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21st out of 153 books
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39 voters
The Heretic's Wife
Tudor England is a perilous place for booksellers Kate Gough and her brother John, who sell forbidden translations of the Bible. Caught between warring factions - English Catholics opposed to the Lutheran reformation, and Henry VIII's growing impatience with the Pope's refusal to sanction his marriage to Anne Boleyn - Kate embarks on a daring adventure that will lead her i...more
Hardcover, 404 pages
Published
April 13th 2010
by St. Martin's Press
(first published January 1st 2010)
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Couldn't put it down. Found the court intrigue just as fascinating as the Kate's storyline. Makes me want to read some non-fic about this time period in Britain.
Several years ago I purchased Ms. Vantrease’s book, “The Mercy Seller” but just couldn’t get into the story line. Not that there was anything wrong with the storyline, but during that period of my life, I wasn’t reading a lot of fictional books, so trying to make myself read this one wasn’t working.
But then a couple of weeks ago I came across the “The Heretic’s Wife” and thought, “What the heck. The worst thing that can happen is that it’ll end up on the slowly growing pile of books I can’t even...more
But then a couple of weeks ago I came across the “The Heretic’s Wife” and thought, “What the heck. The worst thing that can happen is that it’ll end up on the slowly growing pile of books I can’t even...more
Setting: England and Antwerp during the the reign of Henry VIII (early 16th century)
The main character is a young bookshop proprietress whose family has a history of liberal thinking with regards to religion, a dangerous position when heresy is punishable by imprisonment, torture, and possibly execution. Despite the humble roots of the protagonist, the narration does travel to the English court, though, and to the home of Sir Thomas More. This book offers a very different portrait of the man and...more
The main character is a young bookshop proprietress whose family has a history of liberal thinking with regards to religion, a dangerous position when heresy is punishable by imprisonment, torture, and possibly execution. Despite the humble roots of the protagonist, the narration does travel to the English court, though, and to the home of Sir Thomas More. This book offers a very different portrait of the man and...more
I stopped reading the story because the story wasn't grasping. I expect in every chapter to grasp my attention yet from the beginning it was interesting then around chapter 9 I started daydreaming while reading the book. Its not a bad novel I just think it wasn't for me
Mar 11, 2011
Jodi
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
historical fiction fans
Shelves:
books-about-england,
historical-fiction
Another book set in Tudor England that talks about various people involved in King Henry VIII's time including Anne Boleyn, Thomas More, Thomas Frith, and William Tyndale. Along with all these historical figures, the author included Kate Gough who is fictional. History tells us that Thomas Frith was married but nothing is really known about his wife so the book is centered mainly on Kate who the author has imagined as Thomas Frith's wife. Frith, Tyndale, Kate and many others are fighting for the...more
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A well-written historical novel recounting the political and spiritual tensions of the Reformation. It's not every day you get to read about Henry VIII getting a hand job from Anne Boleyn, after all. The "Heritic" in the title, the legendary John Frith, well...I know nothing of his actual character, but the feminist in me squirmed every time he treated his wife like a fragile child. I get it, this is the 16th century - 21st century gender politics would be completely anachronistic in this book,...more
Tudor England as seen from the point of view of a Lutheran woman who is married to John Frith, a real life martyr to the cause of translating the Bible into English and distributing them in England under Henry VIII. Of interest to me was a new perspective of Sir Thomas More, not as the long-suffering chancellor who becomes a martyr himself rather than aid Henry's mission to break with Rome and establish himself as head of the church in order to divorce Katharine and marry Anne. Here, we see More...more
The Heretic's Wife tells the story of bookseller Kate Gough and her fugitive husband who travel from Paternoster Row in London to a boardinghouse in Antwerp to escape that hunter of heretics Sir Thomas More and his network of spies. John is a bible translator at a time when English translations of the scriptures were considered the devil's work. While Kate dearly loves her husband, she questions his decision to risk his own life for the reformist cause.
Vantrease's storytelling is engrossing and...more
Vantrease's storytelling is engrossing and...more
This book was really amazing. As a lover of historical fiction, especially Tudor fiction, this story brings new life to a well-developed time period. Not only does it share a different perspective of life during the Tudor reign, with new and old characters, it also shows the personal implications of the persecution of Protestants during Thomas More's reign of terror (a topic not usually discussed. usually I see either Henry VIII's penchant for new wives or Bloody Mary's burning of Protestants)....more
It was ok. STarted out strong but I frankly lost interest along the way and started reading something else. I did come back to it and finish it, but I didn't find it gripping. There just wasn't enough intrigue, enough suspense, or enough character development. Toward the end of the book a minor character from the first part was suddenly brought back in, and that seemed very contrived. Finally, I frankly found the plot to be fairly predictable. Since some of the characters were based on real peop...more
Close to 4 stars, maybe 3 1/2! For historical fiction it was a pretty easy read, which was nice in some ways. Sometimes the dialogue bothered me a bit - I kept thinking things should have been phrased differently back then. Contrasting the chapter headings, which were real quotes from the people and characters from the book who were real, didn't meld with the rest of the writing. But like I said, it helped make it an easier read and I really felt like I learned a lot from the time period. Enjoya...more
This story is set in Tudor England while Henry VII is courting Anne Boleyn and reforming the church to fit his needs for his divorce but it mainly follows Kate Gough. Kate is a bookseller who along with her brother, sell forbidden English translations of the Bible. I’ve read many many books about the royal court during this period so I must say it was a change in perspective to see all of the reformation from a common person’s POV. The problem I had with this story is probably one that is unique...more
This was a wonderful story, with everything well-written, entertaining historical fiction should be!
Kate Gough is the sister of a bookseller in Tudor England. Unfortunately, they are also supporters, and, more dangerously, secret sellers, of the new English versions of the bible. Since this is considered heresy, and the zealot Sir Thomas More is burning herectics as fast as he can arrest them, Kate's brother is risking everything.
When he is inevitably arrested, Kate bravely searches the prisons...more
Kate Gough is the sister of a bookseller in Tudor England. Unfortunately, they are also supporters, and, more dangerously, secret sellers, of the new English versions of the bible. Since this is considered heresy, and the zealot Sir Thomas More is burning herectics as fast as he can arrest them, Kate's brother is risking everything.
When he is inevitably arrested, Kate bravely searches the prisons...more
A marvelous read! Brenda Rickman Vantrease delivers intrigue and adventure in a page-turning historical novel that will leave readers questioning what they believe, and what they ought to. The Heretic’s Wife vividly and authentically renders the fascinating world of the Reformation from the viewpoints of historical figures like Thomas More, who opposed it, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who used it to their advantage, William Tyndale, who drove it forward in his English translation of the Bible, an...more
This book could have been a lot better than it was. I was really expecting the main story to be about the Reformation and getting the scriptures translated into English; while this was a big point in the plot, I feel like the story was really about the love story between the main character and her husband. I felt like there could have been a lot more about the struggle of the reformers.
There is a lot of back and forth between characters in this book. Sometimes it was difficult to tell whose poi...more
There is a lot of back and forth between characters in this book. Sometimes it was difficult to tell whose poi...more
This is a wonderful book and a wonderful series. I haven't cried as a result of reading a book in a long time and I think I got quite attached to the characters in this novel. This is the continuation of the story of the people behind the Protestant movement, specifically the translation, printing and distribution of God's written word. I find this topic very original and compelling and a great contribution to historical fiction.
I wasn't sure about this book because it seemed like Christian fiction, and most "Christian Fiction" strikes me as kind of lame, even thought I certainly profess that faith. What we have here is an non sterilized historical fiction with a wonderful message about faith. It felt true to life, and the story was fantastic. I read it on my honeymoon, and it was a perfect book for such an occasion.
This story was wove around the wife of John Frith. Nothing is known of her except that John had a wife. The author chose to have her be the sister to the printer John Gough who was arrested and tortured for selling and printing illegal religious books. Most of the characters in the book were real people and real events.
An interesting read after having read about Tynsdale in a non-fiction work.
An interesting read after having read about Tynsdale in a non-fiction work.
A number of years ago, I read - and loved - Vantrease's The Illuminator. This title? Yeah. Not so much love.
I think I'm just over the saturation of books about Tudor England. And those are tough words because a) I majored in history at university and b) I love me some historical fiction.
The one thing that kept me from giving this book a flat 1 star rating was it definitely caused me to pause and realize just how fortunate we are that we live in a literate society where the written word is so eas...more
I think I'm just over the saturation of books about Tudor England. And those are tough words because a) I majored in history at university and b) I love me some historical fiction.
The one thing that kept me from giving this book a flat 1 star rating was it definitely caused me to pause and realize just how fortunate we are that we live in a literate society where the written word is so eas...more
Having read Vantrease's other books, I had been looking forward to her next effort. The narrative felt a bit disjointed as the author hopped between story lines, but I did enjoy the overall concept of the book, the struggle to get the Bible translated and distributed in the vernacular, and the sacrifices that were made by so many to see that become an accepted reality.
I really liked this book - well written and very interesting. The story takes place in Tudor England and revolves around the lives of booksellers who illegally sell English translations of the Bible. This was the time of the Lutheran reformation and church vs. state battles.
There is history, romance, and adventure - kept my attention to the end.
There is history, romance, and adventure - kept my attention to the end.
As always, I love a good book with a great story that's part history and part fiction. Good look at the reformation years with Luther's aim to bring the word of God to the masses. The people who risked and lost their lives to smuggle these Bibles across England and Europe. A little of Henry VIII and good ole Anne Bolyen and her persistant goal to be Queen. As with history, there can never really be a happy ending but a very good book that did end with a possibiity of a good life to come. Give it...more
Set in Tudor England at the time when King Henry VIII wishes to divorce his wife Katherine and marry Anne Boleyn. It is also the height of Sir Thomas More's attempt to rid England of the translators of the bible into English through arrests, interrogations, and ultimately buring at the stake. John and Kate Firth become targets of Sir Thomas More.
Despite (1) a cover that made me embarrassed to read this in public because it makes this look like a historical romance novel--and there were elements of that; (2) an anachronistically feminist heroine; (3) characters who were almost all either unblemished heroes or villains; (4) a gradual realization that this could be read as (and perhaps even was intended as) a Protestant, anti-Catholic polemic--despite all this I found this to be an engaging yarn that shed light on Reformation-era England....more
Great book! Loved it! It deals with a time period that up until now, I was unfamiliar with. We've all heard the basic history but this really paints a picture I wasn't expecting of the Reformation. There were times when it was difficult to keep some of the characters straight in my mind, but other than that, it captured my full interest from beginning to end.
The Bible is probably one of the most popularly known book in the world. Brenda writes about a time period when printing the Bible in the English language, along with entertaining Lutheranism was a means of labeling yourself a heretic. An excellent book, and a topic not always written about.
I was captivated by the plot (a woman who marries an already exiled "heretic" who is trying to complete an English translation of the Bible) and genuinely interested in how it would all play out (although it did turn out that my earliest predictions were absolutely right on!). I was pretty disappointed by the characterization... I felt like I never truly sympathized with or understood these characters. Therefore, I enjoyed it but never felt absorbed in the story. I absolutely recommend it, espec...more
I really wanted to give this book a 3.5, but since I was forced to choose I opted to give it the benefit of the doubt. I liked the begining and end of the book, but the middle seemed to drag on. Vantrease seemed to loosed the focus of John Frith adn Wm Tyndale and spend too much time with Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. I have read better books about those two and really wanted more of the William Tyndale story, which I consider to be of great import to modern Christianity. I enjoyed the character E...more
For those with a defined interest in the Tudor period, especially surrounding Henry VIII's "Great Matter" and the religious intrigues of that time, this is a wonderful book. Readers without any background or interest in the period may find it slow going. The author has free reign on the life and personality of the main character, Kate, since there are no historical details on her life. With this freedom and the fascinating, and often brutal, historical characters and facts, she has created a com...more
Very good historical fiction. I relearned much about King Henry Tudor, Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas More, and the reformers who were eventually burned for their tireless work to bring an English bible to the masses. The love story was also quite enjoyable and the characters likeable. A good read.
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Brenda Rickman Vantrease (born in 1945) is a former librarian and English teacher from Nashville, Tennessee. She grew up and was educated in the Middle Tennessee area where she graduated with a B.A. in English from Belmont University in 1967. During the twenty-five years she served as an educator in Nashville, she earned a masters degree and a doctorate from Middle Tennessee State University. Bren...more
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“God had saved him from the fish cellar and that could only mean one thing. He had more work to do. (John Frith, p.64)”
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“She is happy, Kate thought. Even in her circumstance, she is happy. Kate almost envied the wounded woman that contentment. Was that what suffering did? she wondered. Place you in such pain that with its lessening, contentment came more easily. (p. 180)”
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1 person liked it
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