ȘA stunning reappraisal of Henry VIIIșs fifth wife Ȧ Gareth Russellșs book is scholarly yet highly readable Ȧ basing his account on exhaustive research into her household, he provides a portrayal that is fresh and compelling. It is a stunning achievementș Tracy Borman, Sunday Times
In the five centuries since her death, Catherine Howard has been dismissed as Șa wantonș, Șinconsequentialș or a naïve victim of her ambitious family, but the story of her rise and fall offers not only a terrifying and compelling story of an attractive, vivacious young woman thrown onto the shores of history thanks to a kings infatuation, but an intense portrait of Tudor monarchy in microcosm: how royal favour was won, granted, exercised, displayed, celebrated and, at last, betrayed and lost. The story of Catherine Howard is both a very dark fairy tale and a gripping political scandal.
Born into the nobility and married into the royal family, during her short life Catherine was almost never alone. Attended every waking hour by servants or companions, secrets were impossible to keep. With his research focus on Catherineșs household, Gareth Russell has written a narrative that unfurls as if in real-time to explain how the queenșs career ended with one of the great scandals of Henry VIIIs reign.
More than a traditional biography, this is a very human tale of some terrible decisions made by a young woman, and of complex individuals attempting to survive in a dangerous hothouse where the odds were stacked against nearly all of them. By illuminating Catherines entwined upstairs/downstairs worlds, and bringing the reader into her daily milieu, the author re-tells her story in an exciting and engaging way that has surprisingly modern resonances and offers a fresh perspective on Henrys fifth wife.
Young and Damned and Fair is a riveting account of Catherine Howardșs tragic marriage to one of historyșs most powerful rulers. It is a grand tale of the Henrician court in its twilight, a glittering but pernicious sunset during which the kingșs unstable behaviour and his courtiersș labyrinthine deceptions proved fatal to many, not just to Catherine Howard.
