Young and Damned and Fair: The Life of Catherine Howard, Fifth Wife of King Henry VIII

Russell (From Albion to Zazzera) builds upon his extensive scholarly research of the 16th-century royal household to produce this sympathetic biography of Catherine Howard (1523–42). Henry VIII called Catherine "a jewel for womanhood," and married her shortly after his divorce from Anne of Cleves, for whom Catherine had served as lady-in-waiting. This portrayal shows Catherine to be an immature yet attractive girl who had the misfortune of becoming the object of Henry VIII's ardor. Russell discusses the impact that religious rivalry, international diplomacy, and court etiquette had on Catherine's precipitous fall from grace. She was executed on charges of adultery and treason after serving as queen consort for less than 16 months, well before her 21st birthday. Possibly sexually abused as a young girl, promiscuous before her marriage, and unfaithful after it, Catherine was the least politically consequential of Henry's wives, yet her story is important for what it reveals about the brutality and chauvinism of Henrician England. Highly readable and peppered with engrossing stories, this book is also fascinating for its details about what was considered sexually moral in 16th-century England.