Chapter summaries Boleyn Traitor Philippa Gregory

Chapter 38: On Progress, Summer: 1540 – Summary and Analysis

Spoiler Notice: This analysis reveals plot details from Chapter 38 of Boleyn Traitor. If you haven’t read the chapter yet, proceed with caution.

Summary

In August 1540, the royal court moves restlessly from hunting lodge to hunting lodge, deliberately avoiding a state entry into London. King Henry lavishes attention on his child bride, Katheryn Howard, but she quickly tires of his dotage. While she stands by as he fishes or shoots, her smiles are a performance, and Jane Boleyn bribes her with sweets to endure the tedium. Katheryn’s household is hastily assembled, drawing largely on the ladies who served Anne of Cleves. Yet the progress is chaotic—a rout without a plan—because the meticulous guidance of Thomas Cromwell is sorely missed. The old noble lords have no national vision. Jane struggles to impose order, especially as key companions begin to leave. Anne Herbert (formerly Anne Parr) announces her pregnancy and warns Jane that Charles Howard is courting Lady Margaret Douglas, a brazen move by the Howards that risks the king’s anger. Jane is left to manage a bored, immature queen amid a disintegrating court.

Key Events

  • The court progresses through a string of hunting lodges, avoiding London and any public scrutiny of the aging king’s latest marriage.
  • Katheryn grows weary of the king’s constant need for admiration; Jane placates her with sugarplums and arranges afternoon rests.
  • The new queen’s household is appointed rapidly: many ladies transfer directly from Anne of Cleves, including Katherine Edgcumbe and Eleanor Manners, who had scripted the infamous conversation about virginity.
  • Anne Parr (now Mistress Herbert) gives up the jewel-house keys and reveals she is pregnant, planning to leave the court at Ampthill.
  • Anne warns Jane that Charles Howard is courting Lady Margaret Douglas—a risky renewal of the Howard family’s ambition to wed royal blood.
  • The journey lacks any coherent plan; without Cromwell, the old lords cannot map a route, manage towns, or balance threat with reward.

Character Development

  • Katheryn Howard: Shown as a frivolous adolescent, bored by the king and indifferent to her official duties. She prefers chaos and screaming excitement, requiring Jane’s constant discipline and bribery.
  • Jane Boleyn: Transforms into a weary, maternal figure who must “train” the queen like a pet. She is the sole adult safeguarding political stability, frustrated by the queen’s youth and the household’s disorder.
  • Henry VIII: Depicted as a spoiled, aging man who treats his wife as an amusing lapdog, demanding applause for every small achievement. His avoidance of London betrays insecurity about his decaying image.
  • Anne Herbert: Steps away from service and into motherhood, but not before offering a sharp political warning. Her departure underscores the loss of experienced, loyal attendants.
  • The Howard faction: Through Charles’s courtship, their ambition is again on display, even after the family’s previous disastrous attempt to entrap Lady Margaret.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Youth versus Age: The king’s dotage is a “memento mori”; Katheryn’s very presence reminds him he is old enough to be her grandfather. The court’s youthful energy mocks his decline.
  • Disorder and the Absence of Leadership: Cromwell’s efficient spymaster’s network—the “turning sails of a windmill”—now spins without a miller. The old lords have no maps, no nationwide view, and the progress becomes a shambles.
  • Political Ambition: The Howards immediately push for another marital coup by targeting Lady Margaret Douglas, risking the king’s wrath again. Anne Herbert’s warning signals the faction’s dangerous overreach.
  • Performance and Subjugation: Katheryn is compared to Anne Boleyn’s lapdog Purkoy; she is taught to “beg” prettily. Queenship is reduced to a series of trained tricks, emphasizing the bride’s decorative, subservient role.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter exposes the fragile, unmoored state of the realm after Cromwell’s fall. The king, desperate to enjoy his new marriage, hides from public view, while the Howards waste no time in advancing their bloodline. Jane Boleyn’s role as handler and reluctant guardian shows that the court is held together by sheer will, not institutional strength. Anne Herbert’s pregnancy and warning foreshadow the personal and political storms brewing. The chapter is a study of entropy: without central intelligence, ambition and disorder multiply, and even the queen’s closest attendants drift away.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. How does Jane Boleyn’s role shift in this chapter?
    Jane becomes a de facto governess to the queen, managing her moods, bribing her with sweets, and attending council meetings in her stead. She is no longer merely a lady-in-waiting but the adult anchoring a rudderless household.

  2. What does the comparison between Katheryn and Anne Boleyn’s lapdog Purkoy reveal about the king’s view of his wife?
    The comparison reveals that Henry sees Katheryn as a charming, ornamental pet. She is expected to perform pleasing tricks on command, reinforcing his ego and masking his age, rather than serving as a true partner or political figure.

  3. Why is the absence of Thomas Cromwell so destructive to the summer progress?
    Cromwell had created a nationwide intelligence and planning system that wove threat and bribery into a coherent route. Without him, the old lords operate in narrow self-interest, with no maps or strategic vision, turning the progress into a chaotic flight that exposes the crown’s weakness.

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