Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen: Six Tudor Queens 1

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Katherine’s moments of joy and sorrow are captured with nuanced writing. Weir finds a harmonious balance between providing an abundance of historical details and conveying Katherine’s emotional evolution. Though the story is delivered in a third-person narrative, Katherine’s feelings are so resonant that it often seems like a first-person delivery. When Katheryn Howard, a young cousin of the Boleyns, becomes the King’s fifth bride, Jane’s past allegiance to the crown secures her senior rank in the new queen’s household. Katherine is the educated, devout and dutiful daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, joint rulers of Spain. She comes to England under the terms of the contract arranged by their respective parents to marry the Prince of Wales. After Arthur’s untimely death, she becomes betrothed to his younger brother, Henry. Ho finito questo libro ormai qualche giorno fa e niente da fare, continuo ad avere questo magone che non se ne va. Ho pianto e non poco, soprattutto nelle ultime 100 pagine del libro.

Six Tudor Queens: 1-6 Book Bundle - The Works Six Tudor Queens: 1-6 Book Bundle - The Works

Anne Boleyn, Katherine’s lady-in-waiting and the woman who stole Henry’s heart, is the last straw. What should have been a glorious reign for the Spanish Princess ends in disaster when Henry turns on Katherine, stripping her of her title and her privileges, and eventually raising another woman to the position of Queen. As Anne Boleyn’s star rises at Henry VIII’s court, Jane Parker’s marriage to Anne’s brother, George, brings her status and influence. But theirs is not a happy union and results in a bitter and bloody end. And a good one. Alison Weir thoroughly immerses us in the world of Katherine, her household, her retinues and routines, her high and low fortunes. We are with her every step of the way as she lives through the disappointment of her marriage to Arthur, as she floats through the glorious first years of her marriage to Henry, as she slowly becomes beaten down, small defeat by large, when Henry finds Anne, leaves Katherine, and splits Christendom in two in his quest to satisfy his desire to have a male heir. By the end of the book, it's quite easy for the reader to loathe both Henry and Anne as Katherine suffers repeated bouts of ill health, living in constant fear from the specter of poisoning hanging over both her and her daughter, Mary's, heads. Each illness of Mary's fills the reader with the same pangs of terror as it does Katherine, despite knowing that Mary survives these years of hell, years which imprint on her character indelibly. Bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir takes on what no fiction writer has done before: creating a dramatic six-book series in which each novel covers one of King Henry VIII's wives. In this captivating opening volume, Weir brings to life the tumultuous tale of Katherine of Aragón. Henry's first, devoted, and "true" queen.

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This is a long book, 624p. I think that it does represent a very good representation of Katherine's viewpoint and also what it was like to be a queen 500 years ago. I was raised Roman Catholic and taught that Henry VIII's move to divorce Katherine was based on lust for Anne Boleyn. But the book makes clear Henry's fear that if he did not have a lawful son and heir, his country might descend into civil war when he died. He had an illegitimate son by a mistress, but his sons by Katherine died. He became convinced that he was cursed because he married his brother's widow. The battle of Bosworth, ending the civil war with Henry VII triumphant, took place in 1485, only 6 years before Henry VIII's birth. Henry VII impressed upon his sons the importance of carrying on on the royal lineage to avoid another civil war. Eventually, Katherine marries his brother, Henry; and it's here where things take a tragic turn, and this Queen's downfall slowly ends. For Katherine could not bear Henry a live son, which leads him to think their marriage was never blessed by God (seriously dude?!). It amazes me very much how it is perfectly in line with the true historical facts, let us clarify not only the rise of Henry VIII, the court life, about all the Dukes and Counts that revolve around the figure of the King., but absolutely true are all the epistolary references that we find reported in the book, obviously leaving room for all that romanticized component that keeps the story of Catherine standing up. The Six Wives of Henry VIII, και το μέρος που αναφέρει την Αικατερίνη είναι τρομερά όμοιο με αυτό εδώ το βιβλίο. Δηλαδή αυτό που κάνει η συγγραφέας ουσιαστικά είναι να παίρνει την πραγματική ιστορία όπως η ίδια την έχει αφηγηθεί και να προσθέτει κάποια πράγματα για να τη μετατρέψει σε μυθιστόρημα. Φυσικά αυτό δεν με χαλάει και ιδιαίτερα καθώς σε αυτό το είδος αναζητώ πάνω από όλα την ιστορία, το πρόβλημά μου είναι ότι γίνεται σε κάποια σημεία κουραστικό και προσδίδει μία ψυχρότητα. Αυτή η προσοχή στη λεπτομέρεια και η επιμονή της πάντως μας προσφέρει και κάτι ακόμα θετικό. Μας κάνει να αντιληφθούμε όλο το μέγεθος αυτής της ιστορίας, καθώς φυσικά δεν μιλάμε απλά για την ιστορία ενός γάμου και του χωρισμού που ακολούθησε αλλά για κάτι που ήταν άμεση απόρροια των πολιτικών συσχετισμών στην Ευρώπη της εποχής και κάτι που επηρέασε σε μεγάλο βαθμό τη μετέπειτα εξέλιξη της ιστορίας. Όλο αυτό μας μεταφέρει η συγγραφέας με τον καλύτερο δυνατό τρόπο.

Six’: How Tudor Queens Turned Into Pop Stars The Making of ‘Six’: How Tudor Queens Turned Into Pop Stars

Been wanting to read this for a while and bought the first three is what I think is a 6 books series but think there is perhaps one more. Katherine’s happiest moments come during the early years of her marriage when the king treats her kindly. Successfully rebuffing a Scottish invasion, during her time as Regent, was arguably her finest hour. Weir shows us how Henry sought her counsel until the appointment of Wolsey who usurped her influence and then latterly, Cromwell and Cranmer. First betrothed at the age of three to Arthur, Prince of Wales, the young princess of Spain, Catalina, sails to England at sixteen years of age to marry. Because she is the daughter of the esteemed monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, Catalina’s marriage to Arthur is designed to ensure an Anglo-Spanish alliance against France. In an unforeseen twist of fate, Catalina – anglicized to Princess Katherine – is betrothed to Henry VIII, heir to the English throne. Though her marriage is at first loving, outside forces soon cause a rift between Katherine and Henry VIII - one that threatens their relationship, Katherine’s status as Queen, and the future of the nation. The book is divided in chapters labeled with the years. The narrative moves from scene to scene, generally brief, with any amount of time passing in between. Sometimes this style is annoying, but it was totally appropriate for this story. I ended up Googling a lot of historical figures and events relating to the book and learned a lot that way, thanks to the book. A lot of research went into this to make it as accurate as possible.Her resistance against Henry’s demands and the conflict that ensued between her and Anne Boleyn placed King Henry VIII on the path to a destination he could never have foreseen. Heinrich VIII und seine sechs Ehefrauen sind immer ein interessantes Thema für einen historischen Roman. Alison Weir hat hieraus eine sechsteilige Reihe gemacht, in der die Ehefrauen von ihrem Leben an der Seite dieses berühmten Monarchen erzählen. Den Anfang macht Katherine von Aragon und ich habe ihre Sicht der Dinge äußerst gerne gelesen. Katherine, a Spanish Princess, came to England to marry Arthur of Wales. But she ended up in King Henry VIII’s bed. For a time, Katherine was happy. She was Queen of England and her husband dearly loved her. The tale of the Tudors has been told and retold on numerous occasions. And yet the publishing arena and readers at large can’t seem to get enough of this particular portion of Britain’s contentious history. The primary driving factor of the Six Tudor Queens series isn’t actually the plight of Henry’s wives, the reasons that compel them to marry Henry or even the rivalries they must overcome to take the throne.

Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen: Six Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen: Six

King Henry VIII’s tale almost always hinges on his relationship with Anne Boleyn, the most famous of his wives. However, King Henry VIII was a man of rich appetites and, over the course of his life, his path was closely intertwined with that of quite a few women, many of whom shaped his future and the fate of the British Empire. Brought up in the magnificent castles of Scotland under the storm of her parent’s turbulent marriage, Margaret Douglas is well-acquainted with the changing whims of those who hold power. And when her father is exiled by King James V, Margaret is sent to England to seek refuge with her uncle, King Henry VIII.

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I must admit a certain empathy for Katherine of Aragon, so I’d been looking forward to this book since I first heard Alison Weir was writing it. Like many, I was failed by my history teachers, who I remember dismissed Katherine’s almost twenty-four year marriage in their haste to get on to the ‘interesting’ bits. That meant it was up to me to learn Katherine’s amazing story of courage, love, loss - and determination.

Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife: Six Tudor

Alison Weir’s Six Tudor Queens series provides an in-depth look into the lives and fortunes of these women. This is such superb writing. A definite must read for anyone who is new to the story of King Henry and his wives, or for someone who’d like to dip their toe in the water and read the story from another perspective. I actually enjoyed this portrait of Katherine from first arrival in England to her death. I'm a fan of the Tudor period. This was well written and easy light enjoyable reading. Solo ed unicamente la Fede in Cristo e alla Chiesa Cattolica ha mosso così questa donna, non ha smosso ne ha ceduto la sua coscienza neanche sottomettendola al bene di sua figlia Maria, unica figlia vivente di Caterina ed Enrico...Anne Basset served four of Henry VIII’s queens, yet the King himself once pledged to serve her. Had fate not decreed otherwise, she might have been his wife – and Queen of England.