Catherine Howard, the young, vivacious, and wanton fifth wife of Henry VIII, committed adultery and was beheaded. This biography is a study of how chance and personality, morality and adultery, and social and political forces culminated in her violent death. The book includes contemporary color photos of historical locations and b&w historical illustrations. There are two genealogical tables, one literally unreadable without magnification. Smith is professor emeritus of history at Northwestern University. The book lacks a subject index. It is distributed in the US by Casemate. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)