Much More Than a One Sided Cutout

The Unfaithful Queen: A Novel of Henry VIII's Fifth Wife by Carolly Erickson

Summary: A much more realistic portrayal of Catherine Howard.

I liked this much better than The Confession of Katherine Howard, which told from another’s viewpoint, Katherine’s supposed friend. The view we got of Katherine was that she was colorless, dull, empty headed, and only cared about her own pleasure. I felt little sympathy for her. It was misleading to call the book The Confession of Katherine Howard since we only got one side of Katherine’s story. Fortunately, The Unfaithful Queen is told from Catherine’s point of view. It was a much more balanced portrayal of the unfortunate girl that caught Henry VIII’s eye.

The choice of Catherine Howard as his fifth wife shows how blinded Henry VIII was to her actual person and was in love with an ideal. I know he was trying to reclaim his youth and thought that Catherine would be able to help him achieve that, but she was so young, still a child. I will admit that she shouldn’t have had a lover while married to the king, but it is hard to blame her since Henry was double her age and physically repulsive. Catherine was still a teenager and was just following her heart, just like Henry was doing when he married her. 

Review: A much more realistic portrayal of Catherine Howard.

I liked this much better than The Confession of Katherine Howard, which told from another’s viewpoint, Katherine’s supposed friend. The view we got of Katherine was that she was colorless, dull, empty headed, and only cared about her own pleasure. I felt little sympathy for her. It was misleading to call the book The Confession of Katherine Howard since we only got one side of Katherine’s story. Fortunately, The Unfaithful Queen is told from Catherine’s point of view. It was a much more balanced portrayal of the unfortunate girl that caught Henry VIII’s eye.

The choice of Catherine Howard as his fifth wife shows how blinded Henry VIII was to her actual person and was in love with an ideal. I know he was trying to reclaim his youth and thought that Catherine would be able to help him achieve that, but she was so young, still a child. I will admit that she shouldn’t have had a lover while married to the king, but it is hard to blame her since Henry was double her age and physically repulsive. Catherine was still a teenager and was just following her heart, just like Henry was doing when he married her.

Rating: 

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction or non fiction about the Tudors.