The Queen’s Mistake by Diane Haeger
Who here is suffering from Tudor fatigue? Show of hands please, people. At times it seems like nothing new under the sun can be written about them, particularly during Henry VIII’s reign. But really, although I’m Anne Boleyn-ed out, there IS actually still fresh material in some of Henry’s later wives. I’ve read very little that focuses on Jane or Anne of Cleves. Slightly more studied in historical fiction are the latter Catherines: Catherine Howard and Katherine Parr. I’ve read some about both of these women, but not an overwhelming amount. It can be easy to get bored with Catherine Howard quickly, though. Basic storyline in most books dealing with Katherine Howard: she’s young (younger than Mary Tudor) and Henry *thinks* she is an innocent ‘rose without a thorn,’ but she’s really quite promiscuous, in a vapid sort of way.
Well move over, Catherine Howard cliche, Diane Haeger is here to give us a fresh take on the woman who was Henry’s queen for just over a year. The basic story of Catherine’s life is that she was the daughter of a poor youngest son. Like Anne Boleyn she was the niece of the Duke of Norfolk. Because her family had no money and she was pretty, Catherine was raised by her grandmother, the dowager Duchess of Norfolk. The Duchess’ house was not particularly well supervised and she engaged in some sort of illicit relations with a couple of young men at her grandmother’s house. Eventually her uncle Norfolk took her to court where she caught the eye of Henry VIII as he was in the process of un-marrying Anne of Cleves. Henry made Catherine his fifth wife and was extremely pleased with her for a little more than a year, until news came to him of her promiscuous past, along with allegations of an affair with Thomas Culpepper while she was Henry’s queen. You can probably guess how that went for her, given Henry’s previous marital history.
The great thing about “The Queen’s Mistake” was the character of Catherine Howard. Finally, a three-dimensional Catherine! Yes, she was promiscuous as a girl, mostly out of boredom (and manipulation! that was a very interesting plot point, but I won’t say more about that). Yes, she was a bit naive. But she wasn’t stupid. She understood what the ramifications were of her sexuality and what would happen if she cheated on Henry. She was not a slave to her sexuality either, as so many novelists have portrayed her, but was able to reason and to control her actions. In a word, she was incredibly refreshing.
Not only did I enjoy Haeger’s Catherine, but I enjoyed her writing and the way she told her story, including some of the different interpretations of the actions of those around Catherine. The first thing I did when I finished reading this was go to look to see what else Haeger has written. I honestly cannot wait to read more of her work.
Definitely recommended for fans of historical fiction.
P.S. Come back tomorrow when I have a guest post by Diane AND a giveaway (US only, sorry).
Buy this book from:
Powells.
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.
Amazon.
Thank you to Kaitlyn from NAL, Penguin Group for sending me this book to review.
It would certainly be interesting to collect the best books about Henry’s wives- one for Anne, one for Catherine, and so on. I’m glad this is a fresh take on Tudor England. It’s been getting a lot of attention these past few years!
This one sounds like a winner! I can’t wait to read it!
.-= Julie P.´s last blog ..Review: The Widow’s War & Giveaway =-.
This sounds like a great take on a lesser-known and understood wife of Henry VIII.
And finally a historical fiction cover with a head!
I may be Tudored-out but I just like Thanksgiving dinner, I’ll suffer the pain to have just one more bite.
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..Today’s Read: The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl =-.
I know what you mean about getting a ‘Tudor’ed out these days. I try to stagger all the hist-fic about the Tudors with all the other books I want to read so I don’t burn out
This sounds like another good read. Thanks for the review.
.-= A Bookshelf Monstrosity´s last blog ..Pope Joan Giveaway! =-.
I’m looking forward to reading this one. Earlier this year I read The King’s Rose by Alisa Libby (YA) which was about Catherine as well – I thought it portrayed Catherine somewhat differently than the norm as well. As for Haeger’s other books, I have The Secret Bride but haven’t read it yet and I’ve read Courtesan (Henri II of France and Diane de Poiters) which I really enjoyed.
I have “The King’s Rose” to read soon. That actually made me read “The Queen’s Mistake” sooner so I wouldn’t read them too close together.
This sounds really good. I haven’t read any of this author’s other work either, but her name looks awfully familiar. I just checked LibraryThing and I have a copy of Courtesan. I’m going to have to pick this one up.
Another novel about Catherine Howard that I have had for quite some time and have really wanted to read is The Fifth Queen by Ford Madox Ford. What intrigued me about it was that it was written by a man. It’s rather lengthy at over 600 pages, too. I’m really curious about what he has to say about her.
.-= Literate Housewife´s last blog ..#202 ~ The Tudor Rose =-.
I haven’t read any of her work or any of the portrayals of Catherine but even in the history books it seems that there is a tendency to paint her as clueless. I would be interested in a different perspective as well.
.-= Nicole´s last blog ..This Just In! I Sold Andy Warhol. (too soon), by Richard Polsky =-.
You made a believer out of me. I’ll have to check it out.
I agree – this was a refreshing book! I’m a bit Tudor-ed out as well.
I’m not Tudor-ed out yet. lol. Great review. I’d love to read this one. Too bad the giveaway is only open to US.
.-= Darlene ´s last blog ..Teaser Tuesdays (Oct 6) =-.
I do enjoy historical fiction, but haven’t tried one from the Tudor period yet. Julie P calls it “girly” historical fiction and I’ve never been much of a girly girl.
you’ve convencienced me, i will add this to my wish list.
.-= HODGEPODGESPV´s last blog ..October =-.
I can’t wait to read this one. Great review!
I’m looking forward to reading this book eventually!