Catherine Parr: Wife, Widow, Mother, Survivor, The Story of the Last Queen of Henry VIII

by Elizabeth Norton

Wife, widow, mother, survivor, the story of the last queen of Henry VIII. Catherine Parr was enjoying her freedom after her first two arranged marriages when she caught the attention of the elderly Henry VIII. The most reluctant of all Henry's wives, she offered to become his mistress rather than submit herself to the dangers of becoming Henry's queen. This only increased Henry's enthusiasm for the vibrant, intelligent young widow and Catherine was forced to abandon her handsome lover, Thomas Seymour, for the decrepit king. She quickly made her role as queen a success, providing Henry VIII with a domestic tranquillity that he had not known since the early days of his first marriage. For Henry, Catherine was a satisfactory choice but he never stopped considering a new marriage, much to Catherine's terror. Catherine is remembered as the wife who survived but, without her strength of character it could have been very different. It was a relief for Catherine when Henry finally died and she could secretly marry Thomas Seymour. Left with no role in government affairs in her widowhood, she retired to the country, spending time at her manors at Chelsea and Sudeley. It was here that her heart was broken by her discovery of a love affair between her stepdaughter, the future Elizabeth I, and her husband. She died in childbirth accusing her husband of plotting her death. Traditionally portrayed as a matronly and dutiful figure, Elizabeth Norton's new biography shows another side to Catherine. Her life was indeed one of duty but, throughout, she attempted to escape her destiny and find happiness for herself. Ultimately, Catherine was betrayed and her great love affair with Thomas Seymour turned sour.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period, Biography, Historical, British Literature, Royalty

288 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2010

About the author

Elizabeth Norton is a British historian specialising in the queens of England and the Tudor period. She obtained an Master of Arts in Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Cambridge in 2003 and a masters degree in European Archaeology from the University of Oxford in 2004.

Elizabeth Norton is the author of five non-fiction works: She Wolves, The Notorious Queens of England (The History Press, 2008), Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's Obsession (Amberley, 2008), Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's True Love (Amberley, 2009), Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's Discarded Bride (Amberley, 2009) and Catherine Parr (Amberley, 2010).[2]' She is also the author of two articles: Anne of Cleves and Richmond Palace (Surrey History, 2009) [3] and Scandinavian Influences in the Late Anglo-Saxon Sculpture of Sussex (Sussex Archaeological Collections, 2009)

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this. I learned so much more about Catherine. She was an amazing woman...and probably the most mature of all Henry's wives (with the exception of Katherine of Aragon.)

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually my favorite among her books so far. I really liked the extensive quoting from contemporary letters. Many of those letters were familiar to me from lines here and there but this would be the first time I've read the whole thing, and some of them were new. It was a fascinating glimpse of Henry in these latter years and it reminded me that he was a very capable if ruthless ruler, which was not an easy thing to do back then. He held onto his throne despite its dubious origins. despite rebellious citizenry, greedy and ambitious nobles, despite his own rather poor PR. (Henry needed a really good spin team on the whole wife issue). The versions of Catherine's discovery of the warrant for her arrest had before been put to me as just one more example of Henry's fickle easily swayed nature, but this version of a king displaying his power and authority quite deliberately so both Catherine and the men trying to bring her down were thoroughly cowed and browbeaten back into complete obedience rang more true to me, especially combined with other examples of the same tactics. A fascinating read on several levels.

[Adina Stene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book, Catherine Parr is my favourite of the six wives of Henry VIII. It's not a long book, but it covers all the important events of Catherine's life and it presents lot of paragraphs from her corespondence. In my opinion, the aurhor quickly went through certain periods of Catherine's life, for example her first two marriages and the marriage with Henry VIII. But, despite this, the book was pretty good and it's worth the read. It's the first book written by Elizabeth Norton that I've read, but I like her style.

[Jess Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

there are other more enlightening biographies on Katherine (I'mma spell it the way I want to spell it) and I even found some of the fiction I've read regarding Parr to be more filled out and historically detailed. this relied on a lot of letters written in original language, which while historically interesting, are textually boring. no great leaps or new information. disparaging of Thomas Seymour but. how can you not be? I

[Laurence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable book. The information about how much influence the subject had on the future Queen Elizabeth I was new, and interesting, as well as the way the possibility of marriage to Seymour prior to Henry VIII was covered. Occasionally quotations from contemporary letters longer than they needed to be.

[Anja Fruelund · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Queen who survived Henry 8

I didn’t know much about Katherine Parr except that she survived a marriage to Henry.
This is a fine introduction to her, her life and life in the royal circles in general which was quite hazardous.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic biography, full review to follow!

[Melanie Crisp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy, interesting read about Henry VIII's last wife.

[Claire Biggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read on her early life and first two marriages before Henry VIII and Thomas Seymour

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's interesting that two new volumes on Parr have been published simultaneously. I read this book by Elizabeth Norton book: back to back with the other by Linda Porter: Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr . Both are good for different reasons.

This book is Norton's fourth in her series on Henry VIII's wives. In general, it has more detail than Porter's Parr biography. For instance, for Queen Catherine's escape from persecution, Porter relies heavily on the Anne Askew "trial" and Norton brings more issues to bear. In writing of the last "courtship" Norton demonstrates why Catherine and Thomas Seymour are considered a love match, where with Porter you learn of the secret trysts, but for "love" you need to take it on faith. There is more here about Catherine's mentorship of Mary and Elizabeth (and Thomas Seymour's interference) and while neither book says much about Lady Jane Grey, this one has the most information. There is more here on many other topics such as the Pilgrimage of Grace and the fate of Catherine's only child.

Norton's book, at times, reads like a text book. There are excerpts from the primary sources on almost every page. At times the authentic words add to the material, mostly I found them too elliptical to slog through. Fortunately, Norton explains each of them.

Porter's book is a page turner. I think this is because it is more people centered. The profile on Katherine's mother and Katherine's life in her first marriage begin the book in an empathetic way. Porter gives warmer descriptions of the relationships Katherine built with her step-children and her relationships with her attendants. In the end, you feel you've bridged the centuries and you feel like you know and understand Katherine.

Both books show Catherine's mentorship of Mary I and Elizabeth I. Both books mention Catherine's role in the education of Lady (9 days' Queen) Jane Grey, but neither develops this. While she is often known as the most married Queen of England, a more fitting tribute would be Catherine Parr: Mentor to Three Queens.

The Norton book has the wonderful plates. There are lots of them and each one is gorgeous. The book is printed on heavy glossy paper which really brings out the photos. (The paper has some glare which is not easy on the eyes.)

I've read two Norton's others: "Jane Seymour: Henry VIIIs True Love" and "Anne of Cleves: Henry VIIIs Discarded Bride" and recommend them both. This new one on Parr, I liked the best.

K/Catherine Parr is fascinating and if you are a Tudor aficionado, you will want to read both Norton and Porter.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Commissioned by me at Amberley, second biography I'll have published on Catherine! (I also commissioned Susan James's book). A great book. Will be published about 15 Jan 2010, and 6 months later in the US. I think American buyers can buy the UK edition through the Book Depository if you can't wait...

[Selkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Norton's biographies are always well written and well reseached, as well as good reads. But I do wish that she had had more access to information regarding Catherine's younger years.
It was interesting to find out that her pride and jealousy we're not just the stuff of historical fiction.

[Barbara Lynn Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. Five stars.

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

Recommended by Orsolya

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

I think Norton has a tendency to sometimes present opinions as facts, but I do find her books to be interesting and easy to get through.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fairly easy read and the author made a good distinction between fact and speculation.