The King's Rose [Hardcover]

Alisa Libby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 19, 2009

Life in the court of King Henry VIII is a complex game. When fifteen-year-old Catherine Howard catches the king?s eye, she quickly transforms from pawn to queen. But even luxury beyond imagination loses its luster as young Catherine finds her life?and her heart?threatened by the needs of an aging king and a family hungry for power. Will their agendas deliver Catherine to the same fate as her infamous cousin, Anne Boleyn?sacrificed at the altar of family ambition?

Engaging historical fiction with a throbbing YA heartbeat, this thrilling novel will draw readers into the intrigues and dangers of the Tudor court.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—Beautiful Catherine Howard, 15, has attracted the attention of aging King Henry Tudor, who is becoming increasingly desperate for a son. His only son, Edward, is a sickly youngster, and Henry is worried about the succession. He has already rid himself of three wives and, now, he finds a way to dispense with his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, so he can marry Catherine. Catherine has been thrust before him by her powerful Howard relatives, and she knows that her role is to keep the king happy, but she has grown up in the morally lax household of her grandmother, the dowager Duchess of Norfolk, and she has secrets in her past that, if revealed, will ruin her. Told in Catherine's voice, the story gains real immediacy as she glories in the excitement and glamour of the court, but soon realizes that she is in great danger. Her love for young Thomas Culpepper overcomes her common sense, and their affair seals her doom. Period activities such as a bear-baiting contest are skillfully woven into the plot. The dowager Duchess and her accomplice, Lady Jane Rochford, are deliciously amoral in their relentless political scheming. One particularly effective scene has Catherine shocked at seeing a portrait of the youthful Henry and realizing how much he has deteriorated. While numerous sexual encounters are part of the political reality, they are subtly handled. A real treat for lovers of historical fiction.—Quinby Frank, Green Acres School, Rockville, MD
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From Booklist

Though well aware of her cousin Anne Boleyn’s fate only four years earlier, 15-year-old Catherine Howard acquiesces with her ambitious, conniving relatives’ plans and marries King Henry VIII. He calls her “my rose without a thorn,” but she is well aware of the thorny secrets she conceals: no virgin when she and the king married, she later begins a sexual liaison at court, partly in a desperate effort to produce an heir. Soon, Catherine begins a downward spiral toward madness and despair. An author’s note separates historical fact from conjecture in this account of Catherine’s short years as Henry’s “rose.” Libby offers a convincing, sympathetic portrayal of a young woman who relinquishes her hopes of marrying for love and finds herself doomed by her choices and deceptions. Hardly an active heroine, Catherine falls into a trap early on and, in the end, has little left but her dignity. This one’s for historical-fiction fans who will appreciate this character study of Henry’s fifth wife. Grades 8-11. --Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (March 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525479708
• ISBN-13: 978-0525479703
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #927,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, and during my teen years spent a lot of time hanging out at the mall, moping, and writing angst-ridden poetry, including a few epic poems about vampires falling in love. But who doesn't, right? Finally I went off to Emerson College to study writing: fewer malls, less moping, and I moved on to bitter love sonnets. Now I've written two books about historical "bad girls" - the bloody Countess Erzebet Bathory and the lustful Queen Catherine Howard. I'm fascinating by the "did she or didn't she?" mysteries surrounding historical characters. But that doesn't mean I won't go back to that vampire epic.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent historical novel about Catherine Howard, fifth wife of King Henry VIII., March 19, 2009

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The King's Rose (Hardcover)

Born into the ambitious Howard family, Catherine has never had much control over her life and fate. Her cousin, the infamous Anne Boleyn, lured King Henry VIII into marriage then met a grisly end. Hoping for a marriage that will benefit the family, Catherine's relatives send her to court in 1540, when she is fifteen. There, Catherine catches the eye of the king, who decides to divorce his current wife, Anne of Cleves, and marry her. Though Catherine would prefer to marry for love, one does not refuse the king, and even if she could, her family is determined to gain power through her marriage.

From the start, Catherine feels like she is living a lie, and playing a part to be the wife Henry desires. He wanted a pure, innocent maiden, and Catherine had a foolish and youthful love affair before coming to court, an event the king must never learn about. Woefully unprepared for the life she must live, Catherine struggles with her own immaturity and the conflicting desires of the king and her family, and is forced to make terrible choices that will lead to her doom.

The King's Rose is a wonderful historical novel for young adults - and adults as well - about the life of King Henry VIII's fifth and youngest wife, Catherine Howard. The author did a good job of bringing Catherine to life and making it understandable why she made the choices she did. Catherine is tragic figure - a young girl, unprepared for the life of a queen, forced into a terrible situation by her family in a time when a young woman had few choices and little right to control her own destiny. I highly recommend this book to readers who are fascinated by the Tudors as well as those who enjoy historical fiction in general.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complex and compelling, December 14, 2009

By 

Basbleu "W.R.C." (Abilene, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The King's Rose (Hardcover)

From the slender threads of what is known about the historical Catherine Howard, Alisa M. Libby weaves a complex and beautiful tapestry of the life of an ordinary girl at the court of Henry VIII. In Catherine, Libby paints the portrait of a teenage girl whose family did not offer her enough guidance, leaving her to stumble into romantic and sexual entanglements at a young age. Once Catherine arrives at the court and attracts the king's eye, however, the powerful Howard family pushes Catherine's indiscretions into the background, making her appear a paragon of virtue. She marries Henry and quickly acquires a taste for luxury. Catherine tries to be a good and dutiful wife and queen, but Henry's age and ill health cannot satisfy her desire for true love. The king's appropriation of Catherine cut short a budding romance between her and her cousin Thomas Culpeper. Culpeper is one of the king's servants, and he and Catherine find themselves constantly thrown together, making it difficult for them to hide their feelings for each other. Meanwhile, childhood friends and an old flame appear at court, creating a licentious atmosphere and threatening Catherine's position and reputation. The only way Catherine and her family can hold onto power is for her to bear a child, but the king appears increasingly impotent. To produce the son Henry cannot provide, the Howard family and Catherine turn to Thomas Culpeper. Other powerful courtiers look to gain from the Howard family's fall, however, and someone reveals the truth to Henry. Depressed and enraged, the king banishes Catherine, who ends up in the Tower of London awaiting her death.
In The King's Rose, Alisa Libby does more than bring the glamorous but sordid Tudor court to life. She also creates a flesh and blood heroine whose naive character finally yields to worldly wisdom, and who has the courage to face up to her flaws. She also offers a more complex version of Henry VIII than the usual Bluebeard stereotype. Despite the book's somber tone, readers will find it rewarding.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bloom of a Rose, September 6, 2009

By 

Deirdra A. Vanduzer "Scarpettajunkie" (Horseheads, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The King's Rose (Hardcover)

The King's Rose by Alisa M. Libby is the story of 15-year-old Catherine Howard and her marriage to King Henry VIII. It is historical fiction written for young adults. Romance is interlaced throughout. The intrigue, vivid description, and clarity of the narration should draw readers of any age.

As the story begins, Catherine is decided upon to be the next pawn for the Howard family to groom in hope of achieving a spot on the throne. Nothing is required of her except her youth, beauty and noble birth. No one asks her if it is what she wants. She is expected to sacrifice everything for the entire family. While Catherine is busy attaining this goal we are entertained by the jewels and gowns showered upon her. Yet the entire time it is constantly stressed what she must say, how she must look, how she must act in front of her king and of how important a goal it is for her to be queen.

The intense pressure to be something she is not and helplessness to go against her family's wishes along with her decent into madness were especially compelling elements of her story for me. The screaming of her handmaidens and the visual of a gaping black hole in the floor which she was being sucked into were quite compelling and stayed with me even though the last page was read. There was also a scene where she thought she saw a ghost but it was her own reflection in a mirror that I found well written.

The King's Rose was a terrific fast read. I can definitely give it my thumbs up. I recommend it for women mainly or anyone who wants to learn more about Catherine Howard.