Cat Tilney was sent to the Duchess of Norfolk's home in
order to receive an education and proper upbringing. But
everything changes when Katherine Howard arrives. A niece
of the great Duke of Norfolk, one of the King Henry VIII's
most trusted men, Kate transforms the duchess' respectable
home into a place of secrets and sordid affairs.
Cat knew Katherine was different when she first arrived at
the duchess' household. Not only was she a member of the
powerful Howard family, but she had a seductive way of
claiming a man with just a glance. Cat watches as
Katherine works her charms first on the handsome music
teacher, Henry Manox, and then on Francis Dereham, one of
her uncle's men. Although Cat secretly longs for Francis,
she knows he belonged to Katherine the moment their eyes
met.
While the girls engage in dangerous love affairs and
flirtations, news of the King's many failed marriages reach
Norfolk house. First, Catherine of Aragon is cast aside,
which causes great confusion among the girls. Then, Anne
Boleyn, Kate's cousin, is found guilty of adultery and
executed. The king finds happiness with Jane Seymour, but
she dies after producing an heir. The king's marriage to
Anne of Cleves changes Kate's destiny after she is called
to court to serve the new queen. At court, Kate not only
catches the eye of a handsome nobleman, Thomas Culpeper,
but she also makes the ultimate match - The King of England.
Kate's childhood friends are amazed that little Katherine
Howard could turn the head of the great Tudor king, but
they are even more shocked when they learn Kate is to
become the next Queen of England. Her new status does
little to discourage her flirtatious ways. Before becoming
queen, Kate has already claimed Thomas Culpeper as her own,
and not even her marriage to the king will stop her from
bringing Culpeper into her bed. Kate's new title and new
love finally give Cat the opportunity she has been waiting
for with Francis Dereham, but when Francis comes under
investigation by the King's secretary, Cat knows it's only
a matter of time before Kate's dangerous secret comes out,
possibly taking everyone down with her.
Told from the perspective of Cat Tilney, Katherine Howard's
childhood friend, THE CONFESSION OF KATHERINE HOWARD
brings to life Katherine Howard's early years at the
Duchess of Norfolk's home. While the novel creates a vivid
portrait of young Kate's careless love affairs, the
transitioning across time, as Cat tells her story,
distracted from Kate's story. Also, although the novel is
entitled THE CONFESSION OF KATHERINE HOWARD, a good
portion of the book is dedicated to Cat Tilney and her love
for Francis Dereham. The novel still provides an intriguing
view of Kate's time at Norfolk House, a time period many
authors of Tudor fiction usually gloss over.
The tragic, moving, and gripping story of the ascendance and
fall of Katherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, and the
best friend she nearly dragged down with her
When twelve-year-old Katherine Howard comes to live in the
Duchess of Norfolk’s household she could not be more
different than her poor relation, Cat Tilney. Yet, of all
their companions, it is Cat, watchful and ambitious, to whom
the seemingly frivolous young girl confides. When Katherine
is summoned to the royal court at seventeen—to become,
months later, the wife of Henry VIII after he casts off his
previous queen—she leaves behind an ex-lover, Francis, with
whom Cat is soon passionately involved.
But a future that seems assured for the pampered new queen
and her maid-in-waiting lasts a brief year and a half, only
to be imperiled by improper acts and scandalous allegations
of girlhood love affairs. Imprisoned in the Tower and hoping
to escape a most terrible fate, a frightened, desperate
Katherine relates a version of events that only Cat
recognizes as a lie—as more than one life is threatened by
what she alone knows to be the truth about Katherine
Howard’s past.
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