The Fifth Queen

Summary (from the publisher): Katherine Howard, clever, beautiful and out-spoken, catches the jaded eye of Henry VIII and becomes his fifth Queen. Corruption and fear pervade the King's court, and the dimly lit corridors vibrate with the intrigues of unscrupulous courtiers hungry for power. Soon Katherine is locked in a vicious battle with Thomas Cromwell, the Lord Privy Seal, as she fights for political and religious change. 

Ford saw the past as an integral part of present experience and understanding, and his sharply etched vision of the court of Henry VIII echoes aspects of Edwardian England as well as exploring the pervading influence of power, lies, fear and anxiety on people's lives. 

Review: This trio of novellas packaged as a single novel is a Modernist take on historical fiction and in it Ford challenged himself to write in the style of the time period. Principally composed of dialogue, the plot follows the rise and fall of Henry VIII's fifth marriage to the teenage Katherine Howard, who in this novel finds herself embroiled in court politics as she seeks to lead political and religious change. 

Although I had several frustrations with this work, my primary one was the gross historical misrepresentations. According to the historical record and virtually every other fictional depiction ever encountered, Katherine Howard was a largely uneducated, foolish, and morally loose teenager. Never has she been described as scholarly or devout, yet Ford imagines her as both. In this novel, Ford has made her a pious champion of her religious beliefs who is cruelly persecuted and misrepresented to the court and greater society by her foes and political opponents. It was difficult for me to suspend my disbelief as the Katherine presented in these pages was so vastly different from everything I know to be true about the historical figure of Katherine Howard. 

Furthermore, although admiral and well done, the writing style, which intends to mimic that of the time period, made this a relatively difficult and slow read. The heavy reliance on dialogue also made this read more like a play than a novel, as all action is through character's descriptions rather than much descriptive text. 

A unique take on historical fiction that far predates the vast majority of published historical fiction. Ford did a credible job at replicating the speech of Londoners in the mid 1500s and presented a unique take on Katherine Howard's characterization. However, the historical inaccuracies and slow moving pace ultimately outweighed the pros of this book for me. 

Stars: 3