Katheryn Howard, the Scandalous Queen

By: Alison Weir

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Best-selling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir tells the tragic story of Henry VIII’s fifth wife, a 19-year-old beauty with a hidden past, in this fifth novel in the sweeping Six Tudor Queens series.

In the spring of 1540, Henry VIII is desperate to be rid of his unappealing German queen, Anna of Kleve. A prematurely aged and ailing 49, with an ever-growing waistline, he casts an amorous eye on a pretty 19-year-old brunette, Katheryn Howard. Like her cousin Anne Boleyn, Katheryn is a niece of the Duke of Norfolk, England’s premier Catholic peer, who is scheming to replace Anna of Kleve with a good Catholic queen. A fun-loving, eager participant in the life of the royal court, Katheryn readily succumbs to the king’s attentions when she is intentionally pushed into his path by her ambitious family.

Henry quickly becomes besotted and is soon laying siege to Katheryn’s virtue. But as instructed by her relations, she holds out for marriage and the wedding takes place a mere fortnight after the king’s union to Anna is annulled. Henry tells the world his new bride is a rose without a thorn, and extols her beauty and her virtue, while Katheryn delights in the pleasures of being queen and the rich gifts her adoring husband showers upon her: The gorgeous gowns, the exquisite jewels, and the darling lap-dogs. She comes to love the ailing, obese king, enduring his nightly embraces with fortitude and kindness. If she can bear him a son, her triumph will be complete. But Katheryn has a past of which Henry knows nothing, and which comes back increasingly to haunt her - even as she courts danger yet again. What happens next to this naïve and much-wronged girl is one of the saddest chapters in English history.

©2020 Alison Weir (P)2020 Recorded Books

Another excellent Henry VIII’s wife book!

Elegant narration, intriguing plot, easy to follow storyline. I listen to everything I can by Weir and Landor.

The scandalous queen

I liked this book. It was interesting and I like to have historical figures brought to life.

Excellent Book and Narrator

I loved this Audible book. The narrator was excellent, successfully using different voices for each of the characters. I enjoy anything I can get my hands on regarding Tudor England, and Alison Weir never disappoints.

Oh No!! Not Again!!!

Feel sorry for this poor girl, I guess. She was so young to be wed to an older man with a smelly leg. On the other hand, he was the King! That is very beneficial for her and all of her relatives. What's a girl to do? Lose her head?

Great Read

beautifully written, great attention to detail, good narration. Plot was smooth and interesting. Loved the everything about the book .