Continuing in her "Cousins War" series, Philippa Gregory's next novel The Kingmaker's Daughter will be released August 7, 2012.
For those of you unfamiliar with this time period, the "Kingmaker" was Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. He helped place Edward IV on the throne and then later rebelled against him. The novel will be about his daughters Isabella and Anne. Both sisters married younger brothers of Edward IV: Isabella to George, Duke of Clarance, and Anne to Richard, Duke of Gloucester (future Richard III).
Followers of this blog know my partiality for Richard III and so I will be looking forward to this book, though with a bit of caution. I am always nervous when I don't know how an author is going to portray my favorite King! Richard appeared in the first novel in this series The Winter Queen, which covered the life of Elizabeth Woodville, and she did not make him out to be a horrible monster so I have some hope for this novel!
If you are interested the other novels in this series (in order of release date) are:
The Winter Queen (Elizabeth Woodville, wife to Edward IV)
The Red Queen (Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII)
Lady of the Rivers (Jaquetta Woodville, Elizabeth's mother)
Showing posts with label philippa gregory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philippa gregory. Show all posts
Monday, December 5, 2011
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Giveaway Winner!
Thanks to those of you who entered my drawing for the beautiful hardcover copy of Philippa Gregory's first novel in the Cousins' War series The White Queen!
The winner is comment (generated by Random.org) ...
The winner is comment (generated by Random.org) ...
#9 - Amy!!!!
Please email me your mailing address so I can get this out to you!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Giveaway: The White Queen
The release date for Philippa Gregory's newest novel The Red Queen is fast approaching (within a day or so here in the States). This is the second novel in her Cousins' War series and I decided I would host a giveaway for the first book in the series, The White Queen. While her newest novel focuses on Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII's mom, the first novel focused on Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV's queen and mother to Elizabeth of York (who became Henry VII's wife and mother to Henry VIII).
THIS IS A GIVEAWAY FOR THE WHITE QUEEN!!! NOT THE NEWEST NOVEL!!!!
I have a beautiful hardcover copy to giveaway to one lucky person! To enter:
1) Be a follower of this blog.
2) Leave a comment with your email address.
For extra chances to win, leave separate comments with:
3) Link to where you posted about it in your blog
4) Link to where you posted about it on Twitter or Facebook
This giveaway will be open until August 31 and is open to all readers! Good luck!
THIS IS A GIVEAWAY FOR THE WHITE QUEEN!!! NOT THE NEWEST NOVEL!!!!
I have a beautiful hardcover copy to giveaway to one lucky person! To enter:
1) Be a follower of this blog.
2) Leave a comment with your email address.
For extra chances to win, leave separate comments with:
3) Link to where you posted about it in your blog
4) Link to where you posted about it on Twitter or Facebook
This giveaway will be open until August 31 and is open to all readers! Good luck!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Book Review: The Red Queen
The Red Queen, Philippa Gregory
3 roses
Anyone who frequents my blog probably knows two things: I am a firm supporter of Richard III and I'm not the biggest fan of Philippa Gregory. When I saw that her second novel in The Cousins' War series would be about Henry Tudor's mother, Margaret Beaufort, I was quite anxious and worried about how Ms. Gregory would portray the entire drama and Richard. I can say, thankfully, that I have no complaints with how she showed him in this novel and, overall, it was a decent read (better, in my opinion, than the previous novel The White Queen). Having never read much about Margaret I was fairly interested to read about her early life (as I am well versed with her later years).
Margaret Beaufort was from the line descending from John of Gaunt (Edward III's son) and his mistress Katheryn Swynford (the line was eventually legitimized). She is married at 13 to Edmund Tudor but he is killed soon after, though not before managing to get Margaret pregnant. In the years after the birth of her son, whom she names Henry (high expectations already), she is married two more times, sees the reigning House of York begin to crumble, and works behind the scenes to bring her son to the throne. Everyone knows what happens at the Battle of Bosworth and that is where this novel ends. That is Margaret's history and here Gregory has stuck to known historical fact fairly decently, though I will admit, having never read too much solely on Margaret there are probably some details I would miss. However, there is nothing glaringly obvious that jumps out at me so I can say that the historical accuracy in this novel doesn't bother me like it has in so many of her other novels.
The story is told from Margaret's point of view and I feel that severely limits the story. She (Margaret) is always in England and usually at a manor in the country so not around all the momentous events that occur throughout the time frame of the story. Gregory resorts to conveying important information in letters from Margaret to various people - Henry, Jasper Tudor, etc. - in order to get her readers up to speed on what is happening beyond Margaret's sphere at the time. This really bugged me for the sole reason that someone as intelligent as Margaret would never have committed such treasonous ideas to paper and, to top it off, signed her name to it. I understand Gregory's need to fill the readers in and writing the story from a third person point of view would have solved this problem easily. Towards the end of the novel there are several chapters where she does switch to this POV out of necessity (battlefield scenes) and the story flows much better and is quite well written. Gregory has her take on what happened to the Princes in the Tower and I have no qualms with the way she portrayed the entire episode. What I do have an issue with is Margaret herself. I knew I was most likely not going to like her when, in the first few paragraphs of the novel, she is thrilled to have "saint's knees" at the age of nine and then soon likens herself as England's Joan of Arc. I have no doubt that Margaret Beaufort was a pious woman (it is well recorded actually) but I can not stand being constantly beat over the head with the information. This is an issue I have had with a few of Gregory's books. On almost every page of the novel Margaret is either mentioning how she sees herself as a Joan of Arc, sent from God to "rescue" England or discussing how because she is so pious and godly that her will must be the will of God, that she was sent from God to put Henry on the throne. This got old very, very quickly and mix that in with her arrogance and ambition and I disliked her from beginning to end. There was one moment when I wanted to clap and cheer that she finally got the right idea (when she was wondering if it wasn't all God's will but her own ambitions that she was acting on) but she soon talked herself out of that. I understand that she was an ambitious woman but it really seemed over the top to me. Beyond Margaret's ambitions and scheming to put Henry on the throne, there really is not much else to the story. Because the entire novel is basically from Margaret's point of view we really do not get a look at many of the other people that play such an important part in the story. There are, of course, scenes between Margaret and various people through out, but we really don't get a good look at these characters or what makes them tick. I think my favorite scene in the entire novel was the one between Margaret and Elizabeth of York. I loved the spunk Gregory gives the young princess and her parting comment to Margaret, after she has tried tirelessly to make the princess feel inferior, is priceless:
The exception to this limitation would be the final few chapters where Gregory switches to a third person narrative and we see Henry and Jasper Tudor. I thoroughly enjoyed these few chapters (though I always hate the outcome) and I actually liked her portrayal of Henry Tudor. I got the feeling that he was much less impressed with his Lancaster "inheritance" (England's crown) than his mother and wasn't overly worried if he was King or not. It almost seemed like the classic case of "child doing something only because his parents want him to" - almost like Henry was only invading England and fighting Richard because his mother wanted him to be King, not because he really wanted to be or felt he had a right to it. I was prepared to hate Henry as Richard's killer but Gregory wrote him in such a way that I actually like him. It certainly throws a new light on him.
Overall I can say I enjoyed the novel more than the previous one about Elizabeth Woodville. There were, of course, things that irritated me but it wasn't a bad read. It doesn't bring any new information to the table but what was included was interesting. I think readers who want a little more background on how the Tudors came to power but aren't ready for some of the more detail heavy novels will really enjoy this; it would certainly be a good starting point if you're wanting to learn about the period. Serious Ricardians may not like it as it is told from the view point of the woman who helped take his throne. The story moves at a decent pace and it certainly covers a very dramatic time period in English history. I like the fact that it is about someone who writers usually doesn't spend too much time discussing. Gregory's next novel in the Cousins' War series will be about Jacquetta Woodville, Elizabeth Woodville's mother. She also plans on a novel about Anne and Isabelle Neville (Anne was Richard III's wife).
*Thank you to the publisher, Simon and Schuster for the early review opportunity.
3 roses
Anyone who frequents my blog probably knows two things: I am a firm supporter of Richard III and I'm not the biggest fan of Philippa Gregory. When I saw that her second novel in The Cousins' War series would be about Henry Tudor's mother, Margaret Beaufort, I was quite anxious and worried about how Ms. Gregory would portray the entire drama and Richard. I can say, thankfully, that I have no complaints with how she showed him in this novel and, overall, it was a decent read (better, in my opinion, than the previous novel The White Queen). Having never read much about Margaret I was fairly interested to read about her early life (as I am well versed with her later years).Margaret Beaufort was from the line descending from John of Gaunt (Edward III's son) and his mistress Katheryn Swynford (the line was eventually legitimized). She is married at 13 to Edmund Tudor but he is killed soon after, though not before managing to get Margaret pregnant. In the years after the birth of her son, whom she names Henry (high expectations already), she is married two more times, sees the reigning House of York begin to crumble, and works behind the scenes to bring her son to the throne. Everyone knows what happens at the Battle of Bosworth and that is where this novel ends. That is Margaret's history and here Gregory has stuck to known historical fact fairly decently, though I will admit, having never read too much solely on Margaret there are probably some details I would miss. However, there is nothing glaringly obvious that jumps out at me so I can say that the historical accuracy in this novel doesn't bother me like it has in so many of her other novels.
The story is told from Margaret's point of view and I feel that severely limits the story. She (Margaret) is always in England and usually at a manor in the country so not around all the momentous events that occur throughout the time frame of the story. Gregory resorts to conveying important information in letters from Margaret to various people - Henry, Jasper Tudor, etc. - in order to get her readers up to speed on what is happening beyond Margaret's sphere at the time. This really bugged me for the sole reason that someone as intelligent as Margaret would never have committed such treasonous ideas to paper and, to top it off, signed her name to it. I understand Gregory's need to fill the readers in and writing the story from a third person point of view would have solved this problem easily. Towards the end of the novel there are several chapters where she does switch to this POV out of necessity (battlefield scenes) and the story flows much better and is quite well written. Gregory has her take on what happened to the Princes in the Tower and I have no qualms with the way she portrayed the entire episode. What I do have an issue with is Margaret herself. I knew I was most likely not going to like her when, in the first few paragraphs of the novel, she is thrilled to have "saint's knees" at the age of nine and then soon likens herself as England's Joan of Arc. I have no doubt that Margaret Beaufort was a pious woman (it is well recorded actually) but I can not stand being constantly beat over the head with the information. This is an issue I have had with a few of Gregory's books. On almost every page of the novel Margaret is either mentioning how she sees herself as a Joan of Arc, sent from God to "rescue" England or discussing how because she is so pious and godly that her will must be the will of God, that she was sent from God to put Henry on the throne. This got old very, very quickly and mix that in with her arrogance and ambition and I disliked her from beginning to end. There was one moment when I wanted to clap and cheer that she finally got the right idea (when she was wondering if it wasn't all God's will but her own ambitions that she was acting on) but she soon talked herself out of that. I understand that she was an ambitious woman but it really seemed over the top to me. Beyond Margaret's ambitions and scheming to put Henry on the throne, there really is not much else to the story. Because the entire novel is basically from Margaret's point of view we really do not get a look at many of the other people that play such an important part in the story. There are, of course, scenes between Margaret and various people through out, but we really don't get a good look at these characters or what makes them tick. I think my favorite scene in the entire novel was the one between Margaret and Elizabeth of York. I loved the spunk Gregory gives the young princess and her parting comment to Margaret, after she has tried tirelessly to make the princess feel inferior, is priceless:
"Yes, but either way, shamed or not, I shall be Queen of England, and this is the last time you will sit in my presence."
The exception to this limitation would be the final few chapters where Gregory switches to a third person narrative and we see Henry and Jasper Tudor. I thoroughly enjoyed these few chapters (though I always hate the outcome) and I actually liked her portrayal of Henry Tudor. I got the feeling that he was much less impressed with his Lancaster "inheritance" (England's crown) than his mother and wasn't overly worried if he was King or not. It almost seemed like the classic case of "child doing something only because his parents want him to" - almost like Henry was only invading England and fighting Richard because his mother wanted him to be King, not because he really wanted to be or felt he had a right to it. I was prepared to hate Henry as Richard's killer but Gregory wrote him in such a way that I actually like him. It certainly throws a new light on him.
Overall I can say I enjoyed the novel more than the previous one about Elizabeth Woodville. There were, of course, things that irritated me but it wasn't a bad read. It doesn't bring any new information to the table but what was included was interesting. I think readers who want a little more background on how the Tudors came to power but aren't ready for some of the more detail heavy novels will really enjoy this; it would certainly be a good starting point if you're wanting to learn about the period. Serious Ricardians may not like it as it is told from the view point of the woman who helped take his throne. The story moves at a decent pace and it certainly covers a very dramatic time period in English history. I like the fact that it is about someone who writers usually doesn't spend too much time discussing. Gregory's next novel in the Cousins' War series will be about Jacquetta Woodville, Elizabeth Woodville's mother. She also plans on a novel about Anne and Isabelle Neville (Anne was Richard III's wife).
*Thank you to the publisher, Simon and Schuster for the early review opportunity.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Recently Finished Books...Reviews Soon!
Unable to help myself, I have finished my ARC of Philippa Gregory's newest novel The Red Queen (set for publication in August) and my ARC of Elizabeth Chadwick's next novel For the King's Favor (set for publication in September).
I tried (not very hard I'll admit) to not read them until closer to the time when I could post my reviews but I couldn't help myself! My full review for each of them will be posted in the week or two leading up to the book's publication. Until then, here are just a few thoughts on the two!
The Red Queen
This wasn't too bad and I believe I liked it more than the first novel in The Cousin's War series (The White Queen about Elizabeth Woodville). As always when I'm reading something that has anything to do with Richard III, it was difficult for me to get through the final chapters knowing what was coming. All in all not a bad book though I did NOT like the main character (and I'll explain in my detailed review).
For the King's Favor
As always, Elizabeth Chadwick has given us a fantastic work of historical fiction! I thoroughly enjoyed this one and found it interesting to see events from a different perspective (that of the Bigods, Earls of Norfolk) that were mentioned in her fantastic novels about William Marshal (The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion). If you wanted to read these chronologically you should start with TGK, then read this one, pick up TSL next, and then finish with To Defy A King, which concerns the children of the Marshals and the Bigods.
Obviously more details will be forthcoming in my detailed reviews but I had to post something for y'all to read!
I tried (not very hard I'll admit) to not read them until closer to the time when I could post my reviews but I couldn't help myself! My full review for each of them will be posted in the week or two leading up to the book's publication. Until then, here are just a few thoughts on the two!
The Red Queen
This wasn't too bad and I believe I liked it more than the first novel in The Cousin's War series (The White Queen about Elizabeth Woodville). As always when I'm reading something that has anything to do with Richard III, it was difficult for me to get through the final chapters knowing what was coming. All in all not a bad book though I did NOT like the main character (and I'll explain in my detailed review).
For the King's Favor
As always, Elizabeth Chadwick has given us a fantastic work of historical fiction! I thoroughly enjoyed this one and found it interesting to see events from a different perspective (that of the Bigods, Earls of Norfolk) that were mentioned in her fantastic novels about William Marshal (The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion). If you wanted to read these chronologically you should start with TGK, then read this one, pick up TSL next, and then finish with To Defy A King, which concerns the children of the Marshals and the Bigods.
Obviously more details will be forthcoming in my detailed reviews but I had to post something for y'all to read!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Book Review: The Constant Princess
The Constant Princess, Philippa Gregory
4 roses
Of all Gregory's novels, this one and TOBG are at the top of my list. I was surprised that I really
enjoyed this novel as I tend to lean in the Anne Boleyn corner. This was the first novel solely about Katherine of Aragon that I ever read and I really liked the way she was portrayed. I never, under any circumstances, thought she was a horrible person or anything like that - I just have always tended to side with Anne. This novel really opened my eyes to what Katherine's life might have been like and has allowed me to feel sorry for the horrible way she was treated by Henry towards the end of her life. As is the case with all Gregory's works (and all historical fiction authors), I know there are cases where creative license is taken with historical fact but, at least in this book, this doesn't take away from the story at all. There is nothing here that really seems out of place or "over the top" unbelievable.
The story covers Katherine's (Catalina) life from her childhood in Spain through her marriage to Prince Arthur, his death and her six years of being a "hostage" of Henry VII, her marriage to Henry VIII, and her defeat of the Scots King in 1513. Obviously Gregory doesn't go into the story surrounding Anne Boleyn's arrival of court and the upheaval she caused since that is covered in TOBG but she does make a short mention of it from Katherine's perspective as she heads into Blackfriars Hall for the "trial" in 1529.
Little Catalina is raised knowing that one day she will go to England and marry the heir, Prince Arthur. She is even called the Princess of Wales from a very young age and believes it is her destiny to become Queen of England. She loves her mother Isabella dearly and truly believes that she and God really work together. When she finally arrives in England (the scene where Henry VII demands to see her, arguing with her duenna Dona Elvira is wonderful) and sees her husband-to-be she feels she will be happy. It is not long after that Arthur begins to treat her harshly because of his injured pride and her haughtiness. It takes an extremely cold ride in a horse litter with Catalina coming close to death to make him see how foolish he had been. After that, their love story is quite touching. They fall in love while at Ludlow Castle and begin to enjoy planning how they will rule England once they are King and Queen. I thought it was very touching how she wanted to show Arthur the styles and customs of her country and how he enjoyed learning about them. I also had to give them a cheer for secretly disobeying Margaret Beaufort's rules about how often they should be together as man and wife. Tragedy does strike when Arthur dies but before he does, he makes Catalina swear a promise that changes the course of English history. It was very touching to see how devoted they became to each other and it was painful to see how much Catalina prayed for his recovery.
Once back at the King's Court, Catalina becomes a pawn between her father and Henry VII. She is kept in this limbo for over six years. During that time she gains the King's wrath because she turns him down when he proposes to her. He then gets his revenge by agreeing to marry her to the new heir, Henry, but never allowing the marriage to take place. Catalina is reduced to poverty while waiting for her future to be decided. This was one of the first times I did feel sorry for the Princess as she was trapped because she was only seen as a useful pawn in politics. She does eventually end up marrying Henry VIII once he becomes King and finally feels that she is where she was destined to be - Queen of England - and insists on going by the English version of her name from that point on. The rest of the story is fairly common knowledge - the many miscarriages, stillbirths, and the birth of the Princess Mary. It was heartbreaking to see how the death of their little prince affected Katherine. During all this, Katherine really begins to grow and mature and begins to realize that maybe her mother wasn't right about everything, as she thought as a child. She also comes to realize that Henry is not going to be faithful and she knows that any pretty young girl could turn the King's head, hoping to gain his affection and possibly supplant her. It is an eerie prophecy of things yet to come. The last major event in the story is Katherine's triumph over the Scottish King. It was quite interesting to see her go through all the steps needed to muster and equip not only her husband's army bound for France, but the one she held back knowing the Scots where a danger. I think this really showed Katherine at her best and is one of the reasons why the English people loved her so much.
This really was a well written and intriguing story. Katherine tends to get lost in all the drama surrounding Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and it was refreshing to see another side of this Queen. The plot moved along well and I never felt bogged down in details or events. It really was a touching love story through the first half of the book. The characters in this telling were interesting and had personality - you could like them at times and dislike them at others. This was even the case with Katherine; while I liked her throughout the story there were some times when her stubbornness in believing it was her destiny to become Queen of England got a bit old, though I don't see it as being "out of character" for her. Gregory's portrayal of Henry VII was also very interesting. While I don't know if there is anything recorded in history of Henry actually desiring the Princess, it certainly was fun to read about him trying to conceal his feelings for her and then his happiness when he thought he would be able to marry her. The way he treated her after her refusal was horrible but to be expected from him so it wasn't surprising.
Overall a really good book and one that I reread from time to time. The characters are engaging enough so I care about what happens to them. It is easy to get caught up in the story and enjoy it as well. I would say this is one of Gregory's best works, along side TOBG. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the time period, especially to those who have read TOBG so they can compare their feelings towards Katherine in the two novels.
**Something else I found interesting in this story are the occasional references to Elizabeth of York's relationship with Richard III. Since Gregory's current series of novels covers that period of English history it will be interesting to see if these chance comments fit with what is eventually in those newer novels.
4 roses
Of all Gregory's novels, this one and TOBG are at the top of my list. I was surprised that I really
enjoyed this novel as I tend to lean in the Anne Boleyn corner. This was the first novel solely about Katherine of Aragon that I ever read and I really liked the way she was portrayed. I never, under any circumstances, thought she was a horrible person or anything like that - I just have always tended to side with Anne. This novel really opened my eyes to what Katherine's life might have been like and has allowed me to feel sorry for the horrible way she was treated by Henry towards the end of her life. As is the case with all Gregory's works (and all historical fiction authors), I know there are cases where creative license is taken with historical fact but, at least in this book, this doesn't take away from the story at all. There is nothing here that really seems out of place or "over the top" unbelievable.The story covers Katherine's (Catalina) life from her childhood in Spain through her marriage to Prince Arthur, his death and her six years of being a "hostage" of Henry VII, her marriage to Henry VIII, and her defeat of the Scots King in 1513. Obviously Gregory doesn't go into the story surrounding Anne Boleyn's arrival of court and the upheaval she caused since that is covered in TOBG but she does make a short mention of it from Katherine's perspective as she heads into Blackfriars Hall for the "trial" in 1529.
Little Catalina is raised knowing that one day she will go to England and marry the heir, Prince Arthur. She is even called the Princess of Wales from a very young age and believes it is her destiny to become Queen of England. She loves her mother Isabella dearly and truly believes that she and God really work together. When she finally arrives in England (the scene where Henry VII demands to see her, arguing with her duenna Dona Elvira is wonderful) and sees her husband-to-be she feels she will be happy. It is not long after that Arthur begins to treat her harshly because of his injured pride and her haughtiness. It takes an extremely cold ride in a horse litter with Catalina coming close to death to make him see how foolish he had been. After that, their love story is quite touching. They fall in love while at Ludlow Castle and begin to enjoy planning how they will rule England once they are King and Queen. I thought it was very touching how she wanted to show Arthur the styles and customs of her country and how he enjoyed learning about them. I also had to give them a cheer for secretly disobeying Margaret Beaufort's rules about how often they should be together as man and wife. Tragedy does strike when Arthur dies but before he does, he makes Catalina swear a promise that changes the course of English history. It was very touching to see how devoted they became to each other and it was painful to see how much Catalina prayed for his recovery.
Once back at the King's Court, Catalina becomes a pawn between her father and Henry VII. She is kept in this limbo for over six years. During that time she gains the King's wrath because she turns him down when he proposes to her. He then gets his revenge by agreeing to marry her to the new heir, Henry, but never allowing the marriage to take place. Catalina is reduced to poverty while waiting for her future to be decided. This was one of the first times I did feel sorry for the Princess as she was trapped because she was only seen as a useful pawn in politics. She does eventually end up marrying Henry VIII once he becomes King and finally feels that she is where she was destined to be - Queen of England - and insists on going by the English version of her name from that point on. The rest of the story is fairly common knowledge - the many miscarriages, stillbirths, and the birth of the Princess Mary. It was heartbreaking to see how the death of their little prince affected Katherine. During all this, Katherine really begins to grow and mature and begins to realize that maybe her mother wasn't right about everything, as she thought as a child. She also comes to realize that Henry is not going to be faithful and she knows that any pretty young girl could turn the King's head, hoping to gain his affection and possibly supplant her. It is an eerie prophecy of things yet to come. The last major event in the story is Katherine's triumph over the Scottish King. It was quite interesting to see her go through all the steps needed to muster and equip not only her husband's army bound for France, but the one she held back knowing the Scots where a danger. I think this really showed Katherine at her best and is one of the reasons why the English people loved her so much.
This really was a well written and intriguing story. Katherine tends to get lost in all the drama surrounding Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and it was refreshing to see another side of this Queen. The plot moved along well and I never felt bogged down in details or events. It really was a touching love story through the first half of the book. The characters in this telling were interesting and had personality - you could like them at times and dislike them at others. This was even the case with Katherine; while I liked her throughout the story there were some times when her stubbornness in believing it was her destiny to become Queen of England got a bit old, though I don't see it as being "out of character" for her. Gregory's portrayal of Henry VII was also very interesting. While I don't know if there is anything recorded in history of Henry actually desiring the Princess, it certainly was fun to read about him trying to conceal his feelings for her and then his happiness when he thought he would be able to marry her. The way he treated her after her refusal was horrible but to be expected from him so it wasn't surprising.
Overall a really good book and one that I reread from time to time. The characters are engaging enough so I care about what happens to them. It is easy to get caught up in the story and enjoy it as well. I would say this is one of Gregory's best works, along side TOBG. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the time period, especially to those who have read TOBG so they can compare their feelings towards Katherine in the two novels.
**Something else I found interesting in this story are the occasional references to Elizabeth of York's relationship with Richard III. Since Gregory's current series of novels covers that period of English history it will be interesting to see if these chance comments fit with what is eventually in those newer novels.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Book Review: The Virgin's Lover
The Virgin's Lover, Philippa Gregory
1 rose
I was excited to find this book in an airport bookstore as I enjoyed TOBG (entertainment wise and interesting characters) and I love reading anything I can get my hands on about Elizabeth I so I settled down with this one on the flight home. I wanted to throw it out the window and see it land in a river somewhere between Shreveport and Atlanta. It was horrible. While I have said before that Gregory's works are good just for entertainment value and characters interesting enough to keep you wanting to read about them, she must have been on medication while writing this book. I kept reading because I kept telling myself it had to get better at some point. It didn't.
This installment of Gregory's Tudor series covers the first couple of very dangerous and uncertain years of Elizabeth I's reign. There are two storylines running parallel to each other in this: Elizabeth and Robert Dudley's story at court and then Robert's story with his wife Amy. Gregory goes back and forth throughout the novel letting the reader see what Amy's life is like being the cast off and unwanted wife of a very ambitious man and what Elizabeth is having to deal with as she tries to keep ahold of her crown. Elizabeth's close advisor William Cecil plays a big part in this telling as well. The novel drags on for 400 something pages with Robert's schemes to marry Elizabeth and to get Cecil out of the way, Amy's hysterical outbursts at everyone, courtiers threatening to kill Dudley, Cecil trying to save his Queen, etc, etc. There was not one interesting thing in this book - no interesting plot twist, no mystery, nothing. It seems like Gregory was trying to write for a bunch of rowdy teenagers who wanted to read nothing but sex on every other page.
The way Gregory portrays the main characters in this book are absolutely horrible and so totally OUT of character from the way history usually portrays them. I understand authors taking creative license and I don't mind that but really? A Queen Elizabeth who giggles constantly, can't make one rational decision without Dudley, and who acts like a complete airhead? I don't think so. Yes, Elizabeth is documented as being vain and a flirt but she used it to successfully control her council, her suitors, and her enemies. She was a highly intelligent woman who knew what she needed to do to keep her crown; there is no sign of that woman in this Elizabeth. She was very determined not to let a man run her life and I find it hard to believe that she wouldn't have been able to think straight and make a coherent decision about her realm without Dudley being nearby. Gregory makes her seem like a valley girl! Robert Dudley comes across even worse (which is hard to believe). I found myself hating him for his over-the-top ambition and most especially his arrogance. I'm sure the real Dudley was ambitious and wanted to get all he could but I don't think anywhere in history is it recorded that he was as sly, sneaky, possessive, domineering, arrogant, and down right mean as Gregory portrays him. I really can't see the real Robert Dudley getting into a screaming match with his wife in the middle of the road in front of others. As much as I wanted to shake Elizabeth for being such an idiot I wanted to punch Dudley full in the face and I was quite happy to see him deprived of his dream at the end.
The only two characters that weren't butchered, in my opinion, were William Cecil and Amy Dudley. Cecil seems to act the way I would expect him to, having spies everywhere to make sure he knows what's going on in the realm, trying to guide Elizabeth, being horrified at Dudley influence over her, etc. However, there is so much more to him and his character really could have been expanded more; he was really one dimensional. What was a bit intriguing was Gregory's take on how Cecil had a hand in Amy Dudley's fate; as it is still a mystery even to this day what really happened it was an interesting road for Gregory to take. As for Amy, I don't think there is much about her in historical record so Gregory probably had much more freedom to create a personality for her and she does a decent job. Throughout the story there are times when I want to shake her and smack her across the face for her stubbornness and her blindness to things but at other times I feel so incredibly sorry for her (though I will admit those times are few). She really irritated me most of the time but there were those few moments where something else shone through and that is what made her probably the most well rounded character in the story; she had more than one side to her personality and it made her somewhat interesting. That is what was lacking in the two main characters - Elizabeth acted like an idiot the whole time and Dudley was sickening in his arrogance the whole time.
I really can find nothing in this book to recommend it to anyone. Perhaps someone who isn't interested in much history and is just reading for the sex could enjoy it. This story holds so much potential because Elizabeth is such a fascinating woman. Gregory completely missed with this one.
*NOTE: It seems like I set out to trash this book but that really wasn't the case. I just really did not like it and I don't think I should just review books I like. Just because I didn't like it doesn't mean someone else won't. I felt a bit bad when someone commented on the "trashing."
1 rose
I was excited to find this book in an airport bookstore as I enjoyed TOBG (entertainment wise and interesting characters) and I love reading anything I can get my hands on about Elizabeth I so I settled down with this one on the flight home. I wanted to throw it out the window and see it land in a river somewhere between Shreveport and Atlanta. It was horrible. While I have said before that Gregory's works are good just for entertainment value and characters interesting enough to keep you wanting to read about them, she must have been on medication while writing this book. I kept reading because I kept telling myself it had to get better at some point. It didn't.This installment of Gregory's Tudor series covers the first couple of very dangerous and uncertain years of Elizabeth I's reign. There are two storylines running parallel to each other in this: Elizabeth and Robert Dudley's story at court and then Robert's story with his wife Amy. Gregory goes back and forth throughout the novel letting the reader see what Amy's life is like being the cast off and unwanted wife of a very ambitious man and what Elizabeth is having to deal with as she tries to keep ahold of her crown. Elizabeth's close advisor William Cecil plays a big part in this telling as well. The novel drags on for 400 something pages with Robert's schemes to marry Elizabeth and to get Cecil out of the way, Amy's hysterical outbursts at everyone, courtiers threatening to kill Dudley, Cecil trying to save his Queen, etc, etc. There was not one interesting thing in this book - no interesting plot twist, no mystery, nothing. It seems like Gregory was trying to write for a bunch of rowdy teenagers who wanted to read nothing but sex on every other page.
The way Gregory portrays the main characters in this book are absolutely horrible and so totally OUT of character from the way history usually portrays them. I understand authors taking creative license and I don't mind that but really? A Queen Elizabeth who giggles constantly, can't make one rational decision without Dudley, and who acts like a complete airhead? I don't think so. Yes, Elizabeth is documented as being vain and a flirt but she used it to successfully control her council, her suitors, and her enemies. She was a highly intelligent woman who knew what she needed to do to keep her crown; there is no sign of that woman in this Elizabeth. She was very determined not to let a man run her life and I find it hard to believe that she wouldn't have been able to think straight and make a coherent decision about her realm without Dudley being nearby. Gregory makes her seem like a valley girl! Robert Dudley comes across even worse (which is hard to believe). I found myself hating him for his over-the-top ambition and most especially his arrogance. I'm sure the real Dudley was ambitious and wanted to get all he could but I don't think anywhere in history is it recorded that he was as sly, sneaky, possessive, domineering, arrogant, and down right mean as Gregory portrays him. I really can't see the real Robert Dudley getting into a screaming match with his wife in the middle of the road in front of others. As much as I wanted to shake Elizabeth for being such an idiot I wanted to punch Dudley full in the face and I was quite happy to see him deprived of his dream at the end.
The only two characters that weren't butchered, in my opinion, were William Cecil and Amy Dudley. Cecil seems to act the way I would expect him to, having spies everywhere to make sure he knows what's going on in the realm, trying to guide Elizabeth, being horrified at Dudley influence over her, etc. However, there is so much more to him and his character really could have been expanded more; he was really one dimensional. What was a bit intriguing was Gregory's take on how Cecil had a hand in Amy Dudley's fate; as it is still a mystery even to this day what really happened it was an interesting road for Gregory to take. As for Amy, I don't think there is much about her in historical record so Gregory probably had much more freedom to create a personality for her and she does a decent job. Throughout the story there are times when I want to shake her and smack her across the face for her stubbornness and her blindness to things but at other times I feel so incredibly sorry for her (though I will admit those times are few). She really irritated me most of the time but there were those few moments where something else shone through and that is what made her probably the most well rounded character in the story; she had more than one side to her personality and it made her somewhat interesting. That is what was lacking in the two main characters - Elizabeth acted like an idiot the whole time and Dudley was sickening in his arrogance the whole time.
I really can find nothing in this book to recommend it to anyone. Perhaps someone who isn't interested in much history and is just reading for the sex could enjoy it. This story holds so much potential because Elizabeth is such a fascinating woman. Gregory completely missed with this one.
*NOTE: It seems like I set out to trash this book but that really wasn't the case. I just really did not like it and I don't think I should just review books I like. Just because I didn't like it doesn't mean someone else won't. I felt a bit bad when someone commented on the "trashing."
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Book Review: The Other Boleyn Girl
So, I said I'd review this one and I will. With all the hype a few weeks ago about Philippa Gregory's newest novel, The White Queen (you can find my review for it here).I thought I'd go ahead and do this review, even though its been several months since I read this book.
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory
3 roses
This is probably the most well known of Gregory's historical fiction novels and a movie version did come out a year or so ago. I enjoyed this book because it was entertaining, I felt like the characters had some depth to them so I cared about what happened to them, and it was an interesting story. That being said (as I said with The White Queen), there are loads of historical inaccuracies. This would not bother me so much if Gregory did not present herself as such a wonderful, through, and in depth historian/researcher. The story covers one of the most intriguing times in British history - Henry VIII's need for a son and break with the Catholic Church. Most people know about Anne Boleyn - Henry's second wife that he moved heaven and hell (literally!) to marry. This story is not told from Anne's point of view but from her younger sister Mary's point of view.
Mary comes to Henry VIII's court a young, innocent girl who has recently married. She is pretty and catches Henry's eye. Her power hungry and scheming family see this as their ticket to bigger and better things and they pretty much shove Mary into Henry's bed. Mary ends up falling in love with the King and baring him two children. She constantly disappoints her family though as she is not really cut out for the manipulative game they're playing. She also has moral qualms about what she is being made to do which directly contradicts what her family expects from her and she struggles with this throughout the story. Despite her family's ambitions, she feels loyalty to Queen Katherine and constantly apologizes for what she is doing on her family's bidding. She is eventually set aside in favor of Anne and watches her astounding rise to power and fame as an unwitting accomplice., knowing that she will forever be in her sister's shadow. Mary takes things into her own hands though and marries a man for love, gaining the animosity of her sister who banishes her from Court. In the country she learns the life of a country wife and realizes she would much prefer it to life at Court. That life catches up to her and she has to return to help Anne through miscarriages and Henry's quickly declining favor. Mary is able to avoid the arrest, imprisonment, and eventual execution that awaits Anne and their brother George.
This is an intriguing and entertaining story to read. It has everything that keeps most readers occupied - love, hate, sex, betrayal, greed, backstabbing, political intrigue, etc. It is NOT, however, the wonderful piece of HISTORICAL fiction that it is promoted as being. There are just way too many historical inaccuracies. Mary, for instance, by most accounts was the older sister though the sisters' exact birth dates are uncertain. Anne, while I do believe she was a very intelligent, shrewd person, I do NOT believe she was the horrible person Gregory portrays her as in this novel. There is also no proof of George's sexual preferences or the possible incest between him and Anne. In fact, the charge of incest between the siblings was most likely concocted by Cromwell and others in order to further damn Anne at her trial. These are just some of the bigger issues with the book (there are a lot of other smaller, more nit-picky points though). I have no problem with Gregory including these things in her story if that is her interpretation of history but she should not be trying to insist that this is absolutely what happened.
The characters in the story are interesting enough for me to care about. I feel sorry for Mary through much of the story because of the way her family treats her. At times I really do not like Anne and at others I can pity her (especially towards the end). Henry really comes across like a selfish little boy and I don't particularly like him either. Queen Katherine is a likable figure (must more so than in the Gregory story about her, The Constant Princess) and I do have to feel sorry for her on occasion.
Overall it is a good read and one that I think most people will enjoy if they don't care about the historical aspect too much. This book has really brought historical fiction to the forefront again and I am extremely grateful to Gregory for this.
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory
3 roses
This is probably the most well known of Gregory's historical fiction novels and a movie version did come out a year or so ago. I enjoyed this book because it was entertaining, I felt like the characters had some depth to them so I cared about what happened to them, and it was an interesting story. That being said (as I said with The White Queen), there are loads of historical inaccuracies. This would not bother me so much if Gregory did not present herself as such a wonderful, through, and in depth historian/researcher. The story covers one of the most intriguing times in British history - Henry VIII's need for a son and break with the Catholic Church. Most people know about Anne Boleyn - Henry's second wife that he moved heaven and hell (literally!) to marry. This story is not told from Anne's point of view but from her younger sister Mary's point of view.Mary comes to Henry VIII's court a young, innocent girl who has recently married. She is pretty and catches Henry's eye. Her power hungry and scheming family see this as their ticket to bigger and better things and they pretty much shove Mary into Henry's bed. Mary ends up falling in love with the King and baring him two children. She constantly disappoints her family though as she is not really cut out for the manipulative game they're playing. She also has moral qualms about what she is being made to do which directly contradicts what her family expects from her and she struggles with this throughout the story. Despite her family's ambitions, she feels loyalty to Queen Katherine and constantly apologizes for what she is doing on her family's bidding. She is eventually set aside in favor of Anne and watches her astounding rise to power and fame as an unwitting accomplice., knowing that she will forever be in her sister's shadow. Mary takes things into her own hands though and marries a man for love, gaining the animosity of her sister who banishes her from Court. In the country she learns the life of a country wife and realizes she would much prefer it to life at Court. That life catches up to her and she has to return to help Anne through miscarriages and Henry's quickly declining favor. Mary is able to avoid the arrest, imprisonment, and eventual execution that awaits Anne and their brother George.
This is an intriguing and entertaining story to read. It has everything that keeps most readers occupied - love, hate, sex, betrayal, greed, backstabbing, political intrigue, etc. It is NOT, however, the wonderful piece of HISTORICAL fiction that it is promoted as being. There are just way too many historical inaccuracies. Mary, for instance, by most accounts was the older sister though the sisters' exact birth dates are uncertain. Anne, while I do believe she was a very intelligent, shrewd person, I do NOT believe she was the horrible person Gregory portrays her as in this novel. There is also no proof of George's sexual preferences or the possible incest between him and Anne. In fact, the charge of incest between the siblings was most likely concocted by Cromwell and others in order to further damn Anne at her trial. These are just some of the bigger issues with the book (there are a lot of other smaller, more nit-picky points though). I have no problem with Gregory including these things in her story if that is her interpretation of history but she should not be trying to insist that this is absolutely what happened.
The characters in the story are interesting enough for me to care about. I feel sorry for Mary through much of the story because of the way her family treats her. At times I really do not like Anne and at others I can pity her (especially towards the end). Henry really comes across like a selfish little boy and I don't particularly like him either. Queen Katherine is a likable figure (must more so than in the Gregory story about her, The Constant Princess) and I do have to feel sorry for her on occasion.
Overall it is a good read and one that I think most people will enjoy if they don't care about the historical aspect too much. This book has really brought historical fiction to the forefront again and I am extremely grateful to Gregory for this.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Book Review: The White Queen
So I couldn't hold off doing my review of this book. I have found I really enjoy reviewing books so don't be surprised to see them popping up here more than at the end of the month now! So...here is my review of Philippa Gregory's newest book The White Queen.
The White Queen, Philippa Gregory
3 roses
While I enjoy reading Gregory's books because they're decently entertaining for the most part I do wish she'd quit insisting she was such a wonderful historian. If this constant insisting that she does such "impeccable research" would go away, I could stomach her books better. This book was better than the last one but it wasn't outstanding.
The story covers a time period of about 20 years (give or take a few) starting from when Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville meet up until its almost time for Bosworth Field. This could have been a very good book but there were a few things that really irritated me. The first issue I had was the constant repeating of certain aspects of the story she obviously didn't want the reader to forget (perhaps she thinks all her readers are dumb and she must repeat everything?). She refers to Edward repeatedly as a "boy" for several chapters at the beginning (yes, a 20-something young man can certainly act like a boy but technically would not be considered one, ESPECIALLY in the 15th century). By about the third chapter I felt like if she mentioned Elizabeth's family connection to Melusina (a water goddess for those that are unfamiliar with the name) one more time I was going to go hop in a fountain somewhere. She also couldn't keep Elizabeth from constantly referring to the fact that she had Warkwick and George's names, in her blood, in her locket, and she would get her revenge. The water imagery got old after a while as well. Really, I got all these points the first time I read them and I don't need to be reminded every couple of paragraphs. While I didn't really have a big problem with the magic element in the story since it wasn't completely over the top (and there has always been speculation about her mother and witchcraft), I found myself rolling my eyes quite a bit over the convenient "let's blow gently out of our lips and a nice storm will blow up somewhere in England or the Channel to stop our enemies." At least she didn't have them in a cellar somewhere huddled over a bubbling pot.
I also really never felt any connection with any of the characters. In TOBG, while I knew there were huge historical inaccuracies (HUGE), I actually cared about what happened to the characters. Not so here. There really didn't seem to be any dimension to them whatsoever. I was satisfied with her portrayal of Richard, Duke of Gloucester. She didn't make him seem like a horrible monster but he didn't come across as saintly. As this story was from Elizabeth's POV and she didn't really like Richard at all, that was to be expected and I thought that aspect was well done.
As to her being considered such a great historian, one thing really jumped out at me that makes me question how thorough she is with some topics. At one point Elizabeth mentions they're going to Nonsuch Palace. Nonsuch was started by her grandson, Henry VIII (around 1538 if I'm not mistaken). Anyone can go to the internet, type in "Nonsuch Palace," and get this information. Some might consider that a bit nit picky on my part but in my opinion, if you're going to call yourself a great historian, at least have your characters going to places that existed at the time.
Overall, I'm glad I only checked it out of the library. It wasn't horrible by any stretch but I still prefer Sharon Kay Penman's "The Sunne in Splendour" which covers this same time period.
And I swear the covers of her books get worse and worse.
The White Queen, Philippa Gregory
3 roses
While I enjoy reading Gregory's books because they're decently entertaining for the most part I do wish she'd quit insisting she was such a wonderful historian. If this constant insisting that she does such "impeccable research" would go away, I could stomach her books better. This book was better than the last one but it wasn't outstanding.The story covers a time period of about 20 years (give or take a few) starting from when Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville meet up until its almost time for Bosworth Field. This could have been a very good book but there were a few things that really irritated me. The first issue I had was the constant repeating of certain aspects of the story she obviously didn't want the reader to forget (perhaps she thinks all her readers are dumb and she must repeat everything?). She refers to Edward repeatedly as a "boy" for several chapters at the beginning (yes, a 20-something young man can certainly act like a boy but technically would not be considered one, ESPECIALLY in the 15th century). By about the third chapter I felt like if she mentioned Elizabeth's family connection to Melusina (a water goddess for those that are unfamiliar with the name) one more time I was going to go hop in a fountain somewhere. She also couldn't keep Elizabeth from constantly referring to the fact that she had Warkwick and George's names, in her blood, in her locket, and she would get her revenge. The water imagery got old after a while as well. Really, I got all these points the first time I read them and I don't need to be reminded every couple of paragraphs. While I didn't really have a big problem with the magic element in the story since it wasn't completely over the top (and there has always been speculation about her mother and witchcraft), I found myself rolling my eyes quite a bit over the convenient "let's blow gently out of our lips and a nice storm will blow up somewhere in England or the Channel to stop our enemies." At least she didn't have them in a cellar somewhere huddled over a bubbling pot.
I also really never felt any connection with any of the characters. In TOBG, while I knew there were huge historical inaccuracies (HUGE), I actually cared about what happened to the characters. Not so here. There really didn't seem to be any dimension to them whatsoever. I was satisfied with her portrayal of Richard, Duke of Gloucester. She didn't make him seem like a horrible monster but he didn't come across as saintly. As this story was from Elizabeth's POV and she didn't really like Richard at all, that was to be expected and I thought that aspect was well done.
As to her being considered such a great historian, one thing really jumped out at me that makes me question how thorough she is with some topics. At one point Elizabeth mentions they're going to Nonsuch Palace. Nonsuch was started by her grandson, Henry VIII (around 1538 if I'm not mistaken). Anyone can go to the internet, type in "Nonsuch Palace," and get this information. Some might consider that a bit nit picky on my part but in my opinion, if you're going to call yourself a great historian, at least have your characters going to places that existed at the time.
Overall, I'm glad I only checked it out of the library. It wasn't horrible by any stretch but I still prefer Sharon Kay Penman's "The Sunne in Splendour" which covers this same time period.
And I swear the covers of her books get worse and worse.
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