Queen's Fool, The (Boleyn) by Philippa Gregory see more by Philippa Gregory Studio James Bennett Pty LtdLabel James Bennett Pty Ltd

Closer Look List Price: £10.62 From: James Bennett Pty Ltd From: James Bennett Pty Ltd Salesrank: 393820 Released: 2004-02-16 You Save: £ (%)! Lowest New Price: Click Here  Pages: 512 Format: Paperback Customer Rating: Also Shop International: (Not all items available internationally)          Queen's Fool, The (Boleyn) Editorial Review: The bitter enmity between Elizabeth the First and Mary Tudor, the daughters of Henry VIII (not to mention the conflict between their mothers Anne Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon) makes the squabbles between modern-day royals seem small beer indeed. This is particularly clear after reading something as enjoyable as Philippa Gregory's The Queen's Fool, which treats the period and its turbulent sweep with an almost operatic grandeur. In The Other Boleyn Girl, Gregory delivered a tremendous popular success and lifted this kind of popular historical writing from the realms of romantic fiction to something rich in authentic drama and convincing historical verisimilitude. Mary and Elizabeth, the two young princesses, have a common goal: to be Queen of England. To achieve this, they need both to win the love of the people and learn how to negotiate dangerous political pitfalls. Gregory recreates this era with tremendous colour, and she makes the court an enticing but danger-fraught place. Into this setting comes the eponymous fool, the youthful Hannah, who (despite her air of guileless religiousness) is not naive. She soon finds herself having to deal with the beguiling but treacherous Robert Dudley. Dispatched to report on Princess Mary, Hannah discovers in her a passionate religious conviction (to return England to the rule of Rome and its pope) that will have fatal consequences. From Tolstoy's War and Peace onwards, historical novelists have set fictitious characters among real-life personages with mixed success; the author's creations can often pale beside the historical figures. That is emphatically not the case here, and Gregory ensures that all her characters have a full and teeming life. Expect a major movie: something as colourful and exuberant as The Queen's Fool is a natural for screen adaptation. --Barry Forshaw Customer Reviews: Another Gregory Great! In typical Philippa Gregory style, she fantastically transported me back to the 16th Century. She writes so well, you feel you know the characters and are part of the story. This time we are introduced to Hannah Verde/Green a Jewish girl that has the Sight. She has many struggles in the story which I won't give away. I did enjoy the book, but I was more compelled by the other books and felt I would like to have read a bit more on the relationships between Mary and Elizabeth, but that said, I did like Hannah as a character so it didn't spoil the story. Gregory at her best I just love this womans work. As far as I am concerned she can do no wrong. So nice to be able to bury your head in an enjoyable book when the world is falling apart around you! The ending. This book is very good it paints a brillant picture of the rivals Queen Mary and Lady Elizabeth. The One thing I do not like is the ending. Why did Hannah go back to Daneil when he lied and betrayed her. By all means give him his child, but he was faithless to her and caused her nothing but pain and he had such an attuide at the beginnig of the book. And why would Hannah have gone back to his house to live with that bitch Mrs carpnter and the spiteful carpenter sister's? The Queen's Fool If you are thinking about reading The Queens Fool you might like to know the chronological order of Philippa Gregory's books about the Tudor Court:- The Constant Princess The Other Boleyn Girl (Read the book, the film misses out so much) The Boleyn Inheritance The Queen's Fool The Virgins Lover The Other Queen Once I start to read these books I can't put them down. I didn't think I was going to like The Queen's Fool as it was not directly about one of Henrys wives or daughters. However Hannah Verde creeps slowly into your affections as the Royal Confidant and Holy Fool who falls for Robert Hardy who lovingly refers to her as 'Mistress Boy' Hannah nearly pays for that devotion with her life. when she is asked to use her gift of 'sight' to look into the future and advise of coming illness, death, births and ill doings in the royal household. Who will benefit and who will fall..only Hannah can provide the answers, but she plays a dangerous game. Full of mystery and intrigue Hannah takes you from the bedside of the ailing Queen Mary to the frivolities at Hampton Court where the young Princess Elizabeth is waiting for her moment to be crowned the new Queen of England. Will Hannahs loyalties cost her the chance to find once more the husband she walked out on and then too late realised was the love of her life. Beginning with the demise of Kateryn Parr and endng with the death of Queen Mary and the first years of Elizabeths reign, this book is a must have holiday read, I loved it. A little slow, but a solid story... Long story, cut short.....Hannah Verde, Spanish, Jewish, settles in England with her father after their flight from the Spanish Inquisition, given over to the Royal court of young King Edward as his Holy Fool, on his death she transfers to Queen Mary as her fool and here the story begins..... This is my third Philippa Gregory and as expected it is a solid story, but not on the same par as her Bolyen books. I felt as though I learned quite a lot about Queen Mary, who as the book progressed seemed to get more and more unhinged, and it's no surprise she earned the name 'Bloody Mary'. Elizabeth was portrayed as thouroughly unlikeable and self serving and I don't doubt that she was all that and more and even the main players at court were just as I imagined them to be; fickle, scheming, underhand, greedy and manipulative, but it was the main character who really spoiled things for me. No matter what situation was unfolding, Hannah was always right there in the thick of things and after a while she really started to grate on me. She didn't have a bad word to say about anybody, regardless of how horribly they treated her, and she kept going back for more of the same. I realise she wouldn't have had a lot of say in matters regarding how she was put to use by her employers but one minute she's litterally wetting herself as she's about to be tortured as a heritic because Mary has a bee in her bonnet (to put it mildly) about non Catholics, even though she considers Hannah her trusted friend....then the next minute Hannah is all doe eyed at Mary's feet and defending her against any critics....it just doesn't make sense. She has the means to escape and put it all behind her, but she does everything in her power to stay. She can't seem to make up her mind about where her loyalties lie for most of the book and dithers from one plot master to the next, depending on what's afoot at any given time. Mary, Elizabeth, Lord Robert Dudley, her betrothed, John Dee...and, and, and. I just couldn't relate to her because she just didn't seem to have the wit to remove herself from danger when the opportunity arose. The exit was right there for her, and she chose not to take it. Having said that, the story itself was interesting and enjoyable, if a little slow. The pace wasn't as fast as in her other books but overall the story was a good one. I haven't been put off and I still plan to work my way through her other books, but if this is your first try of Philippa Gregory, this isn't her best. Related Categories: >> >>Books >>Subjects >>Fiction >>General