I was reluctant to read another P. Gregory book-some I have loved The Other Boleyn Girl, The Other Queen, the White Queen definitely in the love column-some not so much The White Princess, the Red Queen and the Constant Princess to name a few so I was taken by surprise at how much I loved The Taming of the Queen. Gregory adds depth to the often overlooked Catherine Parr. For those of you Tudorphiles you know that she was the last of the 6 wives and survived coming back from the brink under Henry’s despotic reign.

As a young widow she marries Henry although desperately in love with Thomas Seymour. Catherine is honorable- at the beginning she tries to love and admire the King which is not an easy task.  Physically Henry is repulsive with a festering noxious wound and has already killed two wives through neglect, two through beheading. Although warned about his mercurial nature she feels that he truly loves her and appreciates his initial concern for her happiness. Catherine overlooks several slights-the jewels from all of the previous queens are delivered and then the page comes in requesting the sainted Jane Seymour’s pearls back reminding Catherine that she will never take the place of the dead queen. You know that this was not a mistake but Henry clearly defining Catherine’s place in both his heart and her importance in the court.

Gregory does a great job of making Catherine a vibrant historical figure-you see her as a loving intelligent woman attempting to keep her head above the proverbial quicksand. She makes every effort to provide the three Tudor children with a family life and at times is praised or humiliated depending on Henry’s mood. Interestingly Catherine was an ardent religious reformer which at times given Henry’s adeptness at pitting each side against one another was an added peril. Even though her survival is a matter of historical record I found myself anxiously devouring the book to make sure that this intelligent woman survived.