I've read a few novels about Catherine of Aragon before, but this is the first history. I realized that while I knew the broad outlines of Catherine's life, I didn't know many details. For example, I wrote about her uncertain future after Arthur's death and deprivations and embarrassment she experienced, but it was worse than I realized. In addition to being a pawn of Henry VII and Ferdinand of Aragon, she was also hurt by conflicts between her servants, clergymen, and ambassadors. In many ways, she stood alone as she did years later after Henry VIII dissolved their marriage. Her strength never failed her in either struggle.
I sometimes thought it was only stubbornness that kept her from retiring to a nunnery when Henry made it clear their life together was over. But it was her strong determination to save her soul, her daughter's, her husband's, and even the souls of her adopted countrymen. I hadn't realized that it was Catherine that kept England from another civil war.
I didn't care for Mattingly's writing style; I found it awkward and sometimes melodramatic and overwrought. It was still a worthwhile book to read.
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