The Queen's Mistake
Diane Haeger
NAL, Oct 2009, $15.00
ISBN: 9780451228000
As she waits in the Tower for her death, Queen Catherine Howard wonders how her life could go from a euphoric high with her love for obese King Henry VIII to where he will not receive her plea for mercy or her innocence. She reflects back on her past; thinking of her older cousin Anne Boleyn, second wife of the monarch; as her fate will prove the same. Still young, she wanted a love of a lifetime, but her naive misunderstanding of backstabbing and her youthful flirting that the King used to cherish has led her to affairs of the heart as she was betrayed by those the inexperienced female trusted; they made known to her spouse and in late 1542, she and her lovers were executed.
Although the wives of Henry VIII have starred in many books and movies, THE QUEEN’S MISTAKE is a fascinating biographical fiction that portrays Catherine Howard as foolishly naïve with her lovers especially of those of her age. By taking her peers as her lovers, she inadvertently insults the aging monarch who seeks to regain his lost youth with his young queen. Although not much new is provided in this look at one of the Tudor queens, fans will enjoy Diane Haeger’s take on sixteenth century aristocratic permissiveness.
Harriet Klausner
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