Recent Reads {The Queen's Lover}

The Queen's Lover by Vanora Bennett - Having read at least one of Bennett's books previously and enjoyed it, I picked this one up on a whim.  Historical fiction/novelizations always seem to catch my eye.  This one focuses on Catherine of France - a generation before The White Queen.  Catherine, a Princess of France, is brought up in a chaotic and odd royal family - her father, King Charles VI of France is mentally unstable and her mother has a reputation for scandal; the children are left to fend for themselves for long periods without anyone assigned to make sure they are properly clothed and fed.  An English delegation comes to negotiate a marriage between the English King Henry V and Catherine, and she meets Owain Tudor.  Eventually Catherine and Henry do marry and have a son who will be heir to both the thrones of England and France.  Unfortunately Henry dies while his son and heir is still an infant, and Owain Tudor is called into service again as part of the royal household.  Years later, of course, Catherine does marry Owain, giving the Tudor descendents their claim to the English throne after the Wars of the Roses.  Bennett tells her version of the story in a compelling way, keeping me turning pages even though I know from my history books what the outcome will be.  I enjoyed this book and think that anyone who enjoys historical fiction probably would as well.