Henrys fifth Queen is best known to history as the stupid adolescent who got herself fatally entangled with lovers & ended up on the block. However there was more to her than that. She was a symptom of the power struggle which was going on in the court in 1539-40 between Thomas Cromwell & his conservative rivals among whom the Howard family figured prominently. The Howards were an ambitious clan & Catherines marriage to Henry appeared to signify their triumph. However her weakness ruined them in the short term & undermined Thomas Howard the 3rd Duke of Norfolks power permanently. Catherines advent has to be seen against the background of the failed Cleves marriage & the policy which that represented. Her downfall similarly should be seen in terms of the reformers fighting back against the Howards & bringing down Jane Rochford with her. Politics & sexuality were inextricably mixed especially when the Kings potency was called in question. It is time to have another look at her brief but important reign. ...

A biography of Henry VIII's fifth wife beheaded for playing Henry at his own game
- adultery. At seven o'clock on the morning of
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The image of Catherine of Aragon has always suffered in comparison to the vivacious eroticism of Anne Boleyn. But when Henry VIII married Catherine she was an auburn-haired beauty in her 20s with a passion she had inherited from her parents Isabella & Ferdinand the joint-rulers of Spain who had driven the Moors from their country. This daughter of conquistadors showed the same steel & sense of command when organising the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Flodden & Henry was to learn to his cost that he had not met a tougher opponent on or off the battlefield when he tried to divorce her. Henry introduced 4 remarkable women into the tumultuous flow of Englands history; Catherine of Aragon & her daughter Bloody Queen Mary; & Anne Boleyn & her daughter the Virgin Queen Elizabeth. From this contest between 2 mothers & 2 daughters was born the religious passion & violence that inflamed England for centuries says David Starkey. Reformation revolution & Tudor history would all have been vastly different without Catherine of Aragon. Giles Tremletts new biography is the first in more than four decades to be dedicated entirely & uniquely to the tenacious woman whose marriage lasted twice as long as those of Henrys five other wives put together. It draws on fresh material from Spain to trace the dramatic events of her life through Catherine of Aragons own eyes. ...

Wife widow mother survivor the story of the last queen of Henry VIII. Catherine Parr was enjoying her freedom after her first two arranged marriages when she caught the attention of the elderly Henry VIII. The most reluctant of all Henry's wives she offered to become his mistress rather than submit herself to the dangers of becoming Henry's queen. This only increased Henry's enthusiasm for the vibrant intelligent young widow & Catherine was forced to abandon her handsome lover Thomas Seymour for the decrepit king. She quickly made her role as queen a success providing Henry VIII with a domestic tranquillity that he had not known since the early days of his first marriage. For Henry Catherine was a satisfactory choice but he never stopped considering a new marriage much to Catherine's terror. Catherine is remembered as the wife who survived but without her strength of character it could have been very different. It was a relief for Catherine when Henry finally died & she could secretly marry Thomas Seymour. Left with no role in government affairs in her widowhood she retired to the country spending time at her manors at Chelsea & Sudeley. It was here that her heart was broken by her discovery of a love affair between her stepdaughter the future Elizabeth I & her husb&. She died in childbirth accusing her husband of plotting her death. Traditionally portrayed as a matronly & dutiful figure Elizabeth Norton's new biography shows another side to Catherine. Her life was indeed one of duty but throughout she attempted to escape her destiny & find happiness for herself. Ultimately Catherine was betrayed & her great love affair with Thomas Seymour turned sour. ...

The daughter of an impoverished aristocrat Catherine was married aged 16 to Grand Duke Peter heir to the throne of all the Russias a feckless teenager with a weakness for drink. Catherine was only able to give him an heir by passing off her lover's son as his own. In 1762 Catherine rode out of St Petersburg at the head of an army to arrest her husb&. Three months later she became sole empress of the largest empire on earth. She was 33 years old. She ruled Russia as a benevolent autocrat for 34 years fighting the Turks abroad & rebellion at home & shepherding her people through the upheavals of the French Revolution. She took on many lovers but gave her heart to General Potemkin the foremost statesman of her time. She died in 1796 aged 67 revered by her people as 'our mother' praised by Voltaire as a philosopher reviled by her enemies as the Messalina of the North & remembered in history as Catherine the Great. From this extraordinary life of great events fabulous splendour & barbaric cruelty Robert K. Massie has woven a thrilling narrative based on impeccable scholarship & a cinematic eye for detail. ...

Empress empire-builder intellectual art-collector & lover
- this magnificent new biography does full justice to a truly remarkable
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Many legends have grown up about the sexual rapacity of Catherine the Great. While it is true that she shocked the Russian court with the number & age of her lovers there is no truth in the rumour of her death by stallion. Unhappily married to the Grand Duke Peter a man who preferred to play with his toy soldiers in the bedroom they failed to produce an heir & Catherine turned her attentions to a certain Sergey Saltykov who fathered the future Tsar Paul I. Six months into the reign of Peter III Catherine supported by the Imperial Guard staged a successful coup against her husband & became Empress. It was her ambition to transform a vast but semi-barbaric country with the cultural & political reforms of Enlightenment Europe. In this timely & fascinating biography Virginia Rounding reveals an extraordinary woman in all her complexity. ...

Historys greatest love story Catherine the Great & Potemkin is a sweeping epic of sex love power conquest & extravagance on a magnificent Russian scale. Not only was only was their romance wildly passionate but they were also probably the most successful political partnership of all outstripping Antony & Cleopatra or Napoleon & Josephine. Their secret letters which discuss other lovers sex wars politics arts & health are surely the most intimate & extraordinary ever written by an empress or politician. Both characters in this joint biography based on new archives are fascinating: she a German princess married lovelessly at 14 to the Russian heir combined charm passion & political genius. She ruthlessly seized power & ruled triumphantly for thirty years; he
- a brilliant flamboyant politician strategist & conqueror of wild eccentricity & debauchery. Outrageously sexual & political he was the love of her life. They shocked Europe by taking younger lovers yet they secretly married & ruled together as best friends & lifelong lovers.
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A new edition of the Bible aimed especially at Roman Catholics including both the anglicized Catholic text of the NRSV translation & the much loved Grail Psalms. For years Catholics have been waiting for a Bible including both the NRSV Bible & the Grail Psalms. Now it is here at last. The NRSV is increasingly becoming the most popular translation among Catholics & it will be used in the new edition of the Lectionary which is coming soon. The much loved Grail Psalms are already in wide liturgical use & will continue to be. This Bible also

Includes:: additional features such as Mass Readings & maps.

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Succeed at Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies Units 3 & 8: Roman Catholic Christianity with this revision guide which provides the content you need & guidance on applying it This revision guide has been written by an expert in order to help you achieve your best in Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies Units 3 & 10. Helps you consolidate your knowledge with bitesize summary of key content Prepares you for your exams with sample examination questions & accompanying exemplar answers Helps you to aim for better grades with useful tips on what the examiner is looking for. CONTENTS: Unit 3
- Religion & Life based on a study of Roman Catholic Christianity 3.1 Believing in God 3.2 Matters of life & death 3.3 Marriage & the family 3.4 Religion & community Cohesion Unit 10
- Catholic Christianity 10.1 Beliefs & values 10.2 Community & tradition 10.3 Worship & celebration 10.4 Living the Christian Life

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