Publication Date: May 15, 2012
Publisher: Viking
Format: ARC
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
FIRST LINE
"You're not going to steal anything."
I have to say I was pretty excited to start reading a book about
Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife. I've read a lot about many of the
others but I haven't found a good historical fiction about Catherine yet. After
reading Gilt, I am still looking for a good one. I am not saying that
Longshore's juvenile historical fiction was bad, just wasn't over the top
wonderful.
Gilt is told from the POV of Catherine Howard’s closest
confidant, Katherine "Kitty" Tylney. Kitty and Cat grew up together
and their characters really offset each other. Cat is selfish and very
manipulative and Kitty is basically a doormat. She is very passive and her
unwavering devotion to Cat becomes almost unbearable to read at times. After
Cat marries Henry we see even more of that manipulative behavior from Cat as
she tries to stay in the good graces of Henry (and we all know how hard that
is). Kitty strives to be more but whenever it seems that Kitty is about to
strike out on her own, Cat pulls her back into the games of the Court.
Kitty also has a couple of prospective love interests. William,
who she holds near and dear, and Edmund, who is everything that she has always
desired. I wouldn't call it a love triangle in the true sense that we have come
to know them but both men enter and leave her life at different times
fulfilling that specific need that Kitty has at the moment. The two really
couldn't be more different. William wants nothing to do with Court and since
Kitty will always be devoted to Cat; her place is at Court at Cat's side.
Edmund lives and breathes the games and fun that Court has to offer him.
Gilt, I felt, was thoughtfully researched but had a very
modern dialect that will resonate with the juvenile reader (of which the book
is marketed) and hopefully will encourage them to continue reading historical
fiction in the future. The characters could have been fleshed out a bit more
but all in all, a satisfactory read for me.
PURCHASE GILT
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