The Constant Princess (Boleyn)
by Philippa Gregory
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Book Reviews of The Constant Princess (Boleyn)
Book Review: Great Historical Fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
The Constant Princess tells the story of Katherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII's first wife. Katherine was born "Catalina" to the King and Queen of Spain. Her marriage to Prince Arthur, the heir to the throne of England, was decided when she was an infant. She knew she would be Princess of Wales all of her life. When she turned 15, she was sent to England to marry Prince Arthur. At first she despised Arthur, but she grew to love him very much during the short months that they were married. As Arthur lay dying of a sudden illness, he made Catalina promise that she would marry his brother, Henry, and become Queen of England.
Chronologically, The Constant Princess comes before Gregory's other book, The Other Boleyn Girl. I really wanted to read The Other Boleyn Girl, but when I found out that this book takes place before it, I decided to read them in order. The book switches between telling the story in third person to Katherine's point of view in the first person, indicated by italics. I loved it, because it was like looking into her mind at certain points in her life. Her story is sad, but she is very strong throughout all of her hardships. I am ashamed to say that before reading this book, I had very little knowledge of King Henry VIII and the Tudors. Now I want to read anything I can about the subject. It's so interesting! I know a lot of people say that Gregory's books are not historically accurate, but I like them; she tells a good story.
Book Review: Engrossing Read
Summary: 5 Stars
The woman that we have all come to know as Queen Katherine of Aragon began as the Infanta Catalina of Spain. As is expected of any princess, a marriage is arranged for her; she is to marry Prince Arthur - England's King Henry VII's eldest son. Upon reaching England, Catalina finds that this marriage is not what she expects it to be, and neither is the boy she married. As fate would have it, Arthur's life is extinguished during The Sweat that swept England soon after their marriage. King Henry, not wanting to lose the valuable asset he just brought to England, soon marries her to his other son, who would later become Henry VIII...
This was my first Philippa Gregory book that I read and I was NOT disappointed. There is an amazing love story that really pulled on my heart strings. I instantly connected with Catalina (I continued to think of her as that throughout the whole book) and very strongly felt what she felt. Gregory's writing style instantly pulls you in and never lets go until the end. I enjoyed getting to know Catalina from her early days, something that is not really focused on in other novels.
Gregory DOES change many events in the book from what is known to have really happened. The good thing about this though, is that this is Historical Fiction and that is what I expect. If you are looking for true facts, check out a non-fiction book, but for a good story, try this on for size.
Book Review: Nonsense.
Summary: 1 Stars
Yes, I know it's a historical novel, and thus a work of fiction. However ...
Catharine of Aragon was an incredibly devout Catholic, devout to the degree that very few people would even comprehend today. It was her rigid faith that caused her to refuse to admit that her marriage to Henry VIII was not valid due to her marriage to Prince Arthur being consummated, even though it cost her and her daughter dearly. For expedience's sake, she could have gone along with Henry and lived in incredible comfort, but she insisted on telling the truth, and ended up in miserable circumstances for the rest of her life. She swore on the Host that her first marriage was never consummated. She would never have done this and lied, because she would have believed that doing so would send her eternal soul directly to Hell for all time.
So what is the point of writing a historical novel based on something that absolutely never happened? Catharine's marriage to Henry VIII was cooked up between her father and his, so that Henry VII could keep her dowry in England. It was not some plan cooked up between the young lovers, Catharine and Arthur!
If a historical novel doesn't have some grounding in reality, it's not really "historical" now, is it? Sorry, this one is just way too far out in left field for me.
Book Review: Great escape
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book in between the holiday craziness. It was a great way to relax and give myself few minutes of escape. Philippa Gregory has never disappointed me yet. This book took me to the mind-set of Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine of Aragon. It was interesting to know that she was the youngest daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinend of Spain. I enjoyed reading the historical description of Kathrine's comparison between Moorish living and English living. It was a great novel to read and I thought Gregory did a wonderful job describing Katherine's thoughts and ambitions (yes, yes, I know it's only a novel!) I was a bit disappointed at the ending, however. It was too sharp a drop. It went from Katherine's victory over Scots to her trial, some 16 years later. We all know that Ann Boleyn came between Henry and Katherine. While I got Gregory's imaginery perspective of Ann in "The Other Boleyn Girl", I would've wanted Katherine's perspective of Boleyn sisters in this novel. Would it have made the novel too complicated? And what of Katherine's daughter, Mary? I don't mean what happend to Mary, because we got that from Gregory's "The Queen's Fool", but I mean the birth of her. Was Henry disappointed, even angry, that it wasn't a boy? Other than the abrupt ending, I enjoyed reading this book.Book Review: It was just OK...
Summary: 3 Stars
As someone who thoroughly enjoys historical fiction and the Tudor time period in England I was really excited to pick up this book on Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife.
Gregory, covers Katherine or Catalina's childhood in Spain, her first marriage to Arthur (Henry's older brother), her agonizing wait for 7 years before she became Henry's wife, and then the first few years of marriage.
I thought the first half of the book somewhat interesting up until Arthur dies and she schemes to marry Henry, his younger brother. I also found the first years of Henry and Katherine's marriage somewhat interesting.
However, what takes away from this book in a big way is Gregory's repetitiveness throughout the book (as many others have cited). It really takes away from the progress of the story as you feel you're just stuck reading the same thing over and over again. Then Gregory glosses over Katherine's shining moment as Queen - holding back the Scots, skips 13 years of their reign together (during which Anne Boleyn enters the picture and convinces Henry to marry her) and ends the book abruptly. As the reader you almost get the sense that Gregory just got tired of writing about her because it didn't feel finished and complete.
Overall, this book was just OK.