The Confessions of Katherine Howard – Suzannah Dunn

A speedy read – partly because it’s a relatively slight novel but mainly because it’s a good read. Suzannah Dunn presents Henry VIII’s fifth wife as a teenage airhead, obsessed with boys and sex, which I suspect is a pretty accurate portrayal of her character an appeal, although I’m not so convinced about the apparent absence of politicking in her transition from a lowly member of the Howard dynasty being brought up in the household of her step-grandmother – the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk – to Queen. But then again, the book is told from the perspective of her friend and confidante, Cat Tilney, rather than Henry VIII and his peers, and all the more accessible for that.

Author’s webpage: The Confessions of Katherine Howard – Suzannah Dunn