Six Tudor Queens: Katheryn Howard, The Tainted Queen

'This six-book series looks likely to become a landmark in historical fiction' THE TIMES'With characteristic verve and stunning period detail, this novel will captivate you and break your heart. Utterly sublime' TRACY BORMANAlison Weir, historian and author of the Sunday Times-bestselling Six Tudor Queens series, relates one of the most tragic stories in English history: Katheryn Howard, Henry VIII's fifth queen.'Conveys the heart-rending pathos of a young woman executed, whose only real crime was her naïveté and her desire to be loved... It is a profoundly moving story that lingers long after the last page is turned' ELIZABETH FREMANTLE'Alison's sensitively drawn novel will change everyone's preconceptions' SUSAN RONALD...A NAIVE YOUNG WOMAN AT THE MERCY OF HER AMBITIOUS FAMILY.At just nineteen, Katheryn Howard is quick to trust and fall in love.She comes to court. She sings, she dances. She captures the heart of the King.But Henry knows nothing of Katheryn's past - one that comes back increasingly to haunt her. For those who share her secrets are waiting in the shadows, whispering words of love... and blackmail.The fifth of Henry's queens.Her story.Acclaimed, bestselling historian Alison Weir draws on extensive research to recount the tale of a vivacious young woman used by powerful men for their own gain. HISTORY TELLS US SHE DIED TOO SOON.THIS MESMERISING NOVEL BRINGS HER TO LIFE.PRAISE FOR THE SIX TUDOR QUEENS SERIES:'Weir is excellent on the little details that bring a world to life' Guardian'Alison Weir makes history come alive as no one else' Barbara Erskine'Well researched and engrossing' Good Housekeeping'Utterly gripping and endlessly surprising' Tracy Borman 'Hugely enjoyable . . . Alison Weir knows her subject and has a knack for the telling and textural detail' Daily Mail

Katheryn emerges from the pages of this beautifully realised portrayal as beguiling, vivacious and, in the end, tragically naive . . .This novel will captivate you and break your heart. Utterly sublime, Weir demonstrates her deep knowledge of the period offering fascinating detail on all aspects of Tudor life. . .It is a profoundly moving story that lingers long after the last page is turned, Alison's sensitively drawn novel will change everyone's preconceptions, This is my favourite of the series, Alison Weir is an expert at weaving together historical detail, political powerplay and the feelings of a naive woman.

Alison Weir is a bestselling historical novelist of Tudor fiction, and the leading female historian in the United Kingdom. She has published more than thirty books, including many leading works of non-fiction, and has sold over three million copies worldwide.Her novels include the Tudor Rose trilogy, which spans three generations of history's most iconic family - the Tudors, and the highly acclaimed Six Tudor Queens series about the wives of Henry VIII, all of which were Sunday Times bestsellers. Alison is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an honorary life patron of Historic Royal Palaces.