The Constant Princess, By: Phillippa Gregory Book Review: 4 Peaches

[Holly Michele]

"The Constant Princess", it is about Kathryn of Aragon in her younger years and tells the tale of how she became queen of England by marrying Henry VIII. For those of you not familiar with Henry the VIII and his wives, she was the first. They were married for over 20 years and she was bullied and pushed off the throne by Henry and his mistress Anne Boleyn. That is what most of history concentrates on in regards to how she is remembered. Ms. Phillippa( the author of the book) takes us beyond the Tudor hype and shows us a different Kathryn, a woman who was raised by what some historians view as the greatest monarch marriage in history - Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, her parents. She grew up in Spain during tumultuous times when her parents were fighting the Moors or as we know them now, Muslims. I don't want to give too much away about her and the things the book reveals about her. If you choose to read the book you will find out more about her childhood and how the author envisions how she grew up and what her personality was like. Ms.Phillippa of course backs all of this up with social and historical records and gives a list of the books and sometimes accounts of the places that she has actually visited to experience things first hand.

If you have not read any of her books then I suggest that you start with this one and then read "The Other Boleyn Girl" and finally "The Boleyn Inheritance". There is also a book about Elizabeth I called "The Virgin's Lover" and it focus is on Robert Dudley and the ancient mystery surrounding the death of his wife.Did he kill his wife to try and be Elizabeth I husband? It too is good and I believe that all of the character portrayals are accurate.You can search for yourself and see historical evidence from letters and other peoples accounts at that time match up to Ms. Phillippa's vision.

I enjoy these types of novels because they aren't "bodice rippers" and they are somewhat historically acurate with a bit of imagination thrown in by the author!

Happy Reading!

~Holly Michele~
Warner Robins