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The Sixth Wife

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Newly bereaved, Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII, makes an impulsive marriage early in her widowhood. The dashing Thomas Seymour is not a man to be trusted, given to protecting his own self-interests at any cost. Parr is an attractive match, her funds sufficient to put a smile on Seymour's face, the woman having despaired of ever having children, now in her 30s. But the charming Seymour changes all that, Kate enchanted with the handsome fellow she has married. Perhaps it is Kate's naiveté that leads to her marriage; desired by the sophisticated, charming Seymour, Kate can be forgiven for falling in love, especially after the uncomfortable years with the ailing, cantankerous Henry, avoiding the fate of Henry's other wives through his demise.

At the beginning of the union with Thomas Seymour, it is Kate's friend, Catherine, Duchess of Suffolk, who supplies the sardonic narrative, questioning Kate's motives and innocence in the face of an ambitious, sly husband. The young Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, happily takes up residence with the newlyweds, the thirteen-year-old queen-to-be out of place in Mary's Catholic court. Long a favorite of Kate's, Elizabeth is fresh and curious, not oblivious to Seymour's flirtatiousness. It is Elizabeth's presence in the household that the Duchess of Suffolk questions, as well as Thomas' motives in marrying Parr. To anyone with knowledge of the Seymour's in Henry VIII's England, Thomas hardly stands out as a beacon of loyalty, courage or honor. An attractive, scheming man does not necessarily a good husband make.

History tells us that Parr dies in childbirth, the young Elizabeth the subject of much contention in the Seymour household, coveted by Thomas, protected and trusted by Kate, the girl's grand fate yet to be played out on the world stage, as well as Thomas's end. The problems in the marriage and her own particulars are related by the Duchess of Suffolk, the chapters filled with the duchess's musings, judgments and personal failures. My problem is that the author uses the most cursory details to support her novel, reaching for a kind of intimacy that is unfettered by substance. The lack of detail becomes tedious: "the formidable queen Margaret Beaufort and the sparkling new Spanish one"; "women had had a setback, we'd come through difficult times"; "the locking away of one queen and the execution of the next".

The author makes clear that she chose to write historical fiction in this manner, but I read such fiction for the period details and political issues of the era. Without that background, the specifics of time and place, this is a novel about two women, a love affair and a betrayal, ultimately rendering the story dull. Katherine Parr's tragic life is interesting because she was married to Henry VIII, because she died in childbirth and married a roué with more than love on his mind. History literally defines some characters and their relevance to the times they inhabit. Dunn seems not to appreciate this fact; the result, a novel without spark or curiosity. Luan Gaines/ 2008.

Having recently read five Tudor novels, (my interest being piqued by The Innocent Traitor = a splendid read,) I bought this treatise on the relationship between Catherine Parr, Catherine of Suffolk and Thomas Seymour. The style was altogether too light and historical details few and far between. If I'm reading historical fiction then I need a strong narrative drive and a generous flavouring of recognizable characters. This failed on both counts. I was left with a very dissapointing 'Mills and Boon' aftertaste and the thought that too little thought had gone into this piece of whimsy. Not recommended.

It's rare for me to dislike a book about Tudor England. It's even rarer for me to read a book about Tudor England and feel as if my time was stolen from me. But rare or not, that's exactly what happened when I finished reading Suzannah Dunn's book "The Sixth Wife".

Describing the life of Katherine Parr--sixth and final wife to Henry VIII--after Henry's death, "The Sixth Wife" attempts to explain Parr's marriage to the roguish Thomas Seymour, her ensuing pregnancy (her first), and the misery that happened because of it. While Dunn keeps to a historically accurate timeline in "The Sixth Wife", she takes the creative liberty of throwing Thomas Seymour and Catherine, Duchess of Suffolk, together in an affair.

The dramatic tension in "The Sixth Wife" is supposed to come from the fact that Suffolk and Parr are best friends, with Suffolk betraying Parr in one of the worst ways possible. While that might have worked in another story, or even the story Dunn was trying to tell, it had nearly no effect whatsoever on making "The Sixth Wife" more interesting, nor did it add any depth to the characters. In fact, it merely served to make Suffolk--the narrator of the story--even more simpering and unlikeable than she was at the beginning of the story.

While there can be no denying that Suffolk had a difficult life--sold as a ward to the aging Duke of Suffolk, married by 14 and a mother twice over by 16--Dunn has her do little else but recount the early difficulties of her life throughout "The Sixth Wife". While her unceasing mentions of being a wife and mother when she was a mere child herself are meant to add some kind of depth or meaning to Suffolk, it loses its effect quickly. And despite her own hardships, Suffolk comes off as cold and uncaring and uses her hardships as a crutch to avoid personal responsibility.

One such responsibility is her affair with Seymour. While she claims to feel bad about what she is doing to Parr (while Parr is pregnant and looking to her for guidance, no less), she claims that she cannot help herself, and that Seymour is the only one who can see who she really is. But as events unfold throughout the story, Suffolk eventually comes to despise Seymour and decides that she will do anything to prevent Parr from discovering her affair with him. While Suffolk claims that it is for Parr's sake, it is obvious that it is for her own comfort. When she isn't busy convincing herself that she is trying to protect Parr from the ugly truth, she convinces herself that she deserves to be happy with Seymour because of the difficult life she's endured.

"The Sixth Wife", like the events it's based on, does not end happily. Readers can expect to find Parr descending into a kind of madness after birthing her child (she dies not long after) and being lied to by both Seymour and Suffolk on her deathbed. While the story could have ended there, Dunn spends the last chapter of the story showing what has become of Seymour--currently imprisoned--and the heartless way that Suffolk says the words that she knows will condemn him to death.

I really wanted to like this book; I was excited that Dunn was tackling the life of Parr and not the events surrounding Elizabeth and Thomas Seymour after the death of Henry VIII. In those stories, Parr is always a secondary character, and audiences get to know very little of her. But despite its name, I found "The Sixth Wife" to be no different; while the story did center more on Parr than those that I have previously read, it focused primarily on Suffolk, her emotions, and how Parr looked through her eyes.

This "historical" novel did not have enough good meaty historical information. It just is a very light, flimsy story and left me a bit frustrated because frankly it just wasn't very good. Not recommended.

I was really looking forward to this book, I had read another by this author earlier in the year and liked it quite a bit. And I liked this too, but it took me a bit of time to adjust to the viewpoint and way of speaking in this one.

The book is told from the viewpoint of Catherine of Suffolk, the last wife of Charles Brandon, who was a great friend to Henry VIII. Cathy, completely by coincidence, is a great friend of Katherine Parr, Henry's sixth and final wife, and we pick up the story right after Kate marries Thomas Seymour, going through the last year or so of her life.

I think that's the part I had a hard time with - I'd like to read a bit of a story about Kate's time married to Henry in addition to the time afterwards. We see so much fiction about several of his earlier wives, and if I'm being honest, that's the interesting part about Katherine Parr - that she was married to Henry.

Anyone who reads into the latter wives of Henry probably knows how Kate's life goes...she's married to Henry in his twilight, is nearly arrested, outlives him, marries Thomas Seymour, and dies shortly after giving birth to their child. This book kept me guessing as to how the author would factor Elizabeth I into this story, as she was allegedly involved in a somewhat scandal with Thomas, and it kept me on edge with wondering when that would come into play. Although I didn't love the way it all came about, I have to admit that it was an interesting portrayal into the lives of this family for the short time they were together.

While I didn't learn anything new from this book, I did enjoy the tale. After my initial adjustment to how it was written, I felt it was an entertaining telling of this story, and I really enjoyed having Cathy as our main character and reading from her point of view. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author!

I enjoyed reading this book although I am not quite finished. I expected more of a bite and not so much a tale about a best friend having an affair. It's a good summertime read.

This is the fourth novel about Katherine Parr that I've tried to enjoy. The other three I didn't even finish so I guess that could be considered something positive about this book. It was an easy read.

Unfortunately I found the Epilogue to be far more interesting than the book. I wanted to learn about the life of Katherine Parr and I don't feel like I know anymore about her than before finishing this novel. The story that Suzannah Dunn wrote could be about anyone.

****SPOILERS AHEAD****
The focus of the story is Katherine Parr's best friend Catherine Brandon's adulterous affair with Parr's husband Thomas Seymour. Mind you this affair is completely fictionalized by the author and there were never rumors about the two at the time of Parr and Seymour's marriage. Dunn states the relationship is of her own imagining. What I don't understand is why the author didn't focus on the relationship between Elizabeth Tudor and Thomas Seymour. I think that would have made more sense given that their relationship was supposed to have really happened.
****END SPOILERS****

I also didn't care for the contemporary narration and dialog. It really took some getting used to. It felt completely disconnected from the history of the story and I had a difficult time reconciling the two things in my mind. I also didn't care for the characterizations of these historical figures, especially Catherine Brandon. I didn't find her actions believable.

I have also tried to read the following books about Katherine Parr; The Ivy Crown by Mary Luke, The King's Pleasure by Norah Lofts, The Last Wife of Henry VIII by Carolly Erickson. All without success. There seems to be two extremes, they are either very, very, dry or simple and melodramatic. If anyone can recommend a novel about Katherine Parr that doesn't fall into either category I'd appreciate it. Plaidy counts as very, very, dry in my book.

Although the other reviews were saying that they did not like the book, I however did. I have read several novels set in Tudor England and even though a lot of historial details were left out of this one I still enjoyed it. The storyline in this one kept me interested to find out what would happen next and I finished it in less than a week. Everyone's opionion is different on this one but I liked it!

Considered pragmatic by her friends especially the Duchess of Suffolk Catherine Brandon, twice widowed Katherine Parr became the sixth wife of King Henry VIII, a position not known for its longevity. Perhaps it was the experience gained from being wedded to two much older husbands, bur Katherine proved her practical nature by surviving four years with the elderly monarch until he died, making her unique as the Dowager Queen,. Within a few months of becoming a widow again, Katherine marries Thomas Seymour, whom she was in love with before Henry "exiled" him to Brussels so he could marry her; he since has returned to England and become a confidante of Princess Elizabeth. They have a daughter Mary, but was her last marriage a happy one ponders Catherine as Thomas seems more fascinated with the princess than his once royal wife?

This is an interesting biographical fiction novel that looks deep into the latter part of the life of Katherine Parr, mostly from just after she became a thrice widow. The story is told almost exclusively by Catherine looking back after Katherine has died in 1548 so lacks a historiographic counterpoint as the subject's best friend distrusted her last ambitious husband, who she believed married the "Widow" for her political connections. One interesting side note is that the vernacular used is twenty-first century (explained why by Suzannah Dunn in an afterward) so that purists who prefer Shakespearean English should pass as the idioms are technologically modern; thou who find Shakespeare as "ye olde" English will appreciate the anachronism. Well written, THE SIXTH WIFE provides a fascinating slant on the Tudor age especially life near the top during the five years after Henry's demise.

Harriet Klausner