Catherine Of Aragon: The Spanish Queen Of Henry VIII (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I usually can't get through an entire biography, but "Catherine of Aragon" by Giles Tremlett was enthralling. It read very much like a novel, so I actually felt I was present in the story. The only thing I wondered is if Catherine played any role in persecuting Protestants. Giles doesn't mention any such role, but I have a hard time believing that she didn't. Perhaps Protestant persecution in England didn't start until her daughter Mary's reign, I don't know.Either way, I really loved this book and look forward to reading more of Tremlett's work! I really enjoyed this book. The book started off slowly and could at times get bogged down in superfluous descriptions. However, I know the author was trying to establish a background for Catherine, Henry VIII's first queen. Because information about Catherine's early years is scarce, Giles Tremlett, a Spain-based journalist, relies on facts about Spain and the Spanish royal family at the time of Catherine to give us a picture of what life might have been like for the first fifteen years of the Spanish princess' life. Combined with the few records that do mention Catherine, we get a good idea of what Catherine must have seen and heard and how she would have lived.The book picks up, however, after Catherine journeys to England to marry Henry VII's oldest son Arthur. Despite the marriage lasting only about six months, the repercussions of those few months would have a greater bearing on Catherine's life and on England in the years to come. After Arthur's death, Catherine is caught in between two powerful men: her father, Ferdinand of Aragon, and her erstwhile father-in-law, Henry VII. Both men try to use her to their advantage when she could prove to be of use and seem to forget about her when she doesn't fit their schemes. Although only sixteen at the time of Arthur's death, Catherine showed the first signs of her strength and character in the seven years spent in limbo, all while combating growing anxiety and possibly an eating disorder. This strength and fortitude would later show itself on a worldwide stage.Catherine, as most everyone knows, did marry Henry VIII, her late husband's brother. Their marriage was happy, passionate, and loving at first. They shared many of the same interests and each was besotted with the other. However, Catherine's string of failed pregnancies and miscarriages--saving one daughter, Mary--did start to take their toll, although not at first. For a while, Henry and Catherine did believe that more children would follow, including the much-longed for male heir to the throne.After about ten years of marriage, however, it became apparent that Catherine wasn't going to have any more children, and the once happy marriage started to have some trouble. The worst was yet to come, however, in the form of a young woman named Anne Boleyn.Tremlett does not paint Catherine as someone who could do no wrong, but rather as an extremely pious, courageous, intelligent, loyal, stubborn woman who was human in spite of her many good qualities. Tremlett seems to think that Catherine could have lied about whether her marriage to Arthur was consummated or not--which even he says the truth of which will probably never be known--but I disagree on that. However, his depiction of Catherine is well done. Readers learn the ins and outs of the years that Catherine spent fighting her husband over whether their marriage was lawful and learn that, while Anne Boleyn's jealously-filled horrific treatment of Catherine and manipulation of Henry (and to some extent Henry's willingness to go along with Anne's callous treatment of his wife and even go along with her wishes so as to avoid her wrath) played a large part in the battle, there were other factors at work, such as Henry's selfishness, stubbornness, belief in the rightness of his quest, and the rising churchman Wolsey.Catherine's steadfastness, loyalty, courage, intelligence, and piety are admirable. How she put up with such treatment for so long and yet met every blow she was dealt with a calculated yet subtle strike of her own is mindboggling at times, but I admire her fortitude. Yet, sometimes she did let things go too far--but she was far more on the right side of things than her husband and his paramour.One of the strengths of this book is that it draws on previously untouched Spanish archives, which adds more information to what is known (or not known) about Catherine's first marriage to Arthur. Another strength is the writing style. It's not hard to read at all, which is good. The chapters are short but strong. There were a few typos, but I'm always going to spot those things since I'm an editor.Great book about Catherine of Aragon. Will probably buy it and add it to my already large collection of books on the British royal family. Catherine is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters in British royal history.(And if you made it this far in the review without giving up, well, brownie points to you. :) )
What do You think about Catherine Of Aragon: The Spanish Queen Of Henry VIII (2010)?
Great book, very well written. Engrossing for a historical biography.
—leo
You need to be a history lover to get through this book.
—KEITA
