The Whispering Bookworm: On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club: A Woman of Noble Wit by Rosemary Griggs @RAGriggsauthor @maryanneyarde

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.

Set against the turbulent background of a Devon rocked by the religious and social changes that shaped Tudor England; a Devon of privateers and pirates; a Devon riven by rebellions and plots, A Woman of Noble Wit tells how Katherine became the woman who would inspire her famous sons to follow their dreams. It is Tudor history seen though a woman’s eyes.

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.…..

Years later a courageous act will set Katherine’s name in print and her youngest son will fly high.

Trigger Warnings: Rape.

My Review

I love historical fiction set in the Tudor era, so when I was asked if I would like to read A Woman of Noble Wit I immediately said yes, and I am so glad I did.

Sir Walter Raleigh - explorer, soldier, spy, statesman, the list goes on and on. But like Icarus, he flew too close to the sun and the rest is, as they say, history. As for those who came before him, little is known. Rosemary Griggs has decided to do something about this and has written a truly mesmerising story about Katherine Champernowne, Sir Walter’s mother.

Words cannot possibly express how wonderful this novel is. The depiction of Katherine (called Katherine-Kate so as not to confuse her with her sister Kat) from a young girl playing with carefree abandonment with her brother, to an old and fragile woman, has been portrayed with a wonderful sense of realism. Her life, her loss, her hope, her disappointment and her struggles made her a character that was very easy to like, but also one who really roused my sympathy. She was, after all, a product of her time, and it was her duty, as much as it was the Queen’s, to give her husband an heir.

To be married at such a young age does not even bear thinking about. Before Katherine-Kate has time to grow into her womanly curves she is a mother and she is trying to be the mistress of her household against the hostile opposition of her mother-in-law and her sister-in-law. But as Katherine-Kate begins to bloom, her husband, the for every overlooked Otho, seems to fall deeper into despair and drink. It isn’t until at least three quarters into this novel that we meet Walter Raleigh senior, and that is when Katherine-Kate realises what is missing in her marriage, although she would never do anything about her feelings for she was a godly woman.

Despite the length of this novel, it does not feel that long. Although, saying that, I did start reading this book at ten in the morning, and finished just past one in the morning! It really is the kind of book that you want to read in one sitting, which I did.

I really cannot recommend this novel enough. It would certainly appeal to lovers of Tudor fiction.

Buy this Book (and I Highly Recommend that you do)

Rosemary Griggs

Rosemary Griggs is a retired Whitehall Senior Civil Servant with a lifelong passion for history. She is now a speaker on Devon’s sixteenth century history and costume. She leads heritage tours at Dartington Hall, has made regular costumed appearances at National Trust houses and helps local museums bring history to life.

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