Katherine Parr: The Sixth Wife

 

Alison Weir created another amazing story!  Weir is master storyteller as we get another portrait of a Tudor queen.  This is of course the 6^th and final book in her Six Tudor Queens series.  It portrays the life of Henry VIII’s last wife, Katherine Parr. 

Just as with the other books, we follow Katherine from childhood to adulthood.  Katherine’s life experiences shape her into the queen she eventually became.  Katherine was unique in the fact that prior to Henry, she was married twice before and lost both husbands.  Henry the VIII was her third husband and we get to see these final years as Henry’s health declines.  Aside from Anne of Cleves, she is the only other queen to outlive Henry and get to see the coronation of her stepson.  In this series, we get to see more of the growing tension between the Catholics and Protestants.  We also get to see more of Mary and Elizabeth as they grow older and how different events shape them as well.

I’ve always loved the Tudor period.  It is so easy to get lost in these books as Alison Weir has such a great talent for weaving a tale of fact and fiction.  You can always read in the author’s note what is fact versus fiction.  I highly recommend this series if you enjoy historical fiction or just the Tudor period itself. 

Friday Reads | May 29, 2020

Friday Reads | May 8 2020

Katheryn Howard: The Scandalous Queen by Alison Weir

Alison Weir has delivered another masterpiece. I just love these books so much. This is the 5^th book in the Six Tudor Wives series in which we follow Katheryn Howard, King Henry VIII’s 5^th wife. Although this is historical fiction, much is based on fact. Alison Weir always writes a lengthy author note in which she goes over what is fact and what is fiction.

As with all of the books in this series, we follow Katheryn Howard from childhood into adulthood. We get to see how different events shaped her life and her ultimate fate in marrying King Henry VIII at the age of 18 and of being the second of his wives to be beheaded. Ironically, Katheryn Howard, is the cousin of Anne Boleyn, who was the fist of his wives to be beheaded. This book is also titled, “The Scandalous Queen.”  With Katheryn Howard, we get to see her perspective and the consequences of many of her choices throughout her teenage years.

Alison Weir is just so wonderful at storytelling. She draws me in from the start and I get lost very quickly in the story. I highly recommend this to anyone that loves historical fiction.

Friday Reads | March 27, 2020

Friday Reads | March 13, 2020

Friday Reads | February 21, 2020