I have always found the Tudors so interesting and love reading anything about them. This book did not disappoint.

Henry VIII and his six wives have fascinated me for a long time because the women were all very different and, at least some of them, were rather proactive and progressive for their time. Catherine Howard is often dismissed as rather flight and promiscuous in modern depictions of her and I haven't read many books dedicated to her. So this was very interesting to read because it shows her in a different light. This biography showed Catherine to be a complex person who, on the one hand, was responsible for her own downfall, but, on the other hand, was the victim of circumstances. I really liked how the author took the time to expand on the world Catherine inhabited. I also liked how the biography managed to create a really interesting and readable narrative while still remaining very informative.

Absolutely loved this! I've read several books about the Tudors but what Russell does is both combines a look at Catherine Howard with an in-depth and engaging look at Tudor households, religious ceremonies and politics. I almost wouldn't call this a biography but more a historical dive into an entire community.

I felt that this was a great view of Katherine's life as King Henry's 5th wife. However it did seem to get a little creative with the details and writing in a few places, though I suspect that it was to avoid getting dull.

Young and Damned and Fair is an impressive take on Catherine Howard, Queen of England, fifth wife of Henry VIII. Clearing up half-truths, fables, and misconceptions of the unfortunate young woman’s life and demise, a clearer picture—though in some ways still frustratingly mysterious—of who she really was and what happened from her girlhood until her untimely demise.

I’ve always loved reading about the Tudors, especially about Henry’s wives. Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyn are both my first cousins 17x removed, so I’m especially interested in those two. Gareth does a wonderful job of clearing up long persisting myths about various figures, from “Flanders Mare,” to “Rose without a thorn.” Catherine, herself, is treated fairly through research and though her actions were very foolish at times—she is not dismissed as an irrelevant subject to understand. The first few chapters were slow buildup, but even someone familiar with Catherine Howard will be sucked into the book until the very last page.

Catherine Howard was the fifth wife of Henry VIII, she was a teenager whereas Henry was middle-aged, corpulent and tyrannical. After the death of Jane Seymour, Henry needed to make a political marriage and his advisor Cromwell settled on Anne of Clever. However Henry did not find her attractive and divorce was quickly sorted. Henry looked for an attractive bride next and the flirtatious young Catherine fitted the bill. Although naive, Catherine had a history, she had been involved in a relationship with Francis Dereham which may or may not have involved sex. All the pieces were in place for a tragedy when Catherine's head was turned by the younger, attractive men at court. Before she was twenty-one Catherine became the second of Henry's wives to lose their head accused of treason.

That is the simple story of Catherine Howard, she is either a silly naive girl or a girl who was abused at an early age and know no better. In this biography Russell tries to learn more about her background and deliver some evidence about what really went wrong for Catherine. Her family life was difficult, related to Anne Boleyn and with a father who seemed to go from disaster to disaster, she was brought up in the household of her grandmother. However the 'Maiden's Chamber' was a place where girls flirted with the young men of the household and sometimes went further and Russell explains how this 'education' created a women aware of her charms but also demanding of attention. In terms of marrying Henry, Catherine didn't really have a choice but Russell places her position into context. I felt that the research here cast a lot more light on Catherine's actions by placing them in the context of the court and he offers a balanced picture of Catherine as Queen - her relationships with Henry's children are particularly telling.

Gareth Russell deserves more acclaim! I loved this depiction of Elizabeth Howard and read it during my Easter break. Russell gets the balance absolutely right between erudition and readability and I raced through it in record time. I loved the careful scene-setting of Elizabeth's lifetime in order for us to see her actions and her treatment in the correct historical context. Catherine is an utterly compelling subject and Russell manages to bring her alive for us and have compassion for her choices. His use of source material provides a compelling narrative of the fateful story of Catherine that never forgets that she was a human being as we engage step by step with her downfall. I thoroughly recommend this book for anyone who wants to be transported back into the time period of the subject, whilst being balanced out by insightful and scholarly reflections on Catherine's fate. Russell deserves to become much more famous than he is through this book. A five star read indeed!

WHAT AN EXHAUSTIVE BIOGRAPHY. Almost certainly younger than 20 when she was executed, Katherine Howard often languishes beside Henry VIII's other five wives precisely because it's so difficult to find information about her. Not any more.

I waffled a little on my rating because this book is 60% about Henry and what a petulant child he is (when he's not being a maniac), but this is still the most comprehensive biography I've read about Katherine. Russell dismantles apocryphal records, uses contemporary accounts as evidence, and is quite restrained in offering hypothetical scenarios.

Some of the context about Katherine's peers and the court can get heavy (and sometimes these anecdotes seem misplaced), making this a slow read, but that also makes this a good book for Tudor fans whether you're just starting to read about them, or if you have been for awhile.

The author has certainly done extensive and through research for this book. The book is well written for an academic historical reader. It is interesting, but it took me awhile to read as I could not keep all the participants, their titles, and places of origin straight if I ingested too much at one time.

I received this book as an ARC from Net Galley and Simon and Schuster. This review is my honest opinion.

What a wonderful book! Chock full of interesting tidbits of information I never knew about this enigmatic, educated woman, despite all that's already been written about her. She was a fascinating woman then, and is as fascinating today. A must-read for all strong-willed women; a reaffirmation for many of us that there were strong women even in the days where it wasn't generally acceptable or appreciated... at least by the men! Recommended for all history buffs.

I enjoy reading about the Tudor era, but I typically stick to works of fiction. On occasion, a biographical book about the Tudors will catch my eye and end up on my “To Be Read” list. When I discovered Gareth Russell’s “Young and Damned and Fair,” a biographical account of the life of Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, I knew I had to read it.

Many books have previously been written about Katherine of Aragon (wife #1) and Anne Boleyn (wife #2), but Catherine Howard, not so much. Given that “Young and Damned and Fair” focused solely on Catherine, I eagerly jumped into the book expecting to learn a great deal about her life. I was not disappointed.

The union was a mismatch from the start. Catherine was most likely a teenager when she married Henry, a man old enough to be her grandfather. He was captivated by her beauty, and his distaste for Anne of Cleves (wife #4) led him to seek a dissolution so that he could marry Catherine instead. What Henry didn’t bargain for was Catherine’s promiscuous past. And when that past ended up on her doorstep, she threw royal decorum out the window. Her youthful naivete about her power as Queen led her to believe she could secretly do as she pleased, and Henry would be none the wiser. But the palace is full of intrigue, and nothing is ever completely secret. Catherine realizes much too late her error in judgment, but by then the wheels of justice have already been set in motion. Catherine is arrested and tried for her treasonous acts against the King, found guilty, and condemned to die by beheading. Many other individuals, including past and present lovers, family members, ladies in waiting, and even totally innocent acquaintances, are either imprisoned or lose their lives as enablers of her actions, bringing to a disastrous end an inauspicious eighteen-month marriage.

I really like it when a biography reads like a novel. That was not the case with this book, so the writing style was not my cup of tea. Russell tended to go off on tangents and get bogged down in detail. At times, I felt like this book would never end. However, the research behind every page was clearly thorough and a huge undertaking for the author as evidenced by the chapter notes and bibliography. Russell was clearly an impassioned student of the subject matter. I find myself averaging the low score of the writing style and the high score of the research to come up with a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. I would recommend this book to Tudor enthusiasts and lovers of historical biographies.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a digital Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a honest review..

An incredibly detailed and researched examination of the short life of Henry's fifth wife, debunking several long held theories.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Everyone knows the rhyme that tells the fates of Henry VIII's six wives. However, in his book, Russell takes a close look at the life of wife number 5 (and beheaded wife number 2): Catherine Howard.

Russell offers a fresh look into the life of Catherine Howard as he retells her sad, short life. He offers a lot of support for his point and gracefully refutes (with evidence!) ideas and thoughts that were previously held about the infamous queen. Additionally, the text is pretty reader friendly, making it accessible for both scholars and lay-readers.

I had two huge gripes with this book, and they tie into each other. The first gripe is Russell's habit of going on almost completely irrelevant tangents for pages upon pages. He would mention someone who was connected to Catherine in some way and then spend 5 pages explaining something about that person. While, yes, it was marginally connected to the book, it ultimately didn't add anything that I really felt was necessary to the text. Which leads to the second gripe: I often lost track of what I was reading and what was going on because of these tangents. A few times, the tangents actually made me fall asleep and, upon waking, I really had no clue what was going on.

Overall, however, I would definitely recommend the text to any Tudor scholar, pseudo or not. It offers a fresh take on Catherine's story, and it's a tale that definitely deserved to get told.

This is a fabulous and indepth look at the life of Catherine Howard, the fifth of Henry VIII's six wives. Very well written.

Young and Dammed and Fair about the life of Catherine Howard is a well thought out, well-written, and well researched book. The author Gareth Russell methodically presents the life of Howard while giving numerous end notes to back up his research.

If you want a glimpse into the Tudor world, his book will give you an accurate birds eye view.

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

Shout out to Simon and Schuster and Gareth Russell for the opportunity to read this book and offer an unbiased review.

July 28, 1540, was a momentous day in England-Cromwell was beheaded and Henry VIII married Catherine Howard. She was probably about 18 years old; he was middle aged , obese, and ulcerated. A match made in heaven.
Catherine was a grandchild of the Duke of Norfolk and was brought up in the home of her grandmother, the Dowager Duchess, a grossly negligent chaperone. She was reared with proper manners and poise but could be intemperate and impatient especially when her pride was insulted. Having grown up under the shadow of her cousin Anne Boleyn's execution, one would have thought she would have been more prudent. Alas, no lessons were learned.

In Young and Damned and Fair we read in great detail of the feckless behavior of an immature girl who who was not prepared to be a queen but was also not a pawn. Russell meticulously researches her journey from poor relation to pinnacle and back keeping to a smooth narrative style timeline.

Excellent work, Russel! I think nonfiction has discovered a new talent.

I had a hard time getting into this book. From the reviews I expected a non-fiction book told is a story format. However, I thought this was just a dry recitation of facts. Since I did not finish the book, I do not intend to publish a review.