The Constant Princess; Phillippa Gregory review

Who was Queen Katherine of Arragon? What was she thinking while she left her home in Spain and traveled to England? What ambition drove her to stay in England after her husband, Princess Arthur, died and left her a widow? And why did she go so far to fall afterwards in disgrace when Henry left her for another woman?

While this book does a great job of showing a side of Queen Katherine of Arragon, I found it to be rather dull in comparison to Phillippa's other books. While I find the story very interesting, compelling, and sad, I found it to have a dull start. I also didn't enjoy the format of her writing (she goes back and forth between third person and first person).

I loved the relationship that was developed between Arthur and Katherine, but after Arthur's death (which happens relatively early in the book) I found the book to loose its interest. The only thing I enjoyed after that was learning of Katherine's march against the Scots.

I also didn't enjoy how the book skipped many years at the end, completely skipping over the birth of Mary. I would have liked to learn more of what Phillippa thought of Katherine's relationship with her daughter.

An overall decent read, but not something I'd read again.
/ [Akayume]

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