The Secret in the Tower focuses on Katherine of Aragon, widowed wife of the late heir to the Tudor throne in England. She was married to Prince Arthur to build an alliance between England and her native Spain, but Arthur's death in a previous book threatens that alliance. No one knows quite what to do with her -- had she borne Arthur a child, that would make her situation secure, but as it is, she has no real reason to remain in England. But King Henry VII doesn't want her to return to Spain either, because then he'll have to return her dowry, which he's already spent on his costly efforts to rid himself of the biggest threat to his crown.
Katherine makes friends with the scholarly Thomas More, who often visits and advises her. The plot grows more and more complex, with rescued waifs, missing prostitutes, a series of thefts, and scandalous rumors, before coming to a satisfactory conclusion. And fear not! Fellow fans of that foxy fellow Thomas Lovell will see plenty of him in these pages too.
Particularly Good Bits:
"The past shapes us, but we choose our future" (p. 72).
"Art and beauty are the same. Our Lord intends us to enjoy them" (p. 89).
If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-16 for discussions of prostitution, suggestive material (mostly dialog), violence, and scenes of peril.
This is my 5th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2020 :-)
I'm always relieved when someone actually finds one of my books engrossing. One of my deeper fears is that only myself will find these characters memorable enough to hook in a reader, so I'm glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteThomas More is like... my beloved little inner shadow child -- a highly opinionated, somewhat obstinately reckless man hell-bent on doing the right thing, even if others hate him for it. Which... is the way the real one was, so I figure I'm good.
You'll be glad to know, Lovell is in all the books. I've discovered he's the thread that ties the series together. Or rather, he told that to me, somewhere in the middle of book two, after stealing book one away from me. No matter who else gets or doesn't get a point of view, he always manages to grab one. He's an egotist like that. ;)
Nope, I was totally engrossed :-D
DeleteThomas More was very sweet, in a "let me protect you from yourself, sweet boy" sort of way :-)
I'm so glad Lovell is going to continue to lurk about in the shadows, being fabulous :-D