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The Taming of the Queen(Tudor Collection)
Author: Philippa Gregory

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 978-1471132988
Pages: 464
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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 church-men 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 inti-mate portrayal of the last: a woman who longed for passion, power and educa-tion at the court of a medieval killer

Review
'A master storyteller...Gregory captures the intrigue and suspense of life at the Tudor court in vivid detail. She skilfully combines painstaking historical research with a gripping fictional narrative and her characters are so lifelike and engaging that they practically leap from the page' -- Daily Express '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' -- Sunday Telegraph 'Gregory dramatises the story of a reluctant royal wife negotiating the anxious, dangerous years of her marriage... written with her usual authority and capacity for great drama' -- Sunday Times 'The Taming of the Queen reads like a clever, intimate thriller' -- The Times 'Gregory brilliantly captures the torn loyalties, treacheries and tragedies that lie beneath the historical detail, to entertaining effect' -- Good Housekeeping 'The contemporary mistress of historical crime' -- Kate Mosse 'Popular historical fiction at its finest, immaculately researched and superbly told' -- The Times 'Gregory creates a world in which all but the most determined women are tools in the hands of powerful men... past-paced, convincing, vivid and engrossing' -- Daily Express 'Philippa Gregory has another hit on her hands with this gripping page-turner. Her novel simplifies and humanises the complex politics of the period' -- Sunday Times 'Lady Margaret Beaufort - cold, clever, calculating - will stop at nothing to put her son Henry Tudor on the throne. Gregory is very good at describing the bitchiness of the women in this tale of dynastic rivalry' -- Daily Telegraph 'Rollicking, page-turning stuff' -- Metro 'Popular history at its best' -- Daily Mail 'Meticulously researched...for each novel she immerses herself in dozens of primary and secondary sources, before transforming them into vivid fiction' -- Sunday Telegraph 'History comes gloriously alive as Elizabeth Woodville seduces and marries Yorkist King Edward IV' -- Daily Mirror 'Philippa Gregory is truly the mistress of the historical novel. It would be hard to make history more entertaining, lively or engaging' -- Sunday Express 'Her novels are filled with strong, determined women who take their fate into their own hands' -- Financial Times 'Rarely has history been so seductive' -- Tatler 'Gregory makes history come alive ... riveting' -- Daily Express