Poetry of Reading: Philippa Gregory

The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory

by Natasa Djordjevic - 9:00 AM

“Wealth means nothing at all if you do not know, to the last penny, what your fortune is. You might as well be poor if you do not know what you have.”

The Other Queen is Mary, Queen of Scots. The timeline for this novel of intrigue by Philippa Gregory is from 1568 to 1587, the years that Mary was held in England, and beheaded. Her sojourn begins as a courtesy provided by Queen Elizabeth First. Mary is granted sanctuary in England from Scotland, where she has been defeated by the Protestant Lords, who include John Knox. They are resolute that a Roman Catholic monarch will not sit upon the throne.

Gregory narrates events through the perceptions of three major players: the Earl of Shrewsbury, his wife, Bess, and Mary, Queen of Scots. By using multiple voices, that of Mary herself and both her caretakers, husband and wife, readers gain a peek into the complex nature of the events surrounding this turbulent time in British history.

Mary is portrayed as scheming and calculating. She constantly emphasizes her royalty and infallibility as God’s anointed queen and stresses her desire to be free. She is confident that Elizabeth would never have the audacity to execute her; she who is the queen of Scotland, the queen consort of France, and heir to the English throne. She believes so strongly that she may be in Elizabeth’s place that she feels no remorse in her plotting to dethrone her cousin. She has no hesitations about using her charm and sexuality to influence men to conspire against Elizabeth.

Earl of Shrewsbury, Queen Mary’s guardian, an honorable man true to Elizabeth his monarch, but who nonetheless becomes besotted with the beautiful, wily and youthful Queen Mary. He becomes her gallant, which creates a severe quarrel with his wife, Bess.

Bess’s story is intriguing. She is truly a self-made woman, unusual for those times when women of the nobility were owned by their men and told so in no uncertain terms.

It is easy to get caught up in the intrigues and double-crosses and to care for the characters. The decent George quietly becomes obsessed with the beautiful queen he is forced to hold in imprisonment. Bess hardens her heart as she watches her newlywed husband fall in love with Mary and spends their fortune on the queen’s upkeep. Mary desperately tries to liberate herself from her hardship, all the while keeping up her charming royal presence.

Philippe Gregory takes a different approach to write about an often-told story: the imprisonment of the deposed Mary Queen of Scots by her cousin Elizabeth I of England. Unfortunately for Mary, things did not work out for her. But Philippa’s novel has done a wonderful job of bringing her to life. Not as a helpless twit at the mercy of political machinations, but a young woman entrapped by birth and circumstances to spend most of her life as a prisoner, but never giving up on hope and the desire to free herself and rule her own country.

Anyone interested in history should find this fascinating. Although there are multiple interpretations of the accountability of Mary and all those involved with the many plots to restore her to the Scottish throne Gregory’s story is as plausible as any and more fascinating than most.

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The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

by Natasa Djordjevic - 5:44 AM

“The sons of York will destroy each other, one brother destroying another, uncles devouring nephews, fathers beheading sons. They are a house which has to have blood, and they will shed their own if they have no other enemy.”

The White Queen is the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the commoner and former Lancaster supporter, who married the newly crowned Edward IV from the house of York. They married in secret, for love, and kept it quiet for a time because marriages during that time among nobles were arranged for political alliances. Told mostly in the first person from Elizabeth’s point of view, the book starts in 1463 when Elizabeth first meets Edward until 1485 when Edward’s brother Richard III holds the throne.

History has not dealt kindly with Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of Plantagenet King Edward IV, and mother of the princes murdered in the Tower of London. She has been seen as a woman who used her undoubted beauty to influence the king and get important, rich positions for her extended and extensive family.

Philippa Gregory shows us a different woman - one whose family loyalty and sense of honor drive her to negotiate difficult times with perception, grace, and humor. We see a woman of integrity and grace who grows into her role as queen as she fights her own battles and her heartaches. I liked that she was never portrayed as a victim in the book, even though she was often at the mercy of the men surrounding her.

In the book, a lot of Elizabeth’s power is derived from the magical abilities she and her mother, Jacquetta inherited from their ancestor, the water goddess Melusina. The two of them were rumored to be witches, so I thought it was clever of Gregory to weave these magical threads into a book.

There are so many scenes where brother is pitted against brother for control, and the characters involved have no idea whom they can and can not trust. It was a great, suspenseful ride for the reader too! I also thoroughly enjoyed how Ms. Gregory used facts to tell the story while also embellishing the mysteries and holes in the characters’ lives to make a very readable story.

The White Queen even includes depictions of battle scenes, some violence. While I admit, Gregory broke the first-person viewpoint to write these scenes with little explanation, this can be overlooked because of the realistic and impeccable quality of the scenes themselves. Gregory’s depiction of war is flawless, easy to understand, and adds a new dimension to her writing that some readers will embrace, and others will shun.

Overall, it is a convoluted tale of long ago monarchy that reflects the universal, timeless emotions all of us have struggled with, jealousy, anger, betrayal, fear, and love. Gregory brings the War of the Roses alive, with its struggles for power and cruel disregard for human life, while also introducing a thread of magic and a hint of witchcraft. It’s Gregory’s ability to delve into the human heart and mind that makes her books so irresistible, and The White Queen is no exception.

My Rating

✬✬✬✬✬

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The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

by Natasa Djordjevic - 8:34 AM

Synopsis:

Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: The love of a king

When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realises just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king and take fate into her own hands.

A rich and compelling novel of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamourous court in Europe and survived by following her heart.

My Review:

“You can smile when your heart is breaking because you're a woman.”

Philippa Gregory retells the story of Anne Boleyn as seen through the eyes of her younger sister, Mary. The Boleyn Girls, along with their brother George, have been attending the king of England’s court since they were children. At the age of fourteen, Mary captures the attention of King Henry VIII. Even though both of them are already married, Mary and Henry become lovers at the insistence of the Boleyn family, which uses Mary as a pawn in its desire for advancement within the royal circle. Mary struggles with her desires for the king, her loyalty to her husband, and her rivalry with her sister, Anne, who eventually surpasses Mary in the king’s eyes and sets her sights on becoming the next queen of England.

This is, first and foremost, the story of Mary Boleyn, a woman who has generally been reduced to a footnote in history. It is notable, however, that she was the only Boleyn sibling to survive the purges of the Tudor court and who, ultimately, married for love in an age when this was not the norm among those of her class. It is also the story of Anne Boleyn, her rise and fall, as seen through the eyes of her sister, Mary.

Gregory focuses on the rivalry between sisters Mary and her more infamous (and unlucky) sister Anne, playing on traditional archetypes in fairly obvious ways: while Mary is presented as fair, conventionally pretty, not especially bright, and all English, Anne is dark, intelligent, ambitious, "French" (with all the negative associations that are attached), and self-centered. Yet it is these flaws that make both characters compelling, and readers have to pity the lack of freedom and individual agency the women have as pawns of the powerful men in their lives.

To a lesser degree, it is also the story of their brother, George, a more remote, though no less interesting, personage. His interjection into the story is necessary, as the author attempts to address the issue of incest that arose at the trial of George and Anne Boleyn. She gives quite an interesting perspective on the issue, weaving it, part and parcel, into the story to explain his downfall, as well as his betrayal by his wife.

Told against the magnificent backdrop of the Tudor Court in all its splendor and majesty, the author weaves a complex tale of greed, ambition, sex, and political machination, and unparalleled intrigue, in sixteenth-century England. Filled with well-fleshed characters taken right out of the annals of history, the story is one that is sure to delight all those with a love for well-written historical fiction. The author makes no bones about how women were used as pawns, devices in a dangerous game of ambition, scheming and desire to advance a family’s reputation.

While the book is not historically accurate, the miscues and factual errors aren’t glaring enough to disturb the flow of the novel, and Gregory should be commended for nailing the sycophantic and cutthroat atmosphere that prevailed in the Tudor court.

My Rating:

✬✬✬✬✬

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August: Memory Lane

by Natasa Djordjevic - 3:58 PM

2014

✬✭✬✬✬

I enjoyed this book very much. The various viewpoints offered as the book progressed made the story richly enjoyable, as well as giving a whole picture to this turbulent historical time.

2015

✬✬✬✬

Over the years I have read many books that refer to Templar Knights, but this is the first book that described the history and origins of the Knights order. I'm expected a little more action, quite slow. also, the title may be a little misleading, that is the only reason I didn't give the book five stars.

✬✬✬✬✬

Patterson does an excellent job of bringing King Tut to life and in posting a viable theory of Tut's life and death. A splendid storyteller, Patterson shifts back and forth through three periods of time to keep the reader enthralled.

2016

✬✬✬

Not outstanding, but a pleasant and enjoyable read for a Sunday afternoon. I have read some of James' other books, I would look at one of hers again, but not jump on it.

✬✬✬

This was well written at times interesting. The characters were pretty developed, and the split between the past and the present was easy enough to follow. The story was wrapped up too neatly, and in run-on sentences....overall it was ok.

2017

✬✬✬✬✬

I have read all of Philippa Gregory's books and many, many others about Tudor England. This was one I found moving and interesting in the descriptions of what must have been a terrifying time to live. Just, fantastic.

✬✬✬✬✬

I absolutely loved the detail with which the characters are described that allow them to come to life. This story is so perfectly intertwined that it'll be hard to put this down! A must read.

✬✬✬✬✬

Leah Fleming tells the story of two women who meet on the lifeboat along with the impact on their family members. The decisions made in those hours, along with the strength they developed, form the basis for this story. Love, heartache, deceit, failure, and success: these characters experience it. An excellent book I recommend it to anyone.

✬✬✬

Not Barnes best, in my opinion, a bit too convoluted and not grabbing the significance of the conflict Shostakovich must have been experiencing. Classic Barnes allegorical writing, perhaps, but to obscure for me.

✬✬✬✬

On the whole, I enjoyed this book. Some of it was a little repetitive. The plot saved the book for me although it could have been more sinister. It was well written as all her books are. I am looking forward to the next in the series.

✬✬✬✬✬

The characters leap out of the pages, and the descriptions make you feel like you are actually there. You really sympathize with Tzu-Hsi. It's like watching a movie in your mind. There are only four chapters, about 100 pages in length, each. This makes reading a little lengthy, but it is well worth it.

✬✬✬

Using magic realism in this book make the book long and sometimes boring but it makes the story roll along and makes it interesting. Not for everyone.

✬✬✬✬

I enjoyed the story and the characters. There were a couple times where I almost didn't care enough to read further, and that was the only drawback I could find.

✬✬✬

The story went on far too long... too many coups... killings, etc. The writing is fine, and the descriptions of the intricate interiors and fine clothing are well done - it's just not a book for me.

✬✬✬✬✬

This is an intriguing and fascinating story of a remarkable woman who reaches the heights of her power. A must read for any history buff. Particularly if you enjoy the 18th-century era.

2018

✬✬

I really wanted to like this book. I could not stay interested in The Drowning Guard. Something about the author's writing style did not resonate with me. I would start to empathize with a character, only to later think my empathy was misplaced.

✬✬✬✬

This series is fascinating. The book is beautifully researched and Iggulden does a fine job of making what could be dry history very interesting reading. This is the third in a four book series and I've enjoyed all three very much.

✬✬✬

I love Historical Fiction and was excited to read this book. The story is fine and the characters are ok, but something is missing. I wasn't drawn in or cared about anything very much. It also seemed the story sort of lost steam, ran off course and then just ended with all right resolution.