By, Alisa Yardley
History, as many of us know, has a tendency to favour the male perspective. In The Taming of the Queen, as in many of her novels, Philippa Gregory writes in the first person from the female point of view; in this case: Kateryn Parr, the sixth and final bride of King Henry VIII. Using her expertise on women's history, she brings historical figures to life through a clever combination of fact and hypothesis. Her use of the first person narrative gives us a glimpse into what the heroines of her Tudor series may have been thinking and feeling as they lived through the infamous dramas of a tyrannical king.
The Taming of the Queen begins well, reminding readers that Henry VIII was a man who could change his mind on a whim and rid himself of unwanted brides by any means necessary, while also introducing another side; a pleasing one, that endeared his newest wife to him against all prior knowledge of how dangerous being close to him could be. Henry VIII is portrayed in many ways as a sociopathic narcissist, charming enough to get what he wanted, and unfeeling enough to discard it when he was finished.
Religion was a major political issue of the time that led to conspiracies and continuously changing tides as the court grappled for the favour of the King through his many marriages and affairs. Men who were at the right hand of the King could as easily find themselves facing the block, yet they continued to climb over one another in their desire to be at the top. Kateryn Parr was represented as a sensible and intellectual woman who revelled in religious studies and transcribing. At the start she impressed the King greatly and he supported her pursuits. He showed affection to his new wife and regaled her with favours and gifts. He celebrated her so far as to publish her prayer book, the first book ever to be openly penned by a woman.
As Henry was wont to do, he soon changed toward Kateryn. What he celebrated in her before, later became a threat to her safety. Books were taken from her rooms. Papers had to be discarded. Everyone was on edge. Henry was ill. Henry was angry, and he was flirting with a new woman. That was a bad combination and one that in the past had the unfortunate result of landing innocent people in The Tower and worse. Gregory depicts Henry VIII as diabolically playing both sides against each other and laughing at the way they danced to his ever changing medley of tunes.
Perhaps Gregory's brightest character, or at any rate, the one I liked best, was King Henry's Fool, Will Sommers. He appeared as a kind of omnipresent witness to all the insanity that took place in the King's court through the years. He spoke the truth, yet managed to do so in riddles and other ways that kept him safe from direct reproach. After all, he survived a court that seemed to be a revolving door with life and death in consequence.
There was a section throughout the middle of the book that felt slow in progressing. In some ways, I found I was waiting to learn how and when the King had died, because I knew his sixth queen had survived him, but I wasn't sure of the details. I was interested to see how Kateryn's story would play out. Pleasingly, the book soon picked up again and I thoroughly enjoyed the read! Great characters. Great Setting. Fantastic story telling. Philippa Gregory is a master, in my opinion.
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