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Loading... The Constant Princess (2005)by Philippa Gregory
Interesting book and I liked it, even if it's a bit outside of my usual reading fare. While generally I enjoy historical fiction, I prefer it to actually have a lot of history in it. Constant Princess is, of course, based upon real people, but it seems most of it is speculative and good guesses. The speculation was well conceived, with possible motivations and real events woven together into the narrative effectively. The writing style had a wonderful pace, which kept me interested throughout the story, and I'll probably read more in this series, but I am hoping that later novels will have more history, since more documentation is available for later events. Like with [b:The Other Boleyn Girl|37470|The Other Boleyn Girl|Philippa Gregory|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1277607929s/37470.jpg|3248536], it took me a while to feel the book. I first questioned it, thought that The Other Boleyn Girl was a better book. But I soon got drawn into the tale of Katherine, the first wife to king Henry. It was interesting to find out more about their relationship, that they had loved each other once. A good tale of a woman's life and trouble, and she was strong and wise. As for the writing itself, I was kind of annoyed of the bits with Katharine's thoughts. I think the book could stand on is own without writing passages of 1:st POV. It would also have been interesting to read the whole deal with Anne and Mary from Katharine's POV, how she took it all to her end. this is another good one from gregory. i enjoyed the female aspect of strength and also "learning" about the young version of King Henry VIII's first wife. A good story with alot of details about Katherine's early years with her parents in Spain which I had not read about before in other books about her. Of course it is fiction but many of those places do exist. I really enjoy reading about the Tudor period in English history and will look for more books like this one. no reviews | add a review Is contained inWideacre / The Favored Child / Meridon / The Constant Princess / The Boleyn Inheritance / The Queen's Fool / The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory The Boleyn Inheritance / The Other Boleyn Girl / The Virgin's Lover / Queen's Fool / Wideacre / Constant Princess / Meridon / Earthly Joys / Virgin Earth by Philippa Gregory The Other Boleyn Girl / The Virgin's Lover / The Queen's Fool / The Constant Princess / The Other Queen / The White Queen by Philippa Gregory Philippa Gregory Set (Other Bolelyn Girl, Queen's Fool, Virgin's Lover, Earthly Joys, Virgin Earth, Constant Princess) by Philippa Gregory The Constant Princess, Recipes for a Perfect Marriage and Look the World in the Eye by Philippa Gregory
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0743272498, Paperback)"I am Catalina, Princess of Spain, daughter of the two greatest monarchs the world has ever known...and I will be Queen of England."
Thus, bestselling author Philippa Gregory introduces one of her most unforgettable heroines: Katherine of Aragon. Known to history as the Queen who was pushed off her throne by Anne Boleyn, here is a Katherine the world has forgotten: the enchanting princess that all England loved. First married to Henry VIII's older brother, Arthur, Katherine's passion turns their arranged marriage into a love match; but when Arthur dies, the merciless English court and her ambitious parents -- the crusading King and Queen of Spain -- have to find a new role for the widow. Ultimately, it is Katherine herself who takes control of her own life by telling the most audacious lie in English history, leading her to the very pinnacle of power in England.
Set in the rich beauty of Moorish Spain and the glamour of the Tudor court, The Constant Princess presents a woman whose constancy helps her endure betrayal, poverty, and despair, until the inevitable moment when she steps into the role she has prepared for all her life: Henry VIII's Queen, Regent, and commander of the English army in their greatest victory against Scotland. (retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:39:24 -0500) A fictional portrait of Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine of Aragon, follows her through her youthful marriage to Henry's older brother, Arthur, her widowhood, her marriage to Henry, and the divorce that led to Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn. |
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List of Guilty Pleasures:
* What Not to Wear
* The blogs of freaky fundy homeschoolers who can neither spell, write, nor think clearly
* Faux Jane Austen (some, not all)
* Philippa Gregory���s Tudoresque novels
Because they are Tudory, because my sister likes them, and because I liked the first one I read (Virgin���s Lover) fine, I���ve read others. But I shouldn���t. I don���t quite accept the premise (that Katherine of Aragon and Arthur Tudor did consummate their marriage), but that wasn���t the main problem. The problem was twofold: the prose, rife with comma splices, and the development of the plot. Clumsy swaps between first and third person, huge swaths in italics. No connection between the driving force in Catherine���s life ��� the lie about consummation ��� and the subsequent action.