The King's Rose

February 9, 2009
Libby's lush historical novel chronicles the intense period during which 15-year-old Catherine Howard became Henry VIII's fifth wife. Starting when the king disposed of his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, by annulment, and taking readers through the moment of Catherine's death for treason against the king, the story captures her powerlessness, despite her title. “You are little more than flesh and blood,” her grandmother, the duchess of Norfolk, tells her. “You are the vessel by which the Howards lay claim to the greatest power we can wield.” Catherine feels intense pressure to be the king's “rose without a thorn” and produce an heir, but she struggles under the weight of her own past and the machinations of her family: deceiving the king about her virginity, suppressing her love for one of the king's courtiers, Thomas, and contending with the arrival of a former lover and friends seeking positions in her court. The gripping story crackles with the anxiety of the young queen—her lack of control over her own life and desires will resonate most with readers. Ages 14–up.

May 1, 2009
Gr 8 Up-Beautiful Catherine Howard, 15, has attracted the attention of aging King Henry Tudor, who is becoming increasingly desperate for a son. His only son, Edward, is a sickly youngster, and Henry is worried about the succession. He has already rid himself of three wives and, now, he finds a way to dispense with his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, so he can marry Catherine. Catherine has been thrust before him by her powerful Howard relatives, and she knows that her role is to keep the king happy, but she has grown up in the morally lax household of her grandmother, the dowager Duchess of Norfolk, and she has secrets in her past that, if revealed, will ruin her. Told in Catherine's voice, the story gains real immediacy as she glories in the excitement and glamour of the court, but soon realizes that she is in great danger. Her love for young Thomas Culpepper overcomes her common sense, and their affair seals her doom. Period activities such as a bear-baiting contest are skillfully woven into the plot. The dowager Duchess and her accomplice, Lady Jane Rochford, are deliciously amoral in their relentless political scheming. One particularly effective scene has Catherine shocked at seeing a portrait of the youthful Henry and realizing how much he has deteriorated. While numerous sexual encounters are part of the political reality, they are subtly handled. A real treat for lovers of historical fiction."Quinby Frank, Green Acres School, Rockville, MD"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2009
Grades 8-11 Though well aware of her cousin Anne Boleyns fate only four years earlier, 15-year-old Catherine Howard acquiesces with her ambitious, conniving relatives plans and marries King Henry VIII. He calls her my rose without a thorn, but she is well aware of the thorny secrets she conceals: no virgin when she and the king married, she later begins a sexual liaison at court, partly in a desperate effort to produce an heir. Soon, Catherine begins a downward spiral toward madness and despair. An authors note separates historical fact from conjecture in this account of Catherines short years as Henrys rose. Libby offers a convincing, sympathetic portrayal of a young woman who relinquishes her hopes of marrying for love and finds herself doomed by her choices and deceptions. Hardly an active heroine, Catherine falls into a trap early on and, in the end, has little left but her dignity. This ones for historical-fiction fans who will appreciatethis character study of Henrys fifth wife.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2009
Catherine Howard is only fifteen when King Henry VIII asks her to be his bride. Ignoring her own heart as well as what happened to her cousin Anne Boleyn, Catherine loses herself in the power of being queen. This riveting novel--made all the more addictive by Catherine's compelling narration--leaves the reader wishing history would have allowed a different ending.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)