The Fifth Queen (Penguin Classics)

Ford Madox FordÕs novel about the doomed Katharine Howard, fifth queen of Henry VIII, is a neglected masterpiece.

Kat HowardÑintelligent, beautiful, naively outspoken, and passionately idealisticÑcatches the eye of Henry VIII and improbably becomes his fifth wife. A teenager who has grown up far from court, she is wholly unused to the corruption and intrigue that now surround her. It is a time of great upheaval, as unscrupulous courtiers maneuver for power while religious fanaticsÑboth Protestant and CatholicÑfight bitterly for their competing beliefs. Soon Katharine is drawn into a perilous showdown with Thomas Cromwell, the much-feared Lord Privy Seal, as her growing influence over the King begins to threaten too many powerful interests. Originally published in three parts (The Fifth Queen, Privy Seal, and The Fifth Queen Crowned), FordÕs novel serves up both a breathtakingly visual evocation of the Tudor world and a timeless portrayal of the insidious operations of power and fear in any era.