Interesting facts I never previously knew. Few women of her time lived to see their name in print. But Katherine was no ordinary woman. She was Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother. This is her story.

Thoroughly enjoyable historical fiction about a lesser known Tudor woman. Well researched and engaging, this suffered only from a little too much romance.

I loved listening to this book. You get a lot of books about Henry viii, but this one was unique in its perspective. Katherine Kat, is indeed a woman of noble wit. She is strong, she is smart, she is resolved to make something of her life. I loved her relationship with Walter Sr. and each of her children. Her family too was so supportive and engaged both in court life and her life.

The writing was descriptive and emotional and the narration was on point.

#netgalley #AWomanOfNobleWit

Sir Walter Raleigh was the youngest son of Katherine and her second husband. This is her story about a life lived in Devon during the reign of Henry VIII. Forced into an unhappy first marriage at a very young age, she went on to find true love and happiness.

Well written and well narrated by the author (I listened to the audiobook). Katherine was a woman of her time and her life was ruled by men. Her family had links to the King's court, which was turbulent as social and religious changes too place.

Thank you for this book in return for an honest review.

Too often in history, we hear that the women surrounding powerful men were simply just not important. Not important enough to be the voice of their own stories or the victors in their own history. In a women of noble wit, Rosemary Griggs carves a raw and unflinching portrait of the woman who mothered one of the most famous figures in early modern history. The victories of the man known of Sir Walter Raleigh are well known, documented and discussed. This book is no different. However in this portrayal of the story so many of us know, it is the woman behind it all who is at the heart of the story.

Deftly paced and well researched, the life and character of Katherine is brought to life in technicolour. Showing what it means to be a woman in Late Tudor and early Stuart England, and all the issues that arise for the less powerful sex, A Woman of Noble Wit champions these unheard voices centre-stage. A must read for anyone interested in the time period and women in history.

*Many thanks to Resemary Griggs, Troubador Publishing, and NetGalley for a free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.*
Historical fiction focusing on the life of Sir Walter Raleigh's mother, Katherine Chaperone. Born to fulfill her duty to marry into a noble family and bear an heir, she finds love in her second marriage and manages to remain a woman of strong opinions in the times when women seldom played any significant roles. Interestingly, the title comes from A book of Martyrs by Foxx, which means Katherine must have been more popular than we realize today.
The book is very well researched and kudos to the Author for all her effort which went into bringing the period so clearly to a modern reader. There was too much of a romance thing for me included as it is not what I seek in HF. The heroine sounds too mature being just a child, but perhaps this is a perspective of a 21st century reader.

I thought this title would be right up my street. I’m interested in historical fiction (and non fiction) and I know little about the central character featured here. However, I’ve really struggled to engage at all with the story. I’m aware that Rosemary Griggs is an authoritative author and speaker but I found her tone and delivery irritating. I felt as if I were listening to a title targeting schoolchildren.

I’ve listened to just over a third and other than scene setting, nothing much is happening. I lose interest every few minutes and I don’t feel any strong links to events and I haven’t warmed to the characters. I’m sure the research and period detail is meticulous and authentic, but it’s all incredibly dull. Very disappointing all round.

A Woman of Noble Wit written and narrated by Rosemary Griggs is a fascinating account of the life of Sir Walter Raleigh's mother, Katherine Champerone. Beautifully read by the author, I was engaged throughout

Perfect for lovers of history and specifically Tudor history, Griggs tells of the life, loves and sacrifices of a highly compelling character who lived a full and challenging life, instilling strong ideal s in her children, the youngest of whom went on to become one of the most famous figures in tudor history. Glorious!

Thank you to NetGalley, Troubador Publishing Ltd and the author Rosemary Griggs for this awesome ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

A real treat to listen to the audio version of this historical fiction about the life of Katherine-Kate Champerone, as she strives to make sense of, and survive, a life that has been planned for her by her family. She is married to a man chosen by her father and is a dutiful wife, but falls in love with someone else. She patiently negotiates a path to a place where she is happy again. The author is engaging as a narrator and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

2.5 stars

This is a book about people talking about notable historical events during the Tudor period, with occasional breaks for someone to give birth. If you’re not already familiar with the royal, political and church history of this period, I think a good chunk of it will probably go over your head, and there isn’t a whole lot of other plot to make up for it. The problem was, I was rarely given a reason to care about all these happenings beyond my general interest in history; the impact on the main characters is generally minimal, and there isn’t enough interiority to make up the difference. But if you have at least a vague idea of Henry VIII’s many wives and the various changes in religious policy, you might be interested in observing it from a new, albeit distant, perspective.

I kind of feel bad for giving this book less than three stars because it’s meticulously researched and the prose is solid and overall it wasn’t BAD. But it did get repetitive, and it didn’t suit my particular preferences for historical fiction so I can’t really say I enjoyed it.

Gold star for research. Absolutely love that the female characters aren’t spunky modern feminists transported back five hundred years. The protagonist Katherine chafes against some of the restrictions placed on women, especially around education, in a believable and period-appropriate way. Love to see it.

This definitely falls into the more literary, biographical side of historical fiction, which didn’t do great things for the pacing in my opinion. It’s a frequent pitfall in fictionalised accounts of real people: the tendency to include lots of events in their life without considering all the ways that real people’s lives don’t necessarily follow an engaging narrative. But to give an indication of the pacing, here is the back cover summary:

“As the daughter of a gentry family with close connections to the glittering court of King Henry VIII, Katherine’s duty is clear. She must put aside her dreams and accept the husband chosen for her. Still a girl, she starts a new life at Greenway Court, overlooking the River Dart, relieved that her husband is not the ageing monster of her nightmares. She settles into the life of a dutiful wife and mother until a chance shipboard encounter with a handsome privateer, turns her world upside down.…..”

That hook at the end, a chance shipboard encounter turns her world upside down? Happens at maybe the 50% mark (I didn’t note down the exact point as I was listening, unfortunately). Which is to say that at least the whole first half of this chunky book is spent on her “settling into the life of a dutiful wife and mother.” And as I said, there is a great deal of time devoted to “such and such political event is happening in the background, lets go around and share our opinions about it, now someone is pregnant again,” with less time given to character-driven engagement with a cohesive plot than I prefer. If that sort of slow-paced historical fiction comprised of lots of summaries is your jam, this might be for you—it’s just not mine. For example, I couldn’t get through Mantel’s WOLF HALL. This book felt like it was in a similar vein, though slightly more tolerable (eg. I finished it).

I received a free audiobook from NetGalley in return for an honest review. It was well narrated by the author.