Chapters (56)
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- Chapter Seven
- Chapter Eight
- Chapter Nine
- Chapter Ten
- Chapter Eleven
- Chapter Twelve
- Chapter Thirteen
- Chapter Fourteen
- Chapter Fifteen
- Chapter Sixteen
- Chapter Seventeen
- Chapter Eighteen
- Chapter Nineteen
- Chapter Twenty
- Chapter Twenty-one
- Chapter Twenty-two
- Chapter Twenty-three
- Chapter Twenty-four
- Chapter Twenty-five
- Chapter Twenty-six
- Chapter Twenty-seven
- Chapter Twenty-eight
- Chapter Twenty-nine
- Chapter Thirty
- Chapter Thirty-one
- Chapter Thirty-two
- Chapter Thirty-three
- Chapter Thirty-four
- Chapter Thirty-five
- Chapter Thirty-six
- Chapter Thirty-seven
- Chapter Thirty-eight
- Chapter Thirty-nine
- Chapter Forty
- Chapter Forty-one
- Chapter Forty-two
- Chapter Forty-three
- Chapter Forty-four
- Chapter Forty-five
- Chapter Forty-six
- Chapter Forty-seven
- Chapter Forty-eight
- Chapter Forty-nine
- Chapter Fifty
- Chapter Fifty-one
- Chapter Fifty-two
- Chapter Fifty-three
- Epilogue
- A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- H ISTORICAL N OTE
Some words in Tudor English had a different meaning from today. The term ‘Dutch’ was used to refer to the inhabitants of modern Holland and Belgium. The term ‘Scotch’ was used to refer to Scots.
The name ‘Catherine’ was spelt in several different ways – Catherine, Katharine, Katryn and Kateryn – it was the last spelling which the Queen used to sign her name. However, I have used the more common, modern Catherine.
PRINCIPAL DRAMATIS PERSONAE
and their places on the political–religious spectrum
In this novel there is an unusually large number of characters who actually lived, although, of course, the portrayal of their personalities is mine.
The royal family
King Henry VIII
Prince Edward, age 8, heir to the throne
The Lady Mary, age 30, strongly traditionalist
The Lady Elizabeth, age 12–13
Queen Catherine Parr
Family of Catherine Parr, all reformers (see Family Tree, here)
Lord William Parr, her uncle
Sir William Parr, her brother
Lady Anne Herbert, her sister
Sir William Herbert, her brother-in-law
Members of the King’s Privy Council
John Dudley, Lord Lisle, reformer
Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, reformer
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, reformer
Thomas, Lord Wriothesley, Lord Chancellor, no firm alignment
Sir Richard Rich, no firm alignment
Sir William Paget, Chief Secretary, no firm alignment
Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, traditionalist
Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, traditionalist
Others
William Somers, the King’s fool
Jane, fool to Queen Catherine and the Lady Mary
Mary Odell, the Queen’s maid-in-waiting
William Cecil, later Chief Minister to Queen Elizabeth I
Sir Edmund Walsingham
John Bale
Anne Askew (Kyme)
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
Chapter Forty-four
Chapter Forty-five
Chapter Forty-six
Chapter Forty-seven
Chapter Forty-eight
Chapter Forty-nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-one
Chapter Fifty-two
Chapter Fifty-three
Epilogue
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
HISTORICAL NOTE
Chapter One
Chapter One
I DID NOT WANT to attend the burning. I have never liked even such things as the bearbaiting, and this was to be the burning alive at the stake of four living people, one a woman, for denying that the body and blood of Christ were present in the Host at Mass. Such was the pitch we had come to in England during the great heresy hunt of 1546.