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Pale Rose of England
by Sandra Worth
Published: 2011-02-01
Paperback : 450 pages
Paperback : 450 pages
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From the award-winning author of The King's Daughter comes a story of love and defiance during the War of the Roses.
It is 1497. The news of the survival of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, has set royal houses ablaze with intrigue and rocked the fledgling Tudor dynasty. With the ...
It is 1497. The news of the survival of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, has set royal houses ablaze with intrigue and rocked the fledgling Tudor dynasty. With the ...
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Introduction
From the award-winning author of The King's Daughter comes a story of love and defiance during the War of the Roses.
It is 1497. The news of the survival of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, has set royal houses ablaze with intrigue and rocked the fledgling Tudor dynasty. With the support of Scotland's King James IV, Richard-known to most of England as Perkin Warbeck-has come to reclaim his rightful crown from Henry Tudor. Stepping finally onto English soil, Lady Catherine Gordon has no doubt that her husband will succeed in his quest.
But rather than assuming the throne, Catherine would soon be prisoner of King Henry VII, and her beloved husband would be stamped as an imposter. With Richard facing execution for treason, Catherine, alone in the glittering but deadly Tudor Court, must find the courage to spurn a cruel monarch, shape her own destiny, and win the admiration of a nation.
It is 1497. The news of the survival of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, has set royal houses ablaze with intrigue and rocked the fledgling Tudor dynasty. With the support of Scotland's King James IV, Richard-known to most of England as Perkin Warbeck-has come to reclaim his rightful crown from Henry Tudor. Stepping finally onto English soil, Lady Catherine Gordon has no doubt that her husband will succeed in his quest.
But rather than assuming the throne, Catherine would soon be prisoner of King Henry VII, and her beloved husband would be stamped as an imposter. With Richard facing execution for treason, Catherine, alone in the glittering but deadly Tudor Court, must find the courage to spurn a cruel monarch, shape her own destiny, and win the admiration of a nation.
Excerpt
PrologueCornwall, England, September 25, 1497
Pain washed over Catherine in waves of unrelenting agony. She heard herself moan. Where was she, and where was she going, she wanted to ask, but only dull cries issued from her lips. She tried to open her eyes, but her lids felt like stones. ...
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Discussion Questions
From the author:(1) After reading PALE ROSE OF ENGLAND, do you believe Richard/Perkin really was Richard of York? If so, tell us why. If not, list your reasons.
(2) What do you think of King Henry and his treatment of Richard? What is King Henry’s political philosophy? Do you agree with him, or disagree? Explain your reasons. Is peace at any price ever justified?
(3) How did Catherine survive after what King Henry did to her child? Why was the child a threat if the father was really a boatman’s son? What do you think of King Henry for his actions? Are they justifiable, or not?
(4) Henry sends Catherine an intimate gift which she sends back to him. Do you think this was wise? Do you admire her for spurning the king’s advances, or do you believe she should have applied the old adage “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”? Do you think she could have helped Richard by playing along with Henry, rather than rejecting him?
(5) After Richard’s death, Catherine marries three more times for love. How do you feel about this? What do you think it says about her love for Richard? What do you think it says about her as a person?
(6) Why is Catherine driven to desperate lengths when Henry VII proposes to her? How does she find a way out? What do you think of her for doing what she did? Do you condemn her for her ruse and using King Henry’s superstitions against him? What would you do if you were in her position?
(7) Catherine endures a great deal of heartache and loses her faith. How does she find it again? What keeps her going?
(8) Which one of her four husbands do you like best? Give your reasons.
Weblinks
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Publisher's Book Info
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Author Sandra Worth's web site
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Full Excerpt of Prologue and Chapter One
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Notes From the Author to the Bookclub
Note from author Sandra Worth: In 1497, a mysterious young man appeared in Europe claiming to be Richard of York, the younger of the two little princes last seen in the Tower of London. Richard aka “Perkin Warbeck” challenged the first Tudor for the throne, rocking the fledgling dynasty and setting royal houses ablaze with intrigue. But did both princes really perish—strangled by their uncle, as the Tudors claimed—or was one of them whisked to safety—as Richard said, and as crown heads and contemporaries believed? New research on this unsolved historical mystery has raised tantalizing questions that led me to ask: What if “Perkin Warbeck” really was Richard of York? In Pale Rose of England, Richard—who usually appears in novels as an “event” or as someone always seen through the eyes of others—becomes the main character in his own story. My hope is that readers will relate to him as a flesh-and-blood person, and also come to know the remarkable woman he loved—a princess of Scotland who stood by him, and never doubted him, and whose courage won the love of a king and the admiration of a nation. Her story is as powerful as his.Book Club Recommendations
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