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Review

The Virgin’s Lover

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The Virgin’s Lover is book 14 of Philippa Gregory’s historical fiction series. It takes place between Summer of 1557 and Autumn of 1560. It follows Queen Elizabeth, Robert and Amy Dudley, and William Cecil. This book has a number of firsts for the series. It is the first book to have Queen Elizabeth as a main character, and it is the first book to have many scenes from a male viewpoint (Robert Dudley and William Cecil).

This book is a mix of genres. In many ways it’s a romance novel between Robert Dudley and Queen Elizabeth. It is a book of court politics. But most importantly, it is a murder mystery. Combined, it makes for a book I really enjoyed reading. Really, I liked this one.

I’m going to talk about this mystery without spoilers, but I want to talk about it. Because if you read this book knowing it’s a murder mystery, it’ll make a lot more sense.

This book is a ‘Who Will Do It’ murder mystery.

What does that mean?

Glad you asked.

This book ends in 1560, which is 13 years before the previous book, The Last Tudor, ended. Which means we, as readers of the entire series, know how the romance between Robert and Elizabeth concludes: Robert’s wife, Amy, dies under mysterious circumstances. The nature of her death tarnishes Robert’s reputation, and he is no longer considered a suitable partner for Elizabeth. They part ways, in love but unable to be together.

So, we know that Amy is going to die. The question of this book is: who is going to kill her? All four characters have motives, and you spend the book wondering who is going to be the bad guy.

Let’s take a look at the suspects.

Queen Elizabeth I

Full-length portrait of Queen Elizabeth in her early 40s. She has red hair, fair skin, and wears a crown and a pearl necklace.
From Wikipedia

Elizabeth has not had a happy life. Her father spent much of her childhood claiming she was illegitimate. Her mother was executed for adultery and incest. She was disinherited by her Protestant brother, then forced to assume a religion she didn’t agree with for her Catholic sister. She was a pawn in many, many games.

Finally becoming queen, Elizabeth is expected to marry an advantageous male who will become king. Over the book, many kings and archdukes and princes are brought forward, and Elizabeth makes and breaks promises on a whim. But she develops true feelings for Robert Dudley, a courtier who she bestows gifts and affections on. The two of them fall in love.

Elizabeth is a suspect because she loves Robert Dudley, but he is married. If she were to get rid of Amy, she may be free to marry Robert and find some happiness. As the head of the Church of England, she could declare a divorce, but that would come at too high of a price. But if Amy was to die, then Robert would be free.

I liked the Elizabeth of this book. She was not perfect: she was a person, trying to balance the expectations of her throne with her desires as a person. She wanted to be loved, and for a time had that love with Robert. I found it entirely believable that she could order the death, hoping it would go one way and finding it going against her.

Robert Dudley

Robert Dudley starts the book in disgrace. His father tried to put Jane Grey on the throne, and was executed for treason. Robert himself barely survived, rehabilitating the family name through service to Queen Mary and King Philip, then continuing his service to Queen Elizabeth. He endears himself to her by using his knowledge of court etiquette to prepare her processions and her court.

Robert is a schemer. He wants power and influence. He may or may not love Elizabeth — I found the book to be pretty vague on his true feelings — but he works to advance himself. At the height of their romance, he considers himself all but king, acting in unofficial capacities that he was not authorized to act in.

Robert demands a divorce from Amy, which she rejects. He wants to marry Elizabeth and cement his position in the court, but she stands in his way. If she dies, then he is free. And Robert is just self-centered enough to not understand why such an act might tarnish his reputation and keep him from Elizabeth.

I did not like Robert as a character, though that’s only because the author writes him so well. He is constantly scheming, grabbing power for himself. Which, given his history, I can understand. But I detest how much he doesn’t think of Amy. And, quite frankly, when he’s strutting about the palace and the height of their romance, he seems to completely forget how quickly anyone can fall in a Tudor court.

Fun Fact: When Robert returns from Calais early in the book, he returns with Hannah Green, the main character of The Queen's Fool, book 12 of the series.

William Cecil

William Cecil is the adult of the story. An experienced Protestant statesman, he is the voice of reason in Elizabeth’s court. It is he who explains to Elizabeth — and to the reader — the working of diplomacy and politics.

William constantly finds himself butting heads with Robert. He has England’s best interests at heart but finds Elizabeth to be indecisive and Robert to be an impediment. William is a true friend to Elizabeth, but he isn’t the sort of relationship she’s desperate for.

William is a suspect because he actually understands what the murder of Amy Dudley would mean: the fall of Robert Dudley. He is no stranger to assassination; he mentions it several times as an option and it is heavily implied he is responsible for the death of a Scottish queen. He is definitely capable of it.

William is my favorite character of the book. He is objective and thinking only of England, without any of the personal desires of Robert or the indecisiveness of Elizabeth. He is a good advisor. My only issue with him as he’s portrayed is the number of times he thinks or says that a woman could never be queen by herself, and they must get a king on the throne.

Amy Dudley

Amy Dudley is the tragic character of the book. She married Robert Dudley when they were young, and stood beside him when he was imprisoned, fell from grace, and fought his way back up. She was a loving and devoted wife.

From Wikipedia

But Amy does not want the court life. She wants a house and farmlands. She wants to maintain the fields and grow a family. Amy has no interest in anything else. Which is why she spends most of the book largely forgotten by Robert, hopping from friend to family member, few of whom are glad to see her. When Robert does see her, it is not as a husband, except to demand she give him a divorce, which she refused.

Amy spends much of the book in a terrible depression, always excited when she sees her husband, and let down by how little he cares. The idea of suicide is one she actively rejects (being a Catholic), but there’s always the chance she could simply give in during a darker moment.

I found Amy to a be a frustrating character. On one hand, she has my sympathy. She has done nothing to deserve the insults she is given on a daily basis, and she has no agency over her life. On the other hand, she rarely stands up for herself, actively apologizing in confession for her actions when she does. Maddening.

Historically

Well, obviously I’m not going to tell you what the book does. That’d be a spoiler.

Historically, an inquest determined it was an accident and no one was to blame. The event was used by Robert’s political enemies to tarnish his reputation, and he never married Queen Elizabeth. Accusations of his involvement occurred over the next few years, but none of them had any substance.

There is actually a theory that arose in the 1950’s, that Amy died because of breast cancer. The cancer could have weakened her bones, so that even a short fall could have been fatal. There’s no way to verify this, but the book does make reference to this theory by having Amy complain of chest pains, which she claims are due to a broken heart.

Conclusion

This book was one I couldn’t put down. I was excited to read it. And much of that was the mystery of who will kill Amy Dudley. My only disappointment was that I didn’t realize what the book was until halfway through. If I had known the whole time, perhaps I could have enjoyed it even more.

The book has a lot of other things to officer a reader. Court politics, international diplomacy, romance. It’s a great book, full of vivid characters.

If you decided to read this book, I hope the mystery pulls you in as much as it did me. I promise, it’s worth the read.

Review

The Last Tudor

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I finally figured out how to use the Libby app to finish the Last Tudor, book 13 of 15 in Philippa Gregory’s historical fiction series. It helps when the app actually tells me when a book is available, and not just when I’ve missed it.

This book follows the three Grey sisters: Jane, Katherine and Mary, from Spring of 1550 to Spring of 1573. These sisters have a claim to the throne of England through their grandmother Mary, sister to Henry VIII. The claim means the sisters are involved in the intrigues around the succession, whether they wanted to be or not. Each sister must deal with their situation in their own way.

The book is divided into three sections, each following one sister in sequence: Jane Grey (Faith), Katherine Grey (Hope), and Mary Grey (Determination).

Jane Grey (Faith)

Lady Jane Grey, courtesy of Wikipedia

The first section of the book follows Jane Grey, the oldest sister. In this section, we meet a young woman who is either a pitiable victim of circumstances, or an annoying zealot who needs to calm down, wholly depending on the scene.

Historical Jane

Jane Grey is known as the Nine Day’s Queen, elevated to the throne for a short time after the death of Edward VI. Edward declined to follow his father’s wishes on succession, skipping over Mary due to her religion (she was devoutly Catholic), and Elizabeth (because Edward wanted the throne to go to a male heir). Jane was believed to be young enough to produce one quickly.

Upon his death, Jane was declared queen, but lacked broad support. The country flocked to Mary, and Jane was imprisoned in the tower. After may letters, and several refusals to convert to Catholicism, Jane was executed in February of 1554.

Story Jane

Story Jane is a girl — she’s sixteen — who is caught up in events she cannot control. She has no desire to rule as queen, but the machinations of powerful families force her forward. And here we see Jane’s faith as a devout Protestation, which is often a source of strength to the character, and sometimes an annoyance to the reader.

The strength of the faith shows in how she processes the situation. Forced to be queen, Jane choses to be a queen. She will not be ruled by family, or by her would-be husband. Though this may not aide in her defense when she’s tried by Queen Mary’s court, the scenes where she act as the queen are some of the best she’s in.

That being said, her faith can be an annoyance. She constantly speaks of Catholics as heretics, and looks down on anyone who isn’t as pious as she is. Even her sisters, the only constant allies she has, she sees through a judgmental lens.

Of the three sisters, Jane is the most learned. Her chapters approach the story from an educated perspective, tinged with a fairly selfish faith that God will protect her. In the end, her faith aides her in facing the execution with grace.

Jane Response

As much as Zealous Jane annoys me, I thought this was the best of the three sections. Jane’s intelligence allowed me as a reader to see the flow of the politics and decisions around her. And the moments when she tries to assert herself as queen, upsetting the noblemen around her who expected her to be docile and submissive, were great to read. If Jane was \going to be queen, then dammit, she was going to be queen!

Katherine Grey (Hope)

Lady Katherine Grey, courtesy of Wikipedia


The second third follows Katherine Grey, the middle sister of the three. After the execution of her sister, Katherine conspired to marry a nobleman for love and without the permission of the queen. For that, she was imprisoned for the rest of her life, which ended seven years later.

Historical Katherine

Katherine Grey survived both her sister and Queen Mary, living into the reign of Elizabeth. Her relation to the throne made her a diplomatic and political asset, as her marriage could seal unions between nations and families. Instead, Katherine participated in a secret marriage with Edward Seymour, without Elizabeth’s knowledge or consent. They kept this marriage so secret that it was hard to prove it was legitimate when Katherine became pregnant with their first child.

Katherine and Edward were removed to the Tower of London, where they continued to meet with each other and produce a second son. As the children were a source of potential conflict (male heirs to the throne), Katherine was finally removed from the tower and spirited around the country to various estates, kept under house arrest and unable to see her husband. She died under arrest in 1568.

Story Katherine

Story Katherine is not as pious or intelligent as her older sister; she enjoys the social benefits of her station. When her family is exiled after Jane’s death, she misses the dances and the dresses. She maintains a menagerie of pets, at various points including cats, dogs, a bear and even a monkey.

Katherine’s lack of religious determination helps her to survive; she can act the Catholic in Mary’s court, and the Protestant in Elizabeth’s, because she doesn’t care. She simply wants to be a princess and enjoy the benefits. This is a stark contrast to Jane, who died rejecting conversion, but it works for her.

But Katherine constantly fails to understand her position, especially after she falls in love with Edward Seymour. She expects Elizabeth to be happy with her: she’s removed herself from the scheming around the throne, and provided an heir that Elizabeth can use. Instead, she suffers Elizabeth’s wrath, confined to the Tower and then exiled from London.

Katherine’s section doesn’t end with her death; it ends with Katherine losing hope. Separated from her husband and eldest son, bereft of any support from the court, and at the mercy of a queen who can’t marry the man she loves, Katherine finally gives up.

Katherine Response

Katherine’s section was okay. She was a good viewpoint to watch the transition of the court from Catholic Mary to Protestant Elizabeth. But she could not stand up for herself the way Jane did. She kept hoping for the best and then being surprised when she didn’t get it.

Mary Grey (Determination)

Hans Eworth Lady Mary Grey 1571.jpg
Lary Mary Grey, courtesy of Wikipedia

The last section follows the story of Mary Gray, the youngest and physically smallest of the three sisters. Like Katherine, Mary weds someone out of love, trying to protect herself better than her sister did. Against Elizabeth’s fury, she does barely any better at avoiding punishment, but she does endure it.

Historical Mary

Mary Gray is a small woman, standing under five feet tall. She has spent her whole life learning to overcome and adapt to her body’s failings. As part of Elizabeth’s court, she interacts with many nobles and courtiers. And there she finds true love with a porter, Thomas Keyes. They marry in a secret but well documented wedding in 1565.

Mary hopes to be spared the same fate as her sister, but Elizabeth’s anger at the marriage separated the two of them for the rest of their lives. Thomas would die in1571, still writing to the court for permission to see his wife. Mary would remain under arrest for a bit longer, before finally being released to care for her step-children.

Story Mary

Story Mary is more of a realist than her sisters. She sees Elizabeth as a jealous and contemplable woman, who cannot marry the man she loves and therefore cannot stand to see anyone else marry. Mary understands Elizabeth’s actions and decisions better than Katherine did.

Which leads to my biggest problem with the book: why does Mary wed?

Mary watched Elizabeth react poorly to Katherine’s marriage. She knows the storm she is inviting upon herself. But she does it anyway. The only difference is that Mary makes sure there are enough witnesses and documents proving she is married. But the book lacks any explanation for why she takes the chance.

It doesn’t go her way. Mary’s protections do little against Elizabeth’s wrath. Separated from her husband and banished from the court, she spends most of the rest of the book confined to small rooms, limited to one maid and no personal possessions.

Mary’s determination to survive is born mostly of spite. She hates Elizabeth for destroyer her and her sister’s lives. Mary views Elizabeth’s maneuverings as those of a jealous woman, who punishes those who love as she cannot. Her choices as queen are always done for a selfish reason. Even when Mary acknowledges the practical reasons for Elizabeth’s maneuverings, she cannot help but interpret the choice as a failing of Elizabeth’s.

In the end, Mary is freed, but it’s not adequately explained why. The flow of the book indicates to me that it’s because Elizabeth feels secure enough on her throne (having eliminated most contenders) that she can release Mary. But the end comes so quickly, it’s really hard to say.

Mary Response

Mary’s was the most disappointing section for two reasons. First, the decisions of her story aren’t adequately explained. Why did she marry? Why was she released? The reader’s left to guess at why.

Second, much of her section wasn’t even about her. She recounts Elizabeth’s choices in regard to being married, to foreign alliances, and to the Scottish throne. But while interesting, it did make large portions of her section sound like a historical record, not a personal story. Fun, but distracting.

Conclusion

This book is an okay transition, moving the series from Henry VIII to Elizabet I. The three stories involved were all interesting, with their characters each telling their own narrative, but only Jane really had any impact on the throne. Katherine and Mary suffered for their proximity, but otherwise did not influence the course of history.

The book doesn’t do much to make Elizabeth stand out as a monarch. She seems just as jealous and vindictive as her father was. Perhaps we’ll meet a different Elizabeth in the near future?

Only two books to go.

Review

Book Report: The Taming of the Queen

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“I have seen too many queens,” [WIll Sommers] says. “And too many of them are ghosts now. I don’t want to see a queen in danger; I don’t want to see another ghost. indeed, I swear that I won’t see one. Not even one.”

“You did not see me?” I ask, catching his meaning.

“I did not see you, nor Kitty Howard creeping down the stairs in her nightgown, nor Anne of Cleves, pretty as her portrait, crying at her bedroom door. I am a Fool, not a guard. I don’t have to see things, and I am forbidden to understand them. there’s no point in me reporting them. Who would listen to a Fool?”

-Will Somers, Court Fool, to Queen Kateryn Parr, after discovering her eavesdropping on Henry’s private discussions, The Taming of the Queen, page 194.

Kateryn Parr wants to survive. In the court of King Henry VIII, that means bowing to his shifting whims, even for his wives. Chosen by Henry to be his sixth queen, Kateryn is determined to avoid the fates of her five predecessors. She adopts several defensive strategies to placate and mollify Henry. But as the ominous title of the book suggests, in Henry’s court, survival requires submission.

In The Taming of the Queen, the eleventh historical fiction novel in Phillipa Gregory’s series, we follow Queen Kateryn from Henry’s first proposal in the spring of 1543 to his death in the winter of 1547. The book is not about her ascension to power or her scheming and plotting for the throne. The book is about her survival.

Synopsis

Kateryn is a reluctant queen. She has watched five predecessors come and go; two of them set aside, two of them executed, one neglected and died in childbirth. She has a secret lover that she hopes to wed. In short, she does not want to be queen. But Henry chose her, and queen she will be.

Queen Kateryn lives in apartments that other queens have lived in. She wears dresses and jewels commissioned by her predecessors, and her ladies have served several of them as well. Half of the court sees her as an impediment to their agenda; others see her as an avenue to riches and power.

Her biggest threat, however, is not another family or the next aspiring queen; it is Henry himself. Henry has been absolute ruler of England for decades, and has become quite adept at removing queens. He plays the factions of his court against each other, and not even Kateryn is safe from his tests and games.

To protect herself, Kateryn works to be the best queen she can be.She used her power and position to hire tutors. and teachers. She reconciles Henry with his children, bringing them together as a family for the first time in Henry’s reign. Kateryn even goes so far as to publish books in support of Henry’s reformation, the first woman to publish in her own name in English history. All in the hopes of keeping her position long enough to survive the king.

The Threat – Henry the Tyrant

King Henry VIII has been a threat to the characters for four books. He has executed four of the last eight POV characters and deposed two more. The absolute power he developed over previous novels is now perfected: he is the Divine King of England. He has long removed anyone who could — or would — argue with him.

But in Taming of the Queen, the threat is much more intimate. In previous books, Henry was a threat, but not a very present character. His will was known to the reader through correspondence, conversation with other characters, and the appearance of his officials to execute his orders. In Kateryn’s story, Henry is more present and more forceful. He actively debates with Kateryn, giving the readers a chance to see Henry’s mindset and trains of thought.

Henry is also old. His age and infirmities are taking their toll. He is aware that he is no longer a young man or the ‘handsomest Prince in Christendom.’ Death is coming, and Henry has but one male heir to the throne. Knowing this, Henry is scared, and that fear manifests itself in his whims and moods.

This is the tyrant Kateryn must placate to stay alive. A king, close to death, who is fearful of the future and lashing out with the power he has. A very dangerous foe indeed.

The Queen’s Defensive strategies

Kateryn Parr becomes queen with the goal to survive. To do so, she is dependent on Henry’s good graces. Kateryn sets to work immediately, learning from her predecessor’s successes and mistakes. Some of it is easy and obvious: don’t take a lover, as Kitty Howard did. Most of it is difficult, requiring constant application of intelligence and influence.

Kateryn never sits down and plans out her campaign for the reader to see. The campaign starts from page one, and Kateryn develops her defenses over time. The actions Kateryn takes in her defense can be grouped into three categories, based on what she is providing Henry. First, she is providing intimacy. Second, she is providing family. And third, she is providing religious advocacy.

Providing Intimacy

Kateryn Parr is no fool. She understands that the primary reason Henry has chosen her is because she is an attractive young woman who can bear children. Providing intimacy is the first strategy she is forced to employ.

Sex is the first and easiest intimacy Kateryn provides. Henry is used to getting his desires met, and he is still worried about having only one male heir to the Tudor line. But Henry is also old, and his health is failing. He is morbidly obese, to the point of needing pages and wheelchairs to move about. An open leg wound fills the room with the smell of decay. And Henry faces some level of impotency. Kateryn has to ignore all of that, and play the young, virginal bride for her husband.

Kateryn’s act must extend beyond the bedroom. Henry is her third husband, but Henry must be the best at everything. Luckily for Kateryn, Henry asks guiding questions. Kateryn is smart enough to answer the correct way, and placate Henry’s ego.

Of the three strategies Kateryn pursues, this thread is the most disturbing to read through. Henry is not a considerate lover, and the submission he expects is demeaning. Kateryn’s descriptions of their bedroom atmosphere are oppressive.

Providing Family

The second avenue Kateryn uses is as new mother to the three existing children from three previous queens. Mary (Catherine of Aragon) is almost the same age as Kateryn, while Elizabeth (Anne Boleyn) and Edward (Jane Seymour) are much younger. Henry has declared the two daughters illegitimate, and barely sees his son.

Kateryn makes an effort to bring them all together, to provide Henry with the family he never realized he had. If she can make him realize he has potential heirs already, perhaps he would calm down.

Kateryn is largely successful at this. She befriends Mary, brings Elizabeth back to court, and corresponds with Edward. Henry appreciates this effort, and revises the articles of succession to include the two daughters (after Edward, of course).

Of the three strategies, this one is the most rewarding to read. Mary and Elizabeth are innocents, declared illegitimate because of Henry’s falling out with their mothers, and largely disregarded because of their gender. Kateryn bringing them back together, and mending the family that Henry was at best oblivious to, is the best success she has. The submission for family is humiliating, but ultimately is not as terrible as some of the other things Kateryn must endure.

“The Family of Henry VIII”, Artist Unknown, c1545. Royal Collection Trust

Religious Advocacy

The third and most dangerous avenue Kateryn pursues is the be part of Henry’s reformation. Kateryn is a dedicated Protestant, and her family pressures her to keep the king committed to the reformation. Henry has begun the reformation, but has not completed the process. He shifts from protestant to catholic leanings, based on internal court debates, the shifting alliances of Europe, or just his own whims and desires.

Kateryn uses her position as queen to educate herself. She learns languages, studies the Bible and religious texts. She invites learned scholars and popular speakers to lecture to her and her ladies on reformation topics. All this she does within the bounds of the Church of England, with Henry at its head, using his teachings and writings.

But Henry’s inconsistency can trap Kateryn as easily as anyone else. Henry rules that religious texts should be in English, so everyone can read them. Then he rules that only learned men should read them, as they’re too difficult for everyone to have an opinion on. Kateryn’s works that Henry praises one day he condemns her for the next.

Of the three strategies, this one is the most aggravating to read. Kateryn works hard, and yet her work is contently dismissed for reasons far beyond her control. The submission for this strategy is not one event. It is a constant stream of little abuses that Kateryn endures. Hence, aggrivation.

Conclusion

The Taming of the Queen is a hard book to read. Kateryn Parr is a likable, intelligent woman who spends the book simply trying to survive. She works hard to please Henry, only to find he’s more interested in her submission than her hard work. She is a character who constantly receiving my sympathy and respect.

On the plus side, with the death of Henry VIII, we can finally move on and into the next generation of Tudor leaders. I’m sure the next few books will be about easier times and perfect rulers.

Right?

Review

Book Report: The Boleyn Inheritance

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Book 10 of 15 in Philippa Gregory’s series is The Boleyn Inheritance. The inheritance is a reference to the impact of Anne Boleyn’s brief tenure as Queen on those who followed her, though this does take on different connotations depending on the character. The book begins in July of 1539, which means we have skipped ahead a few years from The Other Boleyn Girl, past Henry’s marriage to Jane Seymour in 1536 and her death in 1537.

The book is a first for the series in that it has three different view point characters, switching between the three each chapter. They are (in order of appearance):

  • Jane Boleyn, wife of George Boleyn and sister-in-law of Queen Anne Boleyn. One of the witnesses against her husband and sister-in-law, she begins the book in exile from the currently queen-less court. She is waiting for a chance to return.
  • Anne of Cleves, a young noble woman from a German duchy. She is in the running for the next queen of England. Her portrait, from the master Hanz Holbein, will entice Henry. Henry will make her queen, and bring an alliance to her brother.
  • Katherine Howard, a 14-year-old excitable teenage and cousin to Anne Boleyn and, by marriage, of Jane Boleyn. Katherine is living in a house of many young women, with little supervision and many gentlemen callers. Despite being 14, she is already an experienced lover, and has the Howard desire for social climbing.

Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford

‘My mother commanded me to trust nobody at court. She said, especially Lady Rochford.’

-Catherine Carey, daughter of Mary Boleyn

Jane Boleyn is an experienced hand at Henry’s court, having participated in three previous queens. Her actions against Anne Boleyn and her husband haunt her, yet she longs to return to court. Her Boleyn inheritance is the literal wealth she kept after her husband’s execution.

Jane Boleyn comes off as a very sympathetic character when reading her scenes. She is constantly telling herself, and the reader, how much she regrets her actions with Anne and George, and how much she missed both of them. You can’t help but feel sorry for her. At least, until you read other character’s scenes.

Jane may speak of guilt, but her actions show none of it. She joins Anne’s court to spy for the Howard family, with Katherine as a confederate. When Anne falls from favor, Jane makes a token effort to refuse to participate in the scheming against her, but eventually falls in line. In Katherine’s court, Jane continued her service to the Howard family, participating in Kitty Howard’s affairs without much thought, knowing what the penalty will be when they are caught.

When Jane falls from grace, it’s hard to find much sympathy for her. She had many chances to defy her uncle, or to guide Anne and Katherine better, but chose to follow the family line, even as she stresses her regrets over and over to the reader. Only once does Jane do something noble: at the height of the danger to Anne, Jane provides wise counsel that Anne accepts, and survives.

Jane is a character who talks about guilt but makes no effort to avoid repeating her offensive acts. While I did not despise the character, I do think her end at the block was well deserved. Which might be a first for this series.

Anne of Cleves

‘If it were not so tragic, this would be the highest of comedies: this gawky girl stepping into the diamond-heeled shoes to Anne Boleyn. What can they have been thinking of when they imagined she could ever rise to it?’

-Jane Boleyn

Anne of Cleves begins the book excited to come to England, to escape a smothering religious family in Germany and finally exercise some agency in her life. She is aware that there are problems in the way; she and her entourage stand out in their dull dress ‘fat little ducks besides these English swans’, and she does not know the language, but she is committed. Her Boleyn Inheritance is a poisoned throne.

Anne is an immediately sympathetic character, due to the puritanical family life she leaves in Germany. Her approach in England and the throne is one of a scared woman who is eager to prove she can do the job, sort of like Katherine of Aragon only without the confidence. I read her scenes happy to watch her try, and eager to see her succeed.

Anne also brings an outsider’s perspective to the English court. Unlike every other character, who knows what Henry’s court is like and what to expect, Anne has to learn. Her presence, and her actions, put Henry and his nobility to shame. Also, because Anne is not from an English family, Anne is not immediately part of the court schemes.

Of the three arcs, Anne’s was my favorite, not only because she critiques the court with her presence, but because she gets a happy ending. From the oppressive German family to the dangers of Henry’s court, Anne finally ends up with estates and a stipend, and freedom. She ends up happy.

The only thing I wish we could have seen: Anne writing a letter to her brother, telling him off. Oh, well.

Katherine ‘Kitty’ Howard

‘She is a foolish, frivolous little thing, but she has the cleverness of a stupid girl, since, like any stupid girl, she thinks about only one thing, and so she has become very expert in that. And the one thing that she thinks about? All the time, every moment of every day, Kitty Howard thinks about Kitty Howard.

-Anne of Cleves

Katherine Howard is a vain, greedy teenager who grew up always wanting more: more lovers, more wealth, more stuff. She is brought to the court to act as another agent of the Howard’s. When she becomes queen, it is only because she is young and pretty. Her Boleyn Inheritance is the family’s insatiable need for more.

Katherine’s scenes are written from a very unique viewpoint for this series: they’re shallow. Her descriptions of characters are always about their dress. She loves parties and frivolity. Many of her chapters start with ‘Now let me see, what do I have,’ followed by a list of what she currently owns, the length of which charts her rise and fall. Compared to the educated and measured viewpoints of pretty much every other character in 10 books, it might be the most unique voice so far.

Katherine’s rise is entire due to her beauty, and her willingness to be a trophy queen to show off Henry’s virility. She’s pretty, and she knows it, and she uses it. Her downfall is because she is never happy. She demands so much she irritates the king, and bemoans marriage to a man old enough to be her grandfather.

I’m mixed on Katherine’s story. On one hand, she had a unique view point, and being a young woman who goes through what she does incurs some sympathy. On the other hand, she’s well aware of the dangers of King henry’s court yet makes no effort to learn any lessons. Thus, Katherine walks to the same end as her cousin.

Conclusion

The Boleyn Inheritance was fun to read. Three characters, with different backgrounds influencing their actions. Three stories, ending in wildly divergent and deserved endings. And three inheritances of Anne Boleyn’s trek to the throne.

I’d put this book above average. While we never get too intimate with any of the three characters, their contrasts help sharpen each individual’s arc. It helps that the viewpoints are diverse, so each one stands wholly separate from the other. It makes for an exciting read.

With this, we enter the last third of the series, one step closer to the end of Henry VIII and the rise of Queen Elizabeth. After so many kings, it’ll be good to see a queen.

-Michael

Review

Movie Review: The Other Boleyn Girl

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DVD Cover, link to IMDB Page

I watched The Other Boleyn Girl, a film adaptation of Philipa Gregory’s novel that I finished and reviewed not too long ago. I was interested to see how this would go. Growing up my parents would often make me read the book before taking me to see a movie, so I have come to appreciate the difficulties in taking a story from print to film. It can be difficult, but not impossible.

First, I’ll state the obvious: the movie is incredibly simple compared to the book. This is one of the problems of transitioning mediums. Books allow a writer to give exposition far greater than a movie allows. The movie acknowledges this by making big changes to the relationships between the characters, particularly the three principals: King Henry and the Boleyn sisters. Simply put, the movie over-simplifies the events and provides only the main points, and provides no details or background.

Note: I am going to discuss the differences between the book and the movie. Historical notes and changes can be checked on the IMDB page (click the movie poster above).

The Family Plotters

The first big change of the story is that of the family itself. The Boleyn family of the movie is not a family of schemers and plotters. Mary and Anne have a rivalry, but it is sisterly to start with. It is only when their Uncle arrives to include them in his plotting that their interactions with Henry begin.

Everyone is different. The mother is more affectionate, showing concern for both her daughters. The father is less assertive, more deferential to his brother-in-law. Mary becomes more innocent, though not completely blameless. Anne is the only character of the family I thought was diminished. Anne of the book is calculating and cunning. In the movie, she’s shrewd, but it’s never explained how, so she just comes across as extremely manipulative.

I did notice an obvious goof of the movie. The movie starts with Mary Boleyn’s marriage to William Carey. William is present for the Uncle’s decision to put Mary in Henry’s view, and a few subsequent scenes. He is obviously unhappy with the plot but goes along with it. And then he disappears. The movie never mentions that he dies of sickness. William Carey just ceases to be.

The Boleyn Siblings

The movie makes great changes to the relationships of the three Boleyn siblings. In short, their relationships become extremely shallow. The brother, George, is all but removed from the story, which makes sense as there’s not a lot of time to spend on his plot.

While Mary is still a co-conspirator, her increased innocence means she appears much more the victim of circumstance. Removed are her manipulations of Henry on behalf of Anne, and the scenes where she supports Anne when Anne is exhausted or needs advice are largely absent. Her character growth and rebellion against Anne – and therefor her survival of the fall of her family – is completely gone.

Anne’s maliciousness is missing scenes where she delights in torturing Mary, such as taking Mary and Henry’s son away from her, or refusing to reward Mary as she does the rest of the family. Indeed, for much of the second half of the movie, she ignores Mary to focus on Henry. Another sacrifice of switching mediums.

I found this most disappointing. Most of the book is about their relationship, their mutual support and rivalry. Without all the extra scenes of their bickering and scheming, their depth is gone. And without the depth, all the events of the movie seem sudden.

King Henry VIII

Henry VIII is a fairly one-dimensional character in both movie and book. He is a King of England who needs a male heir to secure his throne. If his queen cannot give him one, he will find a way. That’s all he needs to be, for either story.

Henry’s relationship with both sisters is also shallower than the book’s. He never develops much of a relationship with Mary, and they have one child together, not two. His turn to Anne is sudden, a result of her manipulations and not the family’s.

Henry’s movement away from the church and Katherine of Aragon is overly simplified, which isn’t a surprise. One of the things that I’ve learned from reading the series is how long of a process the separation was. To explain it in the film would take more time than they had, So, again, we see the entire process reduced to a few scenes. Henry wants a son. Anne wants to be queen. Katherine is in the way. Schism.

While the oversimplification of Henry and his quest isn’t a surprise, neither is it a strike. Henry’s part in this story is always simple. He’s the prize for both sisters, with the power to make – and break – their lives.

Conclusion

The book is better than the movie. Not exactly a risky stance to take, I know. But it’s important to understand how switching mediums change the basics of the characters.

Mary is no longer a naive character who grows into an independent woman, she is a victim of her circumstances. Anne is no longer a cunning strategist in a game of court politics, she is a manipulative opportunist. The events of their lives, devoid of any depth, become a sequence of rapid actions, observed without understanding anything but the immediate, personal consequences.

Was it a terrible transition of book to screen? No. There are definitely worse ones. And it did follow the basic themes of the book, while ignoring the nuances that a novel allows. That’s about all you can hope for when taking a book to screen. All in all, not a bad movie, but not one I feel the need to see again.

Review

Book Report: The Other Boleyn Girl

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The Other Boleyn Girl is a book about Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn and mistress of King Henry VIII. The story begins in Spring of 1521 and ends in May of 1536 with the execution of Anne after her brief stint as Queen. This is the first book from the perspective of the Boleyn sisters; so far they’ve only been referenced as villains in other women’s stories. The sisters, Mary much more so than Anne, come across in a sympathetic light.

When the story begins, Katheryn of Aragon is still queen and is failing to produce a male heir. Henry already has one illegitimate son he has acknowledged and is looking to sire more. The Howard family – of which the Boleyn’s are a branch – seeks to put Mary in his view to gain influence. Anne is with her to support her in her quest. Both sisters are in service to the queen, while trying to seduce her husband.

Mary Boleyn

Mary Boleyn ranks high on the list of sympathetic characters in Gregory’s pantheon so far, perhaps at the top. She is a very passive character, much like Anne Neville and Margaret Pole, never attaining much authority or power for herself. Her family treats her like a pawn in their game of power around the king with no empathy or care for her. In one scene, when Mary expresses a desire to return to their family lands to be with her child, her mother wonders why she would do so, declaring she had never shown such affection for her own children. As the reader, I’m not surprised.

What little support she has comes from her two siblings, George and Anne. George offers sympathy enough to keep her moving with the family’s plots, but never enough to protect Mary from them. Anne offers advice to win the attention of the king, proving to be a fairly sage advisor. Yet the three never forget they are plotters for the Howard family, and that knowledge colors their entire relationship.

I found myself hating the position Mary was in, while hoping she would find enough strength to pull herself out of it. She is commanded to betray her first husband to seduce the king. She is forced to betray the queen – a woman she has tremendous respect for – to bear the children the queen cannot. What’s worse is what happens when she’s ultimately successful and bears Henry two illegitimate children. Her family benefits from her success, and Anne becomes the focus of Henry’s attention, while Mary is cast aside by both king and family without a second thought by either. She becomes the other Boleyn girl.

Anne Boleyn

This is the first book in which Anne Boleyn is a major character. Through Mary’s eyes, she sometimes provokes sympathy, and other times outrage.

As both Mary and Anne are pawns in the family game, there are shared experiences. Mary provides Anne with intelligence with how to keep Henry interested and excited without getting into bed with him. Mary sees Anne’s exhaustion in private and provides her with emotional support. It is hard to read about Anne’s efforts without feeling at least some sympathy for her.

At the same time, Anne knows that her star is ascendant over Mary’s, and never lets Mary forget it. She takes Mary’s support for granted, even as she does nothing to help. In one instance, when Anne is informing Mary of all the titles and lands she’s managed to win over for their family, Mary asks if anything is coming her way. Anne dismisses her request as irrelevant, as she is only the other Boleyn girl. She even goes so far as to take custody of Mary and Henry’s son, as much to secure her position in Henry’s court as to prove her superiority over her sister.  

`Anne wins her crown. King Henry divorces Katherine and locks her away. Anne is crowned queen, `though London is disturbingly silent at her coronation. All she has to do now is produce an heir, which is easier said than done.

Here I once again found myself sympathizing with Anne. Modern science tells us a lot about how children are conceived and carried to term, but in the 16th Century there was a lot of religious belief mixed in with both. Anne bore only one child, a daughter (Queen Elizabeth), and has several miscarriages. In King Henry’s court, this was seen as a sign of sin, either due to the conspiring of Anne or due to darker acts. As much as Anne was an antagonist to Mary, to see her heading to an end caused by factors beyond her knowledge and control was difficult.

Mary’s survival and Anne’s fall

Mary survives because she, finally, rebels against her family. Her first husband dead, she falls in love with a man in the service of her uncle, William Stafford. After secret courting, Mary chooses to run with him and marry in secret, returning in time for the coronation of her sister. They keep the secret for almost a year, and are banished when found out, at least until Anne becomes pregnant again and sends for Mary.

Mary, without the influence of her family and away from court, finds life enjoyable. She worked on the farm with her husband, bore another child, worked with her hands. She was happy.

Anne does not have a happy ending. The protections Henry destroyed to remove Queen Katherine no longer remained to protect Anne, and she is one of many taken and accused to incest and witchcraft, along with George. Historians generally agree this was a trumped-up excuse, but the book hints there to be some truth to the charges. The family leaves both siblings to be executed.

Mary survives because her act of finding happiness – putting herself before her family – removed her enough from Anne’s schemes that she was hunted. William kept her from coming forward and out of danger. The two focused instead on getting the first two children out of danger. With Anne’s execution, her hold on the children is severed and Mary has her family back.

Conclusion

The Other Boleyn Girl has two dynamic characters interacting with each other. Mary, the passive pawn whose rebellion eventually leads to her survival, and Anne, the committed strategist who plays her part to the end. Both women elicit sympathy for the game they are forced to play from a young age, and for the toxic family they grew up in. Both elicit disdain for their actions as part of the family plan.

What I like most about the book is how both character’s fates are tied to their response to the game. Mary, upset over how she’s treated by her family, rebels against the family’s plan and is ultimately saved. Anne, an expert manipulator when she can control Henry, falls victim to intrigue when she cannot. Mary stops playing and wins; Anne keeps playing and loses.

I rate this as one of the better books in the series. I get to see a sympathetic character survive (unlike Anne Neville and Margaret Pole) to have a happy ending. It has not been a common ending in the series, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

Review

Book Report: Three Sisters, Three Queens

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Book Eight in the series (halfway through) follows Margaret Tudor, older sister to King Henry VIII and Queen of Scotland. The book takes place between November of 1501 and the summer of 1533. The title is a reference to the relationship and paths of Margaret and her sister Mary, Queen of France, and sister-in-law Katherina of Aragorn, Queen of England.

Overall, I liked this book. Not only did we get a chance to see how Scotland of the 16th century worked, but we get to see the same events of previous books through lenses that completely change how we interpret them. I found it a fascinating read.

Margaret in the Book

Margaret Tudor is introduced as a young woman in the Tudor court of Henry VII. She has the Tudor arrogance and belief in their divine right to rule, pickled with the humility enforced by the Red Queen and her supposed reduced value as a princess. She is present for the death of Arthur and the beginning of Katherine’s years of exile from court. Margaret is then married to James IV of Scotland and sent north.

As Queen of Scotland, Margaret has a tumultuous life. She bears the next king of Scotland, but James is then killed in battle with the English (under Katherine’s banner, which Margaret never truly forgives her for). French and English factions at court threaten both her and her son. She falls for a Scottish lord and marries him in secret, upsetting the Scottish families and her brother. Her husband, it turns out, is stealing her wealth and putting his clan over the safety of the nation, yet because he is her husband she had little recourse to save herself or protect her son. He is eventually disposed, and her son safe.

While Margaret is navigating the intricacies of Scottish politics and her own heart, she is in constant correspondence with Henry, Katherine and Mary. These letters tie the book in with the rest of the series.

Margaret and Katherine

Margaret’s relationship with Katherine changes constantly throughout the novel and is dependent on Katherine’s position in relation to Margaret. When Katherine is in a superior or stable position, she is Katherine of Arrogant, and Margaret is dismissive of her advise. When Katherine is reduced or suffering, Margaret is more sympathetic.

Where Margaret and Katherine’s stories truly conflict is in regard to divorce. As we saw in The Constant Princess, the concept of divorce is seen as a threat to women everywhere. Women cannot work for themselves (or rarely can) and if a man can set his wife aside at will, then all women are threatened.

But Margaret’s second marriage is an example of the dangers of not having the option of divorce. Her second husband, Archibald Douglas, uses his position to steal her income for himself. Margarets attempts to defend herself and protect her son, King James V, are often ignored because he is her husband, and it is his right to steal from her.

Both Margaret and Katherine know that Margaret’s success will doom Katherine. Henry is looking for a reason to set Katherine aside so he can marry Anne Boleyn and sire an heir. Katherine repeatedly writes to Margaret to respect her marriage, as terrible as it is, so that her own will survive.

I read these exchanges with interest. I know Katherine’s impossible situation and understand how devastating the concept of divorce would be. At the same time, I’m reading Margaret’s impossible situation and knowing that divorce is her only salvation (that or untimely death). I know how it ends for Katherine. I was invested in learning how it ends for Margaret.

Margaret and Mary

Of the three sisters, Mary Tudor was the one I expected the least from. I barely remember her from earlier books. She’s the younger sister, married to the King of France for three months before his death, then married in secret to a friend of Henry’s before her return to London. Her early letters are about dresses and hair styles and jewelry and lack much substance.

Mary’s second marriage is much like Margaret’s second, yet the two are received entirely differently. Mary’s results in acceptance and a heavy fine, while Margaret’s takes much longer and some bloodshed to achieve any recognition. Mary’s is longstanding and true, but Margaret’s turns false and ends in divorce. Several times I came to the conclusion that Margaret, as much as she sees Mary as frivolous, she is also jealous that Mary gets to lead an easier life.

Mary is easily dismissed early on, but towards the end her letters become important windows into Henry’s court. She writes of the shift of Henry’s attention and the court moving its focus from Katherine to Anne, and how impetuous Anne and her family becomes as Anne’s influence grows. Anne acts as a queen long before Katherine is removed. Her family even goes so far as to assault and murder their opponents without fear of punishment, indicating just how far Henry is willing to let Anne have her way.

Margaret and Henry

The relationship between Margaret and Henry has two aspects. One is political, regarding their respective royal positions, and the other is legal, regarding their respective and evolving positions on divorce.

Politically, Henry expects Margaret to act as an extension of the English Court rather than an independent Queen of Scotland. In fact, we learn that much of the Scottish court and nobility is in the pay of either the English or French courts. Her decisions to marry Archibald, then her attempts to remove herself from his control, are constantly viewed by Henry as an embarrassment. We, as the reader, know she is navigating Scottish politics, but Henry does not see that. He instead tries to influence and intimidate her into passive acceptance of her situation.

Legally, Henry does not support her attempts to divorce until he himself becomes interested in divorcing Katherine. He spends much of the book telling her to be a devout wife, but then suddenly shifts his tone. He not only promotes divorce but attempts to convince James V to follow his lead and separate from the Catholic Church, citing not only the power but the wealth one can obtain from raiding the churches. James rejects the notion, but the cynical nature of Henry’s decision is clearly obvious.

Conclusion

I liked this book. I liked learning about Scotland of the time. And I liked how the author managed to give us the same events that we’ve already seen but through new lenses that change how those events were interpreted. Easy to see how the same action can be great for one individual (Margaret’s divorce from Archibald), and terrible for another (Katherine’s divorce from Henry). I look forward to continuing in the series.

Review

Book Report: The King’s Curse

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The King’s Curse, set between November of 1499 and May of 1541, is about the Tudors and their heirs. The book follows Margaret Pole, senior member of the defeated Plantagenet line during the reins of Tudor Henry VII and Henry VIII, as she tries to navigate the increasingly chaotic times of the later king’s reign. She is not a main character in the histories, but her position as mother to important actors in the court of Henry VIII gives the reader a larger view of the events that led to the English Reformation.

As with other books in the series, the title refers to the main character: Margaret Pole, as the senior or at least closest living Plantagenet heir, is a constant reminder to the Tudor king that there are others with a claim to the throne. Yet the title takes on so much more during this book. At various times, I read the King’s Curse to mean:

  • The sweating sickness, a reoccurring plague attributed to the Tudors, that often sweeps across the land
  • Any king’s need to have a male heir to continue to line
  • Henry VIII’s inability to conceive a child, or for those children to survive.
  • Henry’s descent into tyranny and/or madness

Of the books in the series so far, this was one of the roughest to read. Unlike the Wars of the Roses, I know something of the Tudor years and Henry VIII. Knowing what is coming and watching the characters antagonizing over trying to stop it, and knowing how it will end, is intense. Not going to lie; there were a few times I stopped reading early on the bus ride because I needed a break. 

Family Fortunes

Margaret Pole, the niece of two York kings, is aware of her family’s dangerous position. The story starts with the execution of her brother, Edward of Warwick. She is married to a minor supporter of the Tudors (as one of Margaret Beaufort’s efforts to humiliate a York princess). And Henry VII is well known for his network of spies and his vindictive and crippling penalties for real or imagined slights.

Pole’s husband commands the castle where Henry’s eldest son and his new wife, Arthur and Katherine of Aragon, are to spend their time after their wedding. This time is short lived, as a sickness passed through the castle, taking Arthur and leaving Katherine a widow. Margaret becomes a conspirator with the princess to claim the marriage was not consummated and that she is free to marry the other son, Henry. This puts her in conflict with Margaret Beaufort, who seeks to discredit the princess and force her out.

Pole’s is cast from the court, her children’s opportunities cut short. This is further exasperated by the death of her husband and the Tudor abrogation of their responsibilities to their family. Beaufort once again demands Pole’s support against Katherine of Aragon. When Pole refuses, Beaufort continues to apply pressure, forcing the family disperse to monasteries to survive. Pole’s fortunes seem dark.

The New King

Pole’s fortunes change with the death of Henry VII and the elevation of his son. Margaret Beaufort’s power is broken, and Katherine of Aragon becomes queen. Pole and her family are pulled from the monasteries they’d taken refuge in, their lands are returned, and their fortunes reversed. Beaufort dies a short while later (Pole’s interpretation is that she refuses to see a court where she is replaced by younger and more beautiful women making merry where she would counsel humility.) Things are looking up.

This is where Pole’s position and the focus of the story becomes clear. Pole is a friend of the queen and a figure of some importance to the young king, which gives her some prominence. Her sons become important nobles in the king’s court and one a scholar of some note in the Catholic church.  As such, either through her own experiences or through correspondence, she is well placed to see the events leading up to the English Reformation.

The Divine Need for Princes

Henry has the firm belief in the divine right of Tudor rule. Pole, chosen to be the governess of the Tudor children, gets to see this belief tested as Katherine suffers miscarriages and weak children. Only one of six pregnancies delivers a healthy child, and that’s a princess (the future Queen Mary). Despite having a strong grandmother (see, I complimented Margaret Beaufort!) Henry is obsessed with a male heir. He sires an illegitimate son with another woman and recognizes him as a potential heir, but he’s frustrated that Katherine continues to fail to give him a legitimate prince.

Is the marriage cursed because Katherine lied about her consummating her marriage to Arthur? Is there a curse against the Tudor line for murdering the Princes in the Tower? Henry beings to search for a way to set Katherine aside, an act that the women of the story find abhorrent. To acknowledge that a husband can set aside a wife at will would be to ‘overthrow the safety of every woman in England.’

Henry persists, and one of Pole’s son (the Catholic scholar) is involved in researching how this might come about. But just as Pole is convinced that the Catholic church can bring Henry to heel, so is Henry convinced that he is right. He brazenly says so to Mary in the presence of Pole.

‘And I am doing God’s will. God speaks directly to kings, you know, So anyone who speaks against me is speaking against the will of God Himself. They all say that – the men of the new learning. They all write it. It is indisputable. I am obeying the will of God and your mother, mistakenly, is following her own ambition.’  

Conspiracy

Pole is stuck in a tough position. Her family is dependent on Henry for their fortune; yet even that does not protect all of them. Royal agents remove her chaplains and reduce their monastery to nothing; one goes as far as to threaten to take back some of their lands for little to no reason other than she’s shown support for the Queen over the King. Her scholastic son sends a report that does not support the king’s position and is effectively exiled.

The old Plantagenet forces come into play, not to necessarily overthrow Henry but to try to get him to see reason or to accept the situation he sees himself in. Many letters Pole reads or writes end with ‘Burn this’. Opportunities to oppose the king come and go; some are missed, some are avoided, some are taken but fail to bring the desired outcome.

The king’s divine faith in himself leads to the English Reformation, though to Pole it looks more like madness. Henry sets aside Katherine and begins running through wives. Anne Boleyn is executed. Jane Seymour dies. Henry separates England from the church and no heir comes. Mary is forced to acknowledge that she is illegitimate, and Pole must accept that in order see her at all.

Henry’s tyranny is widespread. Monasteries are dissolved and their wealth taken. Those who irritate the king find themselves in the Tower. Executions, even of those who were once his great supporters, becomes commonplace. (Which does allow for one moment of karma, when a man who arrogantly harasses Pole several times in the book falls victim to the machinery he built.)

Remember above when I mentioned how this book got hard to read? A lot of that came from this part of the novel. As a historian I can appreciate how the Reformation fits into the grand story of Europe and Christianity, but man did it suck for a lot of individual people and families.

Conclusion

Margaret Pole’s position in the series is less central than the other stories so far. But that gives the reader a much broader view of the events of Henry VIII’s decisions that begin the English Reformation. The information provided to Pole via her friends and family members gives her and by extension us a story that is more about a changing society and not about one king – or one family’s – quest for power.

The book was rough to read at some points, and I’m worried how the next few books will go as we continue into the queens and chaos of Henry VIII. Reformations being what they are, I’m pretty sure I’ll continue to be cutting my bus readings early. And we’re not even halfway through the series.

Review

Book Report: Constant Princess

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Book 6 in Philippa Gregory’s series is The Constant Princess, about Katherine of Aragorn, first wife of King Henry VIII, and takes place between Autumn of 1501 and Autumn of 1513 (barring a prologue and epilogue set years before and after each). Born Catalina, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Katherine is told from her birth that she is to be queen of England. The time and effort it takes for that to come about gives us the title of the book.

The Story

The journey is not easy. Katherine comes to England to marry King Henry VII’s eldest prince, Arthur, heir and beloved son. The marriage is rocky to start, with neither spouse enjoying the other, but an illness forces them to revisit their relationship and they fall in love. For several months, they spend each night with each other, sharing grandiose visions of what they shall do with England once they are monarchs. Those visions are cut short by Arthur’s death in 1502, after only five months of marriage.

On his deathbed, Arthur asks Katherine to promise to claim they did not consummate their marriage, allowing her to marry his younger brother Henry and rise to the throne for their grand designs. The marriage is promised early, but then Katherine spends years in exile, not allowed to be part of the English court, unable to go home. It takes the death of Henry VII to finally bring about the marriage and her installment as queen.

The Next Generation

With this book, the series has moved past the last of the Wars of the Roses queens and into the next generation of characters. Not only do we see the death of Henry VII, the last monarch of those wars, but we get to see the end of Margaret of Beaufort, the Red Queen.

Margaret Beaufort, as portrayed in this book series, struck so many of my character peeves that I looked forward to every slap in the face or minor setback she received from the characters since halfway through Red Queen. The mentality that any action she does, no matter how heinous, is okay because she’s God’s chosen, is so insulting and juvenile.  I enjoyed the snubs that Elizabeth of York gave in The White Princess, and I enjoyed watching Margaret’s decline and death in The Constant Princess. The decision Katherine makes to cut Margaret funeral plans to a more modest size is just the sort of deserved insult that Margaret would find infuriating, and as a reader I find completely deserving.

As the next generation of English nobles rise, we see that they’re going to be different from the generations we read through the Wars of the Roses with. These leaders are men who have not faced the constant warfare of the Wars, whose position is largely secured. As a result, they are arrogant and rude. Henry is a boy in a man’s position, enjoying life, while Katherine rules the country in his name. He views war as an adventure to advance his position; she views it as a way to advance their country and Christendom.

Knowing what I do about what’s coming next for England, I can see how it’s going to come about.

A Spanish View

Katherine’s Spanish origins come into play significantly during the story, not just in differences in leadership and ideology, but as a way of critiquing English (and in some ways Catholic) life of the period. Spain of Katherine’s time was a battleground for Christian versus Muslim rulers, so Katherine is much aware of Islamic learning –  mathematics, medicine, science –  and artwork. All of which, particularly the learning, is missing from English culture.

‘There is not a University in England that studies medicine,’ Katherine said bitterly. ‘There is not one that teaches languages. There is not one that teaches astronomy, or mathematics, geometry, geography, cosmography or even the study of animals, or plants. The universities of England are about as much use as a monetary full of monks coloring in the margins of sacred texts.’

The comments come into play as Katherine experiences worry over not conceiving a child, and finds no one able to provide even a mote of support. The problem is not confined to England; Katherine mentions how her mother would destroy Moorish universities and evict Islamic scholars under the direction of the Pope. Her spiritual desire to follow papal orders wars with her human desire to understand what, if anything, is wrong with her. The one learned doctor she meets – covertly – is an Islamic doctor who happened to be travelling through London. Even there, the arrogance and conceit of Katherine towards him is embarrassing to read.

As a history major, knowing what I do about the coming dominance of Europe over the rest of the world, it’s hard to understand this sort of reasoning. Willful ignorance makes no sense to me, yet here’s an entire civilization that revels in it. I shake my head at the wonder of it all.

Third vs. First

This book has a new style for the series, that jumps between First and Third person.

The majority of the book is done Third Person, and jumps to other characters who aren’t Katherine more often than previous books did. This allows the reader to experience the story that’s happening beyond Katherine’s eyes, almost a necessity since Katherine spends so much of the book in virtual exile.  

The sections done in First Person follow Katherine’s inner monologue, or describe events that are best seen from her perspective. Some of these are instances where she’s remembering home in Spain and what she misses about it. Others are moments dealing with extreme emotions and worries she can’t let the court see.

The changes can happen multiple times per chapter, giving us the events that Katherine is dealing with, and her internal monologue as she thinks and responds. It’s not the first time I’ve seen this particular mechanism used, but I’ve never tried it myself. Maybe I’ll give it a shot.

Conclusion

The Constant Princess is a book that leads itself to a lot of ‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ questions aimed at the characters and the world they live in. I’d rate it pretty good; it’s not great, but the critique of English life from a foreign view point and the death of Margaret Beaufort both raise my appreciation for the book. We’re not yet halfway through the series as a whole, and the book stands as a transition from the Wars of the Roses to the Tudor era.  I expect to see a lot more of Katherine of Aragorn over the next few books.

Review

Show Report: Last Kingdom

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The title card from the show

This month I decided to give The Last Kingdom another chance.

The Last Kingdom is a TV series by the BBC and Netflix, based off the Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. The Saxon Stories follow the fictional Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a warlord born to the Saxons but raised by the Danes. Forced into exile in Saxon Wessex, Uhtred fights against the Danes and helps build the modern England.

The Saxon Stories is one of my favorite book series, so when I first heard they were doing a show about it I was excited. It came out, I sat down, watched it, and was very disappointed.

I had two large complaints. One, the story had become more about how Uhtred to show the Saxons how to fight the Danes. In the books, they’ve already managed several victories before Uhtred joins them. Second, they kept cutting my favorite scenes! The first season covers the first two books, Last Kingdom and Pale Horseman (Pale Horseman is one of my favorite books), and I had a mental list of what I was looking forward to. Of the seven scenes on that list, they did one.

I didn’t pay much attention to the next seasons coming out, but friends who watch the show tell me it gets better. I’d always thought about returning to give it another shot, so I prepared myself, sat down and re-started.

Initial Re-Reaction to the First Season

I must admit; on the second viewing, the first complaint fell largely flat. Sure, story they were telling was shallow compared to the books, but that’s largely a function of medium. Movies and TV can’t reach the same depth as a book can.

As I was considering the impact of the medium switch on the story, I also realized that the viewpoint had shifted. The books are almost universally First Person, from Uhtred’s POV as he recounts his story in his old age. He recounts events beyond his knowledge as they were told to him later, which makes sense in a book but in a TV show, having Uhtred tell you what happened would be boring. So the show is Third Person, and we now watch those scenes happening. The switch changes the nature of a lot of the characters and gives the show a different feel.

Still bugged they cut my favorite scenes. Le sigh.

Second Season

The second season of Last Kingdom roughly covers the third and fourth books of the series (Lords of the North and Sword Song). Again, they cut out most of the scenes I was looking forward to. Two of them they did include, but they changed them and removed what made the scenes stand out to me.

Beyond that, this is where the show begins to really come into its own. By that, I mean that yes, they diverge from the books, but they’re getting more comfortable telling their own version of Uhtred’s story. They embrace the differences in characters, give them the room to develop their own plots. They condense and consolidate events to streamline the story, and even consolidate characters.

Third Season (Spoilers)

Again, one season covers two books (The Burning Land and Death of Kings), but the series does the two stories simultaneously instead of each book in half a season. The plot is now different enough that it’s hard to fault them for not doing the scenes I was looking forward to, though there is still that small disappointment.   Except when it comes to the dominating event of this season, the Death of  Alfred the Great. This is probably the only event in the story  that I think the show does better than the books.

In the books, Alfred converses with Uhtred on his deathbed, and just before his death confers upon Uhtred a significant amount of land in order to bind the warlord to his son and presumptive heir, Edward. It’s a nice reward for the often snubbed and disregarded Dane-slayer.  

In the show, the third seasons contains a lot of conflict between Uhtred and Alfred. Alfred has Uhtred banished and his children seized, while Uhtred tries to return to the Danes before his oaths bring him back to  the Saxons. Alfred still wants Uhtred bound to Edward, but cannot force Uhtred to do so. And with his death coming,  Alfred is facing the uncertainties of a future without him.

The Specific Scenes

The scene, cut up into several
bits, is fantastic. It is Alfred the Great and Uhtred of Bebbanberg speaking as
equals. Alfred acknowledges his debt to Uhtred, apologizes for his errors and
mistakes, and salutes the man ‘without whom I would not die a king.’ Uhtred’s
part in the conversation is to minimal; this is a scene for Alfred to shine. It
ends with Uhtred receiving a pardon.

Uhtred’s time to shine comes after Alfred’s death. His political enemies moving against him, threatening him with banishment on pain of death. He forces the issue in public, asking for Edward to confirm his pardon (strengthening Edward’s claim to authority). His responses to the accusations are moving. He confirms his respect for Alfred, his commitment to the cause of Wessex. ‘He was my king!’ Uhtred yells before the Wessex court, gaining the support of many while infuriating his enemies.

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There’s an emotional response to these scenes that the books lack. The books have Alfred’s death as a catalyst for the chaos of succession early in Book 6, while the show has it as the culmination of the season’s plotlines. As far as  I’m concerned, they worked really well.

Season Four and Five

The latest two seasons break from the two books per season mode, and with good reason: the books after Book 6 sent to get repetitive.

Instead, Season Four and Five each revolve around the death of a Saxon ruler and how that death is used to further the idea of a unified England. Uhtred is involved, of course, as his personal relationships with the Saxons and reputation amongst the Danes comes into play. A lot of the high points of the later books are fused together or touched upon in their own way, but by this point it’s hard to get upset that the show isn’t doing my favorite scenes or is using a character differently.

SPOILERS

Someone I like

One thing I’ve come to really enjoy is what the show does with Lady Aelswith, widow of Alfred the Great. In the books she kind of disappears after Alfred’s death, mentioned in passing when she’s mentioned at all. She was always an enemy of Uhtred’s, even after all he does to protect Alfred’s family and further the Wessex cause.

In the show, she remains a character, either trying to counsel Edward on his decisions as king, or protecting her grandchildren from the cut-throat politics of the kingdom. She and Uhtred are not friends, but there is a grudging respect between them.

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Conclusion

I’m glad I gave this show another shot, and that I took the time to enjoy it as it’s own story instead of holding it to the books. While it doesn’t have the depth of the books, it does have a much wider and more inclusive story to tell. One that’s worth enjoying as complimentary to the books. I look forward to the last installment when it comes out.