Review: The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

The Constant Princess 

(The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #6)

Author: Philippa Gregory

Published: First published in 2005

Publisher: Touchstone

Number of pages: 416

Format: Hardcover

Source: Bought

Purchase: Amazon, B&N, TBD

From Goodreads:

Splendid and sumptuous historical novel from the internationally bestselling author, Philippa Gregory, telling of the early life of Katherine of Aragon.

We think of Katherine of Aragon as the barren wife of a notorious king; but behind this legacy lies a fascinating story.

Katherine of Aragon is born Catalina, the Spanish Infanta, to parents who are both rulers and warriors. Aged four, she is betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales, and is raised to be Queen of England. She is never in doubt that it is her destiny to rule that far-off, wet, cold land.

Her faith is tested when her prospective father-in-law greets her arrival in her new country with a great insult; Arthur seems little better than a boy; the food is strange and the customs coarse. Slowly she adapts to the first Tudor court, and life as Arthur’s wife grows ever more bearable.

But when the studious young man dies, she is left to make her own future: how can she now be queen, and found a dynasty? Only by marrying Arthur’s young brother, the sunny but spoilt Henry. His father and grandmother are against it; her powerful parents prove little use. Yet Katherine is her mother’s daughter and her fighting spirit is strong.

She will do anything to achieve her aim; even if it means telling the greatest lie, and holding to it.

My Review

"I did not slide into the wailing grief of madness nor into the gentle darkness of sloth. I gritted my teeth, I am the constant princess, I don't stop when everyone else stops. I carried on. I waited. Even when I could do nothing else, I could still wait. So I waited.

The Constant Princess was my second book by Philippa Gregory, the first being The Other Boleyn Girl, that easily entered my list of favorites. As you might know, I love historical romances and the Other Boleyn girl was just the right amount of passion, mixed with scandal and a little touch of tragedy. But The Constant Princess was a whole'nother cup of tea.

In the sixth book of the Plantagenet and Tudor novels, Philippa Gregory decides to introduce the reader into Katherine of Aragon's life: from her early childhood in Spain as daughter of the two most famous catholic monarchs, till her betrothal to the infamous Henry VIII. Personally, I was really excited to know more about Katherine's history since everything I've read about Henry VIII's court centered on the Boleyn matter and treated his first wife as a peripherical character. I was glad to discover Katherine' strenght and temperament and I admired her pride through all the reading...BUT this book was too heavy! 

Every time I start an historical novel, I'm aware that the amount of knowledge potentially contained in the book can be a lot, and I was super ready to welcome it all in, but it was not fair to make the reader suffer through Katherine's every emotion and then hastily scurry through one of the most important events of her life: the royal trial against her, better known as "The King's Great Matter". After following Katherine's through ALL her struggles, I can't deny how excited I felt for the part where the Boleyn sisters entered the scene, but I was just as soon disappointed when I realized they wouldn't have space in this book. I understand that the author's aim in this novel was to shine a light upon Katherine and only Katherine, but I believe it was too crucial a matter to not be better explored, especially when the rest of the book was characterised by a slow and repetitive narration that often dragged less important events on endlessly.

What makes the book good on the other hand, is certainly Katherine's moral depth and her unscratchable self-confidence. She believed in her destiny and in her position as Queen of England despite the world telling her that it was time to give up. She was humiliated beyond repair to mantain her position, and still she stood tall and she managed to overcome all difficulties, always keeping her pride tight. It was impossible not to feel empathy towards a woman fighting for her rightful place, but at the same time I couldn't feel that warmth I usually experience when being aquainted with characters like her. Maybe she was a little too cold for my tastes, too focused on duty to convey tenderness and her emotional involvement with the characters too sterile to make me swoon over court love affairs like usual. It was unusual also the image of Henry VIII offered through these pages, making him look like a childish boy most of the time. I know that he had his vices, but he didn't appear like a king at all, and I'm not sure that's really how he must have acted. Despite all this, I loved the bond the author created between these two characters, that maybe was not truly romantic, but certainly spoke of an intellectual intimacy and an understanding that well justifies Henry's constant regrets about his behaviour. 

Certainly not my last book of Philippa Gregory, I'm motivated to keep reading about the English court even if this book was not entirely what I was expecting. For now, it's a 3 stars for me!

Rated