Interestingly told from the point of view of three women, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and the dreadful Jane Boleyn, this is the Tudor Court brought vividly to life again by a real pro. What a violent and frightening man Henry VIII was. Gregory notes at the end of the book that little is known about Anne or Katherine so she has a free run of how things went, consequently she has produced a thrilling tale.

Similar this month: None.
Comparison: Jean Plaidy, Reay Tannahill, Suzannah Dunn.

Synopsis

The year is 1539 and the court of Henry VIII is increasingly fearful at the moods of the ageing sick king. With only a baby in the cradle for an heir, Henry has to take another wife and the dangerous prize of the crown of England is won by Anne of Cleves.

She has her own good reasons for agreeing to marry a man old enough to be her father, in a country where to her both language and habits are foreign. Although fascinated by the glamour of her new surroundings, she senses a trap closing around her. Katherine is confident that she can follow in the steps of her cousin Anne Boleyn to dazzle her way to the throne but her kinswoman Jane Boleyn, haunted by the past, knows that Anne’s path led to Tower Green and to an adulterer’s death.

The story of these three young women, trying to make their own way through the most volatile court in Europe at a time of religious upheaval and political uncertainty, is Philippa Gregory’s most compelling novel yet.

Reviews

Praise for 'The Constant Princess': 'One of Gregory's great strengths as a novelist is her ability to take familiar historical figures and flesh them into living breathing human beings. The Constant Princess is a worthy successor to her previous novels about the Tudors and deserves to be a bestseller.
Daily Express

'Gregory's research is impeccable which makes her imaginative fiction all the more convincing.'
Daily Mail

'Gregory is great at conjuring a Tudor film-set of gorgeous gowns and golden-plattered dining.'
Telegraph

'The contemporary mistress of historical crime. Her novels are filled with strong, determined women who take their fate into their own hands!Gregory brings to life the sights, smells and textures of 16th-century England.'
Kate Mosse, Financial Times

'The Constant Princess': 'If romantic historical novels are your cup of tea, The Constant Princess will not disappoint. Gregory vividly reconstructs life in the Spanish royal household, and contributes to the sense of Katherine's foreignness.'
The Times

About the Author

Philippa Gregory was our Guest Editor in October 2011 - click here - to see the books that inspired her writing.   Philippa Gregory was an established historian and writer when she discovered her interest in the Tudor period and wrote the novel The Other Boleyn Girl which was made into a tv drama, and a major film. Now, six novels later, she is looking at the family that preceded the Tudors: the magnificent Plantaganets, a family of complex rivalries, loves, and hatreds. She lives with her family on a small farm in Yorkshire where she keeps horses, hens and ducks. Visitors to this site, Philippa Gregory.com become addicted to the updates of historical research and the progress of ducklings. Her other great interest is the charity that she founded nearly twenty years ago: Gardens for The Gambia. She has raised funds and paid for 140 wells in the primary schools of this very dry and poor African country, and thousands of school children have been able to learn market gardening in the school gardens watered by the wells. The charity also provides wells for womens’ collective gardens and for The Gambia’s only agricultural college at Njawara. A past student of Sussex university, and a PhD and Alumna of the Year 2009 of Edinburgh university, her love for history and commitment to historical accuracy are the hallmarks of her writing. She also reviews for the Washington Post, the LA Times, and for UK newspapers, and is a regular broadcaster on television, radio, and webcasts from this website, Philippa Gregory.com. Photograph © copyright Sven Arnstein More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation