Brundage's Big Bag of Books

In this vivid account of the life of Catherine Howard, King Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Catherine tells the story of the blessings and curses of being a queen.  This is a historical fiction account of what her life could have been like.  She is married at the young age of fifteen to the king.  However, by this age she has already experienced a lot and has a lot in her past that she must hide from her husband.  The biggest secret is her love for one of his guards.  She must try to forget this love and focus her attentions on a very aging King Henry.  Her task at hand is to produce the heir that King Henry so longs for.  She fears if she fails her fate will be the same as the queens before her.  However, sometimes in the strive to make everything right people tend to make all the wrong decisions.  Catherine’s life and death show that actions definitely speak louder than words.

I truly enjoyed this book, but I am a big fan of historical fiction novels.  I must admit that after reading this novel the thought of being a queen is not appealing.  When one thinks of being a queen, we often picture great wealth and priviledge.  We don’t picture the life of the women who were chosen to wed  a king who was three times their age, or those who loved another but did not have a choice who they married.  We also never feel the threat of giving birth to a girl instead of a boy.  Yet through the stories such as this one, we can witness what it may have been like to be these fortunate but unlucky girls.

Tags: British History, Love, Romance, social classes, Tragedy