THE QUEEN'S GRACE

by Jan Westcott ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 11, 1959

Again the theme of Henry VIII and his multi-marriaged life is the background but the spotlight is on Katryn Parr this time and the unpredictable course of her love for Thomas Seymour. Meeting him first in Scotland, she answers his taunts with hers, is able to face him after her marriage to Lord Borough although she is haunted by his memory; the same holds true after she is widowed and marries Lord Latimer and although she revels in her household of stepchildren she fears for Latimer's rebellious gesture as the Earl of Poverty, rousing feeling against the new religion. But with Latimer's increasing sickness and the family now welcome at court, Katryn is once more exposed to Tom's overwhelming attraction and beds with him just before her husband dies. When Henry's choice falls on her- and he makes sure that Seymour is assigned to foreign affairs,- Katryn agrees to marriage. As Henry's wife and Queen, although Seymour still causes her to swoon, she is faithful, attentive, helpful, and friendly to his children, Mary, Elizabeth and Edward; she is able too to put down Bishop Gardiner's conspiracy against her. But soon after Henry's death she secretly marries Seymour and watches the disagreements between Tom and his brother Ned deepen; with their marriage made public her greatest wish comes true with her pregnancy; she dies after her daughter is born. The historical setting is capably filled in to heighten the tempestuous romancing that is part of Katryn's progress and should satisfy the avid follower of truth-into-fiction.

Pub Date: Nov. 11, 1959

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1959

Categories: FICTION