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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
The first Philippa Gregory novel I read was The Other Boleyn Girl and it was totally romancey and a little trashy and maybe or maybe not accurate. But whatever, I'll I wanted from it was Mary to marry William Stafford and oh my gosh.
It was good, then I read The Boleyn Inheritance which I didn't like at first but I changed my mind by the end of it.
So, naturally I was curious about how she started the whole series. A friend of mine mentioned this book a long time ago and told me how boring it was and that she couldn't finish it. I thought that maybe she meant it got slow it parts and she didn't have the patience for it. That's fair, that's happened to me plenty of times, so with that mindset I was determined to power through.
Read the rest at Tea Time with Tazo
It was good, then I read The Boleyn Inheritance which I didn't like at first but I changed my mind by the end of it.
So, naturally I was curious about how she started the whole series. A friend of mine mentioned this book a long time ago and told me how boring it was and that she couldn't finish it. I thought that maybe she meant it got slow it parts and she didn't have the patience for it. That's fair, that's happened to me plenty of times, so with that mindset I was determined to power through.
Read the rest at Tea Time with Tazo
Let me start with a disclaimer. I really do enjoy Philippa Gregory, albeit many people's critiques that she sensationalizes or imposes her own internal monologue onto the characters. Which, I mean, of course she does, as the genre's historical fiction, and honestly if she didn't her books wouldn't be so much fun to read. I was originally lured into her writing like many others by The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance. The Constant Princess, while an interesting story in its own right, definitely lacked the scandal and fast paced clip of the two previous titles.
I have to admit it took me two years to read this book. I've always been fascinated with Spain and with Henry the VIII's regal first wife, the daughter of legendary Isabella and Ferdinand. I read the first half, which was exciting, covering Katherine of Aragon's original marriage to Prince Arthur of the House Tudor, as well as describing her unique childhood in Spain as the child of its two most famous monarchs. Yet the second half of the book dragged, leading me to put it down for quite a while until two years later I was in my room desperate to read and with nothing else on hand. Once I found the motivation to pick it up again, I found myself pleasantly surprised that it started to hold my interest again as I read about the early years of her marriage to Henry, her various births, and her role as a military leader and queen regent, facts that often get overlooked in favor of the Anne Boleyn scandal.
Yet the book drags in certain spaces, with interjections of Katherine's own monologues in italics, often disrupting the flow of the novel. The end of the novel also has an air of disappointment, as many readers will be reading anxiously to hopefully get to the part about the gradual undermining of Katherine's status and crown by Anne, but it never comes. After her victory over Scotland (with no real help from Henry, thank you very much), it skips ahead more than a decade to the end of her marriage. It was an especially a let down to never read about the birth and development of her daughter Mary, after reading about her various miscarriages and struggles with the archaic English view that a woman was inherently at fault for not being able to produce an heir.
I have a special fascination with The Tudors (as most do) and was also partially motivated to get back into the historical fiction genre after my recent trip to England where I actually saw where Henry VIII is buried along with his third wife Jane Seymour (under Windsor Castle's Church) and saw the gravemarkers of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard as well at the Tower of London. So being able to read this afterwards and know that I had been to several of the locations in the book was fascinating and a little mind boggling- knowing that as I walked through the streets within the Windsor Castle complex or on the banks of the Thames River at Greewhich, where Katherine and Henry (and all of his wives) had walked as well.
Ultimately I would recommend this book for those who are really interested in the Tudors, as it is s good foundational story to understanding (through fiction, anyway) how Henry came to marry his first wife. I wouldn't recommend this as the first text for one to ever read by Gregory, as many of her other Tudor texts are more engaging, which is what motivated me to finish this one- I had read the others in the series, and wanted to add this to my bookshelf.
I have to admit it took me two years to read this book. I've always been fascinated with Spain and with Henry the VIII's regal first wife, the daughter of legendary Isabella and Ferdinand. I read the first half, which was exciting, covering Katherine of Aragon's original marriage to Prince Arthur of the House Tudor, as well as describing her unique childhood in Spain as the child of its two most famous monarchs. Yet the second half of the book dragged, leading me to put it down for quite a while until two years later I was in my room desperate to read and with nothing else on hand. Once I found the motivation to pick it up again, I found myself pleasantly surprised that it started to hold my interest again as I read about the early years of her marriage to Henry, her various births, and her role as a military leader and queen regent, facts that often get overlooked in favor of the Anne Boleyn scandal.
Yet the book drags in certain spaces, with interjections of Katherine's own monologues in italics, often disrupting the flow of the novel. The end of the novel also has an air of disappointment, as many readers will be reading anxiously to hopefully get to the part about the gradual undermining of Katherine's status and crown by Anne, but it never comes. After her victory over Scotland (with no real help from Henry, thank you very much), it skips ahead more than a decade to the end of her marriage. It was an especially a let down to never read about the birth and development of her daughter Mary, after reading about her various miscarriages and struggles with the archaic English view that a woman was inherently at fault for not being able to produce an heir.
I have a special fascination with The Tudors (as most do) and was also partially motivated to get back into the historical fiction genre after my recent trip to England where I actually saw where Henry VIII is buried along with his third wife Jane Seymour (under Windsor Castle's Church) and saw the gravemarkers of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard as well at the Tower of London. So being able to read this afterwards and know that I had been to several of the locations in the book was fascinating and a little mind boggling- knowing that as I walked through the streets within the Windsor Castle complex or on the banks of the Thames River at Greewhich, where Katherine and Henry (and all of his wives) had walked as well.
Ultimately I would recommend this book for those who are really interested in the Tudors, as it is s good foundational story to understanding (through fiction, anyway) how Henry came to marry his first wife. I wouldn't recommend this as the first text for one to ever read by Gregory, as many of her other Tudor texts are more engaging, which is what motivated me to finish this one- I had read the others in the series, and wanted to add this to my bookshelf.
Amazing as per usual. I love PG. She’s an amazing author
*Laughing* No way! Two years ago when I started this book I ended up hating it and not being able to finish it. Now I have no idea what happened but at least after page 140 the book becomes very very enjoyable. I feel bewitched. Maybe it's guilty pleasure? Hell knows. The thing is I liked this book very much and I will definitely go on with the series.
I first tried to read this several years ago after racing through Gregory’s stories of Jacquetta, Elizabeth Woodville, and Elizabeth of York but had just lost my patience with the pacing and the historical fiction. After watching Starz’s The Spanish Princess (quite different actually), I knew I had to try again. I’m so glad I did. I found Catherine to be a fascinating character and to learn more of her pre-Anne Boleyn was eye opening. Started to become un-put-downable near the end. Glad I read this.
Another wondeful read from Phillipa Gregory! This story is much like her others.. great flow, lots of historical detail, but not so much that it turns into a boring textbook. Her style is smooth and there are times I can't stop reading!
I keep going back and forth on how to rate this, but it was a thoroughly entertaining read. There were some stylistic choices that didn’t completely work for me, but I do enjoy this historical fiction, which puts the events of the past into much better context.
I didn't plan to read this book - my mom wanted me to read it on a weekend visit home, and I was pleasantly surprised. Historical fiction isn't normally my thing but I liked this book b/c it was based on actual historical figures.
I haven't read The Other Boleyn Girl (the other book this author is known for) but I probably will now b/c this book overlaps a bit with that story line and I really like the author's style.
I haven't read The Other Boleyn Girl (the other book this author is known for) but I probably will now b/c this book overlaps a bit with that story line and I really like the author's style.
I've read four Philippa Gregory books other than this one, but The Constant Princess is by far the best only because it changed my mind about a historical character. I'd never like Katherine of Aragon before but this book opened by eyes to her struggles and her suffering. Her parents, Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain, raised her on the battlefield and in a conquered Muslim city amongst incredible luxury and instilled in her a set of values that shaped every decision she ever made.
The premise of this book is that Katherine and her first husband Arthur did indeed consummate their brief marriage and Katherine made a deathbed promise to Arthur to marry his brother and eventually become Queen of England. This would involve telling the lie that she was still a virgin, but Katherine believes that it is her destiny to become Queen of England.
The book dragged toward the end, but Gregory did a fantastic job of portraying Katherine of Aragon. My only complaint is that half the book is in italics.
The premise of this book is that Katherine and her first husband Arthur did indeed consummate their brief marriage and Katherine made a deathbed promise to Arthur to marry his brother and eventually become Queen of England. This would involve telling the lie that she was still a virgin, but Katherine believes that it is her destiny to become Queen of England.
The book dragged toward the end, but Gregory did a fantastic job of portraying Katherine of Aragon. My only complaint is that half the book is in italics.