"Intriguing historical biographical fiction"
In 1501 teenage Princess Catherine of Aragon accompanied
by a small retinue to include her lady in waiting Estrella
de Montoya arrives in England to marry King Henry VIII.
The bright Catherine looks forward to her wedding day with
the courageous monarch. By 1527 when she fails to produce
the male heir, Henry does the unthinkable in the eyes of
God and the law; he divorces his Spanish first wife to wed
Anne Boleyn though his first wife does everything to stop
him from tossing her aside. This is an intriguing historical biographical fiction
novel that rotates between the arrival and early happy
days of the royal marriage to the bleak final moments when
the King casts his foreign spouse, who desperately tries
everything to save her marriage and regain her spouse's
love, aside for someone else. The story line is seen
through the eyes of the loyal Estrella who stands by her
Queen though that risks the ire of Henry. By doing this,
Laurien Gardner paints Catherine as an intelligent caring
woman who suffers the humiliating stigmatism of divorce
unheard of by her religion. English historical readers
will treasure this deep look at Henry's first wife with
his second coming up next. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted October 10, 2005
SummaryCatherine of Aragon treasured the romantic ideal of the
chivalrous knight in shining armor. Believing she'd
married one, she surrendered her fate to a monarch whose
treatment of his wives would make him notorious.
| 
