dfloyd
06-12-2011, 08:59 PM
I have discovered another novel of the Tudor period which may be even better than Mantel's. While looking into the fall of Cromwell and the rise and fall of Katherine Howard, I kept running into a mention of The Fifth Queen by Ford Madox Ford, the fifth queen being the fifth wife of Henry VIII. So I googled the book and found it was a trilogy about Katherine Howard with all three books published under the title of The Fifth Queen. So I checked our library and found the book. I am now about 1/2 way through its 500 plus pages.
I had read The Good Soldier by Ford, but I wasn't aware he had written a historical novel of the Tudor period. The reviews I read criticized the novel for portraying Howard other than an adulterous teenager executed by Henry for treason, Howard having an aulterous affair with her cousin, Thomas Culpepper. Then I read the last review which convinced me to read the book.
It was by no less an author than the renowned Graham Greene. Greene said it was the second best novel by Ford (The Good Soldier being the first). Whether or not Ford took the wrong tack on Howard, the novel has scintillating dialog and makes the sixteenth century court of Henry VIII come alive. It is like reading a novel by Shakespeare.
I am thoroughly enjoying the novel, and what it has in common with Mantel's novel is that there are no characters who didn't actually live in the reign of Henry VIII. It is fast moving and the dialog is excellent. If you liked Wolf Hall, you will also like The Fifth Queen.
I had read The Good Soldier by Ford, but I wasn't aware he had written a historical novel of the Tudor period. The reviews I read criticized the novel for portraying Howard other than an adulterous teenager executed by Henry for treason, Howard having an aulterous affair with her cousin, Thomas Culpepper. Then I read the last review which convinced me to read the book.
It was by no less an author than the renowned Graham Greene. Greene said it was the second best novel by Ford (The Good Soldier being the first). Whether or not Ford took the wrong tack on Howard, the novel has scintillating dialog and makes the sixteenth century court of Henry VIII come alive. It is like reading a novel by Shakespeare.
I am thoroughly enjoying the novel, and what it has in common with Mantel's novel is that there are no characters who didn't actually live in the reign of Henry VIII. It is fast moving and the dialog is excellent. If you liked Wolf Hall, you will also like The Fifth Queen.