The fates of the Howard family are knitted in with the wider history of Tudor England and indeed sixteenth-century Scotland, too. I knew some of the Howards from my research into the period, for example Katherine Howard, Henry VIII's young fifth queen; and Lord Thomas Howard, who embarked on a relationship with Margaret Douglas when she was a relative newcomer at Henry VIII's court. But in general, my knowledge of a family that had been so prominent during the Tudor age was hazy, and so I looked forward to finding out more in Marilyn Roberts' book, Queen Katherine and the Howards published by Pen and Sword Books.

The books starts with the rise of the family - so if you're looking for a book purely about Katherine Howard this is not, in all honesty, it, although it does delve deeper into the queen's story from the second third of the book. However, to understand Katherine you have to appreciate where her family came from: their beginnings, their earlier struggles and their relationships with the early Tudor monarchs.

I enjoyed reading the book - which contains 19 chapters read in a few evenings - along with many of the tales that filled it holes in my existing knowledge of the age. It also focuses, to some degree, on the women of the Howard family and the influence and effect they had on events of the period. I feel as if I got to know Agnes Howard a little bit while reading and the author has taken care to analyse and explore aspects of her personality. They are not just names and dates, but explored as the three-dimensional women they once were. The fall of Katherine Howard and her family's reaction to the events of the early-1540s is also explored, often in great detail from surviving court records. We also learn about the shady figure of Edmund Howard, Katherine's father, and gain an understanding of how the future queen's early years may have contributed to the events of her queenship.

Generally, it's a book I'd recommend to any Tudor history fan, because to understand the age you need to have a knowledge of one of its most prominent families and their involvement with the Crown, in their success as well as their challenges and fall.

NetGalley, Jo Romero

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

As a keen reader of Tudor history Queen Katherine’s story is not new to me, however Marilyn Robert’s’ new book kept me enthralled.
She lays down the facts and disputes many of the long-standing opinions and ‘facts’ about Katherine Howard’s life. But in addition to this she tells the story from before and after Katherine’s rapid rise and fall in Tudor society. Setting her short life in the middle of her much longer lived step grandmother and uncle helps to put this period of history in context and also highlights how the events of her very short reign impacted her family, the mighty Howard’s, well into the future.
I would recommend Queen Katherine and the Howard’s to those interested in Tudor history and I feel that anyone who likes a drama filled true life story would relish reading this book.

NetGalley, Nicola Hall

I have read other biographies on Queen Katherine but this is the most complete history of her life and her families that I have ever read. The author has written it in a way that is informative, colorful, truthful and never dry (which is sometimes hard to do with any biography). In my opinion, the author presents Katherine honestly and erases a lot of the misconceptions that history and historical fiction novels and television has cast upon her. A must read for any Tudor fan or anyone who loves reading about English monarchy history. Comes with pictures which is always a bonus for me.

NetGalley, Christine Cazeneuve

A really interesting read about Henry VIII youngest bride.
The Howards were a family that wanted to remain in the favour of the king and did many things to stay as a prominent family at that time at a cost to many people.

NetGalley, Angela Thompson

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This was a strong look at Katherine Howard’s final days, it had that element that I was looking for and thought worked as a historical nonfiction book. It was researched well and learned a lot about this. Marilyn Roberts has a strong writing style and am excited to read more.

NetGalley, Kathryn McLeer