The Confession of Katherine Howard

by Suzannah Dunn

Overview

From Suzannah Dunn, the critically acclaimed author of The Queen of Subtleties, The Sixth Wife and The Queen’s Sorrow, comes the tragic, gripping, and intensely moving story of Katherine Howard—the fifth wife of England’s King Henry VIII—and the best friend she nearly took down with her. The Confession of Katherine Howard is masterful historical fiction, ideal for fans of Phillipa Gregory and Allison Weir, bringing to rich, lustrous life the sights and sounds of the royal Tudor court while telling a story of passion, intrigue, betrayal, and destiny that will live in the reader’s memory long after the final page is turned.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062011473
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/05/2011
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	537,231
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Suzannah Dunn is the author of ten novels in the United Kingdom, including The Sixth Wife and The Queen of Subtleties, both published in the United States as well. She lives in Brighton, England.

Editorial Reviews

In her fourth historical novel, Dunn (The Queen of Subtleties; The Sixth Wife; The Queen's Sorrow) accomplishes the immense task of chronicling the life and personality of Henry VIII's fifth wife, Katherine Howard (1524–42), with consummate skill, exceptional creativity, and a laudable attention to detail. Told from the perspective of Cat Tilney, who was a ward of the Duchess of Norfolk like Katherine, the novel follows the allied ladies as they progress from childhood to womanhood. Unlike other novels about the ill-fated queen, Dunn's Katherine is neither ignorant nor flighty but rather a young woman caught in the world she shaped after being all but abandoned by her family. Don't label Dunn's book as a new twist on an old tale, however, for it is much more than that; Katherine's relationship with Francis Dereham, which would later be her undoing, is shown for what it very possibly could have been and what it is rarely acknowledged as—a childhood crush. VERDICT An absolutely essential read for Tudor-infatuated and historical fiction fans.—Audrey M. Johnson, Arlington, VA

Library Journal

Queen Katherine's life of clothes, music and "constant partying" comes to an unpleasant end in Dunn's (The Queen's Sorrow,2008, etc.) latest historical.

As observed by her BFF Catheryn Tilney, Henry VIII's fifth wife, Kate Howard is a bit of a tramp. Although raised in a Catholic household, Kate was apparently only pretending to be a virgin on her wedding night and since becoming queen has taken a lover. Dunn's account of 19-year-old Kate's downfall in 16th-century England uses modern language and preoccupies itself with friendships, rivalries and, above all, sex. An overlong central flashback is devoted to Cat and Kate's younger years living with the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, which is where Kate became involved with Francis Dereham, later to be Cat's lover and the first victim of Kate's fall from royal grace, taken to the Tower for questioning about his early relationship with the queen. The novel's drama is in its beginning and end, tracing Kate's swift descent: questioned, stripped of her crown jewels, pressured to admit she was pre-contracted to Francis, which would have rendered her unavailable for the royal marriage, and eventually betrayed. A postscript offers the succinct facts and fates of the protagonists.

A sexually charged version of history angled toward a Gossip Girl audience.

Kirkus Reviews