The Taming of the Queen (Tudor Court, 5)
Philippa Gregory, 2015
Touchstone
432 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781476758817
Summary
Why would a woman marry a serial killer?
Because she cannot refuse...
Kateryn Parr, a thirty-year-old widow in a secret affair with a new lover, has no choice when a man old enough to be her father who has buried four wives—King Henry VIII—commands her to marry him.
Kateryn has no doubt about the danger she faces: the previous queen lasted sixteen months, the one before barely half a year. But Henry adores his new bride and Kateryn's trust in him grows as she unites the royal family, creates a radical study circle at the heart of the court, and rules the kingdom as Regent.
But is this enough to keep her safe? A leader of religious reform and the first woman to publish in English, Kateryn stands out as an independent woman with a mind of her own. But she cannot save the Protestants, under threat for their faith, and Henry's dangerous gaze turns on her. The traditional churchmen and rivals for power accuse her of heresy—the punishment is death by fire and the king's name is on the warrant...
From an author who has described all of Henry's queens comes a deeply intimate portrayal of the last: a woman who longed for passion, power, and education at the court of a medieval killer. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—January 9, 1954
• Where—Nairobi, Kenya
• Raised—Bristol, England, UK
• Education—B.A., Sussex University; Ph.D., Edinburgh University
• Currently—lives in the North York Moors, Yorkshire, England
Philippa Gregory is a British historical novelist, writing since 1987. The best known of her works is The Other Boleyn Girl (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Early life and academic career
Philippa Gregory was in Nairobi, Kenya, the second daughter of Elaine (Wedd) and Arthur Percy Gregory, a radio operator and navigator for East African Airways. When she was two years old, her family moved to Bristol, England.
She was a "rebel" at Colston's Girls' School where she obtained a B grade in English and two E grades in History and Geography at A-level. She then went to journalism college in Cardiff and spent a year as an apprentice with the Portsmouth News before she managed to gain a place on an English literature degree course at the University of Sussex, where she switched to a history course.
She worked in BBC radio for two years before attending the University of Edinburgh, where she earned her doctorate in 18th-century literature. Gregory has taught at the University of Durham, University of Teesside, and the Open University, and was made a Fellow of Kingston University in 1994.
Private life
Gregory wrote her first novel Wideacre while completing a PhD in 18th-century literature and living in a cottage on the Pennine Way with first husband Peter Chislett, editor of the Hartlepool Mail, and their baby daughter, Victoria. They divorced before the book was published.
Following the success of Wideacre and the publication of The Favoured Child, she moved south to near Midhurst, West Sussex, where the Wideacre trilogy was set. Here she married her second husband Paul Carter, with whom she has a son. She divorced for a second time and married Anthony Mason, whom she had first met during her time in Hartlepool.
Gregory now lives on a 100-acre (0.40 km2) farm in the North York Moors national park, with her husband, children and stepchildren (six in all). Her interests include riding, walking, skiing, and gardening.
Writing
She has written novels set in several different historical periods, though primarily the Tudor period and the 16th century. Reading a number of novels set in the 17th century led her to write the bestselling Lacey trilogy — Wideacre, which is a story about the love of land and incest, The Favoured Child and Meridon. This was followed by The Wise Woman. A Respectable Trade, a novel of the slave trade in England, set in 18th-century Bristol, was adapted by Gregory for a four-part drama series for BBC television. Gregory's script was nominated for a BAFTA, won an award from the Committee for Racial Equality, and the film was shown worldwide.
Two novels about a gardening family are set during the English Civil War: Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth. She has also written contemporary fiction—Perfectly Correct; Mrs Hartley And The Growth Centre; The Little House; and Zelda's Cut. She has also written for children.
Some of her novels have won awards and have been adapted into television dramas. The most successful of her novels has been The Other Boleyn Girl, published in 2002 and adapted for BBC television in 2003 with Natascha McElhone, Jodhi May and Jared Harris. In the year of its publication, The Other Boleyn Girl also won the Romantic Novel of the Year and has subsequently spawned sequels—The Queen's Fool, The Virgin's Lover, The Constant Princess, The Boleyn Inheritance, and The Other Queen. Miramax bought the film rights to The Other Boleyn Girl and produced a film of the same name starring Scarlett Johansson as Mary Boleyn and co-starring Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn, Eric Bana as Henry Tudor, Juno Temple as Jane Parker, and Kristin Scott Thomas as Elizabeth Boleyn. It was filmed in England and generally released in 2008.
Gregory has also published a series of books about the Plantagenets, the ruling houses that preceded the Tudors, and the Wars of the Roses. Her first book The White Queen (2009), centres on the life of Elizabeth Woodville the wife of Edward IV. The Red Queen (2010) is about Margaret Beaufort the mother of Henry VII and grandmother to Henry VIII. The Lady of the Rivers (2011) is the life of Jacquetta of Luxembourg, mother of Elizabeth Woodville, first married to John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, younger brother of Henry the Fifth. The Kingmaker's Daughter (2012) is the story of Anne Neville, the daughter of the Earl of Warwick, the wife of Richard III. The next book, The White Princess (2013), centres on the life of Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII and the mother of Henry VIII.
Controversy
In her novel The Other Boleyn Girl, her portrayal of Henry VIII's second wife Anne Boleyn drew criticism. The novel depicts Anne as cold and ruthless, as well as heavily implying that the accusations that she committed adultery and incest with her brother were true, despite it being widely accepted that she was innocent of the charges. Novelist Robin Maxwell refused on principle to write a blurb for this book, describing its characterisation of Anne as "vicious, unsupportable." Historian David Starkey, appearing alongside Gregory in a documentary about Anne Boleyn, described her work as "good Mills and Boon" (a publisher of romance novels), adding that: "We really should stop taking historical novelists seriously as historians. The idea that they have authority is ludicrous." Susan Bordo criticized Gregory's claims to historical accuracy as "self-deceptive and self-promoting chutzpah", and notes that it is not so much the many inaccuracies in her work as "Gregory’s insistence on her meticulous adherence to history that most aggravates the scholars."
Media
Gregory is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers, with short stories, features and reviews. She is also a frequent broadcaster and a regular contestant on Round Britain Quiz for BBC Radio 4 and the Tudor expert for Channel 4's Time Team. She won the 29 December 2008 edition of Celebrity Mastermind on BBC1, taking Elizabeth Woodville as her specialist subject.
Charity work
Gregory also runs a small charity building wells in school gardens in The Gambia. Gardens for The Gambia was established in 1993 when Gregory was in The Gambia, researching for her book A Respectable Trade.
Since then the charity has dug almost 200 low technology, low budget and therefore easily maintained wells, which are on-stream and providing water to irrigate school and community gardens to provide meals for the poorest children and harvest a cash crop to buy school equipment, seeds and tools.
In addition to wells, the charity has piloted a successful bee-keeping scheme, funded feeding programmes and educational workshops in batik and pottery and is working with larger donors to install mechanical boreholes in some remote areas of the country where the water table is not accessible by digging alone. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 9/22/2013.)
Book Reviews
Having plucked almost all the low-hanging female fruit from the tree of English history, Philippa Gregory has had to stretch high into the branches for the subject of her latest novel. But she has come down with a peach.... If the dissection of the rights and wrongs of women sounds like familiar territory for Gregory, The Taming of the Queen is also a cleverly wrought political novel. In introducing Parr to a new audience, Gregory has done the first lady of English letters something of a favour.
Telegraph (UK)
Who’s ever heard of Kateryn Parr? Henry VIII’s sixth wife was smart, independent—and managed to outlive him. In historical-fiction-queen Gregory’s latest, she’s unforgettable.
People
Gregory manages to make history lively, fascinating and real, even as she puts her own twist on what readers believe they know. The impeccable research shows in every page, while her wonderfully realistic dialogue and remarkable characters come to life. Gregory is a historian with heart and wit who makes history accessible. Though purists may argue with her portrayal of Parr as either a faithful wife or unruly heretic, Gregory lets the reader decide.
RT Book Reviews
Gregory does her usual excellent job of ratcheting up the intrigue and suspense as another intelligent and strong-willed heroine fights for her life and her legacy.
Booklist
(Stared review.) Full of vivid details and fraught with the constant tension of a court run by a madman, this novel will appeal most to historical fiction readers and those who enjoyed Wolf Hall.... Gregory beautifully builds the suspense.
Library Journal
Gregory puts readers at the scene with visceral details like the annoying sounds Henry makes while gorging himself and the smell of his never-healing leg that seeps into Kateryn’s dreams. Although Kateryn’s studiousness makes for some dull reading, the pace picks up as her intellect becomes her greatest liability.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the novel’s title in relation Kateryn. Several at the Tudor court feel that she is in need of taming, including her husband. Why do they feel this way? Do you think they are right?
2. When Kateryn becomes queen, she must choose a motto. What is the significance of the queen’s mottoes? Do you agree with Kateryn that her motto, "To be Useful in All that I Do," is "'not very inspiring'"? Why or why not? Do the mottoes of Henry’s previous queens give you any insight into their personalities and reigns? If so, how?
3. Of her relationship with Henry, Kateryn tells Thomas Cranmer, “‘When we first married I feared him, but I have come to trust him.’” Do you think that Kateryn should trust Henry? Why or why not? How does their relationship evolve? Do you think that Kateryn is a good wife? Why or why not?
4. Kateryn thinks, “Sometimes I shock my sophisticated London-bred sister with my ignorance. I am a country lady—worse even than that—a lady from the North of England, far from all the gossip.” Compare and contrast Kateryn and Nan. Do you agree that Nan is more sophisticated? Why or why not? How has life at court affected Nan? How does she use her experiences to help Kateryn navigate her new role as queen?
5. Henry tells Kateryn, “‘It is not enough to be a queen, you have to look like one.’” What does he mean? Kateryn and her ladies-in-waiting choose her clothing with a great deal of care. Discuss Kateryn’s outfits, giving examples of how they help her accomplish her goals. Why are appearances so important in the Tudor court?
6. Edward Seymour praises Kateryn for being able to manage Henry, calling her “‘a formidable diplomat.’” How is Kateryn able to cope with Henry’s volatile temperament? What compromises, if any, is she forced to make? Is Kateryn a successful diplomat outside her marriage? Give examples.
7. Henry says, “This is the way to rule kingdom, Kateryn.... First you appoint one man, then you appoint another, his rival. You give one a task—you praise him to the skies, then you give an opposite task, a complete contradiction, to his greatest enemy.’” Why does Henry think this is an effective method of governing? What problems, if any, does this create?
8. Kateryn has great respect for Anne Askew, thinking her a woman who “has not been cut down to fit her circumstances.” How does meeting Anne affect Kateryn? Do you agree with Kateryn that Anne deserves admiration? If so, why? How are Anne’s views revolutionary—and even heretical—in Tudor England?
9. Although Will Somers says he is “‘just a fool,’” Kateryn believes him to be wiser than he appears. Do you agree? How has he managed to be “a long-term survivor of this knife-edge court”? What role does the Fool play?
10. Discuss the Nicholas de Vent portrait that Henry commissions. How does each member of the royal family react when they first see it? Do their reactions give you any insight into their personalities? Explain your answer. Why does the portrait upset Kateryn?
11. Nan tells Kateryn, “‘Sometimes, at court, a woman has to do anything to survive. Anything.’” Do you agree? Does Kateryn make any desperate choices in order to survive? Did you find any of the choices that others (for example, the Howards) made particularly shocking? Which ones and why?
12. Anne Askew complains that “‘the law does not recognize a woman except when she is alone in the world.’” Discuss the place of women in the Tudor court. When Lady Elizabeth observes Kateryn as Regent of England, she tells her, “‘I didn’t know that a woman could rule.’” Why is this so surprising to Elizabeth? In what ways is Kateryn’s reign instructive to Elizabeth?
13. Henry tells Kateryn that he “‘guard[s Edward] as my only treasure.’” Describe Henry’s relationship with his three children. Why do you think these relationships are so complicated? How is Kateryn able to help Henry appreciate his children? Do you think she is a good stepmother to them?
14. When Thomas Seymour tells Kateryn that her only chance of safety is “‘in [Henry’s] love for you,’” she replies that she does not know whether “‘he has ever loved anyone. I don’t know that he can.’” Do you think that Henry is capable of love? Why or why not?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)