| “ | Catherine will not go. Her mouth is set in the obstinate line I know so well, and nothing will move her. The English must keep their side of the bargain, she says. She came her out of duty to marry Prince Arthur, on the promise that she would receive one third of the income from Wales, Chester, and Cornwall. "They will not shuffle me off so easily," she says. And means it. | ” | |
My Tudor Queen: The Diary of Eva De Puebla is a historical fiction book by Alison Prince. It is the fifth book in Scholastic UK's My Story and was first published in July 2001. The book was republished in August 2010 under the title Catherine of Aragon for the new line, My Royal Story. It was followed by two sequels, Anne Boleyn and Me and Henry VIII's Wives, also by Prince.
In 1501, Eva De Puebla accompanies Catherine of Aragon to England as a lady-in-waiting. The story follows Eva for twelve years of her life before and during Henry VIII's reign.
Book description[]
- "4th November, 1501
I hardly like to make a mark on the beautiful blank pages of this book, but I must. Mama gave it to me as a parting present so that I could write about this journey from Spain to England. "Don't waste it," she said. "Just write the important things." I'm sure Mama would be impressed by the great procession in which we have slowly made our way from the West Country to London. Horses and carriages, litters and baggage-waggons and attendants, soldiers, courtiers, ladies, pages, jesters—and Catherine herself, Catherine of Aragon on her way to wed Prince Arthur, eldest son of the king of England."
Plot[]
In 1501, Eva De Puebla travels from Spain to England as a translator and lady-in-waiting to her childhood friend, Princess Catherine, who is engaged to Prince Arthur. The marriage is advantageous for her parents, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, and Arthur's father, King Henry VII. Eva, meanwhile, is excited to reunite with her great uncle Rodrigo De Puebla, whom serves as Spain's ambassador to England. After the wedding, Eva and Catherine's retinue follow the young couple to Arthur's castle in Ludlow. However, only a few short months later, Arthur and Catherine both become ill with the sweating sickness. Catherine recovers, but Arthur passes away and leaves her a widow at sixteen.
After Arthur's death, Catherine decides to stay in England and fight for the income promised in her marriage contract. She now desires to marry Arthur's younger brother Prince Harry, who is not yet of age. Eva and her retinue stay with her. In February 1503, Queen Elizabeth passes away of childbed fever which sends the court into mourning again. In June, Princess Margaret departs to marry King James IV of Scotland, and Catherine and Harry are betrothed. Unfortunately, in early 1504, Harry is forced to back out of the agreement after Queen Isabella dies. Spain is thrown into instability as King Ferdinand fights to remain King of all of Spain, which causes his relationship with England to suffer.
Isabella's throne passes on to her daughter Princess Juana, whom starts her journey to Spain with her husband Prince Philip of the Netherlands. After being shipwrecked off England's coast, Philip strikes up a friendship with King Henry. Catherine is happy to see her sister, though Juana's mental health has suffered. Meanwhile, Eva takes a liking to Philip's court jester, named Michel Valjean. They keep in contact through letters. Philip suddenly dies a few months later and Ferdinand takes full control of Spain. Now having a better standing, Catherine becomes an ambassador to Spain and later calls for a new one, Gutierre Gomez de Fuensalida. He is largely ineffective and also fires Eva's uncle.
Eva's uncle falls ill in late 1508 and she visits him several times up until his death in April 1509. A few days later, King Henry dies and passes the throne to Harry, now Henry VIII. He finally marries Catherine. Michel soon returns to court, and he and Eva later marry. The following year, the couple rejoice at the birth of their daughter Rosanna. Once Eva becomes busy with her family, she writes less in her diary. Over the next two years, Catherine suffers a miscarriage and her newborn son passes within a month. In 1513, after Henry goes off to fight France, Scotland declares war on England. Catherine defeats their army, but she has another miscarriage. A pregnant Eva hopes for the best for her dear friend in the future.
Historical Note[]
Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII were married for nearly twenty years. She gave birth to five children, but only Mary survived until adulthood. In 1527, Henry sought an annulment from his marriage but the Pope would not give his permission. To get his divorce, Henry made himself head of the Church of England, which would lead to England becoming a Protestant country. Henry married six times. His son Edward VI became king but died six years later, after which Mary was crowned queen. She was known as "Bloody Mary" after burning many Protestants at the stake. After Mary's passing in 1558, her half-sister Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry's second wife Anne Boleyn became queen.
The historical note includes a timeline of the Tudor period, ranging from 1485 to 1603. It also has seven photos of historical figures from the time as well as pictures showing day-to-day life.
Characters[]
- Main article: List of My Tudor Queen characters
- Eva De Puebla, the childhood friend of Catherine of Aragon. She travels to England with Catherine to serve as her translator. Eva continues to stay with Catherine for the following twelve years.
- Catherine of Aragon is a Spanish princess, daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. She leaves Spain to marry Prince Arthur and then sets her sights on Prince Harry after Arthur dies.
Author[]
- Main article: Alison Prince
Alison Prince was a British children's author well known for writing the children's television series, Trumpton in 1967. During her career, Prince wrote over fifty books for children. She authored three books in the My Story series, including Anne Boleyn and Me and Henry VIII's Wives.
[]
Unlike most My Story books, My Tudor Queen was followed by a sequel titled, Anne Boleyn and Me, in February 2004. The book, also written by Alison Prince, follows Eva's daughter Elinor Valjean, who becomes a lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII's second wife Anne Boleyn. A third book, Henry VIII's Wives, was released in 2011 for the My Story spin-off My Royal Story. Eva and Elinor become surrogate mothers to the new heroine Beatrice Townhill, whom meets King Henry's last four wives.
Editions[]
![Tudor Stories for Girls with Anne Boleyn and Me 9781407110967 (June 2009)[3]](/wiki/File:Tudor-Stories.jpg "Tudor-Stories.jpg (128 KB)")
![Catherine of Aragon My Story reprint 9781407120713 (August 2010)[4]](/wiki/File:Catherine-of-Aragon.jpg "Catherine-of-Aragon.jpg (84 KB)")
- Narrator: Carol Drinkwater
- Publisher: Scholastic UK
- Published: December 5, 2013[6]
- Running time: 2 hours and 47 minutes
Notes[]
- The portrait on the cover of the first edition is a flipped detail from a 1560s painting by Sofonisba Anguissola. My Tudor Queen indicates that it is a self-portrait, but there is debate whether it is a portrait of the artist or her sister Minerva.[7][8]
- The second edition features an illustration by Richard Jones, likely meant to represent Catherine of Aragon rather than Eva. He also illustrated the cover of Tudor Stories for Girls.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Story-Tudor-Puebla-London/dp/0439999405/
- ↑ My Tudor Queen, Alison Prince, page 39
- ↑ https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/products/72161
- ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Catherine-Aragon-My-Royal-Story/dp/1407120719/
- ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00F51BBX4/
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/My-Story-Catherine-of-Aragon/dp/B00H3QQGA2/
- ↑ My Tudor Queen, Alison Prince, page 4
- ↑ https://pinacotecabrera.org/en/collezione-online/opere/ritratto-di-minerva-anguissola/
See also[]
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