This review is another solo review but there are good reasons for it. First off, Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen by Alison Weir is an outstanding book that deserves its own review. However, the book is outside the realm of my historical expertise. As a world war historian, Tudor England is about as far out of my knowledge as possible. This book is the first in a series about the wives of Henry VIII and after reading this one, I do intend to read the rest of the set. So this review is likely to be a little shorter but I will try to give as good of a review as possible.
The book is a historical fiction novel that chronicles the life of Katherine of Aragon from the time she moved to England to her death. The time period covered in the book is an extensive one but it never feels like it. The story always seems very well grounded and never really seems to drag at any one point. While the story primary focuses on Katherine, you do get a decent glimpse of other events in Europe at the time. And while this never detracts from the main story, these side events seem to give a greater depth to the book which is welcome.
Weir does an excellent job of establishing and then really developing Katherine as person. Told in third person narrative, you are able to get a sense of the emotions that Katherine goes through over the course of her life. You see her devoted not only to her husband Henry VIII, but you also see her devoted to Spain, her ladies of the court and most importantly to her daughter Elizabeth and the Catholic church. Fiercely loyal and not one to back down, she easily makes her presence felt in the court and in England. The people of England loved her as queen and the book does a superb job of showing that on multiple cases. The book really comes into its own when Henry makes an effort to divorce Katherine. The historical event is expertly well-written, made easy to understand and it allows you see just how devoted Katherine was to her husband and the church during the whole process.
The detail lavished in this book is superb. Everything from the clothes, to the castles and the occupants of those castles are well described and it really does make you feel like you are truly there in Tudor England. When it comes to Historical accuracy I will defer to my Tudor historian friends. Two of my best friends are experts on the subject and they have told me that the book is fairly accurate and that very few liberties were taken with the historical record.
Overall, this is an outstanding read especially for those are unfamiliar with the subject. I knew very little about the subject but I never really felt like that was a detriment. The book is fairly easy to understand, very well-written and does an excellent job of telling the story of Katherine of Aragon.
Verdict- 5 stars, A truly great read and I can’t wait to read the rest of series.
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