The Constant Princess

This is me, this little five-year-old girl, perching on the treasure chest with a face white as marble and blue eyes wide with fear, refusing to tremble, biting my lips so I don't cry out again. This is me, conceived in a camp by parents who are rivals as well as lovers, born in a moment snatched between battles in a winter of torrential floods, raised by a strong woman in armor, on campaign for all of my childhood, destined to fight for my place in the world, to fight for my faith against another, to fight for my word against another's: born to fight for my name for my faith and for my throne. I am Catalina, Princess of Spain, daughter of the two greatest monarchs the world has ever known: Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. Their names are feared from Cairo to Baghdad to Constantinople to India and beyond by all the Moors in all their many nations: Turks, Indians, Chinamen; our rivals, admirers, enemies till death. My parents' names are blessed by the Pope as the finest kings to defend the faith against the might of Islam; they are the greatest crusaders of Christendom as well as the first kings of Spain; and I am their youngest daughter, Catalina, Princess of Wales, and I will be Queen of England.

Since I was a child of three, I have been betrothed in marriage to Prince Arthur, son of King Henry of England, and when I am fifteen I shall sail to his country in a beautiful ship with my standard flying at the top of the mast, and I shall be his wife and then his queen. His country is rich and fertile -- filled with fountains and the sound of dripping water, ripe with warm fruits and scented with flowers; and it will be my country, I shall take care of it. All this has been arranged almost since my birth, I have always known it will be; and though I shall be sorry to leave my mother and my home, after all, I was born a princess, destined to be queen, and I know my duty.

I am a child of absolute convictions. I know that I will be Queen of England because it is God's will, and it is my mother's order. And I believe, as does everyone in my world, that God and my mother are generally of the same mind; and their will is always done.

Depois de ter digerido um bocadinho esta leitura, já consigo escrever alguma coisa...

Há muito tempo que tinha a Philippa Gregory "debaixo de olho" por vários motivos, sendo o principal a minha paixão por romances históricos. Resolvi pegar neste porque a história dos Tudors sempre me cativou e não conhecia muito bem esta primeira esposa de Henrique VIII, a princesa Catarina de Aragão. 

Foi com alguma expectativa que comecei a ler, mas depressa me apercebi que a leitura ia ser um tanto ou quanto arrastada. A narrativa é feita em duas perspectivas: por um lado, um narrador que conta o que vai acontecendo com os vários personagens, e por outro os pensamentos de Catalina (mais tarde Katherine). Se nas partes históricas a acção avança e a narrativa é fluída, os pensamentos de Catalina tornam-se repetitivos ("... eu nasci para ser rainha de Inglaterra...") e levam a que, na minha opinião, hajam quebras no desenrolar da acção.

Não fiquei completamente rendida, é verdade, mas fiquei curiosa o bastante para continuar a ler os restantes livros da série e descobrir mais coisas sobre esta família Tudor. Como irá lidar Katherine com a troca por uma mulher mais nova, quais as ideias infantis e egoístas do próprio Henrique VIII, quem são estas irmãs Bolena por quem o rei se apaixonou...

Estou curiosa!