I have read the first two books in this series and had a difficult time getting through both. When I started the third book, I was hoping for a better experience, but I was unable to proceed. I am terribly disappointed but feel that others would be able to give a fairer report on the book than I. I will not be reading the remainder of the series.

This is unbelievably boring and I hated it ( )

Katheryn Howard - The Tainted Queen is the fifth novel in the Six Tudor Queens series by British historian Alison Weir. I've been following the series for years now and each book can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone.

We join Katheryn Howard at age seven in 1528 and follow her short life in a first person narrative all the way until her death in 1542. She falls in love with several men in her youth, and I desperately wanted Katheryn to be more discreet and discerning while at the same time recognising the folly of youth and the overwhelming urges of desire.

Katheryn's life unalterably changes when she's selected by family and powerful men driven by political aspirations to court King Henry VIII. As we know, Katheryn goes on to become the King's fifth wife (hence the fifth book in the series) and I cringed when her past kept coming back to haunt her. Despite knowing the outcome, I was still moved by her decline in Henry's favour and her ultimate execution.

I eagerly awaited the scene that takes place at Hampton Court Palace when Katheryn breaks free from her guards and runs down a corridor towards the Chapel Royal screaming for mercy from the King. The scene in the book exceeded my every expectation and I felt a chill reading it. It is said the ghost of Katheryn Howard can be felt in this corridor and some visitors report feeling a chill or hearing screams. The corridor is now known as the 'haunted gallery' and it was a highlight of my visit to Hampton Court Palace in 2018.

This, together with my imagining Katheryn as portrayed by Tamzin Merchant in The Tudors series only added to my reading enjoyment.

Given Katheryn was just 21 when she died, I wasn't expecting such a well rounded and 'full' novel, but I really shouldn't have been surprised. In Alison Weir's expert hands, I was transported back to the 1500s and given another chance to participate as an observer in the dramatic Tudor court.

I thoroughly enjoyed Katheryn Howard - The Tainted Queen and recommend it to readers with an interest in the Tudor period; even if you've read about the characters elsewhere. There's only one more to come in this series Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife and there's no doubt it's going to be one of my most anticipated releases in 2020.

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia * ( )

After her mother dies, young Katheryn is passed between relatives as her feckless father gambles his way through life. Ending up in the house of her rich step-grandmother, Katheryn is educated in the way of well-bred Tudor women - she can dance and sew but reading and writing are harder. The Duchess houses several young ladies and their chaperone is lax so Katheryn also learns to flirt and go further with young men but when her family connections and good looks enable her to attend the court of Henry VIII, her past may be a problem.

This is the fifth in Weir's exemplary fictionalisation of the lives of Henry VIII's infamous six wives. Here the focus is on the young Katheryn Howard, a girl who was too naive when young and who found herself married to old and ailing man who genuinely loved her. As Weir is such a great historian, her books read more like biographies with fiction traits, the research is impeccable and I like the way that Weir explains her decisions about plotlines in terms of what was relevant to experiences of Katheryn as opposed to historical fact that her lead character may not be aware of. I'll be sad when we run out of wives! ( )

Allison Weir’s deep research continues to produce novels that show the characters of Henry the VIII’s wives. Yes, we know what happened to them, but in fleshing out the story, historian Weir can take them out of the history books and make them into real flesh and blood women. This book is no exception. ( )