A Daily Mail Book of the Week

‘A stunning reappraisal of the tragic life of Henry VIII’S fifth wife’ The Times

‘A timely and powerful re-examination of Henry’s fifth queen … Gareth Russell has done some beautiful new research to indicate that Catherine was not as foolish as some historians have suggested, and that her death was managed and manipulated by her offended husband, purely for his own revenge … I love it when historians take the women who have been neglected by history seriously and study their lives rather than accepting stereotypes’ Philippa Gregory

‘“Young and Damned and Fair” is everything a historical biography should be’ Kathryn Warner, author of “Edward II: The Unconventional King”

‘Russell marries slick storytelling with a great wealth of learning about sixteenth-century personalities and politics. The result is a book that leads us deep into the nightmarish final years of Henry VIII’s reign, wrenching open the intrigues of a poisonous court in a realm seething with discontent. At the heart of it all is the fragile, tragic figure of Catherine Howard, whose awful fate is almost unbearable to watch as it unfolds. This is authoritative Tudor history written with a novelist’s lightness of touch. A terrific achievement’ Dan Jones

‘A magnificent account of the rise and fall of Henry VIII’s tragic fifth queen – compelling, thought-provoking and above all real. In Russell’s meticulously researched narrative Catherine Howard and her household are brought to life as never before. Hugely enjoyable’ Adrian Tinniswood

‘This fascinating and ultimately heartbreaking account of Henry VIII’s doomed fifth wife brings to life the cruel, gossip-fuelled, back-stabbing world of the court in which Catherine Howard rose and fell. The uncommonly talented Gareth Russell has produced a masterly work of Tudor history that is engrossing, sympathetic, suspenseful, and illuminating’ Charlotte Gordon, author of Romantic Outlaws