The Constant Princess (Boleyn)
by Philippa Gregory
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Book Reviews of The Constant Princess (Boleyn)
Book Review: The first wife of Henry VIII
Summary: 4 Stars
Finally, Philippa Gregory has given us a Katherine of Aragon who is vital, determined, and capable, much different from the pious, dignified victim portrayed in so much of the fiction about Henry's rejection of her. Novelists have tended to overlook the fact that Katherine raised her daughter, Mary, to become the fearsome, indomitable Tudor monarch that she was. Considering the times, I do not find it difficult to believe that Katherine would have lied about her relationship with first husband Prince Arthur. As far as can be proved, no one but Katherine and Arthur knew the absolute truth of the matter. She was possessed of formidable diplomatic skills, and understood the arts of war. Following her marriage to Henry, she engineered a successful military campaign against the Scots (Flodden) on her own. She knew what she wanted and did what she must to pursue her goals.
Questions of historical accuracy aside, Gregory has done a service to the memory and reputation of a great woman, a feminist a couple of centuries ahead of her time. Her life did not develop as she had hoped and planned, but what a life it was.
Book Review: Great novel until almost the end!
Summary: 4 Stars
I will admit first that I sped through the last 50 pages, as I was getting a little bored with the story by then, since I already knew how it would end. But for the other 90 percent of the book I found truly fascinating and a great read!
I had no problems understanding which events and themes were real and which were fiction. I was suprised that the author could be so sure that the marriage between Catalina and Arthur was in fact consumated, but I didn't take her word for it anyway. The blend of fact, fiction, and assumption is what makes historical novels so wonderful.
Catalina/Katherine's battle to understand whether she was to despise/destroy or accept those of different faiths was especially interesting to me, and it seemed especially relevant right now, as Muslims, Christians, and Jews fight once again based age old prejudices and differences. There are some great parrallels to current events that I could not help but to see. Of course, I don't know how the author could possibly know if this was something that Catalina often pondered, but I thought it was a brilliant tie-in for the story.
Book Review: Unbelievable and that's the problem.
Summary: 1 Stars
Katharine of Aragon has always been one of my favorite historical figures. A woman of not only great integrity but also of genuine kindness and upstanding Christian qualities. I realise this is a book of fiction but I just didn't find the book believable. The premise that Arthur was Katharine's great love just had no basis of fact at all. Historical fiction is only really good when the author stays within the confines of at least believability. If you really want to read a good series of historical fiction on Katharine's life please pick up "Katharine, The Virgin Widow", "The Shadow Of The Promegranate" and "The King's Secret Matter" by Jean Plaidy. Not only is Jean Plaidy a wonderful story teller but she is extremely accurate with the facts. I have read both "The White Queen" and "The Red Queen" by Philippa Gregory and enjoyed them both. I just can't imagine what Philippa Gregory was thinking when she wrote "The Constant Princess" and just went totally off the deep end and invented a whole new Katharine. Maybe, that's the problem, I just didn't like this new Katharine, I like the old one.Book Review: The best book I read this year
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is by far the best of the lot I read this year. It tells a captivating, compelling and moving story of a woman that fought all her life, fought for everything she held. She is proud, she is wise, she is patient, she is strong. Left all alone in a foreign country with no means of support, she fought her way to become Queen and to protect the country in her charge.
The book made me laugh and made me cry (albeit more often the latter). I thought it was a great choice by the author to intercept third-party narration of the book with first-person confession-like segments, for it allows the reader to see the real person behind the political figure of the Katherine, Queen of England, her feelings, her pain, her anguish and her proudest moments. She is a very strong character and as such, one cannot remain impassive towards her. She truly shaped her own destiny because she believed in it so.
The book really moved and inspired me. It was a very enjoyable read and I highly recommend it.
Book Review: Wanted More
Summary: 4 Stars
I decided to read this book after being completely hooked on The Other Boleyn Girl. I found this book VERY good and loved how the relationshop between Catalina and Arthur was portrayed (although the "tell me a story" parts got a little old after the 10th time!). I know this is fiction and historians still say her and Arthur never consumated their marriage. Perhaps I am taking a modern perspective on this but here we have 2 teenagers.....5 or so months of marriage and no consumation? I think I prefer Gregory's adaptation that they did "do the deed". My only complaint about this book was I felt that it ended too abruptly. The beginning of the book was so detailed and towards the end she seemed to seriously jump over the years. We all know she gets overthrown for Anne Boleyn but the book ended just shy of this event. I felt like there was so much more to tell but Gregory just didn't feel like writing it. The book ended with me wanting much more. This being said it was still a GREAT read and I still very much recommend it.