The King's Pleasure

Nobody writes historical fiction like Nora Lofts, whose stories get inside the character's heads so completely that you feel you are literally walking in their shoes, living through their lives, experiencing their loves, and suffering through their tragedies. In this book, she explores the marriage between King Henry VIII of England and Katharine of Aragon of Spain, which lasted from 1509 to 1533, until she died at fifty. Henry went to great lengths to have this marriage annulled by the Pope, even separating the Church of England from the Roman church's papal authority, to marry his mistress, Anne Boleyn—who he later had beheaded for treason. Because Katharine was extraordinarily pious and moral, Henry's quick solution to get rid of show more his first wife turned into an eight-year ordeal that ultimately got him excommunicated and placed in low esteem by his English subjects. This book has all the intrigue and trickery of the best spy novels. Nora's incredible research and attention to detail always makes history more exciting than fiction and more interesting than any traditional history book. show less

Lofts brings to life the political as well as romantic struggles of Henry the Eighth, as seen through the eyes of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. It's a very sad story in a lot of ways, as Catherine is rudely pushed aside by Henry after failing to bear him a son. But Catherine is very accepting in her role, and, as Lofts tells it, the bond between her and Henry is never truly broken. He mistreats her badly, but even as she goes into exile he is never out of her thoughts, and always charitably so.

Realistic? Who knows? The political machinations of these great players in English politics almost always takes center stage to the more tender emotions. But it's a nice story, and more complex than the run-of-the-mill romance.

I really liked the book which is a fictional account of the life of Katherine of Aragon. There were a couple of things that annoyed me such as the way the author tended to recap future events and then jump backwards to the point she leapt off and I thought the change in Henry was portrayed abruptly. He went from being fond of Katherine to practically despising her which was probably because four years passed in a paragraph and that would have been when his attitude was changing. That said, I loved the portrayal of Katherine. She was a courageous, principled woman and I think Lofts did an excellent job of showing that.

The King's Pleasure is a well-written and well-researched novel of the life of Katharine of Aragon, first wife of King Henry VIII. Of the novels I've read that focus specifically on Katharine, I consider this to be the one most worth reading. The ending was a little too drawn out for my liking, especially considering the end of Katharine's story is well-known, but overall an excellent work of historical fiction.

3.5 - 4 stars This is a beautifully written novel of Katherine of Aragon, her marriage to Henry VIII and her doomed fight to stay married to him. The characters are very sensitively described and the author sticks closely to the historical facts as far as I can tell. Unfortunately, I lost interst somewhat after the middle, perhaps because I already know that Katherine's defiance, which was described in minute detail, will get her nowhere, so I think the book could have been at least 50 pages shorter. The end captivated me again and overall I was really impressed with the author's writing and her attention to detail and history.

This is a fun historical romance about Katherine of Aragon & all the political & religious struggles going on in 16th century Spain & England.

The book is about Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII.
I did not like the book. It was boring, it rushed through the scenes and made huge time-jumps.