The Sixth Wife by Jean Plaidy
I don’t know why I didn’t start reading Jean Plaidy books much earlier. I love the tales she weaves, the way she really seems to identify with these historical people.
Going into this book, I didn’t know a whole lot about Katherine Parr, and to an extent, I still feel like I don’t. I don’t think this is any fault of the author, I really think it’s simply because there isn’t a whole lot of information about Katherine Parr out there. We know so little about her, other than Henry was planning to rid himself of her but died before he could.
Despite the fact that this story is surrounding court and all that goes along with that, I really felt like there was a lot more to it than that. The religious turmoil of this time in history is very fascinating, and I really feel like anyone who thinks these books are nothing but court intrigue simply hasn’t invested enough time to learn more about the whole thing.
I think my favorite part was the tale of Anne Askew. Her story is just so sad and interesting at the same time – the only woman to be tortured in the tower! It’s really interesting to me that someone like her, who had no training against torture, could still withstand it and not give up any names. Maybe she didn’t know anyone else to give up, but I think it’s more likely that she simply was that strong and protected everyone else she knew who would be considered guilty of preaching the new learning.
All the stories interweaved was very interesting, it can be easy to forget how…related…everyone was back then. I mean, the talk of Edward marrying Jane Grey when you know they’re related, it’s just bizarre. But yet, so interesting that no one thinks twice about it, they embrace it, in fact. What could be better than someone with two royal blooded parents!
I’ll definitely continue to read Jean Plaidy’s books, and invest more time in the books she has written under other names as well.
Read this book if: You want to know more about Katherine Parr, what life was like for a woman who knew that two of Henry’s wives lost their lives essentially for political reasons. That she couldn’t say no, yet knew it might mean her death to say yes. All very interesting stuff.
