Mini Book Reviews: Two Tudor Queens

Katheryn the Wanton Queen by Maureen Peters
Goodreads
3 out of 5 stars

I wasn't expecting much from this book given that I wasn't hugely impressed with the one other Maureen Peters book I read, and I was both spot on and pleasantly surprised. Spot on because this really isn't a book that will leave any kind of lasting impression on me.

It's a basic rundown of events from Katheryn's time growing up with Manox and Dereham going through to her time as queen and then ending with her death. It's all told from the perspective of a barely developed fictional lady, and Katheryn is a distant character who is hard to sympathize with.

But, Katheryn is depicted in a somewhat nuanced way that gives a glimpse into her character. It's not flattering, but it is an interesting piece to add to the historical patchwork. Her character her is very similar to how she was portrayed by Showtime's Tudors series.

There aren't many books about Katheryn, and while this one wasn't particularly memorable, I think it's still worth reading.


My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes
Goodreads
2 out of 5 stars

What a disappointment! I've had this book on my shelves for years and I'd always just assumed I was going to like it. I've enjoyed the other MCB's books I've read and I have a favorable opinion of Anne of Cleves. Plus, this is pretty much the only Anne of Cleves book I could get my hands on, so I just wanted it to be good.

Recipe for success, right?

No, sadly not. Anne was a strange mix of really dislikable and Mary Sue perfect. Or, rather, it felt like the author tried to make her perfect and make everyone react to her as if she were perfect (which felt so weird, historically speaking), but I just couldn't help but hate her. Her thoughts and actions were not sympathetic and did not endear me to her, which is  difficult to achieve considering how her historical situation is pretty darn sympathetic.

I'm still not ready to admit how much I disliked this book. So much potential! I hope my next MCB book is better.


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Book Review: Henry VIII and His Six Wives by Maureen Peters

Pages: 183
Released: 1972, re-released May 16, 2016
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Received: ARC from publisher, via NetGalley
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

I think Maureen Peters is going to be a Jean Plaidy kind of author for me: a historical fiction choice that never impresses but always delivers a consistently ok book.

By this point, I'm well familiar with Henry VIII and his six wives, so this version didn't off anything new, which is unsurprising considering it's under 200 pages and spans all six wives.

I wish Maureen Peters had spent more time on each event instead of speeding through them and glossing over major events and blocks of time. When she took a moment to pause, I really enjoyed her writing and her characters came to life. But these pauses were always short lived and gave the book a very unfinished feeling, like she intended to write a much longer novel but ended up publishing a draft outline version instead.

There were a few historical inaccuracies, which were bad enough to elicit eye-rolls but not frequent enough to get me to DNF. I wouldn't worry about them too much since even most Tudor dilettantes will spot them easily and novices would be better served with a different book to introduce them to the Tudors anyway. This one jumps around too much to be all that great for someone who can't fill in the gaps themselves.

I have another Maureen Peters book on my TBR and this one was strong enough, despite its flaws, that I'm looking forward to reading more of her books.


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