Katherine

Author: Anya Seton
Publication Date: Originally published in 1954, but the edition of the book I read is 2004
Cost: You can find this edition new for $10.95, but this book has been out a very long time, and there are many other editions available to you at varying prices. There is no Kindle edition.
Where Did I Hear About It: I put this book on my Booksfree.com library list.

The Backstory

Katherine Swynford is most famously known for being the longtime mistress of John of Gaunt, third son of King Edward III. Their four illegitimate children were surnamed "Beaufort," and, it is in part through Henry VII's mother, Margaret Beaufort, that he claimed the English throne and began the Tudor dynasty in 1485.

Regardless of some more detailed, recent research, there aren't many clear details about Katherine that are certainly known. Katherine was the daughter of Paon de Roet, a retainer from modern-day Belgium who became one of many people who moved to England when Edward III married Philippa of Hainault. Paon was knighted for his service to Philippa's new English family, and he died with the corresponding title "sir." Nothing is known about Katherine's mother. Historians believe that Katherine was brought up in court--perhaps at more than one court, and at least partially under the care of Queen Philippa, starting in 1352 when her father returned to Hainault. Katherine was joined by her younger sister, Philippa, who would later marry the famous Geoffrey Chaucer.

Katherine married Sir Hugh Swynford sometime in the 1360s. Sir Hugh was the owner, by inheritance, of the small manors of Kettelthorpe and Coleby in Lincolnshire. Their children probably included Blanche (perhaps the eldest), Margaret (who would later become a nun in Barking Abbey), and Henry. Katherine was probably born around 1350, which would have made her a rather young bride, although it was rather common for the gentry to marry in their teens at the time. Their relationship did not last very long, and it was punctuated by long absences while Hugh fought abroad in France. Hugh died in 1371 while he was abroad leaving Katherine a very young widow.


John of Gaunt was the third son of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. The "of Gaunt" surname is an Anglified reference to Ghent, the place of his birth in 1340. John first married Blanche of Lancaster in 1359, and, after her sister's death three years later, he inherited control of all of the Duke of Lancaster's lands and his father conferred upon him the proper title. John was heavily involved in the Hundred Years War in France starting in 1369 to help his older brother, Edward the "Black Prince" in Aquitaine. Blanche died in the same year, and John married Constance of Castile in 1371. Constance was the rightful heir to her father, Peter the Cruel of Castile, who had been overthrown by Henry of Trastamara in 1368. Through his marriage to Constance, he was recognized as the King of Castile, although he never actually ruled there. By Blanche of Lancaster, John had Philippa (later Queen of Portugal), Elizabeth (later Duchess of Exeter), and Henry of Bolingbroke who would later overthrow his cousin, Richard II to become Henry IV of England. By Constance, he had a daughter, Catherine, who later married Henry III of Castile, ending the dynastic struggle in the country.

It is conjectured that John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford began their affair between the death of Blanche of Lancaster and John's marriage to Constance of Castile. John would have known Katherine as governess to his two daughters, a position she took before Blanche died. By 1373, Katherine was working in Constance of Castile's household, and but their affair probably had already started. Katherine had the first of her four children probably in 1373: John Beaufort (1371
3), Henry Beaufort (1375), Joan Beaufort (1377), and Thomas Beaufort (1381). John of Gaunt, however, was not a popular figure in England--he, like his father, was at the center of a government that had become increasingly unpopular due to high taxes and few military successes to show for them. John's London palace, the Savoy, was almost entirely destroyed by the Peasant's Revolt, led by Wat Tyler, in 1381. Soon afterward, John of Gaunt made a public renunciation of Katherine and their lives together. Constance of Castile died in 1394, and John of Gaunt married Katherine Swynford two years later. However, their marriage would not last long--John died in 1399 and was buried, by request, next to his first wife in St. Paul's Cathedral. Katherine, then Duchess of Lancaster, died in 1403 and was buried in Lincoln Cathedral, where she still rests.

What About the Book?

I have to say that although I was originally daunted by the length of the book (500 pages in very small print) and by its very early publication date, I was pleasantly surprised and very much enjoyed reading it.

Katherine Swynford's story has not been too closely examined by too many scholars. The most notable biography is extremely recent (2007) by Alison Weir, and it was clear to me when I read this book that Katherine's life would make a much better novel in which literary licence could fill in the numerous blanks. In fact, it seems in retrospect that Weir was very familiar with Seton's novel. Weir makes may references to life events in Seton's novel, either to prove or disprove them, without actually mentioning the book. I wasn't aware of Seton's efforts when I first read Seton's biography, and I am very impressed by her novel. For the most part, she stayed true to the history and threw in many references to other, contemporary people and events, and this was written in an age where historical information about women was more than simply difficult to find.

Seton is true to many historical events in the novel, including the Peasant's Revolt and the destruction of the Savoy Palace, Edward III's involvement with mistress Alice Perrers, and John of Gaunt's campaigns in the northern part of England. She did incorporate what details she had about Katherine Swynford's life fairly accurately. She does take a few liberties, but with so little concrete information, she can be forgiven for that. For example, she places Katherine at the Savoy when it was destroyed, which is unlikely. She also places Katherine with her husband abroad when he dies, which isn't completely improbable. She incorporates some very interesting characters--a very long list of them in fact, but they are much easier to keep track of than you might think given how many there are. I think that Geoffrey Chaucer would probably rank as the most underused interesting character of the bunch--Seton paints a very good picture of him, and it would have been great to have seen more of him in the narrative.

One of the challenges with this novel is its length. Seton starts her book when Katherine is 15 and coming to court for the first time after being raised in an abbey (which Weir doesn't think was the case), and it ends just after Katherine and John have married. Although this is a long period of time to cover, it is more about how it is covered--the novel is divided into sections that correspond to years of Katherine's life, and each chapter is extremely detailed in its descriptions and interactions. I also found myself rather unconvinced by how Seton painted the beginnings of Katherine and John's affections. Their relationship felt far more solid to me as it was portrayed later on, but I didn't think some of the earlier stages were truly believable.

I have to admit, though, that I regularly came back to this book when I had the opportunity, and I truly enjoyed it from the beginning to the end equally.

Rating: A 9 as an interesting historical fiction. In the light of Weir's book, published much later and probably as well-researched as a biography of someone as relatively unknown as Katherine would be, it is about a 7 for historical accuracy.
Buy It or Borrow It: Given how long this book has been around, I am sure you could find a copy of it for a very reasonable price somewhere, so it is worth buying. You may find it is hard to come by in a library.

List of Images:

Possible image of Katherine Swynford from the Troilus Frontispiece showing Chaucer reading his works to the court of Richard II

John of Gaunt, ascribed to Luca Cornelli c. 1593

Morality Play

Author: Barry Unsworth
Publication Date: 1995
Cost: The original list price is $13.95, but, since the book has been out for a while, I am sure you can find used copies for much less than that. The Kindle version will be released this January, and it will cost $11.99.
Discovery: I found this book listed on Booksfree.com, and I added it to my list.

The Backstory

The focus of this novel is a young priest, Nicholas, who deserted his diocese in the spring, and finds himself without a refuge as winter approaches. After fleeing a rather compromising situation, he crosses paths with a group of "players," or a traveling band of actors, standing over a dying one of their own. When they discover Nicholas, watching the troupe under the cover of darkness, he convinces them to allow him to join them to take their lost companion's place. They continue their journey, with Nicholas, to Durham where a sponsoring lord is waiting for their Christmas entertainment. On the way, they stop in a town to perform for extra money, and they learn about the very recent murder of a young man, Thomas Wells. A monk, serving the local lord, found the purse of coins Thomas Wells was carrying in a weaver's home, and the weaver's dumb daughter stands accused of the crime. One of the players convinces the others that it would be more interesting, and more profitable, to perform a play about the murder of Thomas Wells, however, their intentions and their attempts to gather information, get them more, and more deeply involved in the situation...

There is very little concrete information about time or place in this novel. The action seems to take place after the plague years (1340s), and it certainly takes place in England as the players are on their way to Durham. However, all of the people are fictional, and many of the locations are not named. The book is not particularly long (only about 200 pages), and its action is confined to a few days--maybe two weeks or so--in December. The novel is "told" from Nicholas' perspective.

What About the Book?

Although an interesting read, I found this book's general atmosphere of abstraction a detriment to what could have been a much better story.

The author clearly is familiar with medieval mystery plays. The longest and most detailed--and by far the best--chapters all describe the players' performances. If the author is equally well-versed in the history of the period, it is not revealed in the story. It may be the lack of time or place that creates the abstraction that detracts from the story. However, this abstraction also extends to the people the players meet along the way. None of them seem very real, and this is a product of the author's sacrifice of character development for the sake of the plot of the novel.

Using the medium of the play to work out the mystery of Thomas Wells' death is a very creative idea, and it is very well executed in the book. Each performance prompts the characters to learn more by various means to improve the play with more details that answer the questions they, and the audience, pose. There is a lack of urgency, though, when it comes to the discovery of the truth in the mystery. First, the author, in the voice of Nicholas, eludes to how terrible circumstances to come will be in the novel, but the story never quite lives up to the implications previously made. In fact, should those allusions be removed, the novel would very much improve.

It took me a very long time to finish this book, and I'm not sure I can blame distractions for that. I really think it was the abstract feel of the book that kept me from returning to it faithfully. I didn't at all feel connected to the characters--not even Nicholas. The second half of the book felt far more "real" than the first half, and I found myself really interested in finishing the story once I passed the halfway mark. After some Internet research, I get the sense that teachers are having students read this book in class--as a story, this isn't a bad choice, but if this is being used to teach the so-called "Middle Ages" to students, I would recommend against that. This story, honestly, could have been set at any time in any place. Turn this into a traveling acting troupe of the 19th century's story, and you wouldn't lose very much at all in the plot or the characters.

Rating: I have to admit to having trouble assigning a rating to this book. I have settled on a 6.5 for the moment.
Buy It or Borrow It: If you're a mystery fan and looking for something new and different, you can't go wrong either buying or borrowing this book. I would recommend against picking this up on Kindle after it comes out--paying close to $12 for this so long after its original publication when there are hundreds of used copies out there for less than half of that. And, it was popular enough that I am sure it is sitting in your local library right now. However, if you are looking for a good story set in Medieval England, I would recommend against it because there isn't very much truly medieval about this book that anchors it to the period.

Virgin: Prelude to the Throne

Author: Robin Maxwell
Publication Date: 2001
Cost: New paperbacks are listed on Amazon for under $5.00, but this isn't available for Kindle.
Where Did I Hear About It: I found this offered on my mail-away library subscription through Booksfree.

The Backstory

The focus of this short novel is Elizabeth Tudor in her mid-teens, beginning with the death of her father, Henry VIII. The story covers a rather short period of time, extending only through the imprisonment of Thomas Seymour, the imprisonment of Elizabeth's servants, Kat Ashley and Thomas Parry, and Elizabeth's placement under house arrest for suspicion of conspiring marriage with Seymour without consent of Edward VI's Regency Council. Roughly, this covers about 2 years, 1547-1549.

The main characters in this novel are: Elizabeth Tudor, Thomas Seymour, Edward Tudor, Catherine Parr, Kat Ashley, Thomas Parry, and Robert and John Dudley. Other key figures are marginalized, like Jane Grey, while still others are left almost entirely out of the story, like Mary Tudor who only makes a brief appearance in a court scene.

The novel opens at the death of Henry VIII and the accession of his son, the young Edward VI. Edward is generally advised, and almost completely controlled, by the Regency Council headed by Edward Seymour. Elizabeth is invited to join the household of Catherine Parr, sixth wife of Henry VIII left a widow upon his death. Catherine is almost immediately swept up in a whirlwind romance with Thomas Seymour, brother to Edward Seymour and uncle of the boy king. Although Catherine is deliriously happy to finally be married for love after three marriages to older men for duty's sake, Thomas' ambition is only thinly veiled, and his intentions toward the young, impressionable Elizabeth are increasingly suspect. It is clear that Thomas wants more than to be marginalized by the Regency Council and his powerful brother.

The story focuses on the historical events of this slice of Tudor history, calling into question the effectiveness of the Regency Council, Edward's future as king, and what Elizabeth's fate may ultimately be.

What About the Book?

Although a short novel, it is probably one of the more historically accurate ones that I have read. Nearly all of the main events in the novel check out historically, and the timeline has not been compromised in an attempt to make the story more compelling.

Two things surprised me about this novel--first, that one of the main characters is Thomas Seymour and second, that the story only covers two years. Although Thomas Seymour is undoubtedly an important figure in this time frame, it feels odd to focus on him the way this author does, but this unexpected perspective is fresh and enjoyable in many ways. The title of the book, "Virgin: Prelude to the Throne," implies to me a storyline that incorporates Elizabeth's history from the death of Henry VIII to her own accession, so it surprised me that the story concludes in 1549, which is well before the death of her brother, Edward.

Character development is certainly light. With one exception, pretty much every character can be classified as either "good" or "bad." If good, all motives are all good, and vice versa. This is what makes the characters a little unbelievable, including Elizabeth. However, the progression of the plot is quick and compelling, so, in such a short novel, the reader is apt to forgive this deficiency. All in all, this is a good story, and it is rather disappointing that it wasn't followed-up by the author with a second volume that moved the story through to the end of Elizabeth's historical "prelude."

Rating: 8. This is a fun story to read, and you won't lose anything on the history by reading it because the author is so historically accurate.
Buy It or Borrow It: This is going to be a hard book to find. It is labeled as a "rare book" on the Booksfree library list. Have a look in the library for this book, but, at only around $5.00, you can't go wrong purchasing it.

Images:

Thomas Seymour by an unknown painter

The Tudors Cheat Sheet: Children of Henry VIII

One of the biggest issues that carries through all four seasons of The Tudors is Henry VIII's children--who they are, what they are, when they came along...the avid watcher hears about this from episode one straight through until the end of the series.

Historically speaking, was this as big an issue for the real Henry VIII as it was for the TV character? I'm honestly not as certain as other historians are about that. I believe that his problems centered more on the here and now rather than what was going to happen after he died. For example, many historians believe that the end of Henry VIII's spectacular love affair with Anne Boleyn had more to do with Anne's inability to give him his longed-for son than Henry himself, Anne herself, or the relationship they created together. I disagree. Perhaps David Starkey, an English historian, came closest to the truth when he surmised that Henry was unusual in that he seemed to be seeking happiness in marriage at a time when marriage was often noted to produce the opposite effect. I am not sure that hits the nail on the head, so to speak, but it is the first hypothesis I have ever read that took something OTHER than a preoccupation with children into account to explain Henry VIII's rather bizarre marital behavior.

Here is some background information about Henry's acknowledged children. Henry had four living children that he acknowledged as his own in one way or another. It should be noted that although he declared his two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, bastards at one time or another, there is no indication that he did not consider them his own, natural children. To be "bastardized" was more of a function of the law to prevent inheritance of lands or titles rather than a mark of suspicious parentage in this case. There has also been speculation that one or more of the children of Mary Boleyn, older sister to Anne, may have been Henry's, but, as he never acknowledged them, they will not be considered here.

Mary

Birth Year: 1516
Death Year: 1558
Mother: Catherine of Aragon
Spouse: Philip of Spain (1554)

Mary was Henry's first living child, and she was a very welcome addition to the family. Henry married Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon, in 1509, and a series of failed pregnancies followed. Mary was a bright, if pensive, child. She was betrothed to several of Europe's most eligible bachelors during her childhood, but none of them came to fruition as England's status, and religious unity, was regularly in question. Abroad, no one questioned Mary's legitimacy. Catherine had an impeccable reputation of fidelity.

Problems in Mary's life began at the same time as Catherine's divorce. All signs point to the fact that Henry wanted to have his way, and his way meant putting aside his first wife, putting aside his daughter if necessary, and having Anne Boleyn by his side.
Catherine was defiant, as was Mary to a point, and this only raised Henry's ire and probably precipitated Henry's breach with Mary early in her life. Henry's subsequent queens were instrumental in bringing father and daughter back together later in his reign.

What Happened to Mary?

After Henry VIII died, many attempts were made to marginalize Mary by the primarily-Protestant members of her brother, Edward's, council. The ultimate result of this was an attempt to write both Mary and Elizabeth out of the line of succession and pass the crown on from Edward to Jane Grey, their cousin. This attempt was a huge failure--Edward's council did not count on the fact that the English people fervently supported the rights of other members of Henry's immediate family to sit on the throne. Mary became queen in 1553 and married Philip of Spain, who made only a few brief trips to England. Mary died in 1558 of what may have been ovarian or uterine cancer, but she may have succumbed to an influenza epidemic that was raging at the time she took particularly ill. Mary and Philip had no children.

Elizabeth

Birth Year: 1533
Death Year: 1603
Mother: Anne Boleyn
Spouse: None

Elizabeth, known by all TV series, movies, and by a famous quote by Henry about "boys will follow," as the disappointment, was the first, and only, living child born to Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. We'd like to think that had Henry VIII known how successful and famous Elizabeth would later be, he may have treated his daughter a bit differently. Elizabeth was known to be as bright as Mary, but seemingly more clever, quick-witted, and able to work with (and around) others. As soon as her mother was accused of adultery, Elizabeth's position, and future, were altered. She, like Mary, was declared a bastard, and her relationship with her father was strained. She was also reconciled to him by his subsequent wives.


Elizabeth was unofficially Protestant, and she was subsequently left alone during Edward's reign, but after Edward died, her life became more complicated. Elizabeth was implicated in a rebellion started by Thomas Wyatt, not against Catholicism, but instead against Mary's determination to marry Philip of Spain. This led to Elizabeth's brief imprisonment and interrogation in the Tower of London and her living most of the rest of Mary's reign under house arrest.

What Happened to Elizabeth?

I think we all know the answer to this question, so I will not belabor the point. Elizabeth succeeded her sister Mary in 1558, and she reigned for about 45 successful years. Many aspects of her reign have been examined and discussed by scholars, including her involvement in piracy, religious policy, her relationship with court favorites like Robert Dudley, her key advisers, and the issue of Mary, Queen of Scots. Elizabeth, from most historians' perspectives, was the most successful of Henry's children given a "Golden Age" takes her name.

Edward


Birth Year: 1537
Death Year: 1553
Mother: Jane Seymour
Spouse: None

Edward, supposedly Henry's longed-for son, was the product of the very brief marriage of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour. Edward was only 9 when Henry died, and this necessitated the creation of a Regency Council to raise, rule, and advise Edward until he reached an age of majority. The main player on this council was Edward Seymour, Jane's brother, and there has been a lot of speculation about his machinations before and during this time. Some historians believe that he may have actually altered Henry VIII's will. Edward Seymour later fell from power and was replaced by John Dudley.

Edward was a bright child, if easily led by his two power-hungry uncles--Edward and his brother, Thomas Seymour. He was educated and influenced by a Protestant circle, and this led to a breach between he and his Catholic sister, Mary. Edward was thoughtful, and he was clearly raised to be a king. Under the guidance of his council, he furthered Protestant reform in England to probably the most extreme degree it would get to until the 17th century.

What happened to Edward?

Edward died very young in 1553. It isn't clear what the cause of death was--at the beginning of 1553, he started with a fever and a cough that gradually grew worse. An autopsy revealed that his lungs were to blame, and a diagnosis of tuberculous was proposed and is generally accepted. Some historians have postulated that he could have succumbed to some form of poisoning as well, but this has never been proven particularly convincingly. Jane Grey, written into Edward's plans for the succession as next in line to the throne, famously followed Edward's death with a reign of nine days. John Dudley, thought to be the author of this alteration, didn't count on Mary's popularity, and both he and Jane were later executed.

Henry Fitzroy

Birth Year: 1519
Death Year: 1536
Mother: Elizabeth Blount
Spouse: Lady Mary Howard

One of the biggest errors in The Tudors is in Henry Fitzroy's story. According to the series, Henry dies at the age of 5 or 6, which completely devastates Henry VIII. In reality, Henry Fitzroy was well into his teen years before he died, and he was married, too.

Henry was the illegitimate product of Henry VIII's relationship with Elizabeth Blount, lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon. Although The Tudors makes Henry VIII appear to be the worst of 16th century fratboys when it comes to women, the evidence is greatly to the contrary. Henry seems to have had more longer-term relationships with the few mistresses he took. Henry's relationship with Elizabeth Blount seems to have entirely ended after Henry Fitzroy's birth.She married Gilbert Talboys, but Henry Fitzroy did not enter the scene until he was around six years old and the shower of titles and appointments started. His first were some of the most important--Earl of Nottingham and Duke of Richmond and Somerset. He was also given the title Lord High Admiral of England and Lord President of the Council of the North. There is no question that Henry VIII was preparing his son for great things. Whether or not he considered him a potential solution to his lack of male children is another question, though, and it calls into consideration whether Henry VIII may have considered not having a legitimate son a problem at all. Since many historians think that Henry WAS bothered by this fact, they point to a brief period in Henry VIII's life when he seems to have marked out Henry Fitzroy as his heir, but this is only speculative.

What Happened to Henry Fitzroy?

In 1533, Henry Fitzroy was married to Lady Mary Howard, the daughter of Thomas Howard, the powerful Duke of Norfolk. Henry Fitzroy was noticed to be somewhat sickly perhaps a year or so before his death, and he died rather suddenly in 1536. Because Henry VIII took such an interest in his life and upbringing, it can be speculated that Henry was probably very moved by his son's death. Whether this increased an inclination for male children, though, is another matter.

Images (Historical):

Mary I by Hans Eworth c. 1555-1558

Elizabeth Tudor, Flemish School, c. 1546

Edward VI, circle of William Scrots

Henry Fitzroy, Lucas Hornebolte

Did Cardinal Wolsey Commit Suicide?

Cardinal Wolsey, Archbishop of York, a Roman Catholic Cardinal, Henry VIII's chancellor, trusted official, and friend, meets an untimely end in prison on his way to London after his arrest in York. Season one of The Tudors documents two major plot developments--Henry VIII's growing infatuation with Anne Boleyn and his desire to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and the fall of Cardinal Wolsey. Wolsey is Henry VIII's closest advisor in episode one and in prison by the finale of the season--a remarkable victim of political circumstances and his own maneuvering, greed, and desire for power.

Cardinal Wolsey begins to lose his grip on power, and on Henry, when he is unable to use his influence over the Pope to secure Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. To counter the familial alliance between Catherine and Holy Roman Emperor,
Charles, Wolsey attempts to gain the support of the French clergy to pronounce judgment on the matter while the Pope remained under the control of Charles' military and politics. This fails, and a Papal representative, Cardinal Campeggio, is sent to arbitrate on the matter. The result? After months of deliberation, the case must be tried in Rome.

All along, Anne Boleyn and her family work carefully against Wolsey, and this culminates in Wolsey being stripped of his post as chancellor. He returns to York, but Anne Boleyn and her family still fear his potential return to power. A letter is intercepted written by Wolsey to Catherine of Aragon, and this prompts his arrest. Cardinal Wolsey is arrested in York by the Duke of Suffolk, and, on the way to London, he kills himself in prison.

So, how true is this story?

Who Was Cardinal Wolsey?


Thomas Wolsey, unlike many other high-ranking governmental officials traditionally in the English government to this point, was not nobility. Contemporaries branded him the son of a butcher, but it is equally probable that his family's origins were mercantile. He was born around 1473, and he had an excellent education at an early age. Wolsey was recommended to Henry VII by Sir Richard Nanfan, Deputy Lieutenant of Calais, and he became a royal chaplain in 1507. Wolsey joined the Privy Council of Henry VIII in 1509, but he proved himself energetically loyal to Henry during his campaign against the French between 1512 and 1514. This truly secured royal patronage, favoritism, and advancement.

Wolsey's Downfall

Depending upon, and being trusted by the king had its drawbacks. First and foremost, Cardinal Wolsey made many enemies during his career. He introduced methods of forced loans, a means of taxation without Parliamentary approval, to help fund Henry's campaigns abroad. Many people who had been handicapped in their advancement in office similarly hated Wolsey. When Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, he naturally turned to Wolsey, both trusted advisor and Catholic Cardinal, to help bring the situation to the desired closing. The stumbling block was the Pope, Clement VII, who was beset by Catherine's nephew, Charles, and unwilling to provoke the Holy Roman Emperor by appeasing Henry, even if Henry's conscience was truly troubled by having married his dead brother's bride. Clement did allow for Henry and Catherine's case to be heard by Wolsey and Cardinal Campeggio in England at first in 1528, but Clement recalled the case to be heard in Rome and Rome alone. In the meantime, Wolsey's enemies, including Anne Boleyn's family, were set about convincing Henry that Wolsey was deliberately stalling the proceedings. Wolsey was not invited to join the council when it met in 1529. Instead, he was given the option to appear before Parliament to hear a to-be created list of grievances against him or to throw himself upon the king's mercy. He chose the latter option.

Cardinal Wolsey was deprived of a number of his offices and his estates, which were forfeit to the crown. He was allowed, however, to retain the office of Archbishop of York, and he began the journey north late in 1529. He had reason to believe that the king wasn't irrevocably against him--he received both rings and promises from him, and he was even attended by the king's personal physician when he fell ill in January 1530.

Cardinal Wolsey's biggest problem was his own ambition. It is clear, viewing his entire career, that ambition and love of power truly drove him. When bishoprics became vacant, he chose his own candidates or appointed himself to the post to collect the profits. He worked out his own agreements with the King of France and the Holy Roman Emperor in the hope that he would be elected pope, which never came to pass. Once evicted from the seat of power, Wolsey sought power in any form he could find it, including communicating with the Holy Roman Empire's ambassador to England, Chapuys, claiming he could give him important information about Henry. Wolsey also communicated with Clement, and this was enough for Henry. Wolsey may, or may not, have truly been working against Henry. More likely, he was trying to hold on to the different spheres of influence he had gained when he was in power in the hopes he could emerge in the future from exile still a significant power-player in Europe. Henry, encouraged by Wolsey's enemies, decided instead this was treason.

Wolsey's Death

On November 4, 1530, the Earl of Northumberland arrested Wolsey at Cawood. From there, he was taken to Sheffield Park. On November 22, Sir William Kingston, Constable of the Tower of London arrived with the Tower guard. He continued south, under guard, to Leicester where the party stopped at the abbey of St. Mary. However, he had been ill with a bowel infection for some time, and it was clear upon arrival that he wasn't going to travel any farther alive. The Cardinal died on November 30, 1530, and he was buried in the Lady Chapel of the abbey.

Verdict

The interpretation put forth by The Tudors series is highly improbable. In the series, it is implied that Wolsey killed himself, and Henry, once made aware, immediately ordered that the suicide be covered up. Wolsey was simply surrounded by too many people who could account for the circumstances to have killed himself and it have been "swept under the rug" for the ages. The Constable of the Tower, his guard, the abbot of St. Mary's, and the brothers would have made up a band of perhaps 75 people, all of whom would have had a fairly intimate knowledge of the events. Even if Henry had somehow successfully managed to cover up Wolsey's suicide, Henry became the enemy of all monastic orders when he dissolved their establishments in England later in his reign. His daughter, Mary, was a fully-pledged Catholic herself, and both of these circumstances would have afforded opportunities for disaffected people to talk, even if they had been somehow silenced or paid off previously. In addition, it may have been to Henry's advantage to have allowed Cardinal Wolsey's suicide to become public knowledge. Wolsey's enemies would have rejoiced, if rather quietly given the scandal of the circumstances. Wolsey could have been denounced as "ungodly" and used as an example of how pride produces a fall--and that would have single-handedly destroyed his remaining reputation and have handicapped anyone who sympathized with him.

The contemporary series of events was never challenged in later, more tolerant, ages. Therefore, there is no question that this was put into the narrative of the series for dramatic effect and there is absolutely no basis for it from a historical standpoint.

Image:

Cardinal Wolsey by Sampson Strong, painted at Christ Church, 1526.

Kingston by Starlight (Historical Fiction)

Author: Christopher John Farley
Publication Date: 2005
Cost: You can find new copies on Amazon for as low as $2.00 and a Kindle edition is available for $9.99.
Where Did I Hear About It: A "friend" on Facebook mentioned that she was looking forward to reading it this summer, so I borrowed a copy from BooksFree, the online library.

The Backstory

The subject of this novel, told from a first-person perspective, is Anne Bonny, a woman in the 18th century who turned, on and off, to a life of piracy, if the few accounts about her life are to be entirely believed. Bonny was an Irish woman supposedly born sometime between the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. Anne was reputed to be a beautiful woman with a rather intemperate spirit, and she married a rather poor sailor while she was quite young. One of the few details of her life that is known is that she moved to Nassau in the Bahamas before 1720 with her husband. Later, she became intimately involved with pirate Calico Jack Rackham, and she had a child by him in Cuba whose fate is unknown. Apparently, her husband didn't take lightly to this relationship, and he brought Anne before the Royal Governor of the Bahamas demanding that she be punished for her infidelity. Although she was sentenced to be flogged, she managed to escape with Rackham and another female pirate of equally unknown origin, Mary Read.

Mary Read, if true, had a remarkable life as a professional sailor. Read started out on a merchant vessel, but she actually managed to join the British military, and she may actually have seen some action. She supposedly married and even lived off of a military commission, but her husband predeceased her and she returned to the sea. Read fell into a life of piracy when a ship she worked on in the West Indies was attacked by pirates and she was given the option to join them or to be killed. She joined Rackham and Bonny around 1720.

In October 1720, Rackham's crew was taken by surprise, arrested, and brought to trial in Jamaica. Read and Bonny both escaped execution by revealing they were pregnant while in prison. Read died in prison, and there is some indication that childbirth may have been the cause. At the same time, Anne Bonny disappears from the record--there is no indication she was released from prison, and there is no indication she was executed. There are many theories surrounding the fate of Anne Bonny--some think her well-connected father may have had something to do with her disappearance, and some indicate that she lived a long life in South Carolina. None of these theories can be entirely proven.

What About the Book?

Note: A few details of the story are revealed in the following critique. I promise that none of them have a particularly strong bearing on the main plot of the novel, but, if you want to read this for yourself and don't want to spoil a single thing, be forewarned.

This novel was an enjoyable, but completely unchallenging to the reader. The story was a little too tight and convenient, and none of the characters were particularly well developed. However, the story is interesting, and I think this is a pretty quick read overall.

Anne Bonny's story does wrap up a few details of her life into the novel, but there are others that are entirely left out. Other details are a little difficult to believe. For example, Anne's father leaves the family and moves to South Carolina, and eventually Anne and her mother follow him there. Unfortunately, it turns out that the are stuck on a ship contracted to transfer slaves, and the crew, in a drunken rampage, actually kills her mother. None of this makes sense. Under no circumstances would two women unaccompanied by any male chaperones have boarded a ship like this in the 18th century. This odd trend continues when Anne, disowned by her father after meeting him in South Carolina, manages to steal a bunch of silver and pay for her own passage to the West Indies with it. In this case, it would have served the author, and the plot, much better if the factual details of her life guided her to the Indies. The inclusion of her husband would have really added another dimension to the story that it is seriously lacking.

Mary Read's character is endlessly baffling. The crew meet her under completely unrealistic circumstances that are never fully explained. There comes a point when Mary Read reveals that she is a woman, and it doesn't seem to make a difference at all. One feels that it isn't probable that she is even female because this has no bearing on how she is treated, and there isn't even any surprise.

Consistency continues to be a problem in many different ways in the novel. The author goes into great detail about Anne and her love of the sea and adventure and living the life of a man, but, at one point, the reader finds her living on an island with Rackham on what must have been a plantation of some kind. This is completely inconsistent with the character that the author developed for the reader, and it creates a completely unnecessary pause in what would have been a much more interesting story without it. This is one instance, of many, where history--even embellished history--was far more interesting than what the author was able to imagine.

Overall, though, the story is interesting and the reader is encouraged to continue. Anne life is a fascinating one, even with details left out or modified. Probably the best part is the section focusing on her life at sea, which comprises the majority of the novel. The story benefits from the fact that at any time, anything can happen, and that is a great advantage. It is the details that set this scenario up and provide a conclusion that are less captivating.

Rating: A 5, but a strong 5. I enjoyed reading it and went through it quickly. Although I was a bit disappointed in a few aspects of it, it is a fun story, and if you're looking for something enjoyable but not too serious or shocking, this may be the book for you.
Buy It or Borrow It: I'd say borrow it, but with such a small price tag on Amazon, you couldn't really go wrong. A few days overdue, and you'd pay the $2.00 to the library anyway.

Images:

An illustration from the Dutch version of Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates published in 1725. This is not thought to be a genuine likeness of either of the women portrayed.

Catherine Howard

Author: Lacey Baldwin Smith
Publication Date: First published in 1961; newest edition is 2010
Cost: A handful of new books are left on Amazon at $14.96, but used ones are also available there for around $10.00. There is no Kindle edition
Where Did I Hear About It: I found this in a Waterstones in London. Since I have never seen this in a US bookstore, I purchased it (couldn't go wrong for 9.99 GBP).

The Backstory

Catherine Howard is best known as Henry VIII's fifth wife and, unfortunately, nothing more. Catherine wasn't a particularly notable character in the context of her family or her family's relationship to the King. She counted the very powerful Duke of Norfolk as her uncle, as Anne Boleyn had before her. In many ways, Catherine and Anne were alike far beyond their having blossomed on the same family tree (albeit on branches rather far apart). Both of them came from families that were connected, loosely, to the higher-level peers in the realm. Both of them truly needed to find more wealthy, more well-established partners if they were ever to live in a state of financial stability. If there is a difference, it is that Anne was a few steps above Catherine on the scale of Tudor era wealth and connections. Anne's family were peers with a connection to the royal family, although they could count tradespeople and merchants in their bloodline as well, and they had the means to send Anne to the Continent to be educated in two foreign courts before she made an appearance on the English scene. Catherine was the daughter of a minor peer with very little influence, even less money, and a large family to feed.

No one actually knows when Catherine was born, although the latest date of 1527 is extremely unlikely as she would have only been around 13 years old when Henry was serious about marrying her. The year 1525 seems to be the latest possible date, based on descriptions of her, that she could have possibly been born. Possibly because of her father's small means and large family, Catherine joined the household of her step-grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk (step-mother of the then Duke of Norfolk) where she was raised with a number of other young peers from minor families like her own. Catherine had two notable "flirtations" while in the Duchess's household--Henry Mannox, her music teacher, and Francis Dereham, a young man who had a position there. Unfortunately, these seemingly innocent adolescent relationships would come back to haunt Catherine later.

In January 1540, an aging Henry VIII wed for the fourth time to Anne of Cleves, and clearly from the beginning, this was not a match that would last long. Although Anne was at least somewhat unaware, Henry, who was used to at least convincing himself he was attracted to and in love with his mates, was not at all pleased by Anne. However, for a man well-known to be ruthless and selfish, he didn't blame Anne. Six months later, he had the marriage annulled, but he granted Anne a generous settlement and continued to foster a positive, if platonic, relationship with her. During Anne's brief tenure as Queen Consort, the Duke of Norfolk gained Catherine Howard a position in Anne's household as one of her ladies in waiting. It is thought that during this time, Henry met and grew infatuated with Catherine, showering her with the same deluge of gifts that were placed before Jane Seymour and Anne Boleyn. There were rumors that Catherine was pregnant by the time Henry ended his marriage to Anne of Cleves, so Henry married Catherine, quietly and hastily, about three weeks later.

Henry's "rose without a thorn" was only queen for a fleeting year and a half. At first, Henry's ardor continued unabated. Catherine was fun and full of life, if not as educated as her predecessors. What possessed Catherine to indiscretion is a mystery to this day, but it is clear that she harbored some intention (at the very least) to begin a romantic relationship with Thomas Culpepper, a servant in the king's household. She also hired the same Francis Dereham she was previously involved with to work in her own household. Allegations of Catherine's indiscreet behavior, primarily in the Duchess's house, was brought to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who brought it to Henry. Henry didn't believe it at first, but confessions from Culpepper and Dereham and a letter written to Culpepper by Catherine sealed her fate. Culpepper and Dereham were executed in December 1541. Catherine would end her life on the scaffold in February 1542, and Henry would never quite be the same again.

What About the Book?

This is one of the only biographical accounts of Catherine Howard out there for readers who may be interested in examining the short-lived queen outside of the many novels that have been written about her, especially in the recent past. There is another biography by Joanna Denny available, but, since I did not have a very positive opinion about her biography of Anne Boleyn, I am very tentative to read it.

This book proves why there aren't more accounts of Catherine Howard's life. The available resources are so few and far between and no new leads have ever emerged to sharpen the fuzzy edges of Catherine's life and character. The majority of the details of Catherine's life only become clear when she and her suspected accomplices were examined by the authorities when Catherine was accused of adultery. Catherine's date of birth has never definitively been known, and neither have the reasons why she was moved in the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk's household. This is mainly because Catherine would have led a pretty unnotable life if she hadn't caught Henry's eye at just the right time. She was never particularly highly educated. In all probability, one of what would have inevitably become a string of available suitors would have succeeded in gaining her hand in marriage at some later point. Catherine is probably the greatest beneficiary and, subsequently victim, of circumstance of any of Henry VIII's wives.

The lack of information is what truly plagues this book. Smith is very enlightening when it comes to Catherine's family lineage, including her own immediate family. Unfortunately, at least one very lengthy chapter, focusing on London and the Court, could have been entirely done away with without a loss to the book's subject, but I assume this was added to at least get 200 pages into the text.

Smith's work also suffers from a lack of interesting commentary and assessment. It is very much a report, and a report that gives too much of what we already know and not enough of what we can only imagine. If she examined sources, she doesn't evaluate them. As a result, there is nothing new, and one can only wonder what may have been missed in the process. David Starkey does offer a fair amount of assessment and commentary about Catherine Howard in his (unfortunately short) section about her in his Six Wives, and I feel that is superior to this biography with Catherine as its only subject.

Rating: A 5. If this is the first book you have read that mentions Catherine, this is as good a start as any, but if you've read other accounts of her by other authors, you'll find this account seriously lacking.
Buy It or Borrow It: Sadly, I am not sure this is widely available to borrow in the US. I am sure it is available in most libraries in the UK, and it may be worth a read if borrowing is an option for you. If your only option is to buy it, skip this in favor of Starkey's Six Wives.

Images:

An unconfirmed, but often referenced, possible likeness of Catherine Howard, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1540-1541

Henry VIII, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1540

An unconfirmed possible likeness of Catherine Howard, probably the most popular, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1541