.

[One Book At A Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read quite a few of the books by Jean Plaidy in the Queen's of England series when I was younger. They're hard to come by since they are out of print. I decided to collect the rest (still missing one) and catch up on my royal reading. I'm hoping my feelings for this book have more to do with the fact that I've read a better one about Katherine Howard than I may no longer like the writing style. It started out fine, although I was a little disgusted by the way Katherine was allowed to behave when she moves to her grandmother's house. I would think a Duchess of the court would have better sense of what was going on in her household. But, history seems to have proven otherwise. I also felt that the author made Katherine seem much more simple than she really was. But, maybe her families ambitions were just way outside of her knowledge. The book also lacked the terror that must have been going through the young queen's mind towards the end of her life. What a tragic ending for a young women who had almost no hope from the start. I would recommend reading The Queen's Mistake by Diane Haeger over this one.

[Amalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Jean Plaidy's ability to tell a story of the history in her novels and I liked the way she has articulated Katherine Howard. Plaidy has made Katherine likeable. Katherine is naive, and comes of age very quickly at a time when one needed to fully understand the world around them.

The story starts out with Katherine Howard talking to a scribe/friend, and it is all presented as the story she is telling to that person in the days leading up to her death.

Although the story is not a new one, it has been presented in a new way. In that Katherine knew her actions were dangerous and she gave into them heedless of the consequences. Perhaps Plaidy has made her simpler than she really might have been, but I enjoyed Katherine in this novel, over the whiny, hyper sexual, and just purely unlikable Katherine I've seen in some other books.

[Christelle P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Jean Plaidy's novel are instructive, I find them highly repetitive and sometimes written in a very simple manner, that accentuates the repetitiveness of it all. These novels are well documented though and really help you understand English royalty of the
XVIth century, particularly noble women.

[Peyton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I heard this author was good, and this was the first book I read by them, so it was a rather disappointing read. The book is a mess with an unclear timeline. They have Katherine as fifteen at the time of Henry VIII's wedding to Anna von Kleve, but they have her as eighteen by the time she was a lady-in-waiting. Anna von Kleve became queen of England in 1540, and Katherine became a lady-in-waiting and later queen in the same year. Katherine should still be fifteen by the time she served the Queen in the book. The book also has a few errors like they claimed Anne Boleyn fell in love with Duke of Suffolk, when she never did and was in love with Harry Percy, who was an earl of Northumberland. The book's characterization of Francis Dereham has left me a bit confused as well. Francis was about twenty-eight when he met Katherine, who would have been about fourteen. Francis was not a teenager. Francis certainly wasn't very understanding when Katherine left him and constantly harassed her too. The author has none of this and simply has Francis give up as soon as Katherine dumps him. Francis was known be arrogant and violent, and Historian Gareth Russell believes Francis may have been a narcissist. Another problem with the timing is they have Henry Mannox's relationship with Katherine take place around 1533 when in reality it took place in 1536, when she was about thirteen. I heard this author is a good one and tends to do quite a bit of research, but this book did not have much of the research needed. Katherine is also incredibly dumb but incredibly sweet in this book, which goes with Allison Weir's view that Katherine was a sweet girl but 'empty headed,' despite that fact many of Katherine's biographers admit Katherine had to be at the very least above average intelligence. I just didn't enjoy the characterization of Katherine and felt the timeline and characterization of certain figures was completely off.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Rose Without a Thorn, by the incredibly prolific British author Jean Plaidy, aka Victoria Holt, whose real name was Eleanor Hibbert, is about poor silly Katherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. Katherine was an uneducated girl in a poor branch of a great family. She was ignored during her childhood, largely ignored when her grandmother, the Duchess of Norfolk, plucked her away from her family on a whim, and then shoved into the spotlight when Henry saw her at court and took a fancy to her.
Katherine's story is an example of how women were used as pawns. She had few ambitions, but enjoyed attention. At her grandmother's house, all the maidservants and ladies in waiting lived together in one room. At night, Katherine was amazed to discover, young men were let in, and the women engaged in dalliance. Soon, Katherine, encouraged by the other women, joins in with her music teacher, Henry Manox.
Later, there is another young man, Francis Derham, who tells Katherine that lovemaking is allowed because they are pledged to each other and will someday be married. And still later, her cousin, Thomas Culpepper, captures her heart. She and Thomas talk of marriage and a life at his estate. Her grandmother even says that someday a match can be made between her and Thomas.
All her plans come apart when her grandmother and Katherine's uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, a schemer in Henry's court, send her to court as a lady in waiting to Anne of Cleves. Henry is unhappy with Anne and wants to divorce her. He has his eye out for a likely bride, a small woman in contrast to Anne, who Henry says looks like a Flanders mare.
If you know history, you know how the sad story ends.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the life of Katherine Howard, the sweet naive girl who became the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. It's well written and the characters come alive. The story is told as if she is telling a scribe about her life and it is being recorded. I always want to learn more about historical royalty, and this book delivered it.

When Katherine, from the impoverished side of the noble Howard family, is around 11 years old, her step-grandmother, the Duchess of Norfolk, takes her into her own home. Katherine is not educated and is quite naive, but one thing she has is beauty. She also has a yearning to be loved, and this is her downfall. At her grandmother's she learns the art of passion. However, she does not learn to avoid the pitfalls of her cousin, Anne Boleyn, whose life and death at King Henry VIII's hands, takes place during her mid teen years.

The Duchess, striving for more power, has Katherine sent to Court, as a Lady-in-Waiting to the King's newest wife, Anne of Cleves. Anne of Cleves does not please the King in looks, words, or actions. The marriage is never consummated, and Anne is divorced. Katherine catches the King's eye when she is asked to sing, something she does quite well. Soon the King is enamored of her and she becomes his Queen #5. The author states that Katherine does love Henry, even though she is 18 or so and he is 49. Alas, the politically naive girl's enemies unite and bring about her downfall. Her former lovers are arrested and tortured until they confess. Then Katherine is arrested and sent to the Tower, where, like her cousin before her, she is beheaded, at only 19 years of age.

[Nataly Lake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta lectura fue muchísimo más rápida que la entrega anterior, pero creo que aquí tiene la culpa el personaje en que se centra.

La historia de Catalina Howard, por lo menos en el contexto de la novela, es sumamente simple y triste. Fue una de las pocas mujeres que vivió su sexualidad de la forma que a ella le parecía, si bien en ocasiones engañada por otros y en otras por ella misma. Esta libertad fue su condena desde un principio, e incluso sin ser familiar con la historia de la cuarta esposa el final se ve a leguas.

A diferencia de La Dama de La Torre, Una Rosa sin Espinas explora la influencia y fuerza que tenían las apariencias en la época, y cómo este factor puede influenciar y dirigir el actuar del más poderoso de los soberanos.

Se empieza a explorar la decaída de Enrique VIII como figura pública y hay una discusión interesante respecto a la autovaloración e imagen, sin embargo el contexto histórico de la historia no permite ahondar mucho en la conversación y la torna bastante simple.

La narración sigue siendo simplemente divina y se pueden distinguir las voces de las distintas reina de libro a libro. También se produce un contraste interesante entre la imagen que cada reina tiene de una misma y de cómo la veían las demás esposas con el tiempo.

Una historia de amor trágico, condenada desde un principio, con gran ritmo y una protagonista algo simple, sumamente ingenua rayando en la idiotez, pero extremadamente encantadora.

[Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the kindest portrayals of Katheryn Howard, even if the writing is stilted and the historical 'facts' are outdated/since disproven.

Bookeneded by a scribe who is writing down Kathryn's life story on the eve of her death (is this a framing technique employed by all books in this series?), the young queen considers the events that led her to this point. Plaidy presents Kathryn's relationships with Manox, Derham and Culpepper (as each are spelt here) as consensual, even if the age gap in each case raises eyebrows.

There is some definite fudging of timelines at play. Kathryn jumps from 11 to 15 in a blink and seems to age from 15 to 18 in one year. Cromwell is executed early on Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves, and Kathryn also doesn't become her attendant for quite some time. Although it's never outright said, the way the novel is written makes it seem that Henry and AoC were married for two years before it was dissolved.

The frequency with which Kathryn's full name is stated in conversation did become annoying. It flowed poorly, and felt like Plaidy was trying to up the word count. It falls under the same banner as Philippa Gregory's tendency to write unwieldy sentences like, 'your uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, as you may remember...'

I liked this book, as outdated as it is.

[Anna From Gustine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Jean Plaidy who also wrote under the names Victoria Holt and Phillipa Carr. She's very comforting, although not always historically accurate as she was writing before a lot of historical information was discredited. For example, in this book, Queen Katherine Howard never said she'd rather die as the wife of Thomas Culpepper, but she says it in the book. Oh well.

This book is in first-person which I'm always wary of, but it worked well in this case. Poor Katherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife, was not the sharpest pencil in the box. Plaidy is not afraid of showing that and showing Katherine's own awareness of it. Instead, KH comes across as a sweet kid who really liked men and sex. She just had the bad luck to attract Henry VIII's attention as well as the naivety and immaturity to make some pretty stupid decisions after her marriage. Wrong place, wrong time.

I give this three stars because of her relationship with Culpepper. The author does not spend much time on it. They hardly see other at court, hardly spend any time together in the whole book, but are so attracted to each other they are willing to risk death to sleep together? Nah, that came out of nowhere, so three stars, but three well-earned stars....ok, well, let's make it 3.5.

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Born into an impoverished branch of the noble Howard family, young Katherine is plucked from her home to live with her grandmother, the Duchess of Norfolk. The innocent girl quickly learns that her grandmother's puritanism is not shared by Katherine's free-spirited cousins, with whom she lives. Beautiful and impressionable, Katherine becomes involved in two ill-fated love affairs before her sixteenth birthday. Like her cousin Anne Boleyn, she leaves her grandmother's home to become a lady-in-waiting at the court of Henry VIII. The royal palaces are exciting to a young girl from the country, and Katherine's duties there allow her to be near her handsome cousin, Thomas Culpepper, whom she has loved since childhood.

But when Katherine catches the eye of the aging and unhappily married king, she is forced to abandon her plans for a life with Thomas and marry King Henry. Overwhelmed by the change in her fortunes, bewildered and flattered by the adoration of her husband, Katherine is dazzled by the royal life. But her bliss is short-lived as rumors of her wayward past come back to haunt her, and Katherine's destiny takes another, deadly, turn. (less)

[Star Yang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katherine Howard is my second favorite of Henry Viii's queens. I like how the author portrayed her more of what I envisioned her to be. She is young, easy to manipulate, innocent and a pawn in this royal game. I like this take on her as she is usually portrayed as a sex hungry vixen so it was nice to see her extremely innocent even though she was not at all innocent. I feel like it was quite slow in the beginning BUT that is because her life was boring until people started showing up. I believe I was 100 pages in until i started to enjoy the book. Nevertheless i finished this book quite fast because I love Katherine Howard. I feel as though this is not Jean Plaidy's best work as everything came rushed and I wished there was just more. I am not looking for sex craved adventures or anything but I thought it might've used a bit more content into Katherine's mind as Plaidy's The Courts of Love showed off Eleanor's personality. I just feel this book could've done more with Katherine in it and showed her off a bit more which is why I gave it three stars. I really wanted to give more but it wasn't enough to enjoy a full ride.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most accurate depiction of Katherine Howard’s life story I’ve read yet. This book reviews details from her childhood, family affairs, personal romances, general way of thought, possible dreams and fears, and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding her death. She really was just a girl becoming a woman when she fell victim to the most powerful man of all, King Henry VIII, her husband and her death. Her age and innocence becomes more clear in this retelling.
This was an extremely immersive narrative and I loved the focus on historical detail- especially the depiction of Tudor court and the surrounding politics of the time. Would highly recommend this book!

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“The favorite was the French fennel- a sort of love-in-the-midst - most beautiful, and worked in various colors.” (64)

“Visions of my beautiful cousin came to me. He had broken with Rome for her sake and now he said she was a witch.” (174)

“I could think nothing but those two young men, lying in their cells- guilty of no crime but of loving me.” (250)

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Katherine
She is always brushed off as a flirt who thought she could have her cake and eat it too.
BUT, she was virtually a child who was in way over her head and ultimately lost it thanks to the ambition of the men around her {i meeeann lets be honest being married to Henry VIII was already a 50/50 shot of survival.} And so i appricate how this book was able to capture the sadness and unfairness of her story.
Overall Book Vibe : This is one of Jean Plaidy more simply written books, so it makes for a good light read; Yet it's still full of history. The Rose Without a Thorn was an intriguing read, especially for those who can't get enough of King Henry VIII and his six wives. <3 <3 <3 <3

[Susana Cano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nunca había leído nada sobre Catalina Howard, me parecieron mucho más interesantes los primeros 2 libros de las reinas Tudor, x la complejidad e importancia de las primeras 2 esposas de Enrique vIII, este libro relata la vida de Catalina Howard, y a penas menciona a la 4ta, y 5ta esposa solo para no perder continuidad pero sin darles mucha importancia, y aunque trata sobre un personaje muy simple, se resalta el feminismo de la autora sobre cómo una mujer era castigada por las mismas cosas que todos los hombres hacían ”Creo Dios será menos severo que los hombres al juzgarme”, y como una mujer no era dueña de su destino. Se tmb resalta el carácter egoísta, caprichoso y malvado de Enrique, mismo que ya había mostrado con sus esposas anteriores. Me gusto leer este libro y no puedo esperar para leer el siguiente.

[Daniel García Mota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catalina, quinta esposa de Enrique VIII, fue una joven mujer cuyo destino no fue muy benévolo debido a su nobleza e ingenuidad, sin embargo, tuvo destellos de astucia y perspicacia. A pesar de que Catalina y en general las mujeres no se encontraban en el mejor momento histórico del feminismo, en ocasiones la autora peca de justificar en exceso el actuar de sus protagonistas. Sin duda alguna Catalina Howard pasó a la historia como una presa de la codicia de su familia, la utilizaron para allegarse de poder y riqueza y en cuanto las cosas se tornaron sombrías, quedó totalmente abandonada, salvo por el valiente Thomas Culpepper, quien nunca la denunció a pesar de ser torturado. La autora plasma con claridad la felicidad de Catalina, su soledad, sus miedos y sobretodo sus angustias finales. Lectura muy recomendable definitivamente.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have wanted to read Jean Plaidy for a long time and finally got around to it. I was not disappointed. This was a very interesting take on Katherine Howard. Plaidy portrays her as innocent but not exactly stupid. She followed her romantic whims early in life and was somewhat subjected to peer pressure from women friends and boyfriends. Her family is presented as uncaring and overbearing. I felt sorry for Katherine.
Even though I know how Katherine's story ended I so much wanted it to be different. I experienced her absolute terror along with her as well as her hope that Henry's love would save her. The author made Katherine Howard a real person. Of all of Henry's wives she is probably the most pathetic.
She was in over her head (pun intended) from the very beginning.

[Mady Rey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me agrada la forma tan sencilla que escribe Jean Plaidy, sin embargo, quienes ya la hemos leído sabemos que es bastante reiterativa y eso llega a cansar, para quienes no tengan una buena retención, supongo es una bendición que la autora se expresé así, pero en este tomo de la saga me sentí frustrada en verdad la mitad del libro solo era más de lo mismo, admito que me gustó el primer tomo, y el segundo me encantó, pero éste me decepcionó, aunque la agilidad que adquiere de la pag 180 en adelante lo salva, sin mencionar que las páginas finales son muy intensas, en mi humide opinión, es por ello que no puedo darle menos de 3 estrellas. El cierre me parece brutal.