Firebrand

by Elizabeth Fremantle Book 1 in the The Tudor Trilogy series.

First published 2013

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Katherine Parr returns to Henry VIII’s court after the death of her second husband, hoping that widowhood may finally give her some control over her future. She is drawn to Thomas Seymour and imagines a marriage founded on affection, but the ageing king notices her intelligence and composure. When Henry decides that Katherine will become his sixth wife, refusal is impossible and Seymour is sent away.

As queen, Katherine must manage Henry’s volatility, the competing factions around the throne and the danger attached to her Protestant learning. Her household and publications bring her close to the religious disputes of the Henrician Reformation, while her private feelings for Seymour threaten the discipline required for survival. First published in 2013 as Queen’s Gambit, the novel was reissued in 2024 under the title Firebrand.