With All my Heart

Margaret Campbell

This is a fictionalized biography about Catherine of Braganza, queen consort of Charles II, King of England (1368-1705). Charles II was openly adulterous throughout his marriage to Catarina (Catherine), and beautiful women are constantly being paraded through his bedchamber. Catarina loves her husband dearly and maintains her dignity in the face of such humiliation, yet the numerous miscarriages she suffers are too much to bear. For all his flaws, Charles stands by her steadfastly, and at times he could be nurturing and caring. The scene at his deathbed is devastating. Although the story focuses on Catherine of Braganza and her marriage to Charles II, it also covers the plague and the Great Fire of London, and the enormity of the situation to Londoners. Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn are two of the historical figures of the time that are also portrayed.