Book Review: The Rose Without a Thorn by Jean Plaidy

Born into an impoverished branch of the noble Howard family, young Katherine is plucked from her home to live with her grandmother, the Duchess of Norfolk. The innocent girl quickly learns that her grandmother’s puritanism is not shared by Katherine’s free-spirited cousins, with whom she lives. Beautiful and impressionable, Katherine becomes involved in two ill-fated love affairs before her sixteenth birthday. Like her cousin Anne Boleyn, she leaves her grandmother’s home to become a lady-in-waiting at the court of Henry VIII. The royal palaces are exciting to a young girl from the country, and that her duties there allow her to be near her handsome cousin, Thomas Culpepper, whom she has loved since childhood. 

But when Katherine catches the eye of the aging and unhappily married king, she is forced to abandon her plans for a life with Thomas and marry King Henry. Overwhelmed by the change in her fortunes, bewildered and flattered by the adoration of her husband, Katherine is dazzled by the royal life. But her bliss is short-lived as rumors of her wayward past come back to haunt her, and Katherine’s destiny takes another, deadly, turn.

Of all of Henry VIII's six wives, Katherine Howard stood out -- and still does today -- because she was the least meant for the crown. Catherine of Aragon was essentially born into her betrothal with the English throne, Anne Boleyn had all the intelligence and charisma the position required and more, Jane Seymour knew how to stay in the good graces of a royal husband, Anne of Cleves was a German princess, and Katherine Parr was dutiful and smart. Yet Katherine Howard grew up in what is the female and Tudor-era equivalent of a frat house, impoverished, uneducated, naive, and pleasure-seeking. Once she caught Henry's eye, she was easily taken advantage of by her family and a lusty obsessive king, both parties eager to push her onto the throne. Helpless and naive, she was charmed by the jewels and wealth that royalty had to offer, as the king was by her youth, but just as all women do, Katherine learns that even the most decadent lifestyle has its thorns.

I'm still fairly new to Katherine Howard's story -- I think this is only the third fictional piece I've read about her, and one of them was by the same author. She is portrayed sympathetically for a (refreshing) change, instead of as the ditsy whore who brought her fate on herself; however, her character still commits adultery. To this day, historians still debate if she and Culpeper actually had sexual relations. It's likely that they did; we can tell she was in love with him just by reading her surviving letter to him, and sweet and innocent or not, she had extensive sexual knowledge. What's nice about this book is that at least her infidelity is justified and isn't used to malign her character; she is genuinely in love with Culpeper and her husband is a monster old enough to be her grandfather.

"The Rose Without a Thorn" is thoroughly recommended to anyone who loves the Tudors -- and has some background knowledge of them because of the Henry VII/Wars of the Rosess references -- and is particularly interested in his fifth wife. Just be mindful of the irksome repetitiveness of this book. It generally is Plaidy's style -- and I can say this because I've read around four books by her -- to describe characters in the same way, again and again and again, and reiterate character histories again and again, and use a phrase like 'the Howard look' 8387507 times. A little bit annoying, yes, but her work is still fascinating, and her sympathetic, poignant and romantic portrayal of Katherine Howard makes it worth enduring.

Queen Katherine Howard: common and unjust stereotypes

Catherine Howard: a Quick Profile

• Birth: 1521-1525
• Death: executed February 13, 1542
• Place of residence: Lambeth
• Family: Howard
• Mother/Father: Joyce Culpeper and Lord Edmund Howard
• Marital Status: 'pre-contract' to Francis Dereham in c.1539-, and marriage to Henry VIII 28 July 1540-(annulled) 28 November 1541
• Motto: "No other will but his"
• Signature: 
  
• Succeeded by: Catherine Parr 

Firstly, some speculation: to what degree was Catherine Howard even guilty? The only record we have of Catherine's allegedly wild and sexually illicit early life are the testimonies that were stacked against her, most likely by enemies of her faction, the Howards. It started with Archbishop Cranmer sending a letter to the king informing him that one of the maids (Mary Lascelles) whom she had roomed with at Lambeth had told him that Catherine was no virgin and had been pre-contracted to Francis Dereham. Unfortunately, Catherine had nearly been forced by her grandmother to give him a place in her court which made their relationship look desperately suspicious. They probably were at some point young, in love, and secretly betrothed, but that confession could have been artificial and forced from him. Even so, having previously been in love with a man her age was far from adultery -- what really makes Catherine a controversial queen is her alleged affairs with one of her husband's men, Thomas Culpeper. Surviving evidence we have of this is her love letter to him, but we can't know for sure if they even had sexual relationships before her quick and dramatic fall was spurred on. However, assuming that she had been married to Dereham and that she had engaged in sexual relations with Culpeper, here is a list of common misconceptions against her. 

The Catherine Howard Misconception  

• Catherine Howard was stupid…? I don’t even really know where to start on this. Firstly, next to Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn and Katherine Parr, any typical maid-in-waiting would have looked like an utter bimbo. And typical-maid-in-waiting was exactly what Catherine Howard was, but it’s all relative really and there isn’t enough to know how scholarly or foolish Catherine was. She was an orphan of poor parents and she had to live with a step-grandmother who neglected her — how much of an education do you think she got? But we know by the surviving letter she sent Thomas Culpepper that she could write. She was at the court for less than a year when Henry VIII seized her. Barely knowing the flow of court machinations she was suddenly swept up and put on the throne by her uncle’s ambition’s and a king’s lust, probably at around sixteen. She didn’t ever argue with Henry on matters of religion and state, but she was young and a girl and it was no secret what had happened to her predecessors, so this doesn’t mean she was stupid, carefree and opinion-less — I think it means the opposite!
• Catherine was selfish and frivolous…? As a child she had been poor and neglected, so she was probably delighted when the king began to spoil her. She died the queen of his six wives who had had the biggest wardrobe, the most jewels, but, remember, she had quite a few predecessors to inherit royal goods from. Catherine was a teenager (and God knows, we need our clothes) and I don’t see what’s so disgraceful about having a regal wardrobe when you’re Queen. As for her being selfish, she was, again, a teenager, and becoming less self-centered is a part of entering into adulthood. However, by all accounts she appears to have been generous and loyal, giving positions to the equally neglected and unfortunate girls she had spent her childhood with.
• Catherine exerted poor control over the maids of her chamber...? First things first, most of the women waiting on her were older than her, so bear in mind how awkward it might have been to tell them to sit down and shut up. Secondly, how on earth was she supposed to know how? As I said, she had been at court for less than a year when tables turned and as no more than a child she was made Queen, hardly with her consent. The dormitory she had grown up in was infamously lacking in manners, which nobody taught her, and at night the rooms she lived in famously ran wild without supervision. It wasn’t her fault, and I do believe she understood the authority held by her position and tried her best.
• Catherine Howard was a whore…? By the standard held in Tudor times, yes, she died a whore and traitor. But I don’t believe her relationship as a youth with Francis Dereham was twisted or disgusting. Young love happens, and as a neglected orphan I don’t think she ever imagined in her wildest dreams that she would have become queen, so what was wrong with having a bit of fun and romance, actually being cared for by someone? If you expect her to have said when Henry proposed to her, “Sorry, I’m not a virgin so get lost,” then you seriously need to get a clue because her uncle and ambitious family commanded her every move.
  
  As for her relationship with Thomas Culpepper, I will never, ever call her a whore for it. You’re going to call this a bad excuse for risking their lives, and a very cliche one too, but love makes you seriously reckless. Henry was more like a father/grand-father figure to her and his love grew consistently more sour when she didn’t get pregnant; she needed to take solace some place otherwise the stress and fear of being surrounded by enemies waiting to see her fall would have killed her before the axman got the chance. Bad excuse again? Then just give up reading this because you don’t understand the circumstances. She wasn’t so stupid that she didn’t know the potential, fatal consequences and I really do believe that was a testament to her love for Culpepper, not to how allegedly big of an airhead she was.
• Catherine died a pathetic, graceless little girl…? Whenever I say how deeply I admire her, people give me strange looks. But I truly believe that going to her death she was brave and graceful beyond her years. On the scaffold her speech was graceful and well-rehearsed and she died a courageous and mature woman. 
• Speculation: Henry's thought process regarding her execution... If you love Catherine and think the king was a monster for executing her, then good for you, I feel the same way (even Arthur sent Guinevere to a nunnery, right?!). But I understand his reasoning. First, he might be called a tyrant for it now, but Henry never let go of a chance to show his authority and strength, which is understandable. The fact was she committed adultery and at every court in Europe, if he had spared her, then Henry would have been a laughingstock. Secondly, this was a personal blow to him. Catherine Howard was Anne Boleyn’s direct cousin; this brought back so many harsh memories. He had known in his heart, being very fickle, that Anne and the men who had been slaughtered were innocent, but he was still furious, so imagine how angry he must have been when he knew he had been truly cheated on. Being by then old and obese and sickly, he was already insecure: imagine what this did to him. He picked up his sword and said he would kill her himself.

Book Review: The Boleyn Inheritance

Three Women Who Share One Fate: The Boleyn Inheritance
Anne of Cleves: She runs from her tiny country, her hateful mother, and her abusive brother to a throne whose last three occupants are dead. King Henry VIII, her new husband, instantly dislikes her. Without friends, family, or even an understanding of the language being spoken around her, she must literally save her neck in a court ruled by a deadly game of politics and the terror of an unpredictable and vengeful king. Her Boleyn Inheritance: accusations and false witnesses.

Katherine Howard: She catches the king's eye within moments of arriving at court, setting in motion the dreadful machine of politics, intrigue, and treason that she does not understand. She only knows that she is beautiful, that men desire her, that she is young and in love -- but not with the diseased old man who made her queen, beds her night after night, and killed her cousin Anne. Her Boleyn Inheritance: the threat of the axe.

Jane Rochford: She is the Boleyn girl whose testimony sent her husband and sister-in-law to their deaths. She is the trusted friend of two threatened queens, the perfectly loyal spy for her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, and a canny survivor in the murderous court of a most dangerous king. Throughout Europe, her name is a byword for malice, jealousy, and twisted lust. Her Boleyn Inheritance: a fortune and a title, in exchange for her soul.

The Boleyn Inheritance is a novel drawn tight as a lute string about a court ruled by the gallows and three women whose positions brought them wealth, admiration, and power as well as deceit, betrayal, and terror. Once again, Philippa Gregory has brought a vanished world to life -- the whisper of a silk skirt on a stone stair, the yellow glow of candlelight illuminating a hastily written note, the murmurs of the crowd gathering on Tower Green below the newly built scaffold. In The Boleyn Inheritance Gregory is at her intelligent and page-turning best.


Philippa Gregory's "The Other Boleyn Girl", ridden with biases, historical inaccuracy, and propaganda, is the most infamous novel in any Tudor history buff's world -- and so it was with sincere shock that I found myself actually enjoying TOBG's sequel. The prejudices toward and slut-shaming OF Anne still exist, distinctive as the Boleyn ghost who is created in Lady Rochford's, Anne of Cleves' and Katherine Howard's interweaving stories, but, having been dead for more than three years, she is no longer the focus.

The three stories of the Boleyn 'heiresses' start out strong, as three women, all doomed in their own ways, make their journeys to the dangerous court of Henry VIII. Yet, once Anne of Cleves is divorced and left behind -- so is her story. Directionless, stiff, empty and unconvincing, the reader is reminded WHY Anne is the 'forgotten wife', and her chapters dull out what would otherwise be a fantastic plot. On the other hand, Katherine Howard innocence and childish selfishness make her story all the more tragic, all the more romantic -- and all the more fascinating. Love transforms her from girl to woman, and the age old question is presented -- is true love worth dying for? On the other hand, there is some genius in the split perspectives of Jane Boleyn and K.H. While having two characters tell the same story can be dangerous -- who likes redundancy? no one -- their POVs actually enhance the novel's characterization, with emphasis placed on Jane's dark experience and poor Katherine's sincere naivety. Fast-paced, full-blooded, intriguing and tragically romantic, "The Boleyn Inheritance" is more than a historical flick -- it's almost a psychological thriller.


Statistics
Pages: 518
Publisher: Touchstone
Year Published: 2006
Kylie's Rating: ♛♛♛/♛♛♛♛♛ (3/5 Stars)