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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A terrific idea but unfortunately very badly implemented, 22 Sep 2007
I believe it is quite difficult to approach as a subject of one's novel the life of Katherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII, as most of us know about her. But it is not impossible as so many great writers of historical novels prove.
Therefore I think it was a terrific idea to do this through the perspective of Catherine Willoughby, Baroness Willoughby of Eresby in her own rights, a woman who shares much of Tudor drama herself. She was the last wife of Charles Brandon, the famous Duke of Suffolk, closed friend and brother in law of Henry VIII and much older husband to Catherine. She was the daughter of Maria de Salinas, the closest and most loyal friend of Queen Catherine of Aragon, first Queen Consort of Henry VIII. She was a lady-in-waiting to Katherine Parr and a prominent Protestant, close enough but not too close to the drama of the time.
However, I found this book a disappointment as both a historical and fictional novel. He story never takes off, is erratic and just has no flow too it. The dialogues are very often strange, in tone too modern, without the subtleties of Royal Tudor court life and most of the entire book does not created the personalities in a a way that one gets an idea about them. Historic novels are a unique tool to approach a historic personality without being too much tied to the historic documents and give them life and flesh. Great historic novelist do that, Susannah Dunn unfortunately does not. She simply does not know how to write convincing and compelling historical fiction.
Her first book "The Queen of Subtleties3 was a disappointment and unfortunately she keeps in line with her first book.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A weird perspective, 16 Oct 2007
Suzannah Dunn tries two very interesting approaches to her fictionalisation of the last years of Katherine Parr's life. Firstly, she tells the whole tale through the eyes of someone else; someone who, for the purposes of Dunn's take on the story, is remote from the real goings-on in the Queen's mind, bedroom or life. So it always seems as if we are looking at the story through misty glass, not really sure of what's happening. Secondly, the language is very modern - an attempt it seems to connect the 21st century reader with the real emotions of the characters (indicating these were real people, just like us), but one which I don't think really comes off. Yes, these were just human beings, with human emotions, but they weren't like us. They were from a very different time, place and culture. It didn't ring quite true to me. So ultimately, I thought this was an innovative and intriguing novel, but - I hate to say it - not a particularly interesting or moving one.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A terrific idea but unfortunately very badly implemented, 24 Feb 2007
I believe it is quite difficult to approach as a subject of one's novel the life of Katherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII, as most of us know about her. But it is not impossible as so many great writers of historical novels prove.
Therefore I think it was a terrific idea to do this through the perspective of Catherine Willoughby, Baroness Willoughby of Eresby in her own rights, a woman who shares much of Tudor drama herself. She was the last wife of Charles Brandon, the famous Duke of Suffolk, closed friend and brother in law of Henry VIII and much older husband to Catherine. She was the daughter of Maria de Salinas, the closest and most loyal friend of Queen Catherine of Aragon, first Queen Consort of Henry VIII. She was a lady-in-waiting to Katherine Parr and a prominent Protestant, close enough but not too close to the drama of the time.
However, I found this book a disappointment as both a historical and fictional novel. He story never takes off, is erratic and just has no flow too it. The dialogues are very often strange, in tone too modern, without the subtleties of Royal Tudor court life and most of the entire book does not created the personalities in a a way that one gets an idea about them. Historic novels are a unique tool to approach a historic personality without being too much tied to the historic documents and give them life and flesh. Great historic novelist do that, Susannah Dunn unfortunately does not. She simply does not know how to write convincing and compelling historical fiction.
Her first book "The Queen of Subtleties" was a disappointment and unfortunately she keeps in line with her first book.
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