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May 29, 2011
Richard and Judy Book Club Pick: "This irresistible novel tells the dramatic story of Katherine Howard’s extraordinary rise to become Henry V111’s ill-fated fifth wife. Only 19, and an orphaned minor aristocrat (her uncle was the odious Duke of Norfolk) she became the Queen of England because Henry, then in his forties, took a huge shine to her, treating her like a pretty little porcelain doll. The story unfolds through the eyes of Cat Tylney, who was one of Katherine’s oldest friends. From the age of 12 they were brought up together in the house of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. In those days, it was common for well-bred young girls to join aristocratic households, where they shared bedrooms with their companions, and received an education of sorts. When Katherine became Queen, she sent for Cat to become part of her retinue, along with several other girls who were brought up alongside her. Much of the story enfolds within the new Queen’s private quarters, which inevitably become quite febrile and intense, unsurprising with all those teenage girls cooped up together. In the evenings, they would be visited for dancing by the King’s Men, Henry’s handsome, carefully-selected favourites. To her horror, Cat discovers that Katherine is having an affair with Thomas Culpepper, for whom the King has a particularly soft spot. Katherine believes it is her right to make love to a handsome young man, since she also has to sleep with the King, who she regards as a hideous, fat old man. She naively believes she is quite safe and that no-one other than her best friend will ever know. Of course, she is quite wrong."