Book reviews – Loyalty and Honour by Matthew Lewis

Loyalty and Honour are two books by Matthew Lewis that very cleverly spans across two reigning families, the Plantagenets and the Tudors. Both books alternate between eras effortlessly with Hans Holbein linking the two eras.

Loyalty opens with the painter Hans Holbein receiving a mystery summons by Sir Thomas More where they meet and More begins to tell a story that will change Holbein’s perception to history and the rise of the Tudors. It certainly had me gripped to learn what Sir Thomas More had to say.

The story then jumps back 56 years to when King Edward IV was on the throne. The King and his younger brother Richard are approaching the Battle of Barnet and their return to England. The story focuses on Richard and his thoughts and feelings to the events. The story is fast paced and covers all the key aspects of Richard and his rise to taking the throne.

We continue to come back to Sir Thomas More and Hans Holbein who recap the story and move through any parts that have not been covered. Like Holbein I found myself wanting to get back to hearing more about Richard and the story that was being told.

Loyalty sticks with Richard through Edward’s reign and tells a different story to the one we know, we see Richard’s reaction to his brother negotiating with France and why he left the country early, Lewis also puts forward a touching relationship between Richard and his soon to be executed brother, George. Seeing a different interpretation on these events and relationships really puts forward a more sympathetic view on Richard.

The most interesting point for me was Lewis’ take on what happened to the Princes in the Tower. Many theories have flown around over the years, did Richard kill them? Was it the Tudors to help secure Henry’s claim? Or as Lewis puts forward did they simply go into hiding after it was discovered that they were illegitimate. Loyalty goes on to explore Richard’s reign and how he ruled when he was one of the only people who knew the fate of the princes.

For me personally, the backbone of Loyalty was the story of Richard and Anne and their marriage. How Richard rescued her, their married life, the birth of Edward and how they suddenly found themselves King and Queen of England. It was so beautifully written that I found myself so emotionally involved that when Richard and Anne said their final goodbyes I found a tear or two falling at their loss.

The Tudor elements of Sir Thomas More and Hans Holbein are great as you really feel as if Holbein is being told this story and you are also sat listening and being transported back in time.

Loyalty ends with the Battle of Bosworth and the fall of Richard III. However, Honour begins immediately after the battle is lost with Francis Lovell escaping the battlefield. We again meet Hans Holbein but this time he is summoned by King Henry VIII himself who tells the Tudors side of what happened to the princes during the reign of his father.

In Honour we see Lovell and the remaining followers of Richard flee from the Tudors and plot their revenge. When they learn of the fate of the two princes, who everybody believed were dead and Richard was to blame, we see a focus for the rebellions that also brings in the children of the Duke of Clarence, Edward and Margaret. Edward is also smuggled out of the tower and hidden, later to be another force for Henry VII to contend with.

Hans Holbein has a wider role in this book; he has been tasked by Henry VIII to create a portrait that contains many hidden meanings as a test for a wider position. Holbein interacts with Henry and Thomas Cromwell as well as Sir Thomas More and you really get a sense that Holbein is caught between two powerful men who are both telling him stories.

With the addition of Henry VII a new danger has been included as now Lovell and his men are the underdogs and I found myself willing them on in their quest, despite knowing the outcome.

Both books are so well written that you will find yourself turning each page wanting to know what happened next. Lewis has offered a fresh pair of eyes on history that is well known and although it is a work of fiction you can’t help but wonder what if?

Honour leaves the story open for more and I for one can’t wait to read it.

Book review – Lady Katherine Knollys: The Unacknowledged Daughter of Henry VIII by Sarah-Beth Watkins.

The paternity of Lady Katherine Knollys and her brother Henry Carey have long been discussed and debated by historians and enthusiasts alike. Were they the children of Mary Boleyn’s husband William Carey or were they in fact the illegitimate children of King Henry VIII?

Lady Katherine Knollys: The Unacknowledged Daughter of Henry VIII looks at the life of Mary’s daughter and how she grew up in close proximity to the Tudor court and her alleged family.

The book begins with a look at Katherine’s mother, Mary, and her upbringing starting with her time in France in the service of Mary Tudor and her introduction to the Tudor court. It wasn’t long before Mary caught the eye of the King of England and became his mistress at the same time Mary was also married to William Carey. Between being a wife and a mistress to the most powerful man in England any children that were born from her relationship with Henry they would be brought up as her husband’s. Watkins puts forward a strong and easy to understand reason as to why William would be declared their father along with why Katherine would be Henry’s daughter.

If Katherine was Henry’s child then why didn’t he recognise her like he did with his illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy? As Watkins so eloquently puts forward Katherine wasn’t a boy and so would have served no purpose for Henry another reason was that it was not long after Katherine’s birth that Henry began pursuing her mother’s sister, Anne. If Katherine was formally recognised as Henry’s daughter then any children he would have with Anne would be illegitimate due to his past relationship so as it is put forward here it was better to not acknowledge her.

Sarah-Beth Watkins talks through the relationship between Henry and Anne but places the Carey children at the centre of it. With Anne providing for Henry Carey and Katherine at home with her mother where she stayed until she was placed in the new household of Princess Elizabeth. This would be the start of a close relationship that would survive until Katherine’s death.

Watkins has done a great job including many letters and diary entries regarding events that were close to Katherine’s life these add great insight into the type of life Katherine would have had.

Watkins continues through Katherine’s adolescence as a companion to Elizabeth, her mother’s marriage to her new husband William Stafford that caused outrage within her own family and the breakdown of Anne’s marriage with Henry that led to Anne’s execution.

Henry declared Elizabeth illegitimate after Anne’s execution and Katherine was sent to court to serve as maid of honour to Anne of Cleves, a position that was highly sought after and an honour to serve the new Queen. Watkins puts forward the suggestion that Henry was always looking after Katherine and placed her in prestigious roles that would allow him to provide for her.

Watkins navigates the reader and Katherine through the ups and downs of Henry’s court until Katherine marries Francis Knollys and begins her family away from court. Upon her marriage her new husband was well rewarded as well, was this again Henry quietly looking after his family?

Watkins also talks about Katherine’s brother Henry as well and his paternity. Anne provided an education for her nephew at the prestigious Syon Abbey, where the young Henry Carey’s paternity was called into question where his likeness to the King was a talking point. Again Watkins reinforces that Henry was potentially the father to both Carey children but also points out that those that spoke about Carey’s resemblance to the King as words from the anti Boleyn faction who were always out to discredit Henry’s second wife.

The last half of Watkins book covers Katherine’s adult life after the death of her mother, Mary. Katherine and Francis had 14 children and mostly lived away from court until Henry’s death in 1547. With Edward VI on the throne Francis Knollys was knighted and Katherine was now able to go by Lady Knollys.

Life was great for Katherine and the Knollys family. That is until Mary took the throne, with Watkins showing how Katherine was brought up in a detailed and easy to follow manner it is easy to see how her later life was influenced by her upbringing as a Protestant. Being a Protestant meant that they were a target for Mary and the persecution that followed. Watkins shows how the Knollys were forced the flee England for the continent. Katherine and Elizabeth remained in constant communication with Elizabeth writing to Katherine before she left the country. By including the letters it gives an insight into the unique relationship the potential sisters had. With that the Knollys left England and fled to Frankfurt.

Watkins really shows how close the future Queen and Katherine were and with that the book moves into Queen Elizabeth’s reign and how she bought the exiled Protestants home including her closest friend, Katherine. Watkins goes on to show just how much Elizabeth relied on Katherine and how valued Katherine was. Watkins goes to explain how Elizabeth surrounded herself with family but that she could still not acknowledge Katherine as her sister as she would be illegitimate so instead Katherine and Henry were cousins and richly rewarded for it.

As Katherine was moving towards the end of her life Watkins talks about a significant event that happened, Sir Francis was asked to be a custodian of Mary Queen of Scots but Elizabeth would not allow Katherine to go with him. Watkins again includes letters from Francis to Lord Cecil asking to visit his wife time and again. These letters that have been included show how much Katherine meant to her husband.

With the death of Katherine Watkins shows how not only Francis dealt with her death but also Elizabeth who had lost possibly her cousin and companion, if not sister.

Watkins could have easily have left the book with Katherine’s death but she talks about Katherine’s children and their life’s particularly focusing on Lettice Knollys and her marriage to Sir Robert Dudley to the anger of the Queen. Each of the Knollys children are talked about even if there is little to know, this is a great inclusion as it shows the legacy of the Carey and Knollys name.

Watkins has put together a clear and concise account of Lady Katherine Knollys and how she fitted into the court around her with her uncertain parentage. If she was the daughter of Henry VIII then she had a life that was a step away from her siblings who were in and out of the succession and legitimacy. Katherine’s life is an interesting one that often gets overlooked so it is great to see a book dedicated to her in an easy to follow way that includes the key events of her lifetime.

Lady Katherine Knollys: The Unacknowledged Daughter of Henry VIII by Sarah-Beth Watkins is available now and is published by Chronos Books

Book review – Mary Boleyn in a nutshell by Sarah Bryson

Very little is known about the other Boleyn girl. Was she the mistress of two Kings? Did she give birth to Henry VIII’s children? Just what do we know about Mary Boleyn?

Sarah Bryson jumps into the unknown life of Mary Boleyn and attempts to pull the facts out of the little that is known about her.

We start right at the beginning with the birth of the Boleyn children and the debate over the order in which they were born. We follow Mary though her time at the French court and her return to England.

Sarah Bryson takes her time to look into Mary’s alleged relationship with King Francis I of France. Bringing in arguments for and against Mary being the French King’s mistress we are given a balanced and clear idea of what may have happened. All the evidence is carefully examined and anything that was documented falsely is proven with the reasons why. An example of this is a letter written by Rodolfo Pio in the year that Anne and George were executed. Bryson clearly explains why and how what is written in the letter is false.

A large portion of this book looks at Mary’s relationship with King Henry VIII and it deals with the question of whether her children Catherine and Henry were in fact Henry’s children or the legitimate children with her husband William Carey. I found this section of the book highly interesting as this is what Mary is remembered for over everything else so to have the facts written down clearly is helpful to anyone who doesn’t know much about Mary Boleyn.

Bryson also explains what happens to Mary once her relationship with Henry was over, her banishment from court and her second marriage with William Stafford. Much of her later life is unknown but we get the idea that she lived happily away from court with her family.

The book is a great read and easily finished if you have an afternoon free for reading. It is great to learn more about the Boleyn who is often left in the shadows of her younger sister, Anne.

Book review – The King’s Curse by Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory has a real talent for bringing alive the characters of her stories. Those who lived and breathed during the Wars of the Roses over 500 years ago are brought to life on the pages of her books. The King’s Curse is no different as we follow Margaret Pole through 40 years of her life.

Margaret Pole, Plantagenet by birth and niece to King Edward IV and King Richard III is now living in the Tudor court. Her brother, Edward, is locked away in the Tower of London his only crime is being the true Plantagenet heir to the throne. We are first introduced to Margaret in The King’s Curse after her brother has been executed on the orders of Henry VII at the request of the Spanish monarchs before they send their daughter, Katherine of Aragon, to England for marriage to the King’s oldest son, Arthur.

Margaret is head of the household at Ludlow Castle serving Prince Arthur and his new bride Katherine. We see through her eyes the developing love between the newlyweds and the heart break when Arthur dies just months later.

Margaret is sent home to her husband, an arranged marriage at the hands of Henry VII in order to bury the Plantagenet name and memory of years past. Margaret and her husband struggle with money and to raise their own children and with the death of her husband the family are pushed into poverty. As a reader you really feel for Margaret who has to do anything she can to survive.

With Henry VIII taking the throne upon his father’s death he is keen to unite the once warring families, especially as his mother was also a Princess of York. He restores his aunt’s titles and lands to her and welcomes her to court once again running the household of the new Queen, Katherine of Aragon. Margaret is loyal to the new Queen as she was when she was in Ludlow. We stay with Margaret in the service of the Queen for more than a decade where she is witness to the Queen’s many miscarriages and stillbirths along with the birth of the only surviving child a daughter, Mary.

With the possibility of any more children born to the Queen we see Henry change from the boy that Margaret knew who was caring and loving to a bitter man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. This starts with putting aside Queen Katherine in favour of Anne Boleyn and raising his illegitimate son to a Dukedom.

Margaret remains loyal to the Queen and her daughter Mary, who she is the governess of. Margaret spends much of her time during this part of the story at her home and court news is relayed to her through hers son. Through this we learn of Henry’s break with Rome and the oath he makes every subject take throughout the country to the King’s new marriage and subsequently the birth of his new daughter, Elizabeth. With the news coming in the form of letters and her sons it does not place Margaret in the centre of the action so we are only told what is needed to be known and the less important details are left out.

Whilst at Margaret’s home we get to see the relationship with her family in particularly the strained relationship with her youngest son, Reginald. We are also able to see Margaret’s reactions to the Pilgrimage of the North and how the Pole family remain loyal to the Princess and want to act in her best interest as she is declared illegitimate.

Henry’s descent from the sweet child whose brother was destining to be King to the tyrant he became in his later life is really well documented in The King’s Curse his failures to produce many living heirs, his many wives and a country that drives him to be paranoid about anyone and everyone is clear to see and you have a clear understanding of what drove Henry to lose his way.

The tragic ending of the book shows just how far Henry’s paranoia stretched and I’d be surprised if you aren’t reaching for a tissue or calling out in support of Margaret.

As with many historical novels they don’t cover all the facts and truths but I find that they are a good starting place to jumpstart further readings to learn the truth.

The King’s Curse is well written each character is a good rounded person with their own personalities and the writing flows so easy that you find yourself constantly saying ‘just one more chapter’. Philippa Gregory once again shows why she is leading the way with historical novels.

Book review – The Six Wives and Many Mistresses of Henry VIII

We all know the story of the six wives of Henry VIII and how their relationships ended but what about the women who didn’t make queen but still captured the heart of the king? Amy Licence has set out in this book to look at the woman that Henry encountered.

Amy Licence takes a chronological look at Henry VIII’s life we delve into the times of his life without Henry taking centre stage and let the women shine. We start at Katherine of Aragon and her marriage to Prince Arthur. An interesting theory is offered about whether or not their marriage was consummated. No spoilers here though you’ll have to read the book yourself to see it! We read how Henry and Katherine came together and reigned over the country in unison. Amy Licence also describes in detail how Katherine’s court was run and the pressure she was under to deliver Henry a male heir.

The story continues with Henry’s infatuation with Anne Boleyn and how he juggled two relationships at once, playing the loving husband and father to his wife whilst acting as the doting lover to his mistress. The book also shows how Henry’s search for an annulment to his wife destroyed one woman and elevated another to the position of queen. We see how Anne Boleyn keeps the king’s interest in the years before their wedding in order to protect her virginity if she was indeed still a virgin! The fall of Anne is captured in a way that is easy to understand why she was charged with treason.

Like Henry’s relationship with Katherine and Anne, dealing with two partners at the same time, we learn that Henry again repeats history by juggling Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour. Licence debates an interesting theory for Henry and Jane’s hasty marriage after the death of his former queen; was Jane already pregnant? Following Jane there are two shorts sections on his next queens Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard. Although short they are packed full of amazing detail of their relationships with Henry and how they came to be married to the King of England.

The final section is dedicated to Henry’s sixth and final wife Catherine Parr how she forfeited marrying for love to accept Henry’s offer, the book covers how she was almost arrested for her religious beliefs but knew how to treat Henry to avoid falling into the same fate as many wives before her. We also see what happens to Catherine after Henry’s death.

As well as covering Henry’s six wives the book also deals with the known and unknown mistresses of Henry as they happen within Henry’s timeline. We learn more about Bessie Blount and Mary Boleyn the only two women definitely known as Henry’s mistresses. Most importantly though we learn about the women that Henry encountered and possibly had relationships with. Perhaps the reason we don’t hear more about these women is that Henry was highly private as Licence discusses throughout. His attempt to protect his wives and his reputation means that we don’t know these women as well as we should. Henry truly believed what happened behind his bedroom doors stayed private.

This book is highly recommended to anyone who wants to learn more about the women in Henry’s life from his well documented wives to the mistresses and potential wives we know little about. A book that is fascinating from start to finish, it is a book you’ll find difficult to put down as you want to learn more with each turn of the page.