The Taming of the Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels) by Philippa Gregory (Epub)

Description

By the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a novel of passion and power at the court of a medieval killer, a riveting new Tudor tale featuring King Henry VIII’s sixth wife Kateryn Parr.

Kateryn Parr, a thirty-year-old widow in a secret affair with a new lover, has no choice when a man old enough to be her father who has buried four wives—King Henry VIII—commands her to marry him.

Kateryn has no doubt about the danger she faces: the previous queen lasted sixteen months, the one before barely half a year. But Henry adores his new bride and Kateryn’s trust in him grows as she unites the royal family, creates a radical study circle at the heart of the court, and rules the kingdom as Regent.

But is this enough to keep her safe? A leader of religious reform and the first woman to publish in English, Kateryn stands out as an independent woman with a mind of her own. But she cannot save the Protestants, under threat for their faith, and Henry’s dangerous gaze turns on her. The traditional churchmen and rivals for power accuse her of heresy—the punishment is death by fire and the king’s name is on the warrant…

From the bestselling author who has illuminated all of Henry’s queens comes a deeply intimate portrayal of the last: a woman who longed for passion, power, and education at the court of a medieval killer.

User’s Reviews

Review “Gregory does her usual excellent job of ratcheting up the intrigue and suspense as another intelligent and strong-willed heroine fights for her life and her legacy.”—Booklist “This novel beautifully exemplifies [Kateryn Parr’s] accomplishments while portraying an honest and emotional woman learning to survive in a dangerous royal court.” (Historical Novels Review)Praise for The Taming of the Queen: “A fascinating history lesson, disguised as a novel, about a wily woman who survives lethal Tudor plots and outlasts a deadly king.” (People (“Book of the Week”))“Who’s ever heard of Kateryn Parr? Henry VIII’s sixth wife was smart, independent—and managed to outlive him. In historical-fiction-queen Gregory’s latest, she’s unforgettable.”—People Magazine “Gregory puts readers at the scene with visceral details.” (Kirkus Reviews)“Full of vivid details and fraught with the constant tension of a court run by a madman, this novel will appeal most to historical fiction readers and those who enjoyed Wolf Hall. . . . Gregory beautifully builds the suspense.”—Library Journal (starred review) “Our obsession with Henry and the Tudors continues unabated.” (USA Today)“Gregory manages to make history lively, fascinating and real, even as she puts her own twist on what readers believe they know. The impeccable research shows in every page, while her wonderfully realistic dialogue and remarkable characters come to life. Gregory is a historian with heart and wit who makes history accessible.” (RT Book Review (top pick))”This wives’ tale takes on a new life under Gregory’s whimsical pen.” (New York Post)“Absorbing. . . Gregory’s portrait of the complex, aging king and his sensual, scholarly bride will satisfy Tudor enthusiasts.” (Publishers Weekly)”This is the book for your mom, your sister, your colleague who sends you awesome links from Jezebel and The Toast. Get this one.”—NPR, Weekend Edition Sunday Praise for The King’s Curse: “Infuses vitality into an oft-forgotten player in the aftermath of the War of the Roses—Margaret Poole, heiress to the defeated Plantagenet clan.”—Closer “Margaret’s story is shocking, deeply moving and offers an alternative view on a much-told tale. Gregory is on form here; her depiction of Henry VIII’s transformation from indulged golden boy to sinister tyrant is perfectly pitched and seems more horrific still when we are made intimate witnesses to the devastation of Margaret’s family. . . . I defy anyone to remain dry-eyed as the story reaches its tragic denouement.”—The Sunday Express (UK) “[A] gripping and detailed chronicle, with plenty of court intrigue and politics to spice up the action . . . . Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Nobody does dynastic history like Gregory.”—Booklist “Gregory manages to keep us in suspense as to what will befall her characters….Under [her] spell, we keep hoping history won’t repeat itself.”—Kirkus Reviews “An illuminating portrait. . . Gregory moves confidently through a tangle of intrigue, revenge, and tyranny toward a shocking betrayal.”—Publishers Weekly “Loyalties are torn, paranoia festers and you can almost hear the bray of royal trumpets as the period springs to life. It’s a bloody irresistible read.”—People Praise for The White Princess: “Bring on the blood, sex and tears! . . . You name it, it’s all here.”—USA Today “This rich tapestry brings to vivid life the court of Henry and Elizabeth. Meticulously drawn characters with a seamless blending of historical fact and fiction combine in a page-turning epic of a story. Tudor-fiction fans can never get enough, and they will snap this one up.”—Library Journal (starred review) “The White Princess features one of the more intriguing theories about the possible fate of the princes.”—The Washington Post Praise for Philippa Gregory: “The queen of royal fiction.”—USA Today “Sexy…Scandalous…Smart.”—Redbook “There’s no question that she is the best at what she does.”—AP “Philippa Gregory turns real-life historical royalty into royally entertaining novels.”—Time “If only grade-school history books were written so vividly.”—Entertainment Weekly “In thoroughly researched, wonderfully realized settings, she can make a period come alive.”—Boston Globe “Gregory … always delivers the goods.”—New York Post “Gorgeous fun.”—New York Daily News

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ There are only two reasons why Katherine Parr is notable in history. 1. She was the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII and 2. she was the first woman to publish in English using her own name. Anyone who knows enough about history and Henry VIII to pick up this book would already know the first fact and many of those readers would know the second as well. While the debate over religion was the hot topic of Tudor England, the issue has been settled for several hundred years and further discussion draws a big yawn from most modern readers.But there were some aspects of Katherine’s life that may have held a contemporary reader’s attention better; Gregory just chose not to focus on them. The author’s note at the end of the novel tells us more about Katherine’s life after Henry and I found that much more interesting. I would like to have read about her relationship with and marriage to Thomas Seymore. They produced a child who was raised by another family. Write about that marriage and that child. Tell me a story that hasn’t been told by so many other writers. Gregory has deep knowledge of Tudor England. Surely she could have put it to better use than to produce this sluggish tale.

⭐ I usually love this writer…I enjoy the historical retelling reimagined and the sexual overtones of her books. The stories are usually enthralling, intriguing and interesting. This was not the case. In fact, very much the opposite. I drug myself through a little over half the book and finally I decided to give up…which I never, never do but I just couldn’t take one more minute of forcing myself to read a book that I didn’t care for. The subject matter was horrid and the religious discussions dragged on and on and the relationship between this Queen and Henry was just revolting. That part was captured perfectly. She has oodles of books way better than this one. Choose one of those.

⭐ While parts of this author’s works romanticize Old England, her presentation of the political is realistic and somewhat appalling. To us today, the political advancement of that time is difficult to comprehend. But it was very real, as history shows.Gregory has a real talent for portraying this time period. Some reviews are critical of the religious tension and change as being dragged out too much. I disagree…..that period of time was dominated by religious change which also created political unrest on an international level. To omit that aspect from this story would pretty much leave behind a rather insipid romance.Extremely well written and developed. The only thing I would have liked to see would have been some inclusion of the life of the queen after the death of King Henry. It was interesting, sad and ironic.

⭐ Kateryn Parr was an amazing woman; in Philippa Gregory’s latest book The Taming of the Queen her story is told in a narrative voice from the point of his proposal up until Henry’s Death. In the author’s note it is also described how Kateryn did live to marry her love Thomas and that she would eventually die trying to give birth to their child.I love Philippa Gregory’s book but this one is a favorite now by far. In it the voice of Kateryn speaks out passionately to the reader and it is almost moving to a point as you follow her on her journey of thinking that a woman’s role is just being a wife and surviving to the realization in and of herself that she has the power to be able to write and study just as any man does specifically for her thisepiphany occurs when she is studying the Word of God.Kateryn goes through hell and back trying to survive Henry the 8th and all his mind games; even to the point of him setting up a fake arrest to scare her into submission as if he hadn’t already by that point; but Kateryn stays strong and survives the marriage with cunning and grace. She was a woman truly out of her time who I believe would have been a great writer if she’d been born in a period with more tolerance for women and their rights.The characters were easily relatable in this book and I found myself cheering them on. In a way Kateryn can be an inspiration for women today. She survived an extremely abusive marriage, raising step-children, living in a royal court, and she did it all while still wanting to study and having a thirst for knowledge that I truly admire. She was also the first woman to publish a book in England.Gregory knocked this one out of he ballpark for me and its a book I will most definitely keep on my shelf.

⭐ Philippa Gregory’s, THE TAMING OF THE QUEEN, was somewhat painful to read. How would any of us react to life under a tyrannical king such as Henry VIII, let alone be married to him?Kateryn Parr was Henry’s 6th wife and barely survived the court’s plots and counterplots, Henry’s murderous tendencies and egomania and mental illnesses.Kateryn was very scholarly and dared to write “original material in English for publication and put her own name on the title page.” She served as regent for a time when Henry went to war in France and she was very motherly to Henry’s three (largely) ignored children.Ms. Gregory’s writing is excellent. Her research is excellent. The book includes an author’s note and an extensive bibliography. There is also a ‘reading group’ guide.Ms. Gregory has opened up a whole new world of historical fiction with her ‘Cousins’ War’ and ‘Tudor Court’ series. I am a big fan.

⭐ Philippa Gregory is an author whose work I not only thoroughly enjoy but wait with great impatience for her next book to appear. Her historical works of fiction, which take an intimate look at the lives of often overlooked as secondary women – those behind, beside and under the throne, if you like, are fascinating. Some I like better than others but this latest, The Taming of the Queen, ranks (in my very humble opinion) among the best.This time her subject is Kateryn Parr, Henry VIII’s last queen and already, at the age of 30, twice widowed. Despite loving another man, Thomas Seymour, when Kateryn is offered the toxic chalice of becoming Henry’s next wife, like any woman Hnery sets his sights upon, she has no choice but to accept.Dismayed at how her future appears to be unfolding as the sixth wife to an arrogant, spoilt and morbidly obese man – a serial killer by any other name – with a propensity to change wives, policies, friendships and even faith as one does underclothes, she determines to make the best of things, even if it means stifling her feelings for Thomas.Uniting the fractured Tudor family is no easy task and yet she undertakes this, feeling sorry for Henry’s estranged daughters from his earlier marriages (Mary and Elizabeth) and his over-protected son, Edward. With no real political or religious convictions, she soon learns that a neutral position, while safe, will not do and sets about to not only educate herself in these matters, but form a very important study circle at the heart of the court, something Henry initially indulges.Clever, Kateryn is soon writing her own religious tracts and debating fiercely with some of the finest minds of the time and those she trusts, all the while her eyes and mind are also focussed on not displeasing her mercurial and hot-tempered husband. What Kateryn hasn’t bargained for is the machinations of those closest to Henry, those who don’t like the influence this wise and wonderful woman has over the sovereign and what this represents to them in terms of the power they currently wield.All too soon, danger stalks Kateryn and the grim realisation that she might soon meet the fate of Anne Bolyen and Katherine Howard faces her.Even knowing this period of history so well, I was spellbound by this book. The challenges Kateryn faces (no less having sex with her husband), the pride she must continuously swallow and what she does to both survive and with her dignity in tact is phenomenal. The tension is wonderfully built and the first person narrative aids this, breathing a different life into this era and this passionate, honourable woman about whom we know very little.In this portrait of Kateryn Parr, Gregory has worked a particular kind of magic, recreating the era, representing Henry as the monster he surely must have been, yet also imbuing him with qualities and insecurities that somehow prevent him from being utterly detestable.Highly recommended for anyone who loves history, Gregory’s work, or just a damn fine read.

⭐ Meh. I enjoy her novels on English nobility, but this one was a disappointment. It read like a tired recitation of the protagonist’s complaints against the Catholic church (and perhaps the author’s). It’s unfortunate that so much fiction today has to hit one over the head with political and social grudges.

⭐ The best, most moving, most scary and touching book of all historical novels of Gregory.I have read each of her historical books and none of them has had such an impact on me. I believe every woman should read this book and think of everything she has known about human rights, about value of life, about where we all come from and who are the women who really have set foot in the door and gave the beginning of rights – to learn, to think, to express independence.Knowing about Kathryn Parr is inspiring. The book is written so well, that I stopped using my car and went only to public transportation, so I could read the book every second free of work.Gregory clearly puts the reader behind the eyes of Kathryn Parr and thus one can feel the fear, the uncertainty, the cruelness and wish to give support to an amazing woman. Further more, there is the story of Anne Askew who is also unknown to the world and she deserves to be recognised.Just recently Gregory announced the results of the ranking of the worst English monarchs and without a doubt this is Henry VIII. Further more I believe every woman would recognise the Henry style in men she has known or faces frequently.There is a lot to learn from a human point of view from this amazing book.

⭐ I had trouble with this one. A big appeal of historical novels is trying to understand the mindset of people who lived so long ago, and realizing that the human experience and emotions is actually not so different. But, 500 years later, it’s tough to comprehend the all-consuming passion around religion. That’s literally almost all that Kateryn Parr and her court seem to think about, and the author beats it to death. Chapter after chapter after chapter. (And when it’s not about religious reform, it’s Henry VIII’s suppurating leg sore — chapter after chapter.) And yet, the author also imbues Kateryn with modern, feminist thinking — it felt anachronistic and more than a little odd. Much is made of her intelligence, but this doesn’t seem to extend to her relations with Henry and his courtiers — until the final chapters, she is continuously blind to (and in denial about) the court machinations and the danger this puts her in. Finally, the book ends with Henry’s death, and there’s no mention of Kateryn’s subsequent life with Thomas Seymour, which would probably have been at least as interesting as her life with Henry.

⭐ I’ve enjoyed the author’s books in the Cousins War series and the series on Henry VIII’s queens. However, through her writings in these series, Ms. Gregory admits her views on the role of women in the 15h and 16th Century evolved into some strongly-held opinions. There’s no problem with that, until she took those opinions and projected them on her characters.Kathryn Parr was a woman who was largely self-taught, became highly educated and was a writer whose works were published. But Ms. Gregory makes her far more outspoken and imputes characteristics to her that simply weren’t there; certainly not during the time in which she lived. Her characterization of Henry VIII through the series of his queens has him evolving into more of a monstrosity than he was — cruel, yes. A tyrant, yes. Suffering from ill-health, yes. But not to the extent portrayed in her books.This story also seems as if the author had to rush it to completion. More time and care seemed to be given to her other novels in the Cousins War series and her earlier works, such as The Other Boleyn Girl. It wasn’t bad. But I’ve seen better.

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