#Bookreview Falling Pomegranate Seeds: The Duty of Daughters (The Katherine of Aragon Story Book 1) by Wendy J. Dunn (@wendyjdunn) A momentous historical period and a fascinating narrator

Hi all:

Today I bring you a book I really enjoyed. It’s historical fiction, and it’s about the history of Spain, the story of young Katherine of Aragon. I hope there will be more to come as I was fascinated by it (although of course, the rest of the story wouldn’t be in Spain but…)

Falling Pomegranate Seeds: The Duty of Daughters (The Katherine of Aragon Story Book 1) by Wendy J. Dunn

Doña Beatriz Galindo.
Respected scholar.
Tutor to royalty.
Friend and advisor to Queen Isabel of Castile.

Beatriz is an uneasy witness to the Holy War of Queen Isabel and her husband, Ferdinand, King of Aragon. A Holy War seeing the Moors pushed out of territories ruled by them for centuries.

The road for women is a hard one. Beatriz must tutor the queen’s youngest child, Catalina, and equip her for a very different future life. She must teach her how to survive exile, an existence outside the protection of her mother. She must prepare Catalina to be England’s queen.

A tale of mothers and daughters, power, intrigue, death, love, and redemption. In the end, Falling Pomegranate Seeds sings a song of friendship and life.

“Wendy J. Dunn is an exceptional voice for Tudor fiction and has a deep understanding of the era. Her words ring true and touch the heart, plunging the reader into a fascinating, dangerous and emotionally touching new world.” ~ Barbara Gaskell Denvil

“Dunn deftly weaves a heartrending story about the bonds between mothers and daughters, sisters and friends. Each character is beautifully crafted with a compassionate touch to draw the reader into every raw emotion, from triumph to tragedy.” ~ Adrienne Dillard, Author of Cor Rotto

Links:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Falling-Pomegranate-Seeds-Daughters-Katherine-ebook/dp/B01JM0CZVA/

https://www.amazon.com/Falling-Pomegranate-Seeds-Daughters-Katherine-ebook/dp/B01JM0CZVA/

A bit of information about the author:

Wendy J. Dunn is an Australian writer who has been obsessed by Anne Boleyn and Tudor History since she was ten-years-old. She is the author of two Tudor novels: Dear Heart, How Like You This?, the winner of the 2003 Glyph Fiction Award and 2004 runner-up in the Eric Hoffer Award for Commercial Fiction, and The Light in the Labyrinth, her first young adult novel.

While she continues to have a very close and spooky relationship with Sir Thomas Wyatt, the elder, serendipity of life now leaves her no longer wondering if she has been channeling Anne Boleyn and Sir Tom for years in her writing but considering the possibility of ancestral memory. Her own family tree reveals the intriguing fact that her ancestors – possibly over three generations – had purchased land from both the Boleyn and Wyatt families to build up their own holdings. It seems very likely Wendy’s ancestors knew the Wyatts and Boleyns personally.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Wendy is married and the mother of three sons and one daughter–named after a certain Tudor queen, surprisingly, not Anne.

Gaining her Doctorate of Philosophy (Writing) from Swinburne University in 2014, Wendy tutors at Swinburne University in their Master of Arts (Writing) program.

For more information about Wendy J. Dunn, visit her website at www.wendyjdunn.com

My review:

I obtained a copy of this book as a gift and I freely review it to share my opinion with other readers.

I’ve been reading several books about the Tudors, Anne Boleyn in particular, recently, and I’ve always been intrigued by Queen Katherine (perhaps because I’m Spanish, but also because of what she went through and her family connections) and I was pleased to have the opportunity to read this book.

This novel chronicles the early years of Katherine of Aragon, daughter of Queen Elizabeth I of Castile and Queen Ferdinand of Aragon (who became known as The Catholic King and Queen), from age five up to the point where she sets off towards England, to become the wife of Arthur, then heir to the throne of England. The story is told from the point of view of Beatriz Galindo, who was called La Latina because she was reputed for her knowledge of Latin, and the Queen chose her as the instructor for her daughters (Katherine in particular) and as a personal friend. The historical figure of Beatriz Galindo is as interesting as those of the members of the royal family, and the author manages to bring them all to life, turning them into human beings, with their loves, their hatreds and pettiness, their opinions (that we might on not agree with), and their losses that are many and very personal ones.

It is a fascinating historical period in Spain, with the joining of the two crowns, the battles to conquer territory from the moors, and later the first expeditions of Christopher Columbus to America. By using Beatriz, a learned woman with her own mind and feelings, but close enough to the action, we get to share in the events but we are also provided with sufficient distance to be able to make our own minds up and to speculate. We might have liked to know why certain characters did certain things, but other than when they talk directly to Beatriz, we can only speculate about it or take notice of other’s opinions.

Although told from the point of view of Beatriz, the novel is written in the third person, and the writing is fluid and beautiful, with great descriptions not only of places and events (including those of battles or bullfighting) but also of characters and behaviours, including not only those they engage in but also those expected of the royal family, no matter what the circumstances. (You might be hurting inside, but you must remember who you are. You might be frightened but nobody should know.) The position of women in the historical period, both royals and not, is often subject to reflection and comes to the fore in the events that unfold and in the difficult relationship between the King and the Queen. There are also scenes that make us ponder religious wars and prejudice. There are sad moments and moments of joy and learning. We get a good sense of Katherine’s childhood, upbringing and her circumstances and gain a good picture of her as a girl and an infanta.

I enjoyed the writing, the story, that is fascinating, and particularly the relationship between all the women in the book, Queen Isabel with her daughters, with Beatriz and her friends, and also that of Katherine with María, her companion, destined to remain with her once she goes to England. Some historical figures come out of it better than others and I recommend this book to anybody keen on learning more about Katherine of Aragon and the historical period, particularly the court of Spain at the time.

One word of warning: there is some violence (not graphically described), and also a sex scene, that is not the most graphic I’ve read, but it’s not behind closed doors either.

Thanks to the author for her fabulous novel, thanks to all of you for reading and remember to like, share, comment and CLICK!