PALE ROSE OF ENGLAND

PALE ROSE OF ENGLAND by Sandra Worth was read for the Pub 2011 Reading Challenge.

From the back of the book:

1497:  The news of the survival of Richard Plantangenet, Duke of York, has thundered across Europe, setting royal houses ablaze with intrigue and rocking the fledgling Tudor dynasty.  With the keen support of Scotland's king, Richard - known in England as Perkin Warbeck - has come to reclaim his rightful crown from Henry Tudor, accompanied by his beloved Catherine.  Based on a prophecy by a soothsayer that Catherine would be loved by a king, she believes Richard will succeed in his quest.  Instead, Catherine would soon be prisoner of King Henry VII, and her beloved husband would, unimaginably, be stamped as an imposter.

As a favored lady-in-waiting to the queen, Catherine keeps Richard close to her heart, unwavering in her loyalty.  Her dazzling beauty brings unwanted affections from a jealous king and enmeshes her in a terrifying royal love triangle.  With her husband facing execution for treason, Catherine, alone in the glittering but deadly Tudor Court, must find the courage to spurn a cruel monarch and shape her own destiny, winning the admiration of a nation.

I've enjoyed reading about the War of the Roses in English history, especially reading about Richard III and the Princes in the Tower, his nephews Richard and Edward.  There continues to be much speculation about what happened to the princes - did Richard kill or have them killed, did they escape, did they survive?

This book is based on the assumption that young Richard did survive and had been taken from the tower.  He has now come back to reclaim the throne.  Married to Catherine, they return to England where they are captured.

Ms. Worth has written a fantastic book detailing Catherine's life, with and without Richard, and her undying devotion to and belief in him.  Catherine is depicted as a strong woman who faces and handles challenges, all the while trying to find her son Dickon who was taken from her as a toddler.

Whether or not Richard was really the Duke of York or a pretender to the throne is left to the reader to decide.  I'm still on the fence about this - I guess I'll just have to read more about the War of the Roses.