Katheryn Howard: the Scandalous Queen

Six Tudor Queens #5

by Alison Weir

Bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir tells the tragic story of Henry VIII's fifth wife, a nineteen-year-old beauty with a hidden past, in this fifth novel in the sweeping Six Tudor Queens series.

In the spring of 1540, Henry VIII, desperate to be rid of his queen, Anna of Kleve, first sets eyes on the enchanting Katheryn Howard. Although the king is now an ailing forty-nine-year-old measuring fifty-four inches around his waist, his amorous gaze lights upon the pretty teenager. Seated near him intentionally by her ambitious Catholic family, Katheryn readily succumbs to the courtship.

Henry is besotted with his bride. He tells the world she is a rose without a thorn, and extols her beauty and her virtue. Katherine delights in the pleasures of being queen and the power she has to do good to others. She comes to love the ailing, obese king and tolerate his nightly attentions. If she can bear him a son, her triumph will be complete. But Katheryn has a past of which Henry knows nothing, and which comes back increasingly to haunt her--even as she courts danger yet again.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Tudor Period, British Literature, Audiobook, Romance

480 pages, Hardcover

First published May 12, 2020

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Alison Weir is an English writer of history books for the general public, mostly in the form of biographies about British kings and queens, and of historical fiction. Before becoming an author, Weir worked as a teacher of children with special needs. She received her formal training in history at teacher training college. She currently lives in Surrey, England, with her two children.

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mesmerising!

Katheryn Howard seemed to attract the attention of much older men right from an early age. Child abuse is the only way to describe the liberties that they took with her. Having lost her mother at an early age, she was sent to live with relatives after her feckless father used and abused his standing, eventually gambling away everything he owned. Katheryn finally ended up with her wealthy step-grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.

There were several young ladies under the care of the Duchess, and they were taught everything that was needed for a Tudor lady of noble descent, to be looked upon on as marriageable material. Katheryn would have needed as much help as she could, as there was to be no dowry for her future husband, her father having squandered away the family fortune.

The girls had a chaperone, but she was rather lax in her duties, and they were left very much to their own devices. This allowed much older men of the Court to meet up with Katheryn and the other girls, in their chambers at night. Katheryn (after some reluctance) became quite the flirt, having dalliances with more than one man, however, when she later catches the eye of King Henry VIII, her past would prove to be her undoing. Henry was notoriously easy to enrage as he got older.

The King’s household, the royal court, was the political and cultural centre of the nation, and despite the risks, anyone who was anyone, wanted to be there. At court, patronage and favour was given to those who pleased the monarch, and (as history demonstrates) taken away from those who did not. Sometimes with tragic consequences!

What a fascinating and detailed account Alison Weir has provided, it’s intelligent, informative, and quite simply unmissable!

* Thank you to Netgalley and Headline for my ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review *

[*TUDOR^QUEEN* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heaven knows I've devoured scores of books and documentaries about The Tudors, since they are a lifelong passion of mine. Even so, this historical fiction offering gave me a whole new perspective on the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. Whereas before I looked upon this wife as an unintelligent, wanton and reckless young woman, I now view her actions in the context of how she was raised. Katheryn's mother passed away during the birth of a younger sister. Afterwards, her father remarried and farmed out the children to other "titled" households to raise. Katheryn's father Lord Edmund Howard was foolish with money, squandering the small fortune his deceased wife brought to the union. This prompted him to disperse his children to other families in the British gentry in the hope that they would provide better opportunities for them.

Katheryn was sent to stay with Agnes Howard, the Dowager Duchess, widow of Katheryn's grandfather, the old Duke of Norfolk. She was provided with beautiful lodgings at Norfolk House, but still missed home. Katheryn soon realized that the Dowager's house matron Mrs. Emmet was very lax in watching over the young ladies placed in her care. Perhaps a dozen young girls lodged together in a large room lined with beds, but they were hosting parties in that room with leftover food they had snatched at dinner time, and also inviting men. What's more, these girls were having sexual encounters right in the same room with each other. Katheryn was initially shocked and horrified and preferred to sleep nights alone in her pristine room. However, eventually she was lured into attending these "parties" and was swept away by two handsome suitors. It was then that she bashfully asked one of the girls how they prevented pregnancy, and the answers were quite interesting to read 500 years later! It was easy to see how a once innocent girl was corrupted in this environment.

Katheryn was thrilled when she was informed by the Dowager Duchess that a place was made available to her at Court to serve Anne of Cleves, who was to be the 4th wife of King Henry VIII. Even though I had read the prior book about Queen Anne of Cleves in Alison Weir's "Six Wives" series, I quite enjoyed reading Katheryn's view of this Queen, in her own voice. As history recounts, King Henry VIII was quite displeased with the physical personage of Anne of Cleves, and found a mechanism to divorce her. In the wake of this, Katheryn's uncle the Duke of Norfolk mastermined a potential marriage of the King to his niece, Katheryn Howard. By the way, the Duke's other niece was the late Queen Anne Boleyn, who was King Henry VIII's second wife- and had been beheaded. Little did young Katheryn know that not too long into the future, she would also find herself beheaded for treason against the King, and be laid to rest next to her notorious cousin.

I have read this entire series and always look with bated breath for the next one to be released. I love what royal author Philippa Gregory did with her historical fiction series of King Henry VIII's Six Wives, where she let each Queen "speak" her story in the first person narrative. That's what legendary royalty author Alison Wier has done with this series, and she relies heavily on research that leads her to various speculations. She makes it really interesting and wont to think in perhaps a different way about these historical figures. I thought I knew everything about Katheryn Howard and didn't think very highly of her, but this tome provided some new insights. I now have more compassion and understanding for this young and misguided Queen. In fact, I was so inspired midway reading this that I fished out my DVD collection of "The Tudors" to re-visit this particular Queen. That's a good sign that I'm really liking a book, and I'll be looking out for Weir's final installment next year when she covers Katherine Parr...Henry's 6th (and final) wife!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

In what has become an annual adventure for me, I turned to the latest novel by Alison Weir depicting the six wives of Henry VIII. The fifth wife, Katheryn Howard, is the central focus of this piece, though Weir uses her extensive research and narrative abilities to paint a complete picture of the Tudor Court throughout the woman’s (albeit short) life. Katheryn Howard was a sweet child who lost her mother around six years of age. With a father unable to care care of her, Katheryn was shipped off to live with an aunt, who raised her as her own. Katheryn remained with this relative, even as her father married a few more times and presented new step-mothers. Into her teens, Katheryn was a curious but somewhat shy girl, who did not fall for all the wiles of those who would court her, though she seemed to fall under the spell of her music tutor, who did all he could to rid her of the virginity she held dear. Realising her status (as well as her connection to a former queen, Anne Boleyn, a first cousin), Katheryn was primed for a position at court with the soon to be fourth wife of Henry VIII, Anne of Cleves. Katheryn served the queen as well as she could, but also found herself falling for Francis Dereham, to whom she eventually gave her virginity. The secret relationship between Katheryn and Francis serves as an underlying foreboding that returns throughout the story. While Francis did play an important role in Katheryn’s life, it was Thomas Culpepper, a gentleman in Henry VIII’s court and a close friend to Richard Cromwell, who won her heart most. The connection between Katheryn and Culpepper grew as the king’s fancy turned to replacing his fourth wife with a new one. Katheryn seemed the obvious choice, as the king did extend much of his time with her and (as series fans and those with a penchant for Tudor history will know) once the monarchical radar locks in, there is no getting away. Katheryn did seek to rebuff him and remain true to Culpepper, but eventually acquiesced and agreed to become the fifth wife of Henry VIII, around the age of seventeen. Weir describes the time and court between the two, including Katheryn’s ‘faking’ her loss of virginity so as not to raise issue with Henry VIII. Though she tried, Katheryn was unable to bring forth a child for her husband, citing the advanced age and corpulence of the king. While advocating for some within her family, Katheryn reunited with Thomas Culpepper repeatedly in secret, eventually falling into a sexual relationship. When wind of the encounters emerged, Katheryn found herself in much trouble with her husband (much like Cousin Anne did), which was further exacerbated by the revelations of her sexual relationship with Francis Dereham. Thus began the quick downfall of Katheryn Howard and the end of the fifth queen in Henry VIII’s group of six. Weir depicts this quick fall and the eventual acceptance of errors by Katheryn, even though her final change of heart is in line with that of a young woman who realises how truth cannot always set her free. With a new moniker for Katheryn Howard written in blood, she truly became the scandalous queen. A brilliant piece by Alison Weir that will likely keep all her fans excited. Recommended to all those Tudor fans who enjoy a little fiction, as well as readers who love history coming to life on the page.

I never tire of learning about all things Tudor, especially when Alison Weir is guiding the experience. I have tried to read many of the books, both fiction and non-, and take something away from them all. Weir does a masterful job as usual, while injecting some degree of fiction to the life and times of Katheryn Howard. From her early life as a motherless girl, Katheryn rose through the ranks and offered a degree of modesty, while still likely being the typical teenage girl of the times, with curiosities and pressures from young men around her. Weir seemed to depict her as being less the flirty and sexually free-spirited young girl that I always thought her to be (thank you Tamzin Merchant for your depiction of her on Showtime’s The Tudors), but rather a young girl caught up in the pressures before being snagged by the King of England to be his latest conquest. The lies she told to protect her honour caught up with her and she was forced to face the consequences, though I am not here to dissect or pass judgment on whether it was right or wrong to see her imprisoned and executed. Weir offers a wonderful depiction of this rise and fall, as she has done many times before, while adding a great deal of insight through the various characters that she places throughout the narrative. Both those of historical significance and the characters who serve as vessels to move the story along help to enrich the reading experience for the interested reader. The story is one that Weir surely knows well, including how some of the events repeated themselves between Anne Boleyn and Katheryn Howard. Weir does a masterful job in her telling of it, with the imagined dialogues being one of the likely sole reasons this is a piece of fiction. Grabbing hold of the reader from the early pages, Weir paints a formidable picture throughout and keeps the reader focussed. With a mix of shorter and long chapters, Weir paces her story well, which is further helped by dividing the book into parts of Katheryn Howard’s life. As with the four previous books, there are some crossover moments and some early ‘cameos’ by those who appeared in the past or will again later, which links the series together nicely. I cannot wait to finish off the series with the final queen and see just how much drama came to pass, as well as how Weir will handle the eventual death of Henry VIII and all the shenanigans that came with it. Alas, I must wait a year, though Weir has more to keep me sated until then!

Kudos, Madam Weir, for a stunning depiction of the young 5th queen. My perspective has surely changed, though I can see see why ‘scandalous’ fits nicely in this novel’s sub-title

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
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[Roman Clodia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pulling down his hose, he entered her and rode her like a stallion.

DNF @ 30%

OK, I give up, this one is just too packed with appalling writing (see quotations below). Weir is iffy as a novelist, for me, but her Catherine of Aragon and, to a lesser extent, Anne Boleyn books in this series were at least faithful to the sources and focused on the early lives of these women before they came into the orbit of Henry VIII as well as, in Catherine's case, her life after the divorce.

Her Jane Seymour book bored me endlessly with her Little Miss Piety portrait (despite Jane sleeping with a married man...) and her Anne of Cleves was literally unbelievable with a massive fictional insert. This one, however, has rapidly become unreadable: Katherine is no more than a cardboard bundle of lustful urges falling rapidly for the sexual attentions of every man she meets.

That might in itself be a valid interpretation of Katherine if it weren't so a) thoughtless and old-fashioned, and b) articulated in Mills and Boonesque language that could almost be a parody of itself. What finally caused me to fling this away was this paragraph:

"Making a promise to wed and bedding together afterwards is as good as being married in church. Lots of people do it. It would take a church court to loose us now." [Katherine] stared at him. She had never heard of such a thing.

The idea of a seventeen year old girl from the Howard family being worldly enough to practise contraception but not knowing the established custom of hand-fasting is just silly, and this combined with anachronistic modern concepts and ludicrous language ("so it was the drink talking?" she retorted) made me abandon all scruples despite this being an ARC.

[Stace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com

‘Katheryn Howard – The Tainted Queen’ is the latest book by best-selling author, Alison Weir. This tale is told through the eyes of Henry VIII’s fifth wife, in the third person and the past tense.

Daughter of the hapless Sir Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpepper, we first meet Katheryn at the age of seven. Her childhood was marred, firstly by the death of her mother and then being sent away to be cared for by relatives. By fifteen she was living in the home of her paternal step-grandmother. It seemed discipline as well as moral conduct was lax and Katheryn soon fell under the spell of roguish young men considered unsuitable for someone of her aristocratic background.

Based on what was clearly a huge amount of painstaking research, Alison Weir lays before the reader a fictional account of what life could have been like for this diminutive, naïve and not overly academic girl. The absence of a virtuous and loving role model after her half-sister, Isabel, married seemed to have a profound effect. Katheryn believed that her conduct, whilst unbecoming for a virtuous young gentlewoman, would never come under scrutiny and perhaps that might have been the case, had it not been for the machinations of her ambitious relatives.

Katheryn catching the eye of the king was meticulously planned by those wishing to advance themselves and she becomes no more than a pawn in their craven desire to be close to the crown, with all the trappings of wealth and power that would come with it.

Weir paints a vivid picture of the court of King Henry and also incorporates the historic events which take place during Katheryn’s short tenure as Henry’s queen. We are given details of the minutiae of Katheryn’s life from her love of clothes and jewels to the interactions with her friends and ladies-in-waiting.

None of the main players in the real life drama of Katheryn Howard come out of this episode with any glory and Weir’s tale reflects this. Katheryn is a frivolous, vulnerable young woman, manipulated and seduced not only by unscrupulous men but by the thought of being queen.

We have a ratcheting up of tension as the queen realises she is now open to blackmail and fears for her future. We know by the clever use of foreshadowing, that those who rise the highest have the farthest to fall, often paying with their lives. As we see things only from Katheryn’s perspective, the accusations against her come almost out of the blue and she is unsure who has betrayed her. We are spared the torture and execution of those accused of high treason but empathise with Katheryn’s anguish when she is made aware of their fate.

I had an advanced reading copy of this book so the family trees, which will appear in the final version, were not included but there is a helpful who’s-who at the back along with author’s notes. Weir gives a sympathetic account of the short life and death of Katheryn Howard, which I enjoyed and I award five stars.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katheryn Howard the Scandalous Queen, a novel of the fifth wife of Henry VIII, is told in the voice of the young woman, beginning at the death of her mother in childbirth when Katheryn was seven. (Her precise date of birth is debated according to Weir, which might well impact her behavior in her short life, i.e. immaturity in spite of her setting) Not long after, her father, a spendthrift member of the Howard family, sent all of his children away, Katheryn to the home of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk where she will grow up with other young women of similar backgrounds.

This is where the novel began to disappoint and lose me. Here at the Dowager Duchess’ castle, Katheryn gradually comes to know of the other women’s/girl’s lives in their “dorter,” a communal space the women shared with inadequate supervision (according to Katheryn). While Katheryn had a personal chamber, her curiosity led her eventually to ask to join the others and at a point (? Twelve) she was allowed. There was feasting. There were visits from young men also quartered with the Duchess. Here Katheryn was introduced to sex. And we hear all her thoughts, hopes, worries, fears, etc, etc, etc. Here the novel moves into the realm of sexy romantic historical fiction. More teenage romance and sex than history for a few years.

There is more, such as the crude Howard family plot to use Katheryn to ensnare Henry, who believes she is a chaste, pure young thing, and Katheryn’s internal musings on what might have been with a younger lover. It became a bit much for me as I found her voice tiresome. And of course there is only one way for the novel about the fifth wife of Henry VIII to end...

I know that I am outnumbered in my feelings about this book by others’ praise but this simply hit me wrong, while I did like Weir’s novel about Ann of Cleves. I believe it’s the romance novel aspect that got me.

2.5* rounded to 3*

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Tracey Allen at Carpe Librum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katheryn Howard - The Tainted Queen is the fifth novel in the Six Tudor Queens series by British historian Alison Weir. I've been following the series for years now and each book can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone.

We join Katheryn Howard at age seven in 1528 and follow her short life in a first person narrative all the way until her death in 1542. She falls in love with several men in her youth, and I desperately wanted Katheryn to be more discreet and discerning while at the same time recognising the folly of youth and the overwhelming urges of desire.

Katheryn's life unalterably changes when she's selected by family and powerful men driven by political aspirations to court King Henry VIII. As we know, Katheryn goes on to become the King's fifth wife (hence the fifth book in the series) and I cringed when her past kept coming back to haunt her. Despite knowing the outcome, I was still moved by her decline in Henry's favour and her ultimate execution.

I eagerly awaited the scene that takes place at Hampton Court Palace when Katheryn breaks free from her guards and runs down a corridor towards the Chapel Royal screaming for mercy from the King. The scene in the book exceeded my every expectation and I felt a chill reading it. It is said the ghost of Katheryn Howard can be felt in this corridor and some visitors report feeling a chill or hearing screams. The corridor is now known as the 'haunted gallery' and it was a highlight of my visit to Hampton Court Palace in 2018.

This, together with my imagining Katheryn as portrayed by Tamzin Merchant in The Tudors series only added to my reading enjoyment.

Given Katheryn was just 21 when she died, I wasn't expecting such a well rounded and 'full' novel, but I really shouldn't have been surprised. In Alison Weir's expert hands, I was transported back to the 1500s and given another chance to participate as an observer in the dramatic Tudor court.

I thoroughly enjoyed Katheryn Howard - The Tainted Queen and recommend it to readers with an interest in the Tudor period; even if you've read about the characters elsewhere. There's only one more to come in this series Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife and there's no doubt it's going to be one of my most anticipated releases in 2021.

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *

[Giorgia Legge Tanto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ammetto l'ignoranza e vi dico che ho sempre saputo che Enrico VIII aveva avuto sei mogli, ma mica le conoscevo tutte! E voi le conoscete ognuna a menadito?
Qui incontriamo Caterina ancora bambina che, dopo la morte della madre, a causa dei debiti contratti dal padre, vive in povertà nonostante il suo alto lignaggio. Viene mandata così a Lambeth, ospite della vedova Norfolk, come era consuetudine allora, per i bambini nobili. Anni dopo Caterina diventa damigella di Anna di Kleve, la nuova moglie del re. Sotto la guida del duca di Norfolk, capisce di poter essere fondamentale per le alleanze politiche dell'Inghilterra. Non sarà però un compito semplice: dovrà trovare il modo di far divorziare sua maestà dalla moglie, farsi i coronare lei stessa e dare un erede maschio al re. Questo compito è già andato male ad altre quattro mogli...
Essendo la quinta e sapendo che Enricone nostro ha avuto sei mogli potete ben immaginare come sia andata a finire la sua vita, ma intanto Caterina si è goduta (è proprio il caso di dirlo) i suoi 21 anni. Bella, graziosa ed elegante, Caterina è un personaggio anche molto sfortunato. Infatti orfana di madre molto piccola, ha un padre che ha dissipato tutte le fortune, nonostante appartenga al casato prestigioso degli Howard. Caterina purtroppo sarà regina solo per pochi mesi, perché verrà decapitata con l'accusa di adulterio (non è spoiler, è storia).

Sempre scritto in maniera magistrale, come tutti gli altri libri, anche in questo testo, il palcoscenico è tutto per la protagonista femminile che da il nome al romanzo. Di Enrico quasi non si parla, è assolutamente una figura di secondo piano. Sono come sempre magnifiche e impeccabili le descrizioni dei luoghi, degli abiti, dei pensieri e degli atteggiamenti della protagonista.
E come sempre ve lo stra consiglio!

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was for me a 2.5 star book. But I rounded it up to 3 stars for the author's effort to establish some minutia posits for the first 12 years of Katheryn Howard's life.

She truly is not a worthy subject for a book of this length, IMHO. Unlike Anne Boleyn or some others in Henry VIII's various courts, she was too young and too naive and affinity ignorant to land in the spot she did. So brief. Her queen status and her life. Truly, she wasn't even able to validly discern her own cultural or class boundaries or where economic advantage or loyalty of group existed.

She was not overly intelligent, didn't have any intuition for emotional or intellectual or even lawful knowledge that would have been necessary. And not just once or twice but nearly constantly within the subterfuge of the complex and ever changing webs of that exact era- she was merely an object. Told what to do. And when she made her own decisions, few as they were- she made them badly. Very badly. Most probably, even without her terrible parent void- she would not have fared well.

Too pretty and just not wise enough. She could have saved her own life with just a modicum of lawful appropriations to getting the marriage annulled, as had Anne of Cleves. She could have pleaded ignorance of the prior coupleship etc. The law was changed for Monarch's marriages with that clause added, just because of her situation.

Regardless, the book is not in the style or the context to achieve the depth necessary for the cabals and alliances. Nor the factions of court that were siding up again for even bigger religious or property takes.

It's a simple story as told. While nearly none of this was ever simple.

[Casey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the series the author is writing about the six wives of Henry VIII and is a work of fiction. It is the first in the series that I have read. It was not at all what I was expecting. This is poorly written soft porn at best. The author's writing style did not resonate with me and I found the book very boring, but I plodded through it as I made a commitment to Net Galley and the publisher. I am sure that fans of the Fifty Shades series (which I did not read) will find enjoy this book as it is on the same level.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook  page.

[Leo]

i have to dnf 118. the writing is good and I like Kathryn. but I feel such strong emotions for her and knowing how it will end I can't bring myself to it. if I knew it would end on a happy note I would.

[Lois · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is unbelievably boring and I hated it

[Vonda]

I'm a huge fan of Alison Weir and I was thrilled to read a book on Katheryn Howard, King Henry VIII's fifth queen. She was barely out of childhood when married to King Henry. She was one of the lesser written about queens, possibly due to the length of her reign Told from Katheryn’s point of view, the story picks up in 1528 shortly before her mother’s death when she was 7 years old. It recounts her various romances through young adulthood and her ultimate ascension to her short-held role as Queen.
The book is wonderfully written other than parts that read like poorly written soft porn, tis the reason I gave it 4* instead of 5*

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like any good historical novel, the author grafts a personality on to the historical record. As the title suggests, the focus is on Katheryn. Alison Weir speculates on the motives of Katheryn's Howard relatives, the women of her court and the three men who courted her, but what Katheryn thought and felt is clearly the center.

With the death of Katheryn’s mother when she was seven years old Kathryn had very little stability, love or guidance. Her beauty attracted men. Weir emphasizes the physical side of the resulting relationships, but I would expect this lonely, adrift young teen aged girl needed the attention and sweet talk they brought her. While each of the 3 main lovers is portrayed as sincere and ardent, there is clearly something exploitive going on. For instance her music teacher was pursing his 13 year old student; Francis Dereham seemed to be pursuing only sex; and Thomas Culpepper is presented as an ideal suitor despite having committed rape and murder and was pushing this teenaged queen into what he surely knew was a life threatening situation.

There are great descriptions, such as life the at the Dowager Dutchess of Norfolk’s households where gentlewomen waited for a marriage match to be made on their behalf; how Katheryn’s family manipulated her to attract the King in order to advance their power and that of the Catholic cause; and the brief encounters with Anne of Cleves and Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. The best description was that of how Katheryn waited out the King’s decision on her fate.

This book does what historical fiction should do, that is, help you envision the people and the times. While this is a great read and I recommend it, in addition to what Weir has presented as Katheryn’s thoughts and feelings, I would have liked more overview of Katheryn and her situation.

[Alex ☣ Deranged KittyCat ☣ · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is there to say except I am very sorry for this queen born all too early in history. As I see it, she was just a normal girl with hormones. Should she have lived today, all would have been ok. But to have her life during the reign of Henry VIII and be his spouse...

[Scarlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book! Release date - May 12, 2020

So. I am not a fan of Alison Weir. I am 5 books into her Six Tudor Queens series and I have only genuinely liked one of them. And yet, I stalked NetGalley until this was available to request and waited on the edge of my seat hoping I would be approved. I am a living contradiction.

I just think I always expect so much more from these books than Alison Weir actually delivers. I’m a HUGE fan of historical fiction and Tudor history in particular, so I think I just get really excited to read a new book about one of my favorite subjects. And you would think that having a respected historian start writing fiction would result in the most accurate and reliable historical fiction accounts. But I truly can tell that she’s not really a novelist. I know I know, sue me for being a Philippa Gregory fan. It’s up for debate how accurate her novels are, but there’s no question that they are entertaining. They read like fiction and totally suck you in. I think that’s what most people expect from historical fiction. I like it to be accurate too like the best of them, but Philippa Gregory keeps me way more entertained than Alison Weir. And honestly if Alison Weir was like 100% stick to the book as accurate as possible, I might be able to forgive her for being boring, but she’s thrown out some outlandish theories throughout this series. It goes to show that even historians can be biased. And to be totally honest, her fiction is making me distrust her nonfiction.

Anyway, first the positives. Finally, the books are getting shorter. One of my biggest complaint about all the previous books has been that they are FREAKISHLY long. Way way way too long to be enjoyable. This one is still long, 400+ pages, but it was really a manageable size and I read it pretty quickly. Then again, Katheryn Howard had the shortest life of all of Henry’s queens, so maybe Alison Weir had no choice.

(If the most positive thing I can say about a book is that it was short....)

I definitely don’t have nearly the complaints I had about Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession, but I still feel like some weird choices were made here. Although she states her reasons for making Katheryn’s age what it was, and her birth date is disputed, I still feel like she was likely younger than 16 when she became involved with her music teacher. I also think it was much more likely that he molested or at the very least took advantage of her lack of knowledge than that it was a consensual “love” relationship, as Alison Weir proposes here. For an author that was so quick to accuse Henry of raping Mary Boleyn in Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession, it’s almost laughable that she didn’t put forth that theory here when it’s MUCH more likely in this instance.

But I do think Katheryn’s frivolous and promiscuous personality was spot on, especially in her younger years. The relationship with Francis Dereham was spot on too in my opinion.

Now, on to the Thomas Culpeper/Jane Boleyn storyline. I know Jane’s motives for potentially helping Thomas and Katheryn have an affair are murky, but her actions were SO DUMB in this book. She wants Katheryn and Tom to be together, arranges for them to meet in secret in the middle of the night, stands guard to warn them....and then tells Katheryn you better not give yourself to him. Like what? It makes 0 sense. Not to bring up Philippa Gregory again (ok yes, she always has a special place in my heart), but in The Boleyn Inheritance her theory was at least logical, whether it was plausible or not (part of a plan by the Howard higher-ups to get Katheryn pregnant since they believed Henry was no longer fertile). Alison Weir presents a theory that is no theory at all. Jane helped...just cuz. She wanted to. But don’t get any ideas kids! Just TALK.

Of course, the whole affair is speculation to begin with, and I can see her reasons for thinking that they didn’t actually go all the way, since down to her dying day Katheryn said that they didn’t. I can accept that theory but I just think it was executed in an illogical way.

Anyway. I’m this far into the series now so I know I’ve got to read the last one on Catherine Parr. I might even look forward to it. I do think she was a really really interesting person so we’ll see how Alison Weir handles her portrayal.

[Helen Rudolf · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Admittedly Katheryn Howard provides less material for Weir’s account because she lived such a short life, but Weir doesn’t even do that justice. Firstly this is not a 21st century fictional reappraisal as the other books in this series have been, it is instead a shmaltzy, occasionally lapsing into soft porn, account of a randy teenager. There’s an account to be written of a groomed and abused young girl, ultimately put to death to satisfy male vengeance and justice, but this version makes KH out to be a lusty Tudor wench, who simply fell in and out of lust with a succession of men. Secondly, the single perspective of Katheryn herself is just a bit dull, it misses out any sense of the context within which she lived and died or the nature of the schemes she fell victim to. Thirdly the writing is just awful in places, it’s perpetually summer, its use of 21st century idiom jars and it gives little sense of the world and the times she lived through. It’s unbelievable too, Katheryn is repulsed by Henry initially but then falls in love with him. Wtf?
I didn’t get a free copy to review (seriously, someone should tell me how to do that, I’ve been hinting for ages!) I really hope that the sixth one on Catherine Parr who was a truly fascinating woman and is due out next year, sees Weir return to form.

[Maria11 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is terrible! I cannot go on with it DNF 30%. I love historical fiction, it can be so much fun, but this is awful. How many titles and names can one fit in a paragraph? I cannot even keep up.

Then the sex, ok I know everyone has it no matter what time period the live in, but the characters in this book are tremendously worldly and very free. There is no discretion at all and it seems like the only thing anyone talks about. Katherine bounces from one bed to another and professes her love continuously. Virtue isn’t even a thought and back then a “lady” isn’t so free.

The whole story that I read reads like a tawdry romance with a heroine that is just too stupid to live. It really is a disservice to Katherine on so many levels. She doesn’t seem to have a brain in her head. The story is worded too modern and one forgets what time period it is. I am so disappointed in this book.

I received a copy from the publisher for an honest review.

[Cathleen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always love Alison Weir's books but what I especially enjoy is her interpretations of the characters and their motivations, from "the nasty obsession" of Francis Dereham to the equally horrible Thomas Culpepper. Equally chilling is the guidance from her Norfolk uncle who will do anything to get a Howard woman on the throne but who is quick to distance himself at the fall. With this swirling around her, Katheryn learns to fall in love with the impotent Henry who treats her as the gift she is, only Katheryn cannot do the main thing that will save her life, fall pregnant.

The pace will keep you turning the pages as Alison brings the history to life. Another brilliant book.

[S.Baqer Al-Meshqab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome as usual. A really engaging story for the fifth queen of Henry the eighth, with great care taken to details. Perhaps not as good as its predecessors, but as usual I enjoyed every part of it.

[Charlotte Guzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book about Henry VIII 5th wife is in a series by this author.
This kind of book is right up my alley as far as what genre I love to read. I have read the previous 4 books in this series.
Katheryn Howard was the most tragic of all of Henry VIII wives. Young, vivacious, and a lover of life and the good things.
When her mother died she was shuttled to her aunts place and was not watched over very well and kind of did what she wanted and that included men and experimenting with sexual encounters.
When she goes to court to be a lady in waiting to the Queen at the time, she catches the eye of the King and eventually becomes the the 5th wife. But her past catches up with her and she is caught with her hand in the cookie jar, so to say and is be-headed like her cousin Anne Bolyen (the kings' 2nd wife).
Katheryn's story is nicely written and the author explains in her author's notes how and why she wrote her story the way she did. I think she did a good job with her research.
I look forward to her last book in this series of the 6th wife Katherine Parr.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen is the fifth book in Alison Weir’s Six Tudor Queens series. I’ve read all the previous books with the exception of Anna of Kleve which is patiently waiting on my bookshelf. Perhaps conscious of previous criticism, Alison Weir writes in her Author’s Note, “Apart from fictionalising the historical record, I have invented very little.” The result is a convincing account of the character traits and events that led to Katheryn Howard’s tragic end.

Written in the first person, the reader gets a picture of a naive young woman who lacks the awareness or guidance to realise how the foolish mistakes she makes whilst in the household of the Duchess of Norfolk will come back to haunt her. The author depicts a surprisingly licentious atmosphere amongst the young men and women of the household with frequent midnight “feasts” that don’t only involve food. Katheryn is drawn into this activity, conducting affairs with firstly her music tutor and then with Francis Dereham. If the book is an accurate reflection of the amount of sexual activity taking place, given the primitive methods of contraception available it’s surprising no pregnancies ensued.

I confess I struggled to maintain my interest in this section of the book with its accounts of nightly youthful indiscretions. And I found some of the writing rather laughable. Examples such as “Pulling down his hose, he entered her and rode her like a stallion” or “For answer, he took her hand and guided it inside his codpiece”. However, during this period an important exchange takes place between Katheryn and Francis, the effect of which will prove pivotal later.

Because of her youth and beauty, Katheryn becomes a valuable pawn in the hands of her Howard relatives, who seek both power and the restoration of the Catholic faith. She is dangled in front of the King in an effort to encourage him to divorce Anna of Kleve. Katheryn goes along with this out of gratitude to them for rescuing her from a life of relative poverty and because she is dazzled by the thought of becoming queen. “The prospect thrilled her, colouring everything else.” The idea of being shown deference, wearing gorgeous clothes and jewellery, living in splendid palaces, having servants dancing attendance on her and obeying her every whim is irresistible. I could actually see how the opulence of court life would turn a young girl’s head. Despite her disappointment at her first sight of the now ageing and obese Henry, she concludes: “She could do it if she had to. For the first time, she knew herself to be as ambitious as the rest of her family. If submitting to the King’s desires was the price of her elevation, she would pay it.”

Although Henry’s eagerness to marry Katheryn is undoubtedly driven by lust and the need to secure the succession, in the author’s hands the reader sees a real tenderness develop between the two. For me, this part of the book, describing the relationship between Katheryn and Henry, and detailing daily life at Court or whilst on progress around the country was one of the most fascinating and compelling.

Despite everything she has achieved, the King’s obvious devotion to her and the example set by the demise of Anne Boleyn, Katheryn foolishly sets out on a course of action that will ultimately result in her downfall and death. It left me thinking “You silly, silly girl” especially when she fails to see how she is being manipulated or, at best, being given extremely poor advice.

This is the point where the limitations of the author’s decision to write in the first person become evident. As she herself admits in her Author’s Note, because the reader is never privy to the thoughts of Henry, it is impossible to explore the possibility that he did not want Katheryn to be condemned to death. The author points to signs of his initial leniency, such as the fact she was not sent directly to the Tower of London, arguing that he may have been influenced by reformers on his Council who seized the opportunity to remove a Catholic queen and bring down the Howards in one fell swoop.

One very interesting point Alison Weir makes, which is unknown to Katheryn and therefore to the reader as well – because we only know what she knows – is that she might have saved her life if she had admitted to a pre-contract with Dereham. As Alison explains, “If she had never been the King’s legal wife, she could not be accused of adultery, only bigamy, with the second marriage being rendered invalid. Bigamy was seen as a spiritual offence…it did not become a felony until 1604.” For me, this made the final chapters all the more poignant.

[Darcey Tomasino · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. These are my honest opinions.

I'm torn in writing this review, as I normally love Alison Weir's work, but this title fell short for several reasons:

1. It seems terribly biased, presenting details in such a way as to MAKE the subtitle accurate. For example, in the author's note, Weir states that Katheryn could have been born as late as 1525, making her a child being preyed upon by adult males, nay family members and persons in authority. However, Weir chooses to make her approximately five years older, going with the earlier date of birth. Five years in that stage of life makes for a huge disparity in maturity. It also makes it easier to place the blame on Katheryn, as it enables Weir to develop her as a beguiling, sex-starved temptress, instead of a child left to fend for herself. There is so much gray between those two very black and white portraits.

2. The text, which Weir states she "modernized" to avoid Tudor English that would "sound out of place," frequently disrupted the continuity, preventing me from feeling as though I were in a medieval setting. Examples of the worst turns of phrase: "cheering their heads off," "kissing as if their lives depended on it" (that one also rated high on the trite cliche scale.) The worst, in terms of being out of place and just plain bad writing: "he entered her and rode her like a stallion. . ." Come on! That cheesy cliche brings me to my third reason: overtly salacious scenes.

3. I felt like I was reading a Harlequin romance. The orgies at Lambeth were nothing but salacious. That part of the novel was full of gratuitous minutiae about Katheryn's alleged sex life. I say alleged because Weir didn't offer up any legitimate source for that time, but she certainly dreamt up a very active sex life for Ms. Howard.

4. Lady Rochford's actions remain a mystery. What was motivating her? Her character is so flat, I couldn't form any solid conclusions. And the fact that Katheryn trusted Jane supports my opinion that she was too immature for the world she was forced into. (Her actions around Tom, yet another older man, further underscore her immaturity.)Toward the end of the book, I was so disgusted by their characters that I had to force myself to finish it. At least Weir gave Katheryn some dignity in death.

Overall, I'm left feeling rather outraged that this girl, a pawn for men, is, essentially, slut-shamed. King Henry is painted as the victim: poor, lecherous, manipulative, fornicating Henry, the man who broke up the established church, destroyed monasteries, and executed loyal followers because he wanted a fresh piece of tail in his bed. The man who then beheaded the woman he destroyed so many lives over because, let's face it, she was smarter than he. The man who divorced his third wife because she was not pleasing to look at.

I did not enjoy this book, I'm afraid.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I waffled on this review for a few days because this book is very different from the others in the series. I was hoping that Weir would give Katheryn a little more substance than historians generally have given her, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.

The book starts with the death of Katheryn’s mother, spends a considerable amount of time on her years in Horsham and Lambeth and her interactions with Henry Mannox and Francis Dereham, and finally her affair with Thomas Culpeper which leads to her demise. In the end, it all just feels a bit surface-level? I would have liked to see Weir take more risks with Katheryn’s interests and ambitions, but her entire narrative revolves around these three men and the King… which is nothing new and gets tiring after awhile, especially toward the end when she’s on progress with the King and constantly having trysts with Culpeper.

That being said, I know that Katheryn is also the youngest of Henry’s wives and there typically isn’t as much material on her as the other women, so I think it’s fair to say that Weir had less to work with (and to be honest, her strength is in using historical records). Truly, the most interesting parts for me were her thoughts around events like Culpeper raping a woman and murdering a bystander. I think that the book would have been a lot more interesting if it had her reactions to other current events, and if it had been shortened to remove some of the redundant liaisons.

See more of my reviews: Blog // Instagram

[Natasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katheryn Howard was never my favorite of Henry VIII’s wives. I had never found her very interesting but Alison Weir’s novel changed my perspective on this young queen. She was given humanity and became relatable in a way that other books had not yet portrayed her. Full review coming soon on my blog: https://poetryofreading.blogspot.com/...

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well told life story of young Katheryn Howard, one of the King Henry VIII's wives who shared the fate of others before her with death by beheading.


Library Loan

[Brooklyn Tayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an Uncorrected Proof Copy of Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen from Hachette Australia in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.
History is completely and unequivocally right, Katheryn Howard did die too soon. Killed for the treasonous action she performed against King Henry VIII, adultery with her distant cousin Thomas Culpepper (who was also beheaded), as they secretly exchanged passionate, fleeting meetings in the dead of night, whilst Katheryn was married to King Henry VIII.
It’s interesting, I’ve always been a history enthusiast, my favourite period being Tudor England and Alison Weir has longtime been my favourite Historical Fiction Author, but I feel like I’ve long since had a less than sympathetic view of Kitty Howard’s life (although I seem to have defaulted to referring to her by nickname, so I suppose I must have always had a secret sympathy and low-key fondness towards this young girl who was really, like so many other young noble-bred women, used as pawns to elevate the status of their male relatives!
It’s completely unknown exactly when Katheryn Howard was born, though her Mother died when Kitty was just a child, which lead for Katheryn to be sent to live with her step Grandmother, Agnes, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. I really enjoyed Alison Weir’s writing depicting Katheryn’s younger years, she depicts the young girl as completely naive and superficial, with a fondness for pretty gowns and jewels, but there’s no denying that she absolutely adored her family, having an abundant amount of Brothers and Sisters, her closest confidante throughout her life (in this book, at least) is Isabel Leigh, wife to Edward Bayntun, who was not only a gentleman in King Henry VIII’s Court, but served as vice Chamberlain to Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife and Queen, who was Katheryn’s own Cousin!
Factoring in the fact that Kitty Howard and Anne Boleyn are cousins and given the tragic (yes, I can freely admit that I’ve long been I suppose a fan of Anne Boleyn and I always thought that Henry VIII was frankly, a chauvinistic idiot, who could drizzle favour on someone before ruining them and sending them off to the tower at a mere click of the fingers, for the King saw himself as the Divine voice, equivalent only to God himself.
Like, really? He always thought so highly and divinely of himself, never considering that maybe he could be at fault too for not being able to sire a healthy son (well, okay, sidestepping his Heir that’s born to Jane Seymour, his Third Queen). My point is though, given the accusations that flew around left, right and centre regarding Anne Boleyn’s supposed gallavanting around with Henry’s Courtiers (her own dear brother George Boleyn being one of her accused lovers (something I really just think was conspiracy based on Henry VIII’s part, wanting to throw more fuel on the fire of rumours against Anne Boleyn. It’s just that given everything Anne Boleyn went through as Queen and eventually being executed, I honestly thought Katheryn Howard would’ve known to tread a bit more carefully and maybe not meet secretly for romantic liaisons with one of the King’s men!
The narrative move quickly from Katheryn’s childhood, being educated in Music (leading to some questionable trysts with her Music Master, Henry Mannock, who was given the task of teaching Kitty how to play the ironically titled Virginals, something similar to a keyboard, to then getting to serve as one of Anne of Cleeves (Henry VIII’s fourth wife and Queen) Ladies in Waiting, where the demure but completely beautiful Kitty catches the eye of the King himself, after essentially being forced to do so by her seemingly esteemed Uncle Norfolk, all to put a Katherine on the throne, so the Howards can finally triumph and bask in the King’s favour! They even enlisted Katheryn to help their cause in turning Henry VIII himself against his once closest advisor, Thomas Cromwell!
As Anne Boleyn and her family nudged Henry VIII to his then advisor Wolsey’s deceptions and traitorous nature, its Katheryn’s family that disagree with Cromwell’s ideals and they get Kitty herself to progressively plant the seeds in the King’s brain that his beloved Cromwell is a nasty traitor! It just really goes to show how one can be right at the peak of the King’s favour, but then ruined when rumours (yes, not fact, rumour!). were projected against them.
Factoring this in, I did find myself sympathizing towards Katheryn Howard quite a lot towards the latter half of this book, there she is a beautiful young girl who by rights should just be indulging in fun fossicking around (and I suppose she does really, but rather than getting to completely be free and say marry someone of her own choosing, she’s bound by family ties to seduce the aging King Henry VIII, who sufficed it to say is definitely past his prime when Kitty meets him and is forced to flirt her way to the throne, not too differently than what her ill fated cousin did!
Having read and completely found myself aching over Alison Weir’s completely evocative and beautiful writing with her Katherine Of Aragon: The True Queen and Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession, not to mention her earlier novel about the Nine Day Queen Lady Jane Grey, I knew I was in for a feast for the senses with this book, for I’ve always thought Alison Weir’s Historical Fiction novels, in their immaculately researched fashion, completely bring depictions of The glittering Court of Henry VIII to life, conjuring up images of these completely outrageous and unique personalities, from the gammy-leg-ridden Henry VIII, bloated and definitely past his prime, to the pretty young Katheryn Howard, to her nosy but prim and yet altogether improper Ladies of her Household (though I suppose the same could be said of Anne Cleeves’ Ladies too!) and those charming but cunning men, I completely recommend Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen to everyone!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always look forward to these books each year. They're beautiful to look at and such enjoyable reads. Tragedy looms over this one as history tells us the fate of Katheryn Howard. I love how she's portrayed here. She's undoubtedly silly, making mistake after mistake, but she's so young and likeable and so manipulated by her family, the powerful Howards, effectively sacrificing her to the monster, Henry VIII. Weir's portrayal of Henry has been fascinating through these novels. He is the one constant and it's interesting to see how his character has changed. She still manages to find some good in him, but watching Katheryn's story unfold, I found it impossible to be as forgiving. Such a good read. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.

[Esme Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right I’ve decided the real villain here is that cursed Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk. Constantly using the women in his life as political pawns for his own game, and then leading them right to the chopping block.
Crying for the slutty bad bitch energy of Katheryn Howard.

[Hanna (lapetiteboleyn) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huge thanks to the wonderful folk over at NetGalley for sending me an advance copy for review!

This is a very difficult book to review, if only because it is such a difficult book to even approach. The story of Katheryn Howard is nothing short of a tragedy - an abused child who was abused right into a brutal death when she was barely twenty one, by the oldest possible estimate of her age.
All six wives come with certain levels of controversy and revisionism attached, but Katheryn's narrative is rarely challenged. And I was surprised to see the same coming from Weir, who has made such bold narrative decisions in all of her past Wives novels.
The Katheryn here is as stupid and easily manipulated as in any recent adaptation, if at times more sympathetic if only because Weir manages to get across the impossibility of her situation. The first third or so of the novel relates her youthful exploits. I was unsurprised that Weir chose to make her as old as historically possible, since the thought of having to read about an eleven year old being molested makes my stomach turn. But Katheryn still seems to be unable to shake the silly party-girl narrative. Even as we read about a nearly thirty-year-old Manox pestering a fourteen-year-old girl for sex, she is giggling over it and talking about how exciting it is and how handsome and naughty-
She might have been aged up, but I won't lie, it still made me a bit sick.
And this repeats ad infinitum. With Dereham, who has literally no redeeming qualities at any point in the narrative and who simply left me spitting mad, and then with Henry, who is given the tender-lover treatment, strangely enough, and finally with Culpepper, who also fails to have much of any redeeming qualities. I think this is one of the great challenges of writing about Katheryn Howard; the men in her life were so central to it. And at the time, she probably did love them. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book and didn't expect to, was the relationship with Henry, who appears almost shy, and the slow growth of her love for him felt convincing. But all her other relationships come from exactly nowhere other than a place of her saying that he is extremely good looking, and then watching as he does and says things that are shockingly awful and abusive, and all the while she continues to narrate how wonderful it is to be in love. While it is entirely probable that Katheryn was stuck in a cycle of abuse and mistook many of the signs for love, it doesn't translate well or easily onto the page.
And on the subject of translating - I adored the early inclusion of random passages from her final confessions. Especially the little old lady who was very clever at making silk flowers, a motif that appears a couple of times and feels like a very pretty, poignant detail of one of the few things that we can point to with some certainty as being true from accounts of her early life. But there is also a lot of information. Especially in the first few chapters. Many of the characters serve as little more than talking heads to explain the complex social and political expectations and relationships of the time. It does improve, and after a while turns into a great way of dropping small facts about court life - like not finishing all your food, since the spares were given to the poor - but initially is quite off-putting.
This was the novel about Katheryn Howard that everyone is familiar with, and I have to confess - that was exactly why I was disappointed. It's still a great read, and I walked away feeling like I'd learned a thing or two (or three), but with Weir's previous work I was really expecting more from Katheryn.