A biography of Henry VIII's fifth wife, beheaded for playing Henry at his own game - adultery. At seven o'clock on the morning of 13 February 1542, Catherine Howard stepped out into the cold of the great courtyard of the Tower of London. Slowly she was escorted across the yard and carefully helped up the steps of the wooden scaffold. Only a small group of sightseers had gathered to watch the death of a queen; there was no weeping, no remorse, only chilly curiosity. The axe rose and fell, a life ceased, an episode came to an end. The life and death of Catherine was truly a Tudor tragedy. A mere teenager, the vivacious and flirty Catherine Howard was an unsuitable bride for the elderly and fat Henry VIII. Like most of Henry's wives she had come to his attention at court whilst lady-in-waiting to his fourth wife of only a few months, Anne of Cleves. Henry was soon besotted and came to adore Catherine, his 'very jewel of womanhood'. His head already turned by the 19 year old, Henry never consummated his marriage to Anne, he divorced her and married for the fifth time on 28 July 1540. Lacey Baldwin Smith, one of the finest historians of the Tudor age, narrates the rise and fall of the most tragic of Henry's queens, the woman who dared to cuckold the king of England.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Lacey Baldwin Smith was a Professor Emeritus of History at Northwestern University and had published many books on the Tudor era. The recipient of MA and PhD degrees from Princeton University, he had been a Fulbright Scholar, a Guggenheim Fellow, a Senior Fulbright Fellow at the University of London and a Senior Fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities and is Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Review:
Lacey Baldwin Smith is one of our finest historians'--ALISON WEIR
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherAmberley Publishing
- Publication date2010
- ISBN 10 1848685211
- ISBN 13 9781848685215
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages288
-
Rating