Tremlett, the Madrid correspondent for the Guardian, has written an excellent biography of Henry VIII's first wife. Utilizing rich, and in some instances, previously unavailable sources in the Spanish Archives, he presents his findings in a well written narrative that even readers familiar with her story will enjoy and learn from. He devotes a good amount of space to Catherine's childhood and education; as the daughter of the great Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon who were essentially trying to unite their kingdoms and drive out the Moors, Catherine and her siblings continually moved along with the court as it constantly traversed the kingdoms, never staying in one place for long. Even so, Catherine evidently had a peaceful and happy childhood for the most part. Betrothed to Prince Arthur of England at a very young age, she was raised as a future Queen of England. He describes her somewhat harrowing journey to England to marry and follows events in a logical fashion: the death of Arthur, her limbo between widowhood and her marriage to Henry, the miscarriages, the birth of Mary, the advent of Anne Boleyn and the King's Great Matter, the beginnings of the Reformation, etc. etc., all told in a straightforward, readable narrative. Sympathetic to Catherine, he also points out that she was not a flawless character, but had her faults, mostly in her stubbornness and inflexibility. Although Garrett Mattingly's biography, Catherine of Aragon, is still considered the definitive work on Catherine, this nicely done biography should stand next to it on the shelf.
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