Very interesting, well written, entertaining, compelling, & easy to read. I read this in one day.

A fictionalized telling of the life of Catalina de Aragon (Catherine of Aragon) the first (long suffering) wife of Henry VIII & daughter of Isabella de España (Queen Isabella of Spain)... Courageous, Strong, & Devoted to her position as Queen of England. ( )

After spending a great deal of time and no little amount of thought on the matter, I am remorse to review this book with only three stars. For all her work in the field of historical fiction, I must say that Carolly Erickson is good at her job and breathes life into characters long dead to the world. However, the life she gives them isn't one I'd likely return to as I do with some of my perennial favorites such as "The Danish Girl" by David Ebershoff or "Victoria" by Daisy Goodwin.

Erickson sets the stage with the parting of a mother and daughter, immediately garnering sympathy for Catherine who the audience only grows to pity more as the story continues. She writes from the perspective of Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and presents her as somebody incapable of committing wrong though fate would consistenly place her in the path of misfortune. Between her tragic first marriage to Henry's older brother Arthur, the skipping back and forth between riches and rags, and the sorrow wrought by the series of stillborn and miscarried children, I spent more time wishing I was reading about a fierce and formidable woman who had similar struggles and faced them headon like Joan of Arc instead of a mopey would be warrior queen.

"The Spanish Queen" wastes an inordinate amount of time on Catherine's misery, failing to provide the reader relief of hope or happiness in her otherwise dreadful life. Among the lacking cast of characters, Erickson describes over the course of several chapters the spiteful vindictive Maria Juana, Catherine's illegitimate half-sister whose only role in life (and by extension in the story) is to constantly discredit the Queen, always lurking in the background ready to kick the protagonist when she's down. As a work of historical fiction, I am well aware that some artistic liberties were taken and that not everything written happened. This being said though, Erickson glosses over important details in the grand scheme of things and as a reader I would have liked to have seen more of Catherine's supposed strength.

Furthermore, I would have enjoyed a more active character in Henry VIII. Erickson portrays him as a hyper-masculine, immature, lustful man with the moral backbone of a choclate eclaire. Anne Boleyn is painted as a dimwitted, tedious, impertinent whore who never loved the king she sought to gain patronage from; a mere girl who felt it was her birthright to sit on the throne no matter the cost to others, discrediting her historically recorded cunning. Of course, because women had no license to act of their own accord at the time, it is within Erickson's right and realm of reason to assume that Catherine would merely sit back and pray that others would act on her behalf, relying frequently on her nephew, Emperor Charles of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Although we see the world through her eyes, Catherine has no ambition, no motive, and is forced to passively let the world collapse around her.

Similar to staring at a car crash as you pass by on the highway, "The Spanish Queen" is difficult to put down, wanting to gauge the full horror of the wreckage, but once you're done, it's easy to move on to the next book. By historical fiction standards, worlds filled with women who despite their means still deeply felt all the joy and despair their lives had to offer, at the end of this book, I was left simply watching as Catherine begrudgingly let her life fall to shambles, unable to feel connected to a woman whose story only portrayed pity and sorrow. I would like to read more of Carolly Erickson's work, now in search of a woman refusing to be written off that this book promised but seldom delivered. ( )

Well-written, well-researched and very entertaining novel of Catherine of Aragon (first wife of Henry the Eighth). A must for any fan of the Tudor era.

This was my first book by Carolly Erickson, and I was very favorably impressed. I'll definitely seek out more by her.

I received this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. Thanks! ( )

Carolly Erickson’s THE SPANISH QUEEN is a fictionalized autobiography of Catherine of Aragon. Erickson recreates Catherine’s departure from Spain to England and we spend our time in Tudor court.

As a sixteen year old, Catherine of Aragon makes the journey from Spain to England but prior to her departure, Queen Isabella asks her to wear her wedding dress. Everyone around her says it will bring bad luck, but Catherine complies. Shortly afterwards, Catherine is told she’s cursed after a series of events prevent her departure from Spain. She decides to continue with her travel plans and arrives in England where she’ll marry Henry VII’s son, Arthur. Her marriage to Arthur doesn’t last long and finds herself developing a friendship with Henry VIII. She waits quietly in the wings unsure of her fate and doesn’t begin to blossom until her marriage to Henry VIII. In Erickson’s THE SPANISH QUEEN we see the birth of a queen along with her achievements and struggles.

Narrative is first person via Catherine and Erickson gives us a narrator that we can trust. It’s difficult for an author to give a historical figure an authentic voice and Erickson does a superb job. In THE SPANISH QUEEN, we see Catherine’s vulnerabilities and what her thoughts and desires are. We experience her pain at not being able to bear a son to having to contend with a jealous half sister. Erickson does gloss over a few known historical facts in this narrative. She focuses primarily on Bessie Blount and her son Fitzroy. Wolsey’s downfall is also glossed over and I got the feeling Erickson’s Catherine still viewed him as an ally instead of the man who supported Henry’s quest for an annulment. Then we have Anne Boleyn; fans of Anne you’ll want to skip this one since she’s not pictured in the best light, but you can feel Catherine’s betrayal regarding Anne. Here we are presented a young girl whose parents cannot keep her under control and Catherine councils and molds her. In the end, Anne’s portrayal is exactly what you’d expect and you can’t help but feel the sting of betrayal. It’s Henry’s portrayal that is the most interesting. He never seems to grow up and is portrayed as a boy who pouts in the corner because his wife is more successful on the battlefield than he is. It’s quite easy to dislike him and dismiss him from the narrative.

It’s always interesting to read how someone else interprets a historical figure. I’ve always had a soft spot for William Blount, Baron Montjoy because he commissions John Blount (no proof they were related) to translate Nicholas Upton’s DE STUDIO MILITARI. Upton’s chivalric text would have been interest to Montjoy especially since he was made a diplomat and Upton’s book goes into detail regarding the legality of war. Heraldry and chivalry enjoyed quite a boost under Henry VIII and imagine the prominence Montjoy could enjoy by presenting such a text or knowledge to Henry. My master’s thesis was on Upton, but used Blount’s translation and that’s my personal connection to Erickson’s The Spanish Queen. I enjoyed Erickson’s portrayal of Blount even though her version isn’t exactly what I know of Blount, but that’s okay. It was still fun to have a moment of discussion with a friend about this.

What I really enjoyed about Erickson’s THE SPANISH QUEEN is the life she gives Catherine. It’s easy to like her and take her side in all matters that you want to tell her what you know of history. She also makes you pause for a bit to reflect on the historical timeline especially the way the book ends. Anne Boleyn dies a few months after Catherine and one can’t help but wonder what Catherine would have made of Anne’s fate. And yet, the narrative goes back to Catherine being told she’s cursed in a subtle way. Your heart will break for a woman who doesn’t pause for a moment to think of the possibility and yet, she endures. I wish Erickson would have addressed this in some format. I know if I had been told I was cursed and bad things happen, I would have toyed with the idea. Then again, I have to remind myself that Catherine was a religious woman and in Erickson’s book, she believes in God’s intervention and his judgment which leads to the appropriate punishment as deemed by God.

While not perfect in terms of historical accuracy, Carolly Erickson’s THE SPANISH QUEEN was nevertheless is a delightful read. Do keep in mind that is historical fiction and some liberties were taken. ( )

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