The Constant Princess
by Philippa Gregory
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Book Summary Information
Author: Philippa GregoryEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Deckle Edge
Published: 2005-12-06
ISBN: 074327248X
Number of pages: 393
Publisher: Touchstone
Book Reviews of The Constant Princess
Book Review: "Katherine of Arrogance" Should Be the Subtitle of this Unusual Treatment
Summary: 4 Stars
Phillipa Gregory is well-known for pushing the envelope of historical fiction -- in "The Virgin's Lover" she had Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I consummate their relationship and painted a very unflattering word portrait of the young queen. In this book, Ms Gregory has Katherine of Aragon and Prince Arthur consummate their marriage as well, although there is very little historical evidence to support this view -- any more than there is any strong evidence that Elizabeth was not indeed the Virgin Queen.
This is one of the few novels I have read that presents Katherine in anything other than a flattering light, which is why I gave the book 4 stars. Usually Katherine is presented as the next thing to a saint -- patient and pious, long-suffering and sexless. Ms Gregory's Katherine is sultry and sexy, the spoiled youngest child of two of the greatest rulers of Spain. She is generally seen as a passive pawn of her parents and her father-in-law, Henry VII, which is a contrast to her stubborness in middle age, where she defied her husband Henry VIII when he informed her he wanted a divorce. From where did that steel and spine come? Ms Gregory states that Katherine always had a sense of destiny (born to be Princess of Wales and Queen of England), and was determined to fullfill what she saw as the will of God at all costs, including lying about the nature of the sexual relationship with her first husband.
Unfortunately, Katherine frequently comes across as being arrogant and insensitive, especially in her dealings with the Spanish ambassador and Henry VII. Her dismissive attitude toward a king who lead a hand-to-mouth existance for many years before winning the crown in battle, is so scornful that I found myself in the position of letting out a silent cheer when Henry bested her after the death of the Prince of Wales. But, to give the author her due, I have now no trouble seeing the stubborn Katherine of the later years.
All historical novels take liberties. As someone else pointed out, there is no evidence that Henry VII did not love his wife, Queen Elizabeth. Almost every account of the life of Henry VII indicates that he deeply mourned her death. The queen's feelings toward him may not be as well documented, but there seems to have been a mutual fondness. The fact that he considered re-marriage after her death is no indication that he did not love her. I have seen little evidence that Henry lusted after Katherine, although her early beauty may have pleased him.
Some reviewers here felt that Katherine was not a fully realized character, something with which I disagree. I think that the interior monologues are very revealing of her thinking -- the fact that she sometimes comes across as monsterous in her ambition for the crown of England is somewhat understandable, given her background and her religious convictions. Unfortunately, the narrative portions of the book are not as compelling as the monologues. Arthur never seems like a real person, and some of the other characters as well seem like cardboard cutouts.
If you cannot suspend your disbelief over the premise that Katherine was sexually experienced when she wed Henry VIII, then this may not be the book for you. It is a shame that the author did not include a more detailed ending essay to the book explaining how she arrived at her conclusion that Arthur and Katherine were fully man and wife. If you can deal with the author's premise, whether you believe it or not, I think you will enjoy this offbeat portrait of a woman who has captured the public imagination for almost 500 years: did they or didn't they, that is the question!
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