Katharine Parr, the Sixth Wife (Six Tudor Queens #6) – Alison Weir
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres! I love to escape into different historical times and places, so Alison Weir’s Six Tudor Queens series very much attracted my attention.
The lives (and deaths) of the six Queens of King Henry VIII of England all too often get summed up in the simple rhyme: “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.” Thankfully, Alison Weir brings these women to life and gives each a voice to tell her own story. While obviously, these women’s narratives are wrapped up in the trappings of King Henry VIII’s court and political agenda, they each have a unique personality and story that should not be neglected due to the bombastic and erratic nature of their common husband’s life and personality.
This sixth and final book of the series tells the story of Katharine Parr from childhood, through several marriages and widowhoods, to becoming Queen of England during a politically dangerous time. Weir gives Katharine Parr her own motivations, personality, and loyalties which inform her decisions and make her an independent individual not defined simply by her relationship to her husband(s). Katharine Parr is more than ‘the Queen who survived.’
I recommend this series to anyone interested in gaining insight into the lives of these amazing women, the Tudor court and politics of the era, or simply want an accessible way into learning about Medieval English history.
Read on my friends!
-Haddi
