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Jump to navigationJump to searchCatherine of Aragon: An Intimate Life of Henry VIII's True Wife by Amy Licence (view source)
Revision as of 16:57, 23 September 2020
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Catherine of Aragon, the first of Henry VIII's six wives and Queens, was arguably the most unhappy figure during the Tudor era who did not meet her end on the scaffold or at the stake. The cliché 'tragic love story' must be a fitting one in her case.
History has sometimes judged Catherine as a stubborn woman who could have saved herself much heartache if she had surrendered to the inevitable – a rather extreme view. Ms Licence portrays her very much as a victim of troubles (as well as the man often judged to be 'England's Nero') beyond her making, a dynastic plaything who paid the price in an unforgiving age. With its painstaking attention to the background of the Tudor court and the contemporary European diplomatic background, it is unreservedly recommended. The text is complemented with sixteen pages of colour plates, including a portrait of Catherine now in Ripon Cathedral which I had never seen before.
For another account of the end of Catherine's marriage, we recommend [[The Divorce of Henry VIII: The Untold Story by Catherine Fletcher]]; and for a biography of her first husband, [[Prince Arthur: The Tudor King Who Never Was by Sean Cunningham]]. We can also recommend [[In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII: The visitor's companion to the palaces, castles & houses associated with Henry VIII's iconic queens by S Morris and N Grueninger]].
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