The Sinful Queen. A Novel about Catherine Howard

Spring 1540. Henry VIII is trying to rid himself of his unattractive German wife Anne of Cleves. The prematurely aging king looks favorably upon the lovely nineteen-year-old maid of honor Catherine Howard, cousin of Anne Boleyn. Cheerful and lively, Catherine willingly accepts the king's courtship, which her ambitious family strongly encourages. The infatuated king annuls his marriage to his hated wife and within two weeks marries Catherine, whom he tenderly calls the rose without thorns. Catherine bravely endures the nightly embraces of the ailing king in the hope of bearing him a son to secure her position. Unfortunately, the shadow of past mistakes not only darkens the carefree life of the young queen but also poses a deadly threat to her. The tragic fate of this girl, deceived in her expectations, is one of the saddest pages in English history. "The Sinful Queen. A Novel about Catherine Howard" is the fifth book in the dramatic series about the six wives of Henry VIII, written by the popular author and renowned historian Alison Weir.