After a miserable childhood, Princess Katherine of France was enchanted to find herself married to the handsome young King of England, Henry V. But England's troubles with France were far from over, and soon her warrior husband lay dead and her beloved son was taken from her to be raised by others. Young Queen Katherine languished in loneliness until Owen Tudor offered her a dangerous secret love some would call treason.

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The story of Princess Katherine of France who married hamdsome king Henry V of England. This tender love story is a stirring account of the struggles between England and France in the late Middle Ages, a prelude to the glorious age of the Tudors.

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Yet another great book by Jean Plaidy! This book illustrates the less glamourous side of royal life, arranged loveless marriages, children taken from their mothers at young ages. While fascinating to read about, I certainly dont feel any envy for their lives.

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This was the first Plaidy book I'd read in years, ever since high school actually. I remembered loving her stuff back then, but as I read this one & The Sun in Splendour, I had the sense that the books were copiously cribbed histories with a minimal effort at dramatizing the whole thing. (No doubt a reason why she was so prolific.) The dialogue shows no real spark and is absurdly simplistic, and the pace is about as brief and deep as an encyclopedia article! From scene to scene, the same phrases and thoughts were repeated, as though we could have forgotten! Katherine of Valois is just a woman talking, not a friend or a confidante or even a real person, and this reader eventually didn't care. The reader is told who are the characters are, not shown.

So it was disappointing to realize that Plaidy's style isn't all that good, after years of nostalgia, but that's the way of so many childhood authors, I guess! I suppose that Plaidy is a good author to start with for a time period/royal personage, and then read a novel that is more focused and has more depth & narrative skill. IE, read Plaidy's Sun in Splendour and then Sharon Kay Penman's novel on Richard III. Do NOT read them in the reverse order, as I did, else you'll also be stabbing your eyes at Plaidy's dry, uninspired prose with the memories of Penman making it all the more excruciating. Better yet, save lots of time and read a Wikipedia entry and then grab Penman or Gregory.

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