---

I admittedly love most Historical Fiction that is set in and around the Tudor period, especially when it is from the perspective of a woman. The fact the book is set in Devon (my home county) meant I knew a fair few of the places mentioned, which made it all the more enjoyable for me.

I enjoyed learning about Katherine’s life during a turbulent period of history, and how this affected both her and her family, even though they lived many miles away from the centre of things at court. It is fascinating to see her day to day life, beliefs and values and how these went on to form her children into the people they became, most notably, of course, her last-born child, Sir Walter Raleigh. Her life is full of ups and downs, turmoil and grief but she also finds love, passion, contentment and joy which I believe makes this such a brilliant page-turner.

Rosemary Griggs has a great ability to take the minimal facts known about Katherine’s life and merge them with her fantastic knowledge of the period and localities involved to form this amazing, vivid, piece of fiction. I truly didn’t want the book to end.

I hope to read more from Rosemary in the future.

Original review : https://www.netgalley.com/publisher/member/583637

---