Katharine Parr, the Sixth Wife - Alison Weir Audiobook

Written by Alison Weir
Read by Rosalyn Landor
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
Release date: May 11, 2021
Duration: 18:59:19

“Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived”

Alison Weir brings her Tudor Queens series to a close with the remarkable story of Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife, who manages to survive him and remarry, only to be thrown into a romantic intrigue that threatens the very throne of England.

Having sent his much-beloved but deceitful young wife Katheryn Howard to her beheading, King Henry fixes his lonely eyes on a more mature woman, thirty-year-old, twice-widowed Katharine Parr. She, however, is in love with Sir Thomas Seymour, brother to the late Queen Jane. Aware of his rival, Henry sends him abroad, leaving Katharine no choice but to become his sixth Queen in 1543. Fearing that she is unlikely to bear the King a child, Katharine gladly mothers his three children, Mary, Elizabeth, and the longed-for male heir, Edward.

Four years into the marriage, Henry dies, leaving England’s throne to nine-year-old Edward—a puppet in the hands of ruthlessly ambitious royal councilors—and Katharine’s life takes a more complicated turn. Thrilled at this renewed opportunity to wed her first love, she doesn’t realize that Sir Thomas now sees her as a mere stepping stone to power and riches, his eye actually set on bedding and wedding fourteen-year-old Elizabeth. The young princess is innocently flattered by his attentions, but then he persistently invades her bedchamber, to the shock of her household. The result is a tangled tale of love and a struggle for power, bringing to a close the dramatic and violent story of Henry VIII’s six wives.

“Narrator Rosalyn Landor beautifully portrays Katharine Parr, Henry VIII’s last wife. Katharine plans to marry Tom Seymour, but after beheading his most recent wife for adultery and treason, Henry fancies 30-year-old Katharine. What choice does she have? She sacrifices marriage to Tom to become queen. Religious turmoil still plagues the kingdom, and court intrigue puts Katharine in danger for her reformist beliefs. Landor makes listeners feel Katharine’s strong sense of duty to God, her country, and her king– as well as her terror of the king’s mercurial whims. After Henry’s death, when she eventually marries Tom, Landor delivers Katharine’s dismay at his inappropriate behavior with Princess Elizabeth. Katharine’s loyalty, her scholarly bent, and her compassion for the king’s children are perfectly detailed in Landor’s performance. Superb listening!” … Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile