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The Queen and the Heretic: How two women changed the religion of England
The dual biography of two remarkable women - Catherine Parr and Anne Askew. One was the last queen of a powerful monarch, the second a countrywoman from Lincolnshire. But they were joined together in their love for the new learning - and their adherence to Protestantism threatened both their lives. Both women wrote about their faith, and their writings are still with us. Powerful men at court sought to bring Catherine down, and used Anne Askew's notoriety as a weapon in that battle. Queen Catherine Parr survived, while Anne Askew, the only woman to be racked, was burned to death. This book explores their lives, and the way of life for women from various social strata in Tudor England.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published September 21, 2018
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63 people want to read
About the author
Derek Wilson
126 books99 followersDerek Wilson has been a writer of historical fiction and non-fiction for 50 years. His much acclaimed prize-winning works have largely centred on 16th and 17th century Europe. He has used various pen names for his fiction, his current Thomas Treviot Tudor crime series being written under the name D.K. Wilson. The first 2 books in this series - The First Horseman and The Traitor's Mark are based on real unsolved Tudor mysteries and have received enthusiastic plaudits. Readers have favourably compared this innovative series with the books of C.J. Sansom and S.J. Parris.
Recent non-fiction triumphs include The Plantagenets, Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man, and Charlemagne: a Biography.
Derek Wilson graduated from Cambridge and spent several years travelling and teaching in Africa before becoming a full-time writer and broadcaster in 1971. He has frequently written and appeared on radio and television and is popular as a public speaker having appeared at several literary festivals,British Museum, Hampton Court Palace, The British Library and other prestigious venues.
Recent non-fiction triumphs include The Plantagenets, Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man, and Charlemagne: a Biography.
Derek Wilson graduated from Cambridge and spent several years travelling and teaching in Africa before becoming a full-time writer and broadcaster in 1971. He has frequently written and appeared on radio and television and is popular as a public speaker having appeared at several literary festivals,British Museum, Hampton Court Palace, The British Library and other prestigious venues.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 31, 2019
To be honest I wish I could rate this out of 10 so I could give it a 5. On this system 2 seemed mean so I had to choose 3.
The good points - I learnt a lot about this period of history that I didn't know before. Perhaps the most significant thing I learnt was that religious conviction at the time came in a wide variety of flavours. It was not simply Protestant vs Catholic. After all Anne Askew was a Protestant but still condemned despite the Reformation. The book showed how there were differences, sometimes subtle, between the different camps. In some respects it has been interesting reading this as Brexit rumbles on as it has made me realise how complex the situation is and how there is more at play than just the UK's membership of the EU.
The bad points - I found the narrative confusing and difficult to follow at times. It might take me a while to realise we'd moved from Anne to Catherine or vice versa because it wasn't always clear. Also the number of people discussed also made it difficult to follow. I appreciate the author wanted to be as accurate as possible but I kept having to remind myself who various people were because there were too many to try and remember.
Perhaps the most severe criticism is that I failed to see much of a link between Anne and Catherine. It almost seemed like the author was trying to follow in the footsteps of Gardiner et al and failing miserably to find any concrete link either. It weakened the premise of the book. I also don't think the author made enough of the fact both women (In different ways) did not act in the way that women were expected to do so and that this had a huge influence on what happened. This only really surfaces in the final few chapters.
I am left wanting to know more about Anne and Catherine but from books focusing on one or the other not lumping them together because they lived at the same time and were both Protestant.
The good points - I learnt a lot about this period of history that I didn't know before. Perhaps the most significant thing I learnt was that religious conviction at the time came in a wide variety of flavours. It was not simply Protestant vs Catholic. After all Anne Askew was a Protestant but still condemned despite the Reformation. The book showed how there were differences, sometimes subtle, between the different camps. In some respects it has been interesting reading this as Brexit rumbles on as it has made me realise how complex the situation is and how there is more at play than just the UK's membership of the EU.
The bad points - I found the narrative confusing and difficult to follow at times. It might take me a while to realise we'd moved from Anne to Catherine or vice versa because it wasn't always clear. Also the number of people discussed also made it difficult to follow. I appreciate the author wanted to be as accurate as possible but I kept having to remind myself who various people were because there were too many to try and remember.
Perhaps the most severe criticism is that I failed to see much of a link between Anne and Catherine. It almost seemed like the author was trying to follow in the footsteps of Gardiner et al and failing miserably to find any concrete link either. It weakened the premise of the book. I also don't think the author made enough of the fact both women (In different ways) did not act in the way that women were expected to do so and that this had a huge influence on what happened. This only really surfaces in the final few chapters.
I am left wanting to know more about Anne and Catherine but from books focusing on one or the other not lumping them together because they lived at the same time and were both Protestant.
July 31, 2018
Derek Wilson’s The Queen and the Heretic: How Two Women Changed the Religion of England (Lion Books, April 2018) explores the parallel religious awakenings of Queen Catherine Parr and gentlewoman Anne Askew. I’ve been interested in Catherine Parr’s life for many years and for many reasons. She’s the easiest of King Henry VIII’s six wives to imagine as a modern person and she’ll always be the first English woman to publish under her own name—and that more than once. Although I’ve always admired Anne Askew’s courage and determination and thought I understood something of her biography, I learned a great deal more about her from this book.
Both Catherine and Anne were intelligent and fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of a time when education for woman was coming into vogue. Although they both learned to read and write and both learned the New Testament in English, Wilson cautions that too much has sometimes been imagined about the personal connection between the two women. Even if they did meet at some point, evidence suggests they didn’t influence each other personally.
Wilson’s goal is to explore in detail how the Protestant Reformation caught on within the educated classes of early Tudor England using Catherine and Anne as guides since they both authored rather large bodies of writing describing their personal beliefs and experiences. He considers the central question about the women to be “What changed them?” What made both of them abandon their ancestors’ Catholic faith and wholeheartedly—to the point of martyrdom for one of them—embrace what would come to be called Protestantism? After all, they were very different women brought up in very different environments which influenced how they practiced their faith. Anne’s faith had been shaped by a bad marriage and abuse from her more outspoken opponents. Catherine’s faith developed amid more comfortable surroundings and afforded her more quiet time for thinking and writing.
In fact, this volume contains the best analysis of Catherine’s religious writings I’ve ever read. Wilson chooses passages that reveal the queen’s passion, writing skill, and religious fervor. He includes generous quotes from the primary sources written by both women—of which there are more surviving than the average reader may be aware. The careful use of the sources enables Wilson to develop a close analysis of how the women’s faith evolved, who influenced them, and what their motivations were.
The development of that faith serves as a microcosm to understand the beliefs of a significant number of Henry VIII’s subjects in the 1530s. While the book culminates with the “hectic summer” of 1546 which saw the torture and execution of Anne and the attack by the Catholic faction at court (with King Henry’s approval) on Queen Catherine, the author rightfully considers the pre-history and post-history as important as the main events. The background provided on the history of the Reformation to that point in history is excellent. Wilson also provides thorough background on both women’s families without getting bogged down as is the case in the preliminary chapters of some history books.
Wilson’s writing style is clear and engaging. He brings his talents as both a historian and a novelist to this project as he has a flair for writing history with enthusiasm for the drama that it often is. The book reads swiftly even as the author analyzes complicated history—a feat much easier said than done. The research is thorough and the salient points are closely argued. The footnotes are well annotated where required for clarification or additional information.
I have only one criticism—and it’s a small one. The subtitle doesn’t seem to fit as the book seems more about how Catherine Parr and Anne Askew accepted and embraced religious changes coming to England, rather than how they changed the religion of England. 4/5 stars. Recommended.
Both Catherine and Anne were intelligent and fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of a time when education for woman was coming into vogue. Although they both learned to read and write and both learned the New Testament in English, Wilson cautions that too much has sometimes been imagined about the personal connection between the two women. Even if they did meet at some point, evidence suggests they didn’t influence each other personally.
Wilson’s goal is to explore in detail how the Protestant Reformation caught on within the educated classes of early Tudor England using Catherine and Anne as guides since they both authored rather large bodies of writing describing their personal beliefs and experiences. He considers the central question about the women to be “What changed them?” What made both of them abandon their ancestors’ Catholic faith and wholeheartedly—to the point of martyrdom for one of them—embrace what would come to be called Protestantism? After all, they were very different women brought up in very different environments which influenced how they practiced their faith. Anne’s faith had been shaped by a bad marriage and abuse from her more outspoken opponents. Catherine’s faith developed amid more comfortable surroundings and afforded her more quiet time for thinking and writing.
In fact, this volume contains the best analysis of Catherine’s religious writings I’ve ever read. Wilson chooses passages that reveal the queen’s passion, writing skill, and religious fervor. He includes generous quotes from the primary sources written by both women—of which there are more surviving than the average reader may be aware. The careful use of the sources enables Wilson to develop a close analysis of how the women’s faith evolved, who influenced them, and what their motivations were.
The development of that faith serves as a microcosm to understand the beliefs of a significant number of Henry VIII’s subjects in the 1530s. While the book culminates with the “hectic summer” of 1546 which saw the torture and execution of Anne and the attack by the Catholic faction at court (with King Henry’s approval) on Queen Catherine, the author rightfully considers the pre-history and post-history as important as the main events. The background provided on the history of the Reformation to that point in history is excellent. Wilson also provides thorough background on both women’s families without getting bogged down as is the case in the preliminary chapters of some history books.
Wilson’s writing style is clear and engaging. He brings his talents as both a historian and a novelist to this project as he has a flair for writing history with enthusiasm for the drama that it often is. The book reads swiftly even as the author analyzes complicated history—a feat much easier said than done. The research is thorough and the salient points are closely argued. The footnotes are well annotated where required for clarification or additional information.
I have only one criticism—and it’s a small one. The subtitle doesn’t seem to fit as the book seems more about how Catherine Parr and Anne Askew accepted and embraced religious changes coming to England, rather than how they changed the religion of England. 4/5 stars. Recommended.
July 16, 2024
Derek Wilson intertwines the fascinating biographies of two important people of the Reformation, preacher/writer Anne Askew and queen/writer Catherine Parr. Anne was a true rebel and quite extraordinary for her time, and both were some of the first women to publish books under their own names. They were not in league with each other, but their lives did touch in a dramatic way that's too complicated to describe here. The book is solid if a bit dry. For more razzle dazzle, there's a fictionalized account of the two women's lives called The Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle, which I may read soon.
May 12, 2018
Very readable. I wouldn't agree that either Katherine Parr or Anne Askew 'changed' England's religion, however; Katherine in particular was one of a handful of evangelicals at court and I think it's important not to overstate her influence. Anne, of course, was immortalised in the work of the martyrologist John Foxe. That's not to deny the bravery, courage and determination of both women, and it is a moving experience to read their writings, in particular the sufferings of Anne.
October 2, 2021
An account of two women who helped change England's religion. Fascinating stuff and so well written.
June 14, 2018
Interesting but the linking of the two women is a bit indirect for basing a book around it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews