Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Nov 11, 2011

Hannah rated it:

Katherine Howard has always been my least favorite of the wives of Henry VIII. She lacked the royal dignity of Katherine of Aragon, the wit and sophistication of her cousin Anne Boleyn, the quiet calculation of Jane Seymour, the sweet (yet canny) acceptance of Anne of Cleves, and the mature calm of Katherine Parr. Katherine Howard was little more then a uneducated, teenage nitwit. The fact that she was uneducated was completely out of her control. The fact of her youth is more an indictment More...

30 comments like (14 people liked it)

Feb 25, 2011

ToniS rated it:

This is the first Jean Plaidy book that I have read. The story is told from the perspective of Katherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry the VIII. I picked it up after watching season 3 of the The Tudors, where she is introduced. I realized I knew nothing about her and thought the way she was portrayed was totally scandalous and I needed to know more! This book isn't quite as titillating as the TV show, of course, but it is probably closer to the truth.

I found the writing very repet More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2011

Harmonybites rated it:

"Rose without a thorn" is what Henry VIII called his fifth wife, Katherine Howard, a callow teen when he married her. The prologue already begins with her in the Tower and sure she's about to suffer the fate of her cousin and predecessor, Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded by Henry. Katherine asks a woman with her to set down her story so she can better understand what led her to this point--the conceit of the novel that what follows is the story of her life as told to this lady.

More...

8 comments like

Dec 26, 2010

Linda rated it:

From the start, Catherine Howard didn't stand a chance of survival in Henry VIII's snake pit of a court.

Unlike Catherine of Aragon, she lacked depth of spirtual quality; unlike her clever, quick-witted cousin Anne Bolyen, she lacked savvy; unlike Jane Seymour, she lacked grace; unlike Anne of Cleves, she lacked the ability to sit quietly and learn the strange customs of a court filled with political intrigue and danger.

A mere child when she arrived at her grandmother's lax ho More...

1 comment like

Sep 03, 2010

Marci rated it:

I've long known the history of King Henry VIII of England--he and his many wives. (Think "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Ha!)The most well known to me was Anne Boleyn, his 2nd wife. Most probably from the movie ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS, with Genevieve Bujold and Richard Burton. Anne lost her head over her husband, quite literally. I did not, however, know very much about Henry's 4th wife, Anne Boleyn's 1st cousin, Katherine Howard. I did know she met much the same More...

0 comments like

Dec 08, 2011

Rio (Lynne) rated it:

When I saw this book at the library I thought it might give me some new information on Katherine. I know of her life at court and what brought her downfall, but was hoping for a new look into her childhood and what made her make the decisions she made. This is also my first Plaidy novel. This book was not fluffy, but not heavy either. I felt it was accurate, from Kat's poor upbringing due to her great-grandfather fighting for Richard III, to her moving into her aunt's house where there was littl More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 13, 2011

Sharon rated it:

Katherine Howard grew up in an impoverished family. Her father was often away at Calis. Her overwhelmed mother died young. Katherine, one of eight children, had little education or direction. The Duchess of Norfolk (Katherine's grandmother) favors Katherine and offers her a home. At least, now Katherine has regular meals and adequate clothing. She is instucted in music-the virginals.

In the years that follow, Katherine becomes romantically involved with Henry Manox, Frances Derham, a More...

0 comments like

Jul 29, 2011

Mirah rated it:

I really enjoyed this Plaidy book about Katherine Howard. In this version Katherine is portrayed as the lovable one of the Howard family whose primary fault is giving away her heart too easily. At times I was annoyed by her but most of the time I felt bad that she was born into such a cunning and manipulative family. I liked that it is told in hindsight and Katherine acknowledges throughout the story where she might have gone wrong and what she could have done differently. I liked both Franc More...

0 comments like

Mar 07, 2009

Lauren rated it:

This is a short novella about Katherine Howard, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Jean Plaidy does a good job of getting across that Katherine was a ditzy teenager with poor supervision and lax parenting who inadvertently captured a king. She was a pawn of her powerful uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, but little loved by her family. Her downfall was of her own doing - she was unfaithful to a vain, violent, vengeful king who had already murdered one wife. Yet, Katherine is a sympathetic character, yoked More...

1 comment like

Dec 21, 2009

Kathy rated it:

I picked this up with some trepidation because I somehow identified Jean Plaidy with romance writers and because I have been burned by historical fiction too often in the past. How lovely to be wrong. The Rose herein is Henry VIII's fifth wife, a naive but lively girl named Katherine Howard. Plaidy has her dictating her life to a scribe in the days before her execution, with an addendum by the scribe of her final moments. This Katherine seems frank and truthful, neither excusing herself nor taki More...

0 comments like

Oct 19, 2010

Jillian rated it:

This book was pretty good. It told the story of Katherine Howard, Henry VII's 5th wife. Jean Plaidy told the story a bit differently from other writers that write historical fiction about this time period and did not focus much at all on Katherine's relationship with Thomas Culpepper. In fact, this novel gave the point of view that Katherine was enamored with the King and did not emphasize Katherine's obsession with clothes and jewels as Philippa Gregory did in her novels about this time peri More...

0 comments like

May 27, 2010

Page (One Book At A Time) rated it:

I read quite a few of the books by Jean Plaidy in the Queen's of England series when I was younger. They're hard to come by since they are out of print. I decided to collect the rest (still missing one) and catch up on my royal reading. I'm hoping my feelings for this book have more to do with the fact that I've read a better one about Katherine Howard than I may no longer like the writing style. It started out fine, although I was a little disgusted by the way Katherine was allowed to behav More...

0 comments like

Jul 08, 2011

Claire rated it:

Really enjoyed the story of Henry VIII's 5th wife, Katherine Howard. It is historical fiction so I know the story may not reflect the truth in its entirety. However I do appreciate the interesting picture it paints of the dangers of Court life during that period. Fortunes of families and individuals could be changed so rapidly depending on the monarch's favor. To be at the mercy of such whimsy must have been agonizing. The author did a great job of portraying what that must have felt like. More...

0 comments like

Apr 22, 2010

Melodee rated it:

I didn't like this book as much as some other similar historical fiction I've read. It told the story of Katherine Howard, another of Hnery VIII's wives. I much preferred the book about Anne Boleyn to this one. Maybe I am getting tired of the first-person narrative by someone at Court who feels caught up in something against their will. I think the premise has been overdone. It was a pleasant read, interesting in the historical details, but repetitive. I really had little sympathy for Kather More...

0 comments like

Apr 02, 2011

Lianne added it

More Tudor tales. A little different tone and approach than Phillipa Gregory's series. More conventionally written from a static point of view as a memoir by Katherine Howard's scribe. Katharine was #4 of Henry's wives, the youngest and most innocent. Yet her exasperating shallowness and nieve nature get tiresome so it's hard to feel ultimately sympathetic on her behalf. The Gregory novels are more lively.

0 comments like

Aug 10, 2009

Heather rated it:

I read this book immediately following Philippa Gregory's "The Boleyn Inheritance", which made sense seeing as they both cover the same characters. I liked reading them back to back in order to get a more well rounded view of her character.

Plaidy's Katherine is looking back on her life retelling all of the events that have led up to her present state. You even get some little side notes like "if I had only known" or "I would have done that differently". More...

0 comments like

Jun 22, 2009

Ashlee rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Feb 21, 2011

Heather rated it:

This short Plaidy novel portrays Katherine Howard not as a vapid ninny or wanton hussy, but as an earnest and unwitting pawn, a very sweet girl but also very very dumb. It makes the story even more tragic, because you can't really fault her for taking her one opportunity to be valued for herself when she can't grasp complexities or consequences. In this story she's a victim of fate, doomed from day one, but she found her own kind of peace in the end.

0 comments like

Jan 01, 2009

Annie rated it:

I actually really liked this book. Jean Plaidy has written numerous historical fiction books. This one is about Henry the VIII's 5th wife. Definitely will be reading more of her works.

0 comments like

Feb 18, 2009

Katrina rated it:

I usually love Jean Plaidy books, but i am finding that historical fiction is sometimes a little dull to read; mainly beacause you already know what is going to happen.

0 comments like

Apr 12, 2009

Michele rated it:

This is the first book I have read about Katherine Howard. It was very interesting but I look forward to find other books with more actually history in them.

1 comment like

Dec 06, 2008

Debany rated it:

I usually like historical fiction but I had a really hard time getting in to the story. The book isn't that long but it took me 3 weeks to read.

0 comments like

Jun 03, 2011

Crystal rated it:

I love Jean Plaidy, I’ve never made any secret of that fact, and I found that she does a fabulous job of articulating what I’ve always thought about Katherine Howard, Henri VIII’s ill fated fifth wife. The writing is as masterful as always, and even if you’re familiar with the tale of Katherine Howard, I think you’ll find yourself wrapped up in this book. The story starts out with Katherine talking to her friend, the scribe, and it is all presented as the story she is telling to the scribe in More...

0 comments like

Dec 14, 2008

Jaimie rated it:

I would like to research and find out how true this story was. I really enjoyed it though, it was a good read.

0 comments like

May 05, 2009

Ashley rated it:

Gives a great (though absolutely fictional) spin to the life of Catherine Howard. Kind of makes you wish it were true.

0 comments like

Feb 27, 2009

A. Joyce rated it:

Jean Plaidy blows me away with her stupendously prolific output-- and they're all really good!

0 comments like

Feb 06, 2011

Nancy rated it:

A historical fiction account of Katherine who married kind Henry VIII and of course is beheaded.

0 comments like

Oct 26, 2009

Emily rated it:

it seems Katherine Howard was one of the least interesting queens, and a dolt. This book didn't stir much sympathy for her.

0 comments like

Feb 02, 2010

Linwe rated it:

Lively novel of Katherine Howard, less attention to historical accuracy, but enjoyable.

0 comments like

Mar 13, 2009

Nancylovemyrick rated it:

These books are fast easy reads that are interesting. Good beach books.

0 comments like

reviews