Customer Reviews

The Rose Without a Thorn: The Wives of Henry VIII

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In this, the final novel in her "Queens of England" series of books, the author weaves a tapestry of political intrigue, romance, and historical detail into the story of young Katherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. A masterful storyteller, the author, who also writes under the name Victoria Holt and has a cavalcade of devoted readers, creates a work of historical fiction that will transport the reader to another time.

The book details the rise and fall of Katherine Howard, a young, impoverished noblewoman of an illustrous family. As a young girl, she was sent to live with her grandmother, the Duchess of Norfolk, where she, unfortunately, fell in with a licentious group of retainers and became ensnared in two unsuitable affairs of the heart. Little did she know that they would serve to haunt her a way she could never have imagined.

An opportunity, orchestrated by her Machiavellian and ambitious uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, arises for the beautiful, though foolish, Katherine to go to the Royal Court as Lady -In-Waiting to the fourth wife of Henry VIII, the kindly Anne of Cleves. Katherine obligingly goes. There, she falls in love with her cousin, Thomas Culpepper, a gentleman of the King's Bed Chamber. Her hopes of marriage to her handsome cousin are soon dashed, however, when she catches the wandering eye of the King, who loathes his current wife.

Having charmed the King and having little say in the matter, Katherine becomes his fifth wife, once he divorces Anne of Cleves. Katherine's initial happiness as Queen is cut short, however, when her lurid past comes to light and is brought to the King's attention. This, coupled with her indiscretions with Thomas Culpepper, are enough to abruptly terminate her brief reign over England as its Queen and cause a number of heads, including hers, to roll.

This is an intriguing blend of fact and fiction, which is laced with enough historical detail to satisfy those readers who enjoy historical fiction. It is with good reason that the author has a legion of devoted readers.

I recently bought this book along with Lady in the Tower, the other new Plaidy re-release. This shorter volume tells of Katharine Howard, the cousin of Anne Boleyn who also became queen of England and who also shared a similiar fate. Katharine is born into an impoverished branch of the Howard family, a very noble English family that is also very stable at court. When her powerful Grandmother comes to visit their meager country estate, Katharine intrigues her Grandmother and is whisked off to live at her Grandmother's large and beautiful estate. While there, her Grandmother neglects her and Katharine gives into the daring acts of the girls who work in the estate who share her bechamber. Katharine befriends her music teacher, Mannox, and invites him into her bed at night. The affair ends fast and one Francis Weston comes into Katharine's life. However, this ends once Katharine's Grandmother comes upon Francis and Katharine frolicking upon a parlor floor. Around this time Anne Boleyn is crowned queen and so the entire entourage and family moves to the Lambeth estate on the Thames River in London. Now Katharine falls for her own cousin, Thomas Culpepper. However, Katharine's powerful uncle has plans for his neice and finds her a place in Anne of Cleves short-lived entourage (Anne Boleyn has hence forth been executed and Jane Seymour has died). Henry VIII begins to notice Katharine and after demissing his marriage to Anne of Cleves, he courts Katharine and soon she is thrust onto the same stage her older cousin came upon a decade or so before. Katharine is wedded to the king in a short ceremony and soon begins her short reign as Queen of England. However, when rumors of her past affairs come back Katharine finds herself in danger. Franics Weston comes to court, as does Mannox, bringing back haunting memories that could cost Katharine her head. But when Katharine commits adultery with Thomas Culpepper one night, her fate is sealed. Henry, in his first happy marriage in decades, is brought the horrible news by those insanely jealous of Katharine's new fame and the Howard's rising fortune (even though they were already very dominant and had more power than the Tudors). Katharine is guilty, as are her lovers, and all are brought to the block or the gallows. And even on the scafold Katharine declared "I die a queen, but I would rather die the wife of Thomas Culpepper". I loved this book and found it highly enjoyable. I find it no wonder that Jean Plaidy is acclaimed a sone of the greatest historical fiction writers ever. A haunting and compelling story full of intrigue and unexpected twists and turns, Katharine's story was a short lived one that is often overshadowed by her cousin's story, but is just as interesting.

Katherine Howard, the young and pretty fifth wife of Henry VIII (and cousin to Anne Boleyn) is the subject of one of Plaidy's last novels, written in the style of The Lady in the Tower.

Katherine, through the aid of a scribe (she was not greatly educated), tells her life story. Born into an impoverished branch of the great Howard family, she is sent to live with her grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, and it is not long before her good looks and bad company begin to get her into trouble. When she is given a place as a lady to Anne of Cleves, her family attempts to use Henry VIII's infatuation with her to serve their own interests.

The Rose Without a Thorn is a very moving and intelligent historical read. Readers see how the young, foolish Katherine goes from the Queen of England to a prisoner when her past comes back to haunt her and she is also charged with adultery. Most likely to add more validity to the love story with Culpepper, there is a small historical inaccuracy at the end...Katherine did not actually say that she would rather die the wife of Thomas Culpepper than as a queen.

However, a wonderful page turner. I was actually moved to tears at the end.

I really enjoyed this work. It was fun to read about one of Henry VIII's less known wives. However, as this was my first Plaidy work, I was taken aback at how vain and shallow Katherine was portrayed.

Throughout the book, I wondered if my dissatisfaction with the main character of Katherine was because of the writing or because of the character herself. When I reached the end and reviewed the Book Group notes, I was relieved to see that this was definitely the author's intention, as Katherine was referred to as a "bimbo." This was further validated by a little Internet research too. Plaidy deftly captures the period, with its scars and intrigues.

Not one to start a Plaidy collection with, but a very good read.

I read this book immediately following Philippa Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritance, which made sense seeing as they both cover the same characters. You can see my review of Gregory's book here. I liked reading them back to back in order to get a more well-rounded view of the character of Katherine Howard.

Plaidy's Katherine is looking back on her life retelling all of the events that have led up to her present state of confinement. You even get some little side notes like "if I had only known" or "I would have done that differently". It's refreshing to see someone of that time period recognizing their faults, but I'm not sure that, in reality, Katherine actually realized what was happening. Plaidy makes Katherine likeable, naive, and comes of age very quickly at a time when one needed to fully understand the world around them. I actually enjoyed Katherine in this novel, where as in some other books, she is whiny, overly sexual, and just unlikable.

This was my first Plaidy read and it definitely made me a Plaidy follower. Her characters feel very real and there are so many little details about the world around them that you don't get sometimes in other books. A wonderful read.

Jean Plaidy is by far my favorite historical fiction author. She has a style that is both infomative and addicting. She is able to put a familiar face on a woman that lived so long ago and make you feel like you know her on a personal level. The Rose Without a Thorn is a 260 page novel that's written from the perspective of Katharine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife, and his second to lose her head.

Katharine was raised in the household of her grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. She was taken into the households of Horsham and Lambeth at 10 years old because he parents were too poor to give her a proper upbringing. She was enchanted by her music tutor, Henry Manox and had a fairly innocent love affair with him. Katharine meets Francis Dereham soon after casting off Henry Manox. She starts her relationship with him at age 15, right after the death of Jane Seymour, who was Henry VIII's third wife. Francis Dereham and Katharine swear to marry each other. They are soon discovered by her grandmother and he is banished and leaves for Ireland. She receives a place at court with Anne of Cleves at age 18. Dereham returns not long after and she dismisses him and their relationship as "child's play." There is talk of betrothal between her and her cousin, Thomas Culpepper. When she enters court, she befriends Jane Rochford, who is still something of a paraiah after the execution of her husband and sister-in-law. She catches the eye of the king when she is forced to sing at a banquet. Henry has his marriage to Anne of Cleves annulled and makes Katharine his new wife. After becoming queen, Katharine is blackmailed by one of her grandmother's former ladies, Joan Bulmer. Joan threatens to tell of Katharine's indiscretions when she was at her grandmother's unless she gets a place as a lady in waiting. Soon after Joan joins Katharine's household, Henry Manox returns and is given a place with the court musicians. Dereham then returns and is appointed Katharine's secretary. The king leaves on a campaign to restore peace in the northern territories and while he is gone, Katharine starts up her affair with Thomas Culpepper, who is she totally in love with, with the help of Jane Rochford. Katharine is charged with treason for her early affairs and lying about them to the king. Three ladies from her grandmother's house all testified against her - Joan Bulmer, Kathryn Tylney, and Mary Lassels. Dereham and Culpepper are executed for their affairs with Katharine. Before her execution, she asked to have the block brought to her so she could practice and the next morning, lost her head for being a wanton woman. Too many lover, too much to hide.

This book is next in Plaidy's Queen's of England series, if you were reading in historical order, behind Lady in the Tower.

I first read of Catherine Howard in Phillipa Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritence, which was a good book also. But I prefer Plaidy's Catherine over Gregory's any day.

First I'll say that Plaidy shows Catherine as a product of her environment, a girl who never really had a chance. She was sweet-natured, loving, forgiving and just happy. This may have caused her to act foolishly, but Plaidy made her foolishness more organic than Gregory ever did. Catherine in this book was more unlucky to me than just plain stupid. I don't think it's really fair to call her stupid when she was never really taught.

In contrast to Gregory's Catherine, Plaidy shows her from her earliest childhood years to the very end. I felt that Plaidy made her a bit more fleshed out, more real, human; instead of an air-headed bimbo with nothing to care about but clothing and jewelry. Plaidy almost made Catherine Howard seem intelligent.

Catherine here is seen to pay even some attention to her surroundings. Unfortunately when she tries to join in on a conversation she is told to remain silent and treated like she's nothing more than a chair in a room. I felt that she was treated like a child the entire way through the book until she became Queen of England.

I also felt that Plaidy made Henry more likable here. He's shown to be a sweet older man, until he becomes angry, but with Catherine he's like a grandfather, with sweets. Because Catherine isn't so concerned with politics this book shows a softer side of Henry missing in other books I've read about him.

Unfortuantely Catherine's past comes back to haunt her in a way no one thought it would. It ends with her death and the death of two of the men who truly loved her. I also felt that Plaidy showed Henry's huge disappointment with his choice rather well.

I'd highly recommend this book if you want to know more about Catherine Howard and her affect on the aging King Henry.

Katherine was a young girl, very lovely in the manner of Ann Boleyn (she is also her cousin) whose strength was also her downfall. She appealed to Henry VIII - who just has divorced Ann of Cleves - because she was everything that Ann was not. Fair, pleasing and not very clever. She is used as a pawn by her uncle - Duke of Suffolk to get back the power from the Seymours who have the King's favour. She goes along with it - with some misgivings because of her past which is chequered to say the least. I felt that she probably made Henry most happy of all his wives. When the dark clouds of Katherins's unsavoury past start clouding over, there is a place where you think that both Henry and Katherine are pawns of the men around them- for if they had met, he surely would have forgiven and taken her back. It leaves you wondering, about Henry VIII, about the follies of youth which some commit and grow beyond... A very absorbing tale, if a little sad ...

I was told to read this book as I love anything about history especially the tudors so when I did read this book it was like stepping back in time. It had a real feel to it..as if you were with Katherine Howard all along.

I love Jean Plaidy, I've never made any secret of that fact, and I found that she does a fabulous job of articulating what I've always thought about Katherine Howard, Henri VIII's ill fated fifth wife. The writing is as masterful as always, and even if you're familiar with the tale of Katherine Howard, I think you'll find yourself wrapped up in this book. The story starts out with Katherine talking to her friend, the scribe, and it is all presented as the story she is telling to the scribe in the days leading up to her death.

Katherine is portrayed as a mostly thoughtless girl who lives entirely for the present, which is totally how I've always thought of her. Time and time again she says something along the lines of "why didn't I think about what this would mean for the future?" And also mentions how she should have thought more about how her actions were so in line with what had sent her cousin, Anne Boleyn, to the scaffold. At one point, Katherine even says that while she believed her cousin to be innocent, she knew she herself was not.

Although this story is not a new one to me, it was presented in a new way in that Katherine knew her actions were dangerous and she gave in to them heedless of the consequences. She was almost noble at times, wanting to protect Thomas Culpepper as much as she could and refraining from saying anything that would implicate him in any way. With that in mind, it's very sad to me that she did what she could to protect him, but didn't seem to be trying to protect Francis Derehem in any way. I mean, what if she had told them that there was a pre-contract? Would it have saved all their lives?

I loved that Plaidy shows Katherine's regrets, even though some of them may be misplaced, and in her way she even tries to make up for her past indiscretions. What is extra interesting to me is that if Katherine lived in today's society, she would have been a pretty normal girl. She just had the misfortune of being born in the wrong time, and catching the eye of the wrong man.