Publication
New York : Simon & Schuster, 2006.
Collection
Call number
Fiction G
Physical description
393 p.; 21 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
Daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Katherine of Aragon has been fated her whole life to marry Prince Arthur of England. When they meet and are married, the match becomes as passionate as it is politically expedient. But tragically, Arthur falls ill and extracts from his young bride a deathbed promise to marry his brother Henry, become Queen, and fulfill their dreams and her destiny.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member riofriotex
The Constant Princess is about Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII. Gregory takes a real-life mystery and builds a story around it. With Katherine, the question is whether or not her marriage to Henry's older brother, Arthur (who died within five months of the wedding), was ever
I really enjoyed this book, and plan to read more of Gregory's Tudor England series of historical fiction.
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consummated. Gregory takes a stand on what really happened and builds her case in her stories, creating a believable argument with her use of period details as well as historical and biographical facts.I really enjoyed this book, and plan to read more of Gregory's Tudor England series of historical fiction.
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LibraryThing member PuddinTame
I will admit up front that I am not a Philippa Gregory fan. True fans may wish to skip this review altogether. I do read a lot of history and historical novels about this period, and I was intrigued as I flipped through the pages and read about the confrontation between Katharine and Margaret
I disliked The Other Boleyn Girl, but at least I didn't become as bored as I did by this novel. There are a few effective and historical incidents: Henry VII's gift of jewelry to assuage Katharine's homesickness, her refusal to state an opinion on going to Ludlow, her false pregnancy, etc. Gregory shows Katharine as the pretty young girl and shrewd woman she probably was. The beginning, at Grenada and Gregory's revisionist view of Katharine and Arthur's marriage are both interesting and intriguing. For the most part, however, the book is entirely too interior, too focussed on the private and Katharine's very repetitive thoughts. Clearly, Gregory is partly trying to explain Katharine's adamant refusal to allow her marriage to be dissolved, but I don't need to be retold the same thing every tenth page. Too much is told and not shown: we are told of Queen Elizabeth's kindness to Katharine, but we don't see it. We are told that the Duke of Buckingham gave Katharine gifts of food when she was in dire straits, but we never see him showing up at her home. Moreover, since the book leaps from 1513 to 1529, the trial at Blackfriars, I hope the reader is familiar with The King's Great Matter, because there is almost no explanation here. I don't mind that the book ends here, there have been so many other books, but there may be some readers who have no idea what is going on. Maybe one could read the first two parts of the book, switch to The Other Boleyn Girl, and then switch back when it gets up to the trial, and then resume reading it after this.
One problem with the book is that except for the longing for a child, there is only ever one thing happening in Katharine's life at a time: from Fall of 1511 until 1513, for example, the only subject of the plot is the looming war with France and Scotland. This is the period when Katharine's dear friend Margaret de la Pole was created Countess of Salisbury, a title held by her Yorkist forebears (perhaps with Katharine's encouragement?). The book establishes Katharine's sad plight after Arthur's death, and then skips forward to Henry VII's death, leaving out such interesting events as the meeting of Henry with Katharine's sister Juana and her brother-in-law Philip. Katharine would later be involved in Henry VII's attempt to marry the widowed Juana (over the vehement objections of Ferdinand). It omits, except by allusion, the marriage of Princess Margaret to James IV of Scotland and the proxy marriage of Henry VIII's sister Mary to Juana's son Charles, as Philip and Henry plot to combine against Ferdinand. So much going on that could have been described, and we have endless repetitions of Katharine's belief that she is fated to be Queen of England! By skipping from 1513 to 1529, we miss Henry's bout with smallpox (very worrisome to the still childless Katharine, wouldn't you think?), the switch to an alliance with France, sealed by the marriage of Henry VIII's sister to Louis XII of France, accompanied by rumors that Henry meant to set aside Katharine and marry a French princess. Mary Tudor was a loyal friend to Katharine, and her dramatic secret marriage to Charles Brandon after being widowed (with Katharine perhaps pleading that they be forgiven?) is completely absent. Katharine nearly caused an international incident by persuading Henry to break his vow not to shave until he met Francis I of France. We miss the birth and rearing of Katharine and Henry's daughter Mary, the birth and ennoblement of his illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, the rumors that he will replace Mary as Henry's heir. How can the life of Katharine of Aragon become so dull?
I am not bothered by the assertion that Katharine and Arthur's marriage was consummated - when her marriage to the future Henry VIII was proposed, the English stated in their petition to the Pope that it was, and the Spanish claimed that it wasn't. (The Pope was not amused.) I'm willing to accept the premise as the basis for the story. It really only mattered because Henry later made the ad hoc claim that the Pope couldn't grant a dispensation in that case. There was some controversy at the time of her marriage to Henry, and apparently there were flaws in the dispensation, but only Henry's desire to leave the marriage made these significant. Manoel of Portugal married Katharine's sister Isabel; when she died leaving him a young son, he married her sister Maria, and that marriage stood.
Yes, I know that Katharine was very pious, but so were Richard III and Margaret Beaufort - politics encourages convenient morals. And Katharine is supposed to have done this partly in order to continue the good works that she and Arthur planned, but we never see her generous support of education, her attempts to introduce new craft industries, etc. We never really understand why the English public supported her, no matter what Henry said about their marriage. In service to the vision of Arthur as Katharine's One True Love, Katharine's famous devotion to Henry VIII is discounted. I found Henry VII's coarse leering at Katharine tiresome and crudely written; I don't think there is any historical basis for it.
Gregory tells us in her notes that she also wants to give a voice to the Moslems of el Andalus. She lays it on with a trowel. Katharine misses the privacy of the harem where woman can really trust one another and don't have to worry about their husbands cavorting with someone else(!?) Andalusia was a veritable paradise of refinement, learning and tolerance, her people pillars of virtue. Well, I've read that, but I've also read that the much vaunted tolerance was something of a myth, invented centuries later in order to shame Christian Europe into imitating it. I think she has seriously overdone it, and that sort of thing often backfires. I can only remember Jane Austen's assertion that pictures of perfection made her sick and wicked. In any case, if Gregory wants to give the Moors of Spain a voice, I suggest that she write a novel about them in all their human complexity, not simply tack them on as a romantic myth. Gregory says that el-Andalus has a lot to say to us as we struggle with tolerance and mutuality, but she never shows us how the Moors are supposed to have managed it.
Katharine's attitude towards the Moors is not so much ambivalent as cognitively dissonent. She alternates between calmly explaining their glorious culture and history to Arthur and becoming nearly hysterical at the thought of Moors. This erratic vacillation undermines one of Gregory's themes, i.e., Katharine learning to think independently of her parents. Katharine tells Arthur that the Spanish royalty are very much Arabs in private, have adopted, rather than adapted, Arab customs. This while they are destroying all the centers of learning and driving out all the uniquely competent doctors as minions of Satan. Even if they did indeed take a great deal from Moorish culture, I doubt that they would consciously see themselves as becoming Arab. One can understand that Katharine is enthusiastic about Englishmen joining a Spanish crusade against North Africa, but Katharine spends a fair amount of time worrying about the threats posed to England by the Moors. I think it would be pretty obvious that England's most pressing foreign concern was not likely to be an armada of the Barbary pirates appearing off the white cliffs of Dover. Ferdinand and Isabella's determination to drive out the Moors didn't cause them to neglect European politics.
I suppose that anyone who is a big fan of Philippa Gregory will want to at least try this. Those who like richly detailed recreations of the past and vivid imaginative constructions of historal people may be disappointed. Gregory's version of Arthur and Katherine's marriage is really the only interesting variation in this very familiar tale.
I recommend two much better novels by Norah Lofts: Crown of Aloes (Isabella of Castile) and The King's Pleasure (Katharine of Aragon). The young adult novel Patience, Princess Catherine: A Young Royals Book (Young Royals) by Carolyn Meyer is a much more vivid picture of her life from just before her departure from Spain to just after her marriage to Henry. The story is bookended by Katharine's defiance of Henry after his marriage to Anne Boleyn many years later, but the historical notes are better.
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Beaufort, Henry VIII's very powerful grandmother, who tends to be left out of accounts of this period. I was also glad to see a novel that dealt extensively with Katharine's earlier years. I disliked The Other Boleyn Girl, but at least I didn't become as bored as I did by this novel. There are a few effective and historical incidents: Henry VII's gift of jewelry to assuage Katharine's homesickness, her refusal to state an opinion on going to Ludlow, her false pregnancy, etc. Gregory shows Katharine as the pretty young girl and shrewd woman she probably was. The beginning, at Grenada and Gregory's revisionist view of Katharine and Arthur's marriage are both interesting and intriguing. For the most part, however, the book is entirely too interior, too focussed on the private and Katharine's very repetitive thoughts. Clearly, Gregory is partly trying to explain Katharine's adamant refusal to allow her marriage to be dissolved, but I don't need to be retold the same thing every tenth page. Too much is told and not shown: we are told of Queen Elizabeth's kindness to Katharine, but we don't see it. We are told that the Duke of Buckingham gave Katharine gifts of food when she was in dire straits, but we never see him showing up at her home. Moreover, since the book leaps from 1513 to 1529, the trial at Blackfriars, I hope the reader is familiar with The King's Great Matter, because there is almost no explanation here. I don't mind that the book ends here, there have been so many other books, but there may be some readers who have no idea what is going on. Maybe one could read the first two parts of the book, switch to The Other Boleyn Girl, and then switch back when it gets up to the trial, and then resume reading it after this.
One problem with the book is that except for the longing for a child, there is only ever one thing happening in Katharine's life at a time: from Fall of 1511 until 1513, for example, the only subject of the plot is the looming war with France and Scotland. This is the period when Katharine's dear friend Margaret de la Pole was created Countess of Salisbury, a title held by her Yorkist forebears (perhaps with Katharine's encouragement?). The book establishes Katharine's sad plight after Arthur's death, and then skips forward to Henry VII's death, leaving out such interesting events as the meeting of Henry with Katharine's sister Juana and her brother-in-law Philip. Katharine would later be involved in Henry VII's attempt to marry the widowed Juana (over the vehement objections of Ferdinand). It omits, except by allusion, the marriage of Princess Margaret to James IV of Scotland and the proxy marriage of Henry VIII's sister Mary to Juana's son Charles, as Philip and Henry plot to combine against Ferdinand. So much going on that could have been described, and we have endless repetitions of Katharine's belief that she is fated to be Queen of England! By skipping from 1513 to 1529, we miss Henry's bout with smallpox (very worrisome to the still childless Katharine, wouldn't you think?), the switch to an alliance with France, sealed by the marriage of Henry VIII's sister to Louis XII of France, accompanied by rumors that Henry meant to set aside Katharine and marry a French princess. Mary Tudor was a loyal friend to Katharine, and her dramatic secret marriage to Charles Brandon after being widowed (with Katharine perhaps pleading that they be forgiven?) is completely absent. Katharine nearly caused an international incident by persuading Henry to break his vow not to shave until he met Francis I of France. We miss the birth and rearing of Katharine and Henry's daughter Mary, the birth and ennoblement of his illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, the rumors that he will replace Mary as Henry's heir. How can the life of Katharine of Aragon become so dull?
I am not bothered by the assertion that Katharine and Arthur's marriage was consummated - when her marriage to the future Henry VIII was proposed, the English stated in their petition to the Pope that it was, and the Spanish claimed that it wasn't. (The Pope was not amused.) I'm willing to accept the premise as the basis for the story. It really only mattered because Henry later made the ad hoc claim that the Pope couldn't grant a dispensation in that case. There was some controversy at the time of her marriage to Henry, and apparently there were flaws in the dispensation, but only Henry's desire to leave the marriage made these significant. Manoel of Portugal married Katharine's sister Isabel; when she died leaving him a young son, he married her sister Maria, and that marriage stood.
Yes, I know that Katharine was very pious, but so were Richard III and Margaret Beaufort - politics encourages convenient morals. And Katharine is supposed to have done this partly in order to continue the good works that she and Arthur planned, but we never see her generous support of education, her attempts to introduce new craft industries, etc. We never really understand why the English public supported her, no matter what Henry said about their marriage. In service to the vision of Arthur as Katharine's One True Love, Katharine's famous devotion to Henry VIII is discounted. I found Henry VII's coarse leering at Katharine tiresome and crudely written; I don't think there is any historical basis for it.
Gregory tells us in her notes that she also wants to give a voice to the Moslems of el Andalus. She lays it on with a trowel. Katharine misses the privacy of the harem where woman can really trust one another and don't have to worry about their husbands cavorting with someone else(!?) Andalusia was a veritable paradise of refinement, learning and tolerance, her people pillars of virtue. Well, I've read that, but I've also read that the much vaunted tolerance was something of a myth, invented centuries later in order to shame Christian Europe into imitating it. I think she has seriously overdone it, and that sort of thing often backfires. I can only remember Jane Austen's assertion that pictures of perfection made her sick and wicked. In any case, if Gregory wants to give the Moors of Spain a voice, I suggest that she write a novel about them in all their human complexity, not simply tack them on as a romantic myth. Gregory says that el-Andalus has a lot to say to us as we struggle with tolerance and mutuality, but she never shows us how the Moors are supposed to have managed it.
Katharine's attitude towards the Moors is not so much ambivalent as cognitively dissonent. She alternates between calmly explaining their glorious culture and history to Arthur and becoming nearly hysterical at the thought of Moors. This erratic vacillation undermines one of Gregory's themes, i.e., Katharine learning to think independently of her parents. Katharine tells Arthur that the Spanish royalty are very much Arabs in private, have adopted, rather than adapted, Arab customs. This while they are destroying all the centers of learning and driving out all the uniquely competent doctors as minions of Satan. Even if they did indeed take a great deal from Moorish culture, I doubt that they would consciously see themselves as becoming Arab. One can understand that Katharine is enthusiastic about Englishmen joining a Spanish crusade against North Africa, but Katharine spends a fair amount of time worrying about the threats posed to England by the Moors. I think it would be pretty obvious that England's most pressing foreign concern was not likely to be an armada of the Barbary pirates appearing off the white cliffs of Dover. Ferdinand and Isabella's determination to drive out the Moors didn't cause them to neglect European politics.
I suppose that anyone who is a big fan of Philippa Gregory will want to at least try this. Those who like richly detailed recreations of the past and vivid imaginative constructions of historal people may be disappointed. Gregory's version of Arthur and Katherine's marriage is really the only interesting variation in this very familiar tale.
I recommend two much better novels by Norah Lofts: Crown of Aloes (Isabella of Castile) and The King's Pleasure (Katharine of Aragon). The young adult novel Patience, Princess Catherine: A Young Royals Book (Young Royals) by Carolyn Meyer is a much more vivid picture of her life from just before her departure from Spain to just after her marriage to Henry. The story is bookended by Katharine's defiance of Henry after his marriage to Anne Boleyn many years later, but the historical notes are better.
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LibraryThing member littlebookworm
To start, I think the author could not decide whether she wanted to write a present-tense, first-person diary-like account of Katherine's life, or a third-person past-tense impartial one. She switches between the two so often as to make it distracting. Further, the book is, as mentioned, extremely
Personally, I wonder why Ms. Gregory chose to turn this queen into a heroine. She may well have been one, we don't know. But what I find so perplexing is that she strayed from this interpretation on Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn. She turns the first into a weak wanton and the second into a scheming, incestuous witch. Why not glorify the queens who probably deserve it most along with this one? That is my qualm with Gregory, however, and not this novel. I can say that this novel is assuredly nothing special, neither in storyline or writing, and that I am now certain to stay away from Gregory's works. Even the romance between Katherine and Arthur was too repetitive to be heartwarming or believable. This book stretched my credulity too far, in essence, and did not provide a good story to make up for it.
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repetitive, with a dull, uninteresting, loose plot. Gregory does not keep Katherine true to her time period, as her ideas are freely drawn from modern women and from Elizabeth I, as far as I could tell. Moreover, Gregory has Katherine spouting ideas about law that were actually Richard III's in origin. She also discovers a tolerance for Moors that is well beyond what such a Catholic woman would have found possible at the time. I found these inaccuracies distracting, and would have preferred a Katherine more in line with her time period and her faith. Also, as someone said below - Henry VII in love with Katherine? I could not take that seriously.Personally, I wonder why Ms. Gregory chose to turn this queen into a heroine. She may well have been one, we don't know. But what I find so perplexing is that she strayed from this interpretation on Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn. She turns the first into a weak wanton and the second into a scheming, incestuous witch. Why not glorify the queens who probably deserve it most along with this one? That is my qualm with Gregory, however, and not this novel. I can say that this novel is assuredly nothing special, neither in storyline or writing, and that I am now certain to stay away from Gregory's works. Even the romance between Katherine and Arthur was too repetitive to be heartwarming or believable. This book stretched my credulity too far, in essence, and did not provide a good story to make up for it.
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LibraryThing member momei
Very fascinating story about Queen Katherine. I love to read books about that time period. It seems as if women had to be very smart, brave and one step ahead of very everyone at all time. The details were so good that I (at times) could get a vivid mental picture many things that were happening.
LibraryThing member luckycharm6139
From the moment that Henry Vll and King Ferdinand of Spain made a contract for Prince Arthur and Katherine of Aragon to wed, Katherines destiny was set. She found a short lived happiness with Arthur until his sudden death shortly after marrying. For several years Katherines fate was shakey at best
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until her father in law died and his second son Henry became King of England and wed Katherine. They were happy for several years until after having several pregnancies and only one surviving daughter Henry decides to rid himself of the aging Katherine for another wife whom he hopes will bear him the male heir he desires most. Show Less
LibraryThing member tipsister
The Constant Princess is the story of Katherine of Aragon, who was the first of Henry VIII's wives. She was a princess of Spain, the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. She was the mother of Henry's daughter Mary (Bloody Mary).
The story began with Catalina, Infante of Spain, Princess of
I really struggled with this book. It was well written and interesting, much like Ms. Gregory's other books on the Tudors, but I had a hard time getting into it. I suppose it was because I knew what was going to happen. There wasn't much mystery really. I enjoyed The Queen's Fool and The Other Boleyn girl more because they were about characters that I didn't know anything about. While I knew about Anne Boleyn, I knew nothing of Mary Boleyn.
I have a confession. . . I skimmed the last hundred pages or so. It was all about battles and war planning. That didn't interest me, I would have rather Katherine have some joy at the birth of Mary, but that was barely touched on. It was a bit of a disappointment over all but I still plan to continue reading her books.
The story began with Catalina, Infante of Spain, Princess of
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Wales, and future Queen of England, as a little girl living in Spain. She was beloved by her parents and brought up as a princess of both Spain and England, having been betrothed to Prince Arthur at a young age. Catalina traveled to England at the age of fifteen and married Arthur. After a trying few months, Catalina found herself in love with her husband. Not long after, he died of illness. She struggled to maintain her dignity while being tossed back and forth between her parents and King Henry VII. She fought for her place in England and eventually married Arthur's brother, King Henry VIII.I really struggled with this book. It was well written and interesting, much like Ms. Gregory's other books on the Tudors, but I had a hard time getting into it. I suppose it was because I knew what was going to happen. There wasn't much mystery really. I enjoyed The Queen's Fool and The Other Boleyn girl more because they were about characters that I didn't know anything about. While I knew about Anne Boleyn, I knew nothing of Mary Boleyn.
I have a confession. . . I skimmed the last hundred pages or so. It was all about battles and war planning. That didn't interest me, I would have rather Katherine have some joy at the birth of Mary, but that was barely touched on. It was a bit of a disappointment over all but I still plan to continue reading her books.
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LibraryThing member eesti23
The Constant Princess tells the story of Catalina, Infanta of Spain and Princess of Wales. Betrothed at the age of 3 to Prince Arthur she finds England a surprise in relation to its customs, beliefs and behaviours. After a troublesome start the pair eventually settle into a romantic relationship,
This story is wonderfully told, with such detail that you feel a part of the Court. I cried at the death of Arthur and went through a whole range of emotions with the development of Catalina. However, I was most disappointed by the last few chapters of this book. Having gone from such a detailed manner of storytelling to the sudden 'simple' ending did not seem in keeping with the book. A little more detail from the defeat of the Scots to Katherine's trial would have made the ending more in keeping with the style and more enjoyable, in my opinion. Although it was still an excellent read.
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enjoying their time together planning how they will rule England when they become King and Queen. However that future is not to happen as Arthur dies suddenly in the early months of their marriage. Making a deathbed promise to Arthur, Catalina does everything in her power to secure her position as Katherine of Aragon, Queen of England even if it means marrying the foolish and immature second son Henry VIII. This story is wonderfully told, with such detail that you feel a part of the Court. I cried at the death of Arthur and went through a whole range of emotions with the development of Catalina. However, I was most disappointed by the last few chapters of this book. Having gone from such a detailed manner of storytelling to the sudden 'simple' ending did not seem in keeping with the book. A little more detail from the defeat of the Scots to Katherine's trial would have made the ending more in keeping with the style and more enjoyable, in my opinion. Although it was still an excellent read.
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LibraryThing member girlsgonereading
The Constant Princess follows in the same exact pattern as Gregory’s other works-she focuses on a princess in the English court, lets us eavesdrop on the private thoughts of a public women, has some explicit sex scenes, and forces us to watch the woman’s downfall. In this work, the princess is
Philippa Gregory began the novel with this premise: Katherine was a liar. Okay, history lesson…Before she married Henry VIII, Katherine was married to his brother Arthur-the first heir to the throne. She was allowed to marry Henry because she swore to the POPE that the marriage wasn’t consummated. Henry later used her first marriage to push her aside, and he blamed this fact on their lack of sons. Well, Gregory theorizes that Katherine loved Arthur and that she lied about their sex life to stay the Queen of England. Would a incredibly devout woman do this? Would a devout Catholic lie to the Pope to stay Queen?
I picked this novel up as part of my “The Tudors are over. What am I going to do now???” recovery. I was desperate to get a Tudor fix. This novel fixed it alright. Now I know why the show was so good-it was exciting, and it focused on exciting characters. The Constant Princess did not. Katherine was not exciting for me, not believable. The sections where her inner voice spoke where so boring that I almost skipped them entirely.
Another thing that really troubled me in the novel, was the whole premise of the lie. Katherine of Aragon has been described as an extremely devout woman. Part of her infertility issues are now based on her extreme fasting and extremely long prayer times. How could a woman who was so devout tell such a lie? How could she claim to be a virgin when she wasn’t? Gregory argues that it would have almost impossible for Arthur and Katherine to not consummate their marriage-that Katherine would do anything to be queen. I, for one, had a hard time reconciling her incredible faith with her amazing ambition.
This novel left something to be desired for me. I don’t know if it was because this Katherine didn’t fit the image already in my head from The Tudors or if Gregory’s work is just getting old for me. Either way, I am in no hurry to read another one of her works.
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Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife. We follow Katherine as a child, then a wife, and finally an outcast. You would assume that the woman replaced by Anne Boleyn would have been more exciting. I was mildly entertained.Philippa Gregory began the novel with this premise: Katherine was a liar. Okay, history lesson…Before she married Henry VIII, Katherine was married to his brother Arthur-the first heir to the throne. She was allowed to marry Henry because she swore to the POPE that the marriage wasn’t consummated. Henry later used her first marriage to push her aside, and he blamed this fact on their lack of sons. Well, Gregory theorizes that Katherine loved Arthur and that she lied about their sex life to stay the Queen of England. Would a incredibly devout woman do this? Would a devout Catholic lie to the Pope to stay Queen?
I picked this novel up as part of my “The Tudors are over. What am I going to do now???” recovery. I was desperate to get a Tudor fix. This novel fixed it alright. Now I know why the show was so good-it was exciting, and it focused on exciting characters. The Constant Princess did not. Katherine was not exciting for me, not believable. The sections where her inner voice spoke where so boring that I almost skipped them entirely.
Another thing that really troubled me in the novel, was the whole premise of the lie. Katherine of Aragon has been described as an extremely devout woman. Part of her infertility issues are now based on her extreme fasting and extremely long prayer times. How could a woman who was so devout tell such a lie? How could she claim to be a virgin when she wasn’t? Gregory argues that it would have almost impossible for Arthur and Katherine to not consummate their marriage-that Katherine would do anything to be queen. I, for one, had a hard time reconciling her incredible faith with her amazing ambition.
This novel left something to be desired for me. I don’t know if it was because this Katherine didn’t fit the image already in my head from The Tudors or if Gregory’s work is just getting old for me. Either way, I am in no hurry to read another one of her works.
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LibraryThing member LadyN
I was not nearly as engrossed in this one as I was in The Other Boleyn Girl, etc. I have the feeling that if this was the first I'd read of hers, it may have put me off. Still good though.
LibraryThing member AuntieClio
This book relates the story of Catalina as a child in her beloved Aragon (Spain had not yet been united), child of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. It rather abruptly ends as Katherine has defeated the Scots along England's northern border while Henry is at war with France.
There's much to quibble
Switching between diary entries and narrative should support each other, not detract, and here Philippa Gregory lost me. At the end of a lovely diary entry by Katherine, the narrative would barge in with "and six days later ...." followed by a little explication and then back to the diary.
Although the ending is addressed in the "interview" with Gregory in the back, I found the reasoning lacking. She could have left the epilogue out completely and been done with it. But she does not, she returns the reader to Katherine's diary 16 years later, as she faces the Papal Legate regarding her status as virgin when her first husband, Arthur (Henry's older brother), died unexpectedly after only 5 months of marriage. It was upon this argument that Henry was trying to base his marriage annulment from Catherine of Aragon.
Gregory explains this 16 year gap as something she had already written extensively about in The Other Boleyn girl. This just seems lazy to me. Why have the epilogue at all, if one of your assumptions is based upon people having read another book?
There's much to quibble
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about with the way this book is written. It's my view that just because a book is fiction based on history doesn't mean I should wonder about how the history was done in order to write the book. This is the second book I've read this month which kept pulling me away from the story to wonder about how the author did the history.Switching between diary entries and narrative should support each other, not detract, and here Philippa Gregory lost me. At the end of a lovely diary entry by Katherine, the narrative would barge in with "and six days later ...." followed by a little explication and then back to the diary.
Although the ending is addressed in the "interview" with Gregory in the back, I found the reasoning lacking. She could have left the epilogue out completely and been done with it. But she does not, she returns the reader to Katherine's diary 16 years later, as she faces the Papal Legate regarding her status as virgin when her first husband, Arthur (Henry's older brother), died unexpectedly after only 5 months of marriage. It was upon this argument that Henry was trying to base his marriage annulment from Catherine of Aragon.
Gregory explains this 16 year gap as something she had already written extensively about in The Other Boleyn girl. This just seems lazy to me. Why have the epilogue at all, if one of your assumptions is based upon people having read another book?
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LibraryThing member Letter4No1
Catalina is daughter of two of the greatest monarch's Europe has seen. She has known since she was three that in addition to being an Infanta of Spain she is the Princess of Wales and will one day be Queen of England. Nothing will stop her from claiming these titles that she see's as her birth
I'm a Gregory fan, for the most part. There are always things about her novels that make them slightly irritating, but that rarely effects the breakneck pace I read them at. The Constant Princess was no different. I really enjoyed Catalina/Katherine's thoughts and life as she journeyed from Spain to England. Her life is usually thought of as the First wife of Henry VIII, the woman set aside for Anne Boleyn, and the mother of 'Bloody" Mary I. It was nice to see her young and in love, even if her first, love filled marriage is short.
Her time waiting to become princess again is a bit long. Catalina's italicized thoughts take up pages and pages where before they book up a page at the very most. Her waiting and scheming would be very irritating if you didn't know she would be successful. All the odds are against her and her attitude, as well as Henry VII and his mother Margaret Beaufort are irritating.
Her actual reign as Henry's queen is more interesting and gives a lot of insigt into a time I didn't know much about. She was a much stronger woman that I would have previously given her credit for. I'd been putting off reading The Constant Princess because Katherine didn't interest me as much as Henry's other wives/other historical women, but I'm glad I did pick it up. A very enjoyable read.
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right. Not the death of her first husband Arthur, her parents refusal to pay the rest of her dowry or her inability to secure a betrothal to Arthur's younger brother, Harry.I'm a Gregory fan, for the most part. There are always things about her novels that make them slightly irritating, but that rarely effects the breakneck pace I read them at. The Constant Princess was no different. I really enjoyed Catalina/Katherine's thoughts and life as she journeyed from Spain to England. Her life is usually thought of as the First wife of Henry VIII, the woman set aside for Anne Boleyn, and the mother of 'Bloody" Mary I. It was nice to see her young and in love, even if her first, love filled marriage is short.
Her time waiting to become princess again is a bit long. Catalina's italicized thoughts take up pages and pages where before they book up a page at the very most. Her waiting and scheming would be very irritating if you didn't know she would be successful. All the odds are against her and her attitude, as well as Henry VII and his mother Margaret Beaufort are irritating.
Her actual reign as Henry's queen is more interesting and gives a lot of insigt into a time I didn't know much about. She was a much stronger woman that I would have previously given her credit for. I'd been putting off reading The Constant Princess because Katherine didn't interest me as much as Henry's other wives/other historical women, but I'm glad I did pick it up. A very enjoyable read.
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LibraryThing member ArielMarie
This was the first ever historical fiction book I have ever read. What a good one to start with. I came across this author, and these books because I really wanted to read The Other Boleyn girl. When I found that book it seemed they went in some kind of order, and this one was first so I read it.
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Pretty good book. I liked the way it was written as a history book, but it had subtle present day twists that did not make it seem like you were reading a school book. I loved the story behind it too. The king has a wandering eye, and although his queen knows she stands by his side. Partially because of her beliefs, partially because she has a love for the country she's been reigning over. Either way it had a very "stand by your man" feel to it. Whether that is good or bad, in this sense is up to ones own judgment. Regardless, it was a nice book to read. Show Less
LibraryThing member Marcierr
First off, I need to say that this book I enjoyed due to the subject matter and the fact that I am a huge fan of the Tudors. Second, I enjoyed it because it offered a glimpse into the life of Katherine of Aragon that does not exist in history. Even though this story is a stretch, I still think that
All of this being said, I thought that the book was sometimes wordy and over thought. Sometimes I had to remind myself that I loved this part of history and keep reading. I think it was worth it all being said and done, but I think it could have been cut short by at least a couple of hundred pages. Katherine talks a lot about her mother Isabella...and in a way, I think her story would have been more interesting and less annoying in her martyrdom. I would recommend you read this book and I will continue to read the series, but I do hope that it speeds up some....
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it was a really an entertaining one.All of this being said, I thought that the book was sometimes wordy and over thought. Sometimes I had to remind myself that I loved this part of history and keep reading. I think it was worth it all being said and done, but I think it could have been cut short by at least a couple of hundred pages. Katherine talks a lot about her mother Isabella...and in a way, I think her story would have been more interesting and less annoying in her martyrdom. I would recommend you read this book and I will continue to read the series, but I do hope that it speeds up some....
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LibraryThing member wareagle78
Another of Gregory's wonderful historical tales, this one focusing on Katherine of Aragon, nee Caterina, the Infanta of Spain, who was the first wife of Henry VIII.
LibraryThing member ava-st-claire
I am so enjoying Ms Gregory's books. This was a wonderful read, helping put more pieces in place in my understanding of England's Royal History.
I have read a few of her other books and I find that it can become a bit confusing. The wives, the children, the many players in the royal court. I have
I'll keep reading her books. She has such a wonderful way of bringing these people to life.
I have read a few of her other books and I find that it can become a bit confusing. The wives, the children, the many players in the royal court. I have
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now taken my interest in this subject outside of the "Gregory" realm and am looking for more historical accounts.I'll keep reading her books. She has such a wonderful way of bringing these people to life.
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LibraryThing member mrstreme
It's always a bad sign when I pull out the calculator to determine exactly how many more pages are left in a book before I am done.
Perhaps it wasn't the book's fault. I have many eagerly anticipated books waiting for me. Maybe I just wanted this book to be over with so I could delve into that pile
Or maybe the plot was flat; the characters, dull; and the story, underdeveloped and unbelievable.
I expected to not be wowed by this novel based on reviews and comments by others. And I will be reading other Gregory novels, including The Boleyn Inheritance and The Other Boleyn Girl, which I understand are very enjoyable. However, I expected to be drawn in a little, to be mildly entertained, to feel somewhat invested in this story. None of this happened for me. The whole thing left me impatient.
Perhaps it wasn't the book's fault. I have many eagerly anticipated books waiting for me. Maybe I just wanted this book to be over with so I could delve into that pile
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of literary promises.Or maybe the plot was flat; the characters, dull; and the story, underdeveloped and unbelievable.
I expected to not be wowed by this novel based on reviews and comments by others. And I will be reading other Gregory novels, including The Boleyn Inheritance and The Other Boleyn Girl, which I understand are very enjoyable. However, I expected to be drawn in a little, to be mildly entertained, to feel somewhat invested in this story. None of this happened for me. The whole thing left me impatient.
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LibraryThing member bung
Surprising! This wasn't the story of Katherine of Aragon being ousted from the court and favour of King Henry VIII. Rather it told of Katherine's family, her childhood, and her true and lasting love for Arthur, Prince of Wales. They even downplayed the scandals of her many pregnancies. A fresh look
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at a familiar historical figure. Show Less
LibraryThing member middleearthtraveller
Excellent historical novel about Katherine of Aragorn. Follow her journey from Spanish princess to English Queen and beyond. My 2nd favorite Gregory novel.
LibraryThing member Gingersnap000
The author, Phillippa Gregory took poetry license when writing this novel but I was not aware of that fact when I began reading "The Constant Princess". The novel is based on fact but the truth is stretched to make for a more interesting read. Middle of way into the novel, I began to research Henry
I would recommend the book for a chick lit read but not as a historic novel.
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the VIII wives and mistress and found several time lines and facts were incorrect. I would recommend the book for a chick lit read but not as a historic novel.
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LibraryThing member libmhleigh
This is the first work of several by Philippa Gregory dealing with the wives of England’s King Henry VIII. This week tells the story of Henry’s first wife, Queen Katherine of Aragon, the daughter of Isabella and Fredinand. However, Catalina originally traveled to England as the bride of
Quote: “In those days before her coronation, Catalina established herself as the undeniable queen, and those who had ignored her years of poverty now discovered in themselves tremendous affection and respect for the princess. She accepted their admiration, just as she had accepted their neglect.”
I liked this book a lot, especially because I really enjoy this period in history, both in fiction and nonfiction. Katherine does not always get a lot of press among Henry’s wives, especially in her early years, before another future queen comes on the scene. I am looking forward to reading the next two books of Gregory’s about wives of this court, although it will be difficult to adjust to leaving Katherine’s perspective. I am hoping that Gregory will next turn her attention to the monarchs of Scotland who lived during this time.
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Henry’s older brother, Arthur, raised since birth to be the next king of England. As a young couple, Catalina and Arthur make plans to bring about a glorious kingdom. However, after Arthur falls ill, Katherine knows that she must take drastic measures if she is going to achieve her destiny as she has been taught since childhood- to be Queen of England.Quote: “In those days before her coronation, Catalina established herself as the undeniable queen, and those who had ignored her years of poverty now discovered in themselves tremendous affection and respect for the princess. She accepted their admiration, just as she had accepted their neglect.”
I liked this book a lot, especially because I really enjoy this period in history, both in fiction and nonfiction. Katherine does not always get a lot of press among Henry’s wives, especially in her early years, before another future queen comes on the scene. I am looking forward to reading the next two books of Gregory’s about wives of this court, although it will be difficult to adjust to leaving Katherine’s perspective. I am hoping that Gregory will next turn her attention to the monarchs of Scotland who lived during this time.
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LibraryThing member indygo88
I really enjoyed this one, although I've read other reviewers stating that they've been disappointed in this one. I found it very enlightening for myself, since my knowledge of the Tudor era is extremely limited. I was a bit surprised by the rather "sudden" ending, however. I am anxious to read
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"The Other Boleyn Girl" now, though! Show Less
LibraryThing member rayski
Queen Katherine of Aragon’s life put to fiction but based on historic record. Katherine was the first of Henry the 8th wives.
LibraryThing member aapjebaapje
The Constant Princess is sooooo constant. I haven’t read such a repetitive book for as long as I can remember. I know the book has to reflect the title but with such an interesting subject the book could have been called something else and then the style could have been less droning. Katharine of
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Aragon is a subject little written about so perhaps Ms Gregory could have another bite of the cherry with a novel about Mary, her daughter. But let's hope that this book is of the same ilk as her series about the Tradescants. Show Less
LibraryThing member Elphaba71
Another Great read from Philippa Gregory.
The novel details Katherine of Aragons early life & her rise from Catalina, Infanta of Spain to Katherine, Queen of England.
I love the Tudor period, & found this novel a great insight into a colourful time in our history, made all the richer with Philippa
The novel details Katherine of Aragons early life & her rise from Catalina, Infanta of Spain to Katherine, Queen of England.
I love the Tudor period, & found this novel a great insight into a colourful time in our history, made all the richer with Philippa
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Gregory's detailed reseach. Show Less
LibraryThing member mccin68
Follows Catalina, the spain princess, from her beginnings as a pawn of her parents, Isbella and Ferdinand of Spain and Henry VII to her cornation as Queen of England. The ending was disappointing as it jumps so 16 years skipped some very turbulent times. I understand the writer's intent to showcase
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Katherine in her strongest and influential times but it would have been better to end it there without the 16 year gap. overall great read. especially life the history of her childhood and the influence of her feverent/militant mother Isabella. Show Less
Awards
Women's Prize for Fiction (Longlist — 2006)
Language
Original publication date
2005
ISBN
9780743272490
Other editions
The constant princess by Philippa Gregory (Paper Book)