Amazon US $5.08
Amazon CA $6.01 $21.95
Family drama
1500s / Tudor
England
That winter of 1535,
fourteen-year-old Katherine Carey idolises her father, hates her step-father
and desperately wants to leave home and join her aunt at court. Her mother is
Mary Boleyn, the aunt in question Anne Boleyn, approaching what will be the
last six months of her life. The court belongs to Henry Tudor. Thanks to her
step-father, Katherine finally joins her aunt and immediately discovers that
court is not the happy place she expected it to be.
Secrets and plots
abound. One of them concerns Katherine directly, and turns her life on its
head; others centre on bringing down the Boleyn Queen. This book is directed at
Young Adult readers, a fact I did not appreciate until I had finished it and
read some reviews. Though Katherine did seem young in the first few pages, her
perception of her aunt’s sufferings, the need to keep secrets and keep herself
safe from harm all seem to belong to someone much older than fourteen. Her
awareness that she has met the man she will love forever also seems far removed
from the usual fourteen-year-old crushes of today. Her character is well
portrayed, as is that of her aunt, but other characters are given less
attention. Distinguishing one lady-in-waiting from another was difficult and
Henry himself comes across as a figurehead.
The writing is smoothly
executed, and the pace is adequate, though a tad slow in places. I enjoyed the
book of poems conceit and have read of something similar in reference to Lady
Margaret Douglas, who was some six years older than Katherine. Whether the
writings match Katherine’s inner thoughts I leave to each reader to decide. In
many ways she reaches adulthood in those fateful six months and certainly comes
to terms with her step-father, which was rather sweet.
Katherine’s loyalty to
her aunt means the ending was not an anti-climax - though of course we all know
how the Boleyn Queen’s life had to end. The book is a good read for any age and
I would recommend it to those who enjoy the period.
© Jen Black
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