Tea at Trianon: A New Biography of Katherine Howard By Conor Byrne

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, November 8, 2014

A New Biography of Katherine Howard By Conor Byrne

I would love to read it. From Nerdalicious:

What’s often forgotten in accounts of Katherine is her youth and her inexperience. She’s often compared to Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour, but what should be remembered is that both Anne and Jane were in their mid-twenties when Henry VIII began courting them, and both had served queens for a considerable amount of time (including her stay in France: Anne Boleyn for a total of thirteen or fourteen years; Jane Seymour at least seven). Katherine, by contrast, was favoured by the king barely a few months into her arrival at court, and she was around sixteen or seventeen. Despite these drawbacks, evidence indicates she took her responsibilities seriously. She acted as patron, provided for her family and friends, corresponded with Cranmer and was a loving and dutiful wife to Henry. Yes, she may have initially experienced difficult relations with her elder stepdaughter Mary, but evidence shows the two eventually developed a cordial relationship, and Katherine seems to have got on well with Elizabeth. She also maintained friendly relations with her predecessor, Anne of Cleves. This suggests a conscientious attempt on her part to get on well with others. (Read more.)