A month after King Henry VIII dies, his widow Katharine Parr marries her true love Thomas Seymour, brother of Jane.  Everyone is surprised by the union of the cool and intelligent Katharine to the feckless and impulsive Thomas, but none more so than her best friend Catherine, Duchess of Suffolk, who doesn't trust Thomas's intentions.  Catherine is worried by rumours that Thomas had tried to pursue Katharine's step-daughter Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I).  But when she spends time with the couple, Catherine finds herself drawn to Thomas and they begin a passionate affair. Will Katharine discover that she has been betrayed by the two people she loves and trusts the most?

This story flows easily and is the sort of book that it's easy to lose yourself in.  It is written from Catherine's point of view, and she is not an altogether likeable character, which is an interesting stance from which to narrate the story. The writing is very clean, which I liked and it was a quick and interesting read. 

However, as a book about the Tudor period, it falls short.  This could have been a story about any two people, in any time period.  There are references to the way of life in those times, but I never felt immersed in the period, in the way that I do when reading say, Philippa Gregory's books about the time.  Because it is written from Catherine's viewpoint, the reader misses a lot of what is happening in Katharine's life.
The language also feels very 'modern'; almost as if it was taking place in the present day (it should be said that Suzannah Dunn raises this point at the end of the book, and acquits herself fairly well).  So apart from the fact that there are no modern conveniences, this book has a modern feeling about it that is at odds with it's setting.

Having said that however, it does feature flimpses of the young Lady Elizabeth (an interesting and pivotal character) and the young Lady Jane Grey.  

Overall, I would recommend this as an enjoyable book, but not one which sheds a lot of light on the Tudor period.  If you start it with that in  mind, it is a worthwhile read. ( )

The book was hard to get into it. I was bored after the first couple of pages. The story dealt with the relationship between Catharine Parr, Henry's last Queen, and Catharine, Dutchess of Suffolk her best friend. Intrigue was brought into the book by an affair between Catharine Parr's last husband and Cathy Duchess of Suffolk. I was glad when the book was finnished. ( )

My problem with this book is that the dialogue is too modern, too colloquial. It’s not that I want ‘thees’ and ‘thous’ and ‘prithree’ this and that, but the conversations in this book come from the 21st century, not the 16th. And although I was fore warned from the description on the back cover that Catherine, the Duchess of Suffolk, Katherine Parr’s “best friend” has her own tale to tell I didn’t expect it to be the main part of the book. The Sixth Wife is not really about Katherine Parr, but about Catherine’s relationship with Thomas Seymour - which Dunn explains in the epilogue is from her own imagination. I don’t expect historical fiction to be a mere recounting of facts, but I do expect it to have some basis in fact, and not be mainly a story of a woman sleeping with her best friend’s husband. This book is more fiction than history and for me it doesn’t compare with, say Phillippa Gregory’s historical fiction for example.

The plus side, however is that reading this book has spurred me on to read more in the period. ( )

This book was ok, but nothing special. The character narrating was not really sympathetic at all - sleeping with her best friend's husband etc - so this put me right off. ( )

I thought it was well written. Liked it much better than the The Queen of Subleties. Loved Kate for her strength and was saddened that she was the one to perish. Cathy surprised me by getting caught up with Henry but I felt she redeemed herself in the end. Guess I must be a hopeless romantic when it comes to English lit. ( )