The Rose without a Thorn

by Jean Plaidy Book 11 in the A Queens of England Novel series.

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3.9(3,500)

Katherine Howard grows up in the household of her grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, where limited supervision and the behaviour of older companions expose her early to relationships she does not fully understand. Her beauty and Howard connections eventually bring her into the Tudor court.

When Henry VIII notices Katherine, the difference between youthful flirtation and royal attention becomes dangerously significant. Marriage to the king raises her from a relatively obscure noblewoman to queen, but earlier relationships can now be interpreted as threats to the king’s honour and the succession. The novel follows Katherine from an undisciplined household into a court where private mistakes become matters of state.