Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle

REVIEW

Queen’s Gambit is the first novel in the Tudor Trilogy series by Elizabeth Fremantle which purports to explore the familiar historical events through the eyes of less familiar characters. Nevertheless, this first part deals with the life of Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII, who is probably the most well known of Fremantle’s protagonists.

At the beginning of the novel, Katherine, a recent widow after the death of her second husband, becomes part of the household of Mary Tudor, the eldest daughter of Henry VIII and immediately catches the eye of the handsome Thomas Seymour. Initially, Katherine dislikes Thomas but she soon succumbs to his flattery and they partake in a passionate relationship that is soon brought to an end when Thomas is dispatched abroad by his love rival. That rival is no less than Henry VIII who has decided Katherine is to be his next queen and she has no choice but to go along with it despite her reservations. Henry, now in his fifties, is obese and has an ulcerated wound on his leg that emits a powerful stench.

The marriage between Katherine and Henry is depicted as a stormy one as Henry has an explosive temper that can erupt at the slightest thing, particularly when he is in pain. The king’s precarious health has also rendered him ineffective at times in the marital bed which leads to him being physically abusive with Katherine who is forced to hide the bruises he leaves behind. Katherine has to quickly learn how to deal with her husband’s outbursts and often engages him in lively debate to take his mind off the pain. In the early days of their marriage, Katherine’s ploys work and Henry’s ruffled feathers are soothed under her gentle ministrations, however she is all too aware she is walking a precarious ledge.

Although raised a Catholic, Katherine’s religious views seemingly turn towards Protestantism due to a violent incident which resulted in her being raped and giving birth to a child who later dies. While the incident is historically true in the sense that Katherine and the stepchildren from her second marriage were held hostage by Catholics, the rape is fabricated. The incident also leaves Katherine’s stepdaughter, Meg, deeply traumatised to the extent she cannot bear being in male company and abhors the idea of having to marry. In the afterword, the author speculates this incident could have been a catalyst for Katherine’s change in beliefs but the addition of the rape and subsequent birth were unnecessary in my opinion.

By the time Katherine marries Henry, she has embraced the new religion and has lively debates with her trusted ladies, however she has to tread carefully as there are staunch Catholic factions at the heart of the court. Katherine is viewed with suspicion by many at the court, particularly Stephen Gardiner, the Bishop of Winchester, and Thomas Wriothesley, the Lord Chancellor, who plot against her and try to persuade the king to sign her arrest warrant. Katherine is forewarned which gives her time to get back into Henry’s graces and the two advisors fail in their attempt to have her charged with heresy.

The court is a toxic cesspit that Katherine has to negotiate on a daily basis and this is shown particularly well in the novel but I didn’t feel that it had anything new to say about Katherine Parr. The image of Katherine Parr as a mere nursemaid during her husband’s latter years has already been tackled by a number of fiction and non-fictional authors. Queen’s Gambit attempts to redress the balance by showing there was a whole lot more to Katherine and to portray her as a leading reformist. Yet, I still didn’t feel like we knew who Katherine really was by the time the book ended. The author admits in her afterward that she failed to really find Katherine’s voice while writing the novel so maybe that is to blame for the distance we still feel.

Katherine’s role as protagonist is shared by two other characters, Dot, a young servant girl who is devoted to Katherine and her stepdaughter, Meg. Dot is drawn into life at court due to her position in the Queen’s household and her observations serve as a nice contrast. As a trusted source, Dot acts as a go-between and passes on books and other materials to Katherine from the reformists which puts her into danger. Dot soon becomes invaluable to the Queen who regards the girl as a daughter despite their differences in rank and it is Dot who seems to have the happier life. The other protagonist is Dr. Robert Huicke, a real life person who was physician to Henry VIII, Edward VI and Elizabeth I, as well as Katherine herself. The author takes great liberties with Huicke’s character by making him homosexual and it barely serves any purpose.

I have mixed emotions about Queen’s Gambit as there was a lot to like, particularly the daily depiction of Tudor life, but there was also the problem of not being able to connect to any of the characters. I’ve never been a fan of books written in the present tense and that would’ve been enough to make me dump the book in the past but I’m getting more accustomed to it. There are a few modernisms in there but I’ve also gotten used to them so they don’t bother me as much as they used to do. I have already purchased the next two books in the series so will continue to read them to see what path the author intends to take with this series.