You know when you open a book written by Alison Weir you are going to read a great story...not just any historical fiction, but a book steeped in Tudor history. Katherine Parr was the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII. Her life was interesting and Weir made sure in the telling, it was rich with the details of Katherine's life before and after the King's death. This book as the others before it did not disappoint. With each page you step into the past and as always, with historical fiction, there is much to learn. My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First line: Katharine was five when death cast its black shadow over her life.

Summary: Katharine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII of England, grew up as a simple country gentry but she made several advantageous marriages. However, each husband died early leaving her a widow and childless. Then when she meets the handsome brother to the late queen, Jane Seymour, she believes she has found the love of her life.

But fate has different plans. Katharine catches the eye of the King of England. With the hopes of swaying the king towards the new faith, Katharine accepts his proposal. With her marriage comes the enmity of the Catholic faction at court. Bishop Gardiner and his men are determined to bring down Henry’s new queen.

My Thoughts: I liked this book. I liked how we got a look into Katharine’s early life. Many of the books about her center around her time as queen and afterwards but very little on her first two marriages. I enjoyed learning a little more about her time before the throne and how she became a strong proponent of the new religion, Protestantism.

Katharine is one of my least favorite queens. Her story is not very exciting and centers around religion a lot. She did much for the reformists in the court and even became the first woman to publish a book under her own name in English. It is quite an achievement. Alison Weir did a great job giving all the queens in her series a new life and bringing more of their stories to readers. I will be anticipating her next collection of books.

FYI: This is book six in the Six Tudor Queens series.

This is the final book in Alison Weir's series about the Six Wives of Henry VIII. Katharine Parr is the wife I know the least about, probably because her marriage to the king didn't end in death or divorce like the others, making her the only one to escape unscathed (well, almost. It's not a spoiler to say that Henry VIII wasn't the easiest husband.) This novel gives us the full story of Katharine's life, starting with her childhood and early marriages and ending with her final marriage and childbirth. The majority of the book focuses on her marriage to the king, but I was more interested in her last marriage, with Tom Seymour, whose dalliances with the future Queen Elizabeth made for a heady scandal-in-the-making.

While some parts of the story are fabricated, the majority of the novel is based on the historical record. This is an easy book to read, and I appreciate Weir's simple writing style. The plotting is less sensationalistic than what you'll find in a Phillipa Gregory novel, but it's probably a lot more accurate.

I look forward to seeing which historical subject Weir tackles next. I'd love to see a series on the Plantagenet queens.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

First off, it didn't actually take me two months to read this book. Well, it did, but only because I kept putting it down and taking a break to read something else - something faster-paced, more engaging. This is a brilliant book, but it's very dense, and while I remained invested in Katharine's story and intended to finish it, breaks were required.

This is the first book I've read by Weir, so it's a little odd that I came in to her works at with the last Queen, Katharine Parr. I'm far more familiar with the stories of Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, so I knew little of Katharine's history going into it - I just knew that she was the Queen who survived her King.

Weir has proven herself to be a master (or mistress, if you'd rather) of her craft, and this story is meticulously researched. This is, in part, what makes it so dense - Weir (mostly) faithfully chronicles Katharine's life from her childhood, through both of her earlier marriages, and into her Queenship. This isn't a book that highlights the juicy tidbits for drama, instead detailing all of the events and relationships that shaped Katharine into the woman, and Queen, that she was. It's not historical fiction meant to titillate, but to elucidate, written by and for an historian's mind.

That being said, I did enjoy it. I wished it was faster-paced at times (and I love historical fiction, but the breadth and depth of information was too much for me at times) but will say that Weir does a masterful job at painting a complete portrait of the last of Henry's Queens. I felt like I understood Katharine, her motivations, her drive, and I liked her. She was kind, keenly intelligent, and an excellent stepmother to many, her death of childbed fever the greatest injustice. One thing that I personally found a bit of a detractor to my experience was the heavy presence of religion, as I'm not religious and don't enjoy reading or hearing about it - however, reform and the Protestant faith were great parts of Katharine's story and it would be remiss to downplay that part of her character.

Once again, Alison Weir has written another fantastic novel, this one about the last of Henry VIII’s wives, Katherine Parr. As always, Ms. Weir’s work is well researched, and although this is historical fiction, you can imagine it to be close to reality.

Katherine’s story reads differently than the other wives, although she was from a noble family, she wasn’t raised at Court, or thrown in Henry’s path as a young girl like some of the others. Katherine was a widow when she “ran into” Henry at court and caught his eye, she was considered much older, in her 30’s, although he was already in his 60’s. Their marriage is more one of companionship at what turned out to be Henry’s last years. Katherine was a good step-mother to his children, and the years she was at court were probably the least scandalous of Henry’s reign, but still, her story is interesting because Henry is not the central character.

I love everything Alison Weir writes, fiction or non-fiction. If you are a fan of the Tudor Era, her books are a must!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was a lot longer than I expected, but I enjoyed it. It was slow in the beginning, and was hard for me to keep interested but around 15% in it picked up quickly and I was invested in the plot.

I would definitely look into the other five books of the series, but I wouldn't necessarily have them in my shelf. Given a good price for the box set, I would buy them all for another, based only on having read this one.

Overall: 4/5

Alison Weir is known for her well researched historical fiction novels, and Katherine Parr, The SIxth Wife is no exception. In this book, we follow the Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's final wife. The only wife to remain married to Henry, (perhaps because he died before he could behead or divorce her?), Katherine is determined to move on with her life after Henry's death. She envisions a new life with the man she truly loved, yet he seems to have other plans.

Weir does such a good job of marrying the factual history with the fictional elements in Katherine Parr, The Sixth Wife. This is a terrific conclusion to the series, and I look forward to reading some of Weir's other work.

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Title: Katharine Parr the Sixth Wife
Author: Alison Weir

Chapters: 29

Pages: 544

Series: Six Tudor Queens

Genre: Historical fiction

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher: Ballantine Books



Katharine Parr the Sixth Wife by Alison Weir is the sixth and final book in the sixth Tudor queen’s series. Katharine Parr was Henry's final wife the one that survived him as the old rhyme goes. However, I don't think we can say she thrived. She along with Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn were his most educated wives. Katherine of Aragon was raised to be queen and rule a country beside her husband. Katharine Parr used her knowledge and the lessons left by the queens before her to outsmart a king and those around her that wanted to destroy her.



This was my favorite of the series, but I think that's just because she's my favorite of Henry's wives. Though she survived him I think the wife that got the best out of it was Anne of Cleves. For someone who didn't know English very good or have anyone in England really on her side she get one heck of a divorce settlement. While it's obvious that Katharine loved Thomas Seymour and we can't say for certain how he felt about her, Weir takes the approach that he was attracted but I think it might safe to say that her feelings for him were stronger than his for her. As a reader part of me can't help but wonder if the only reason he paid court to her after Henry's death because of her status as the Dowager queen and trying to one up his brother. Though it is historical fiction one knows their Tudor history does know how the story ends. There's no way to give this Tudor queen a happy ending.



I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

A fine historical novel of Henry VIII last wife. Fully drawn characters, and no gaps in plot. An enjoyable, informative read.

I learned a great deal from reading this story of historical fiction. Beautifully written and evocative.
Many thanks to Random House Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Alison Weir never disappoints, I adore all of her novels and I have enjoyed every book in this series and I'm so sad to see it close. This book was no exception, it offers a vivid view of the life of Katharine Parr, one of the most loved wives of Henry VIII. I am constantly recommending the series because of how close it stays to historical fact and Alison always breaks down what liberties she took and why at the end of the book. I seriously cannot recommend this book and series enough.

As a long time reader of Alison Weir, this book was just as enjoyable as her many others. I marvel at her ability to take research and develop a compelling and genuine story. This book was a delight and I will recommend it to all lovers of historical fiction. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

I love Alison Weir's series on the Tudors. Her writing is impeccable and compelling. This is the third book of hers that I've read and will definitely read more. Reading one of her books totally satiates my craving for historical fiction.

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
Katharine Parr has long since been my least favorite of Henry VIII's wives. After reading this, I find myself understanding her a bit better and maybe even sympathizing with her. She was a true modern women who spent most of her life living for others and in the end finally getting a small piece of happiness for herself. This was well worth the read and a fascinating conclusion to the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book! Release date - May 11, 2o21

I have written some long and ranting reviews about Alison Weir's Six Tudor Queens series. I disagreed with her about Katherine of Aragón, seriously disliked her portrayal of Anne Boleyn, was bored by her Anna of Kleve novel, and was kinda just confused about Katheryn Howard. I did, however, enjoy Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen, and surprisingly, this book as well. I'd give it a solid 3.5 stars.

There was a lot I liked about this book. I really felt immersed in Katharine's life, and I really loved how Alison Weir portrayed her whole life. As much as I have disliked some of these books, I seriously applaud how much research she has put into telling these women's stories all the way through. I don't know of any other author who has dedicated an entire (LONG) novel to each one of Henry VIII's wives from childhood until death. I thought her relationship with each of her husbands was well-portrayed, and all of her theories made sense to me.

I do have a few small complaints, the first being that it really irks me that she couldn't come up with a better subtitle for this book than "The Sixth Wife." I feel like Katharine Parr deserved so much more than that, she was a scholar, a religious activist, the first woman to publish under her own name in England, a queen, a stepmother to Henry's children...and in a series full of very descriptive subtitles all she could come up with is her relationship to Henry. And not even that she outlived him ("The Surviving Wife" would have been at least a little better) or any of the interesting parts...just that she was the sixth one to marry him. Really really irks me.

I also didn't love how meekly Katharine was portrayed in this book. One example that comes to mind is when Henry unveils the portrait where he has Jane painted with him and his children instead of Katharine, the wife he is actually married too. And Katharine is just like "sure, yep, whatever, makes sense to me!" Not just outwardly but in her internal dialogue too! It would make sense for her to have this reaction to Henry, of course, he could have her head chopped off, but on the inside she had to have been at least a little offended.

All in all I definitely DID enjoy this book much more than some of the previous ones in the series, but I can't say that I'm sad that this series has come to an end. I think it was a great idea and I think Alison Weir did a decent job with it. I just don't think that I personally love her writing style, which I find often to be bland and monotone, as well as her freakishly long books and sometimes outlandish theories. I don't regret reading this series but it won't go at the top of any of my lists.

I am a huge fan of Alison Weir's historical fiction, especially involving the Tudors. Katharine Parr, the Sixth Wife was a fascinating look at the final wife of Henry VIII. I loved that this book didn't only cover her years with Henry, but started in childhood and continued to her death. She was an incredibly educated woman who held deep religious beliefs that she had to be careful to hide during the dangerous battle between the factions at court. She gently pressed Henry for further reforms while avoiding discovery from those that were trying to push her out of power. This was a wonderful depiction of the balancing act her life was spent performing.

Alison Weir has finished her latest writing project, a historical fiction account of each of Henry VIII’s wives. Each book relates the women’s birth to death and the latest, Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife, gives quite a bit of insight of what led up to this choice for a final wife. The account of her life shows us where she got the strength to handle being Henry’s queen during a trying time for him and her reasoning for saying yes. Oh how I love reading how the Tudor era women spent their lives. The day to day issues of finding a suitable husband for daughters and securing a job at court are so interesting. In addition, Weir puts quite a lot of explanation on the evolution of Parr’s religious beliefs. Changing religious beliefs guide the Tudor era day to day. This reader appreciated much background on the times that strengthen Parr’s faith in the outlawed extreme Protestantism, and how her comments possibly change England via Henry. I highly recommend this fictional biography of Katherine Parr. I received a free ecopy of this book for an honest review.

When I started historian Alison Weir's Six Tudor Queens' series back in 2016, the end seemed very far off, yet here we are, already at the last of Henry VIII's wives in Katharine Parr's tale. Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife, takes us into the life of the woman who saw Henry through the end of his days. Katharine was one of two of King Henry's wives who outlived him, however, her story, while brighter than many of her counterparts', isn't necessarily a happy one.

Katharine Parr, Henry VIII's sixth & final wife, was married a total of four times, with two husbands coming before Henry and one after his death. Much of Weir's dense novel, covering Katharine's life as a young child dealing with her father's death to her own untimely demise at the age of 36, focuses on Katharine's many marriages to men positioned to further her standing in the world. Also covered prolifically throughout the novel is Katharine's relationship with religion. Katharine rides the religious wave throughout the years, trying to follow the precedent that King Henry sets forth, but also attempting to stay true to her own beliefs, which lean strongly toward the Protestant faith. Anyone who is familiar with Katharine's life knows that she flew perilously close to the sun during her time as Queen of England, and quite possibly nearly found herself at death's door due to her beliefs.

As are all the novels in Weir's Six Tudor Queens series, Katharine Parr is well-researched and exhaustive. These novels come recommended to those who wish to know everything about the lives of Henry's wives - these books do not skimp on detail! Furthermore, Katharine's book focuses greatly on her life outside of being Queen, as her time as Henry's sixth wife was in his final years of life when he suffered from numerous health problems and wasn't as entrenched in the drama and scandal of court as he was in his youth.

It could actually be said that Katharine's life truly got interesting AFTER her marriage to King Henry. For it is then that she wed the true love of her life - the roguish Thomas Seymour - a wild card who would eventually lose his head not long after Katharine's death. It is Katharine's life with Thomas that I was most familiar with going into this book. I was aware that the couple helped rear Princess Elizabeth, and that Thomas was reported to have behaved inappropriately with the young future Queen of England. The last part of the book detailing Katharine and Thomas's marriage was by far my favorite part of this richly detailed novel.

The Six Tudor Queens series is a must-read for anyone who is a fan of Tudor history and is curious to learn more about the many wives of the infamous Henry VIII.

Thanks to NetGALLEY for a copy of this book to review. I personally enjoy the history of the kings and queens. This author, Weir, is well know for her books of the Tudor period. I give her kudos for taking on each queen. I enjoyed this because it adds a background of the other 5 wives of Henry. I have followed the Tudor period for a while but never got into Kate Parr after Henry died.

The story gives a great perspective regarding the turmoil of religion, during that period, when King Henry VIII breaks with Rome and declares himself the supreme head of the English church., whether it turns into Lutheran, or Another break from Catholic religion.

The description of her love for a Seymour was quite the description throughout Kate Parr’s life. She also endeared King Henry’s children. As well as had love for King Henry.
I enjoyed it but if your not into reading history, albeit with added fictional moments, which allows it to be readable., keep track of the folks it may help.

Four Stars

I confess, I was not particularly looking forward to reading this final book in the "Six Queens" series simply because I never found this sixth queen of King Henry VIII that interesting. The Tudors being a passion of mine, I've read many books and watched movies and documentaries about the Six Queens. So, what did I already know about Katharine Parr? I knew that Katharine fervently wished to marry Thomas Seymour at the time she was proposed to by Henry VIII, that she sacrificed her personal desires to perform her duty by marrying the king. She also stood firmly with religious reform to the Protestant faith, and this nearly got her arrested whilst married to the King. Henry had already moved towards religious reforms to the Protestant faith, but still preferred to take a "middle road" while retaining elements of Catholic traditions. I also knew of Thomas Seymour's carnal interest in the teenage Elizabeth, who later became Queen Elizabeth I. Lastly, I knew that Katharine mysteriously had never gotten pregnant in her previous marriages until she finally was able to marry Thomas Seymour following the King's death, but tragically and ironically died from complications of childbirth after giving birth to a daughter.

This book filled out some unknowns for me, fleshing out her childhood and two prior marriages before she married King Henry VIII. I found this book to be quite voluminous in pages, as if I was reading two books. Towards the beginning of the book, I became a tad disinterested and strayed away to read some other books. However, I was heartened to read about how when her father died, her uncle welcomed/absorbed the family into his own household. During this time, fortuitous marriages were arranged that had nothing to do with love but with money, titles and rank. Women just had to make the best of it and hopefully find love and at least a certain contentment following marriage. Also, the men controlled the wealth, even if it came from his wife's family. Her first marriage was blighted by the complication of her husband favoring men. The second was with an older man, but provided comfort and contentment. However, it was a dangerous time when the Catholics were fighting back against King Henry VIII's destruction of their abbeys, and her husband John Neville was being heavily pressured by both sides.

When Neville died, Katharine was finally able to entertain her simmering attraction to Thomas Seymour. This was thwarted almost immediately by King Henry VIII's unexpected and unwanted interest in her. In the end, she succumbed to his wishes for the betterment of her family, and more importantly, to influence Henry towards more progressive religious reforms to Protestantism. It has always been depicted that by this point King Henry VIII could not perform in the bedroom, but this historical fiction offering has them successfully achieving marital relations. Another surprise! I enjoyed this part of the book most of all because although Katharine wasn't "in love' with Henry, she grew to love him and enjoy his company. It was a happy marriage all around, and Katharine was a wonderful stepmother to Henry's children. I appreciated Katharine's intelligence, temperance and cunning in navigating the dog eat dog world of the Tudor Court, which was a dangerous place.

This was another quality read from acclaimed royal author Alison Weir, which closes the final chapter to her historical fiction series, "Six Queens".

Thank you very much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.