Queen's Gambit (Fremantle) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
In Queen’s Gambit, Parr had hoped, after her much older second husband died, to be able to marry for love. Instead, she finds herself shackled to a violent, ill, grossly overweight Henry, while pining for the handsome Thomas Seymour. Parr is too smart to indulge in an affair like her doomed predecessor, but her reformist religious views could just as easily get her killed.... A subplot involving Parr’s maid, Dot Fownten (a real historical figure), is particularly well done. In this case, physical labor aside, downstairs in the palace may be the safer place to be.
Washington Post


Spellbinding...fascinating.... Smart, sensual and suspenseful as a thriller, Gambit is a must-read for Philippa Gregory fans—and heralds a brilliant new player in the court of royal fiction.
People


Filled with all the intrigue, fear and secrecy that Tudor-era aficionados love, Fremantle’s earthy, vivid descriptions bring the era and her characters—especially wise and compassionate Katherine—to life.
Romance Times


 Fremantle... [traces] Katherine Parr’s passage from grieving widow to Henry VIII’s sixth and last wife, the one who survives.... Fremantle details the dangers of 16th-century sexual politics while humanizing powerful women.... Fremantle carves out no new literary territory, but like Katherine, she navigates Tudor terrain with aplomb.
Publishers Weekly


Just when historical fiction fans were beginning to feel the dearth of new works, Fremantle fills the void with this outstanding debut novel that follows twice-widowed Katherine Parr... compelled to marry King Henry VIII. The author manages to do something that few authors of historical fiction can: delve into the hopes, dreams, and desires of one of Henry's wives. —Audrey Jones, Arlington, VA
Library Journal


Once more unto the six wives of Henry VIII, this time for the story of Katherine Parr, the older wife with healing skills who survived the king. Sins, secrets and guilt dominate the landscape.... Life at court is perilous. Katherine is strong when the king favors her but threatened by political factions... With not much plot to drive her narrative, Fremantle's emphasis is on intrigue, character portraits and the texture of mid-16th-century life. Solid and sympathetic.
Kirkus Reviews