Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen

June 15, 2016
The familiar travails of Henry VIII's beleaguered first wife.The author of 14 biographies and 5 previous novels about the Tudors, Weir (The Lost Tudor Princess: The Life of Lady Margaret Douglas, 2016, etc.) brings considerable expertise to her fictional retelling of the life of Katherine of Aragon. Sent to England at the age of 16 to marry Arthur, the sickly eldest son of Henry VII, Katherine was a widow after 4 months--and, she claimed, a virgin. Henry VII did not know what to do with his Spanish daughter-in-law: after his wife died, he thought of marrying her. But she was repulsed: "I will be torn in pieces first," she said. Much more appealing was Arthur's brother Henry, who even as a boy of 10 had "undeniable charm." Weir makes much of Katherine's enduring sexual attraction for Henry, which lasted throughout their 25-year marriage despite Henry's philandering and unspeakable cruelty to her after he took up with Anne Boleyn. Although the novel is well-populated with assorted members of Katherine's and Henry's court, the queen herself is the central focus. Weir portrays her sympathetically as both credulous and steely: she believed unwaveringly that Henry would return to her, even after he spurned the pope and established himself as head of the Church of England; even after he married Anne and bestowed upon her Katherine's jewels; even after he beheaded formerly trusted supporters. "Nature wronged her in not making her a man," Thomas Cromwell remarked about Katherine. "But for her sex, she would have surpassed all the heroes of history." She adamantly refused to swear loyalty to Anne, maintaining until her death that she was the one true queen of England. Although figures closest to Katherine are fleshed out, others (Wolsey; "the great black spider Cromwell"; and even the spiteful Anne) remain shadowy.A vividly detailed rendering of a well-known tragedy.

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Starred review from June 1, 2016
Popular historian Weir (Elizabeth of York, 2013) has recently delved into historical fiction (The Marriage Game, 2014) as well, with very successful results. Her latest novel is the first in a planned six-volume series, each one re-creating the life of one of King Henry VIII of England's six wives. If this impressive inaugural installment is any indication, Tudor lovers have much to look forward to. Katherine of Aragon was, of course, Henry's first queen, the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. The overriding issue when dealing with Katherine is her virginity. She had come to England to marry Henry's elder brother; he died very shortly after. Then Henry stepped up and married her, and their two-decade-long marriage was quite happy, but for one thing: Katherine failed to provide Henry with a male heir. The question he then posed to clerical authorities, which in turn set off the firestorm that became the English Reformation, was this: Was he being divinely punished for marrying his brother's widow? As always, Weir demonstrates a keen eye for crafting dramatic scenes of beautiful, accurate detail, instilling in the reader a vivid sense of being there.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)