Review of Gilt by Katherine Longshore
Tudor fans unite! If you love YA Historical Fiction or the Tudor period, you’ve got to read these books. Check out my Review of Gilt by Katherine Longshore
Gilt by Katherine Longshore
Published by Viking Juvenile on May 15, 2012
My Plot Summary of Gilt by Katherine Longshore
Kitty, Gilt’s narrator, is one of the girls of Norfolk House, a protege-slash-lackey of the Duchess of Norfolk. The girls dream of going to the Tudor court of Henry VIII, meeting royals and wearing beautiful jewels and gowns.
The most ambitious and cunning of the girls is Catherine Howard. Cat practices her flirting on a local boy as she schemes her way into an invitation to be a lady in waiting to Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife.
When Cat catches the king’s eye, she’s able to bring the Norfolk girls to court. But court life is filled with intrigue, double-crosses and betrayals. Kitty will have to watch her step so she doesn’t lose her head.
My Review of Gilt by Katherine Longshore
I’m a total sucker for this kind of story. I watched the Tudors (but not up to season 4, which featured Catherine Howard) and the highlight of my trip to England was a day spent at the Tower of London.
Gilt is a fantastic blend of history and fiction. The book makes the most of the real-life intrigue that seems to have been a part of court life, while also looking at the issues of female friendship and male vs. female roles in society.
The title is a nice conceit. Gilt is but a shiny overlay, and this book doesn’t gloss over the grim realities and hypocrisies of the time. Women’s virtue is prized, yet their sexuality and fertility are all they have at their disposal to better their circumstances.
At the time of the story, Henry VIII was no handsome storybook hero, but an overweight, short-tempered man with a roving eye and a festering leg wound.
Kitty calls him “mean and piggy.” Wellborn men and women were all looking for a leg up, so to speak.
“Looking for advancement,” Cat says. “Looking for a crack into which they can wedge a fingernail. To chip off the gilt.”
Anyone with the slightest knowledge of Tudor history will know that things can’t end happily for poor Cat. But I greatly enjoyed watching all the twists and turns of this tale play out.
Check out my Review of Tarnish
Check out my Review of Brazen
You can also check out my list of YA Books for Fans of Bridgerton
