Search - The Constant Princess

Philippa Gregory does a fantastic job with historical novels. I gained a newfound respect for a Queen who is typically portrayed as a simpering, jealous older woman. Gregory shows us the strength in Catherine...I thoroughly enjoyed this new insight into this historic character.

I have always had sympathy for Katherine of Aragon, and now I have even more. What a lovely story of courage, fortitude, and love. Once again, Philippa Gregory has written a well-researched fictional account of historical events. While no one knows exactly why Katherine did things as she did them, Gregory's book provides a plausible and compelling reason. I hope you will enjoy this book as thoroughly as I did.

Katherine of Aragon is mostly ignored in books about this time in history, other than that she was pushed off the English throne by Anne Boleyn and was the mother of Queen Mary. This is a fascinating account of Katherine as a person in her own right and relates how she helped shape the early years of Henry VIII's reign -- another Gregory triumph.

I've really enjoyed this series. This one is a great insight to what might have been going on in Katharine's mind and makes for a great read.

Well written, like most of Philippa Gregory's works; however, very much an apologist for Queen Katherine of Aragon. This book falls under the genre of 'Saint Katherine' and ignores some of the baser and more self serving aspects of Katherine's personality. However, very readable and believable.

This is the story of Katherine of Aragon and her struggle to overcome in her rise to become a beloved Queen of England. Best known for being displaced in favor of Anne Boleyn, this is the story before Anne's reign. Of Katherine's betrothal since birth to the English prince and of her childhood with her mother Queen Isabella. A smart, loyal, and wise young woman, Katherine marries her husband's brother after his death in order to secure her place as queen and does the work of both monarchs.

"The Constant Princess" was a decently good read. It was not as engaging or page turning as "The Other Boleyn Girl," but it had its merits. I enjoyed reading about a historical figure that I had only known as a minor character in other historical novels. It was interesting to see someone whom I thought of as fairly insignificant in a spotlight role. I learned a lot about the reign of Katherine of Aragon and about her as a person. At first I will admit, I didn't like her very much. In the beginning Gregory has the character go on and on about how she thinks she is the grace of God himself and chosen to be the Queen from birth. It made me feel as if the character was deluded and fanciful.

As the plot went on however, the young Princess was no stranger to hardship and I liked her more and more. I feel that this is the mark of a very good author when he/she can make me feel so attached to the character as a person, not just a character.
However, after Katherine's initial struggles to become Queen (a little more than halfway through the book), the excitement and mystery of the book was no longer as enthralling. Mostly it talked about her struggle with miscarriages, the death of her child, and her struggle to keep her younger husband away from women who try to seduce him.

I actually put the book down about 10 - 20 pages from the very end. I just kind of stopped caring and was looking to go on to something else. So overall, "The Constant Princess" was a good, if not a great, read.