Murder Most Royal: The Story of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard

Murder Most Royal is Jean Plaidy's best and most unforgettable work. It may not be as colorful as something written by Philippa Gregory, but Plaidy has an amazing way of humanizing historical figures so the readers feel they are living the events in the book and not simply reading a novel. Although the book is mostly about Anne Boleyn, it also includes naive little Catherine Howard who lurks in the background awaiting her tragic fate. This book may seem graphic to some. I'll admit that the torture of Mark Smeaton was hard to read at times. I read this novel years ago, but even the second time around it has not lost any of its magic. Jean Plaidy is just a master storyteller. Absolutely brilliant!

Loved this book so so much. Got me hooked even further. If you wanna know about anything to do with Henry the 8th's crazy reign of terror and his endeavors with his wives headed by my most beloved Anne Boleyn and finishing off after the murder of her young cousin Katherine Howard, then read this book!!! Favorite in the collection!

Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard shared a royal blood line - the one that separated their lovely heads from their necks. Anne, beautiful, smart, and willful, played a game with Henry VIII; one that untimately led to the charge of treason (she bore a daughter! Horrors! Too bad Hank didn't have the opportunity to know that daughter would be the one to rule England the way he did!)Catherine Howard was beautiful, but uneducated, and not used to attention; especially from men. She also was accused of treason - she forgot to tell anyone she had promised marriage to a young swain. Henry refused to believe she was untouched (he was probably right)so Catherine ran through the palace halls screaming, looking for Henry to plead with him. The difference in the two women is defined by Jean Plaidy's ability to write history and romance in the same book and keep it interesting. Her work is such that you don't want to put the book down; you want to keep going to see what is going to happen. Like English history? Then this book is for you!

I have read many Plaidy novels, but this delves deeper than the others and represents, in my opinion, absolutely the best of Plaidy, and probably the best on the period. What I don't like about modern historicals is the way they play with history. Plaidy sticks to the facts as they are known and provides insights and details that make the story come alive. The characters are real people, and the facts can't be disputed. In this book, she gives a fairly graphic portrayal of the torture used to extract the false confessions of Henry VIII's hapless victims, and after reading it, I found Plaidy gave me a new understanding of what this era in history, and this dynasty in particular, stood for, and it is even more horrific than I ever imagined. Plaidy's Henry VIII goes about his grotesque and bloody deeds with a good conscience, patting himself on the back for being such a fine and righteous fellow, which makes him even more appalling to our civilized mind. It is a look into the black mind of a serial killer, and a gripping read. Once you pick up the book, you can't put it down again until you're done. Despite the graphic parts, I recommend this novel even for teens, because they won't get a twisted view of history, and besides, Catherine was only a child when this ogre chose her for his queen, so this book would appeal to them. I think everyone who reads it will probably pause and give thanks for being born at a time in history when a monster like this can't roam the highest echelons of power stuffing his bloody mouth with the flesh of saints and sinners alike. That is the beauty of a great historical novel. It makes us understand the past, and appreciate our present even more.

I loved this book. Very easy to read and difficult to put down. The story of Anne and Catherine from what may have been their point of view. Tragic and fascinating.