Katherine of Valois was born a princess, the daughter of King Charles VI of France. But by the time Katherine was old enough to know him, her father had come to be called “Charles the Mad,” given to unpredictable fits of insanity. The young princess lived a secluded life, awaiting her father’s sane moments and suffering through the mad ones, as her mother took up with her uncle and their futures … futures became more and more uncertain. Katherine’s fortunes appeared to be changing when, at nineteen, she was married to King Henry V of England. Within two years, she gave birth to an heir—but her happiness was fleeting. Soon after the birth of her son, she lost her husband to an illness.
With Joan of Arc inciting the French to overthrow English rule, Katherine’s loyalty to her adopted homeland of England became a matter of intense suspicion. Katherine had brought her dowry and borne her heir; what use was she to England? It was decreed that she would live out her remaining years alone, far from the seat of power. But no one, not even Katherine herself, could have anticipated that she would fall in love with and secretly marry one of her guardians, Owen Tudor—or that a generation later, their grandson would become the first king of the great Tudor dynasty.
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I love reading about history.
I enjoyed the historical aspect of this book. It was laid out in an understandable way. My objection was to the abrupt ending that did not fully complete the story. Unsatisfactory resolution of Owen and the children.
Simplistic language. Appropriate for YA reading.
This story of an actual Queen of England (great-grandmother of Henry VIII) made me want to know more about that period of history. It is a work of fiction, however it was well researched and brought the historical figures to life. Any woman would be able to identify with the title character.
These characters are historic and Plaidy confirms that they’re very interesting. But the repetitions (over and over!) get tedious.
This interesting historical story will help fill in the blanks about the events which eventually led to the beginning of the Tudor royal line in England.
such a good delve into the beginning of the Tudor era
Jean Plaidy is a wonderful historical author. Her subjects are intriguing and because it’s history things don’t change. Sometimes there are no happy endings but if you back and read more about the subject, you will begin to understand why. Jean Plaidy doesn’t get in depth so she is a good author for a first introduction to history (especially British and European history). For anyone who wants to learn about history but doesn’t want tons of boring facts listed in order, this is the author for you to start out with.
Wonderful historical fiction on Henry V wife Katherine after his death and her forbidden romance resulting in the future Tudor leaders. Really enjoyed it and makes me want to read more about her resulting progeny.
Helped me fill in some blanks from the pre-Tudor era.
I read this book in high school a long, long time ago and still remember reading it. The author has a great way with history by making it easy to read and understand.
Love Jean Plaidy books and have read almost all of them. Most of them come in a series and it’s nice to have all of a series before starting. All of her books, however, stand alone and are enjoyable.
Sorry but there’s really nothing I liked about this book and stopped reading it halfway through. It is written mostly in the 1st person, from the point of view of the Queen. But as she begins a t about age 8 and half the book is written as a teen, the book se ms more appropriate for young readers rather than adult. The writing style is so simplistic as to cause one to lose interest. There was no word building nor little development of characters. It is a stream of consciousness account, rather like a young girl’s diary. Not a good example of historical fiction!