The Confession of Katherine Howard
HarperPress(May 2010)
www.harpercollins.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx
When twelve-year-old Katherine Howard comes to live in the Duchess of Norfolk's household, poor relation Cat Tilney is deeply suspicious of her. The two girls couldn't be more different: Cat, watchful and ambitious; Katherine, interested only in clothes and boys. Their companions are in thrall to Katherine, but it's Cat in whom Katherine confides and, despite herself, Cat is drawn to her.
Summoned to court at seventeen, Katherine leaves Cat in the company of her ex-lover, Francis, and the two begin their own, much more serious, love affair. Within months, the king has set aside his Dutch wife Anne for Katherine. The future seems assured for the new queen and her maid-in-waiting, although Cat would feel more confident if Katherine hadn't embarked on an affair with one of the king's favoured attendants, Thomas Culpeper.
However, for a blissful year and a half, it seems that Katherine can have everything she wants. But then allegations are made about her girlhood love affairs. Desperately frightened, Katherine recounts a version of events which implicates Francis but which Cat knows to be a lie. With Francis in the Tower, Cat alone knows the whole truth of Queen Katherine Howard - but if she tells, Katherine will die.
‘I really enjoyed Suzannah's rendition of Katherine's story... I loved the depiction of Katherine as a teenager in love at this point in her life, and I found the ending heartbreaking’ -- Tamzin Merchant, actress playing Katherine Howard in TV drama The Tudors
‘A surprisingly modern look at Tudor history… Dunn gives the story a vivid, contemporary feel, and Katherine’s conversations with her closest friend, Cathryn Tilney, are gossipy and intimate, full of sly innuendo and confidences.’ -- Marie Claire
‘Those who have fallen in love with the drama of the Tudor period will devour THE CONFESSION OF KATHERINE HOWARD by Suzannah Dunn, an insightful foray into the life of one of Henry VIII’s most misunderstood yet fascinating wives. Getting under the skin of the events which saw the king cast aside his Dutch wife Anne of Cleves for Howard, it portrays a world packed with intrigue, dark secrets and dangerous times.’ -- ' Sunday Herald, "Hot Summer Reads"
‘An absolutely essential read for Tudor-infatuated and historical fiction fans.’ -- Library Journal
'A convincing portrayal of young women made pawns in the dangerous politics of the Tudor court.' -- Publishers Weekly
Rights have been sold in the US (Morrow)
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