Books

by Philippa Gregory

I actually started this last year but finished it on the plane home from our European Christmas vacation. I don't think I'll be seeking out other P. Gregory books though I can certainly see myself picking one up on a whim.

This one was about Queen Katherine of England, a.k.a Caterina, Infata of Spain, the first wife of Henry VIII. The details of her life are fascinating, but the fictionalized account of her relationship with her first husband, Prince Arthur, the trials of her seven year waiting game to remarry the young Prince Harry, and the subsequent early years of her reign as Queen of England seemed a little formulaic. I would have also been interested in reading more about the split final split with King Henry VIII though that would have made a much longer book. And, the final scene, Katherine standing proudly before a court, defending the supposed lie she told to secure her throne, fit nicely with the overall theme of the book as reflected in the title.