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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
http://www.girllostinabook.com/2014/10/review-kings-curse-by-philippa-gregory.html
While not one of the Gregory books I was initially excited about reading, this is one of the more interesting ones I've picked up in my work-through of her Tudor series. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, this novel is the closest I've seen Gregory come to describing Jane Seymour. I once went to a book signing and asked her if she would ever write about the third queen (at the time she'd covered maybe four of the six), and she said she doubted it, and I always wondered what it would be like if she did. In "The Other Boleyn Girl", though Jane is an important character, we hardly ever meet or hear from her - she is important from afar - and now we do get a sense at least of how Gregory views her. I do understand the decision not to write about her - her reign was fairly short, she wouldn't have been involved in most of the interesting events happening around her (the Pilgrimage of Grace, which was much more centralized here with Margaret Pole), and her legacy has been mostly defined by her death and her son, which is hardly enough to fill an entire novel. It was just nice to get an insight into the third Tudor queen in the line. The second reason this was a page-turner for me is, sadly, knowing how the story ends. Not only did Margaret Pole have a long life connected to major players in the time (seeing her relationship with Mary Tudor was particularly interesting to read, since Mary isn't really a central character until after her father's death), but her death is so violent and horrifying (even by Henry VIII standards) that you want to know how it is going to be handled. It was a graceful depiction that doesn't shy away from what happened, but also isn't as bleak as other descriptions of the event have been.
This book was so entertaining! I love the way Philippa Gregory tells her stories. I felt I was watching an episode of The Tudors.
This book started out very slow. I really wasn't interested in it, and I wondered if I was having a bit of fatigue for this series. Thankfully, that was not the case.
About a 1/4 of the way through the book, it picked right up. The story became very interesting, and I was reading during every free minute I could find. I didn't know much about Margaret Pole prior to reading this series, making this book quite interesting because she lived through so much. Margaret is not at court for most of the book, so it was refreshing to read about King Henry VIII with a little distance and different perspective from other books. The constant craziness of the Tudor family, both father and son, was very well done.
This book is a fitting end to this series, and much stronger than the earlier books. The last 3 books were my favorite, and left me wishing there were more to read. I'm glad I didn't give up on it!
About a 1/4 of the way through the book, it picked right up. The story became very interesting, and I was reading during every free minute I could find. I didn't know much about Margaret Pole prior to reading this series, making this book quite interesting because she lived through so much. Margaret is not at court for most of the book, so it was refreshing to read about King Henry VIII with a little distance and different perspective from other books. The constant craziness of the Tudor family, both father and son, was very well done.
This book is a fitting end to this series, and much stronger than the earlier books. The last 3 books were my favorite, and left me wishing there were more to read. I'm glad I didn't give up on it!
This book was better than the one about Anne Neville but not as good as the ones about Elizabeth Woodville or Margaret Beaufort. Margaret Pole is an interesting character but I think that the Cousins War sequence of books started to lose momentum towards the middle of its run. I do agree with one of the reviewers-- that Gregory pumps out a Tudor related book every year and is moving away from plot driven writing. I enjoy her work but I am interested to see her write about others.
Another great read, courtesy of Philippa Gregory. I think what makes The King's Curse so interesting is its scope - it covers roughly 40 years of history, from the latter years of Henry VII's reign and well into the reign of his son, Henry VIII. Through its narrator, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, it provides a fascinating window into the pressures that loomed ever-present over the first two Tudor monarchs: their unsteadiness on their newly-obtained throne, the struggle to maintain the loyalty of a people not yet fully wedded to their rule, and the lingering threat (real or perceived) of the old ruling family. I especially found watching Henry VIII's transformation from beloved monarch of the people into tyrant to be so intriguing. It's hinted at in Gregory's novels about Henry VIII's wives (The Constant Princess, The Other Boleyn Girl, and The Boleyn Inheritance), but you don't get quite the same long-range scope in those three (as (1) they are each a separate narrative and (2) there's a several year time jump from the end of The Other Boleyn Girl to the start of The Boleyn Inheritance than leaves out a lot of crucial context and character transformation in Henry VIII) as you do in The King's Curse, which is one continuous narrative. I also think that The King's Curse's long foray into the reign of Henry VIII makes it a great bridge between Gregory's Cousins' War series and her Tudor Court novels, bringing together both sets of books and illustrating the larger arc of history that the Wars of the Roses and the Tudor reign fit into.
I am so intrigued by Henry the VIII's reign so it's not surprising I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and provided such a unique perspective to the times. I actually didn't know much about the York family but after reading these I've started looking more into them and it's fascinating to me.
This book was just so well done. It was drawn out at times but listening to the audiobook helped speed things up.
This book was just so well done. It was drawn out at times but listening to the audiobook helped speed things up.
This was ok...had to finish the series! I thought it got kind of tedious toward the end. They just kept putting people in the tower.
I am not a devoted historical fiction reader, but I did enjoy these books. If I had it to do over again, I would read books 1,2 and 4 only and skip the others.
I am not a devoted historical fiction reader, but I did enjoy these books. If I had it to do over again, I would read books 1,2 and 4 only and skip the others.
This started off very slow, but it got sooo interesting!
I love the portrayal of Margaret Pole's life but it was sooo sad!
I didnt realise that Henry VIII had gotten sooo insane!
It was another good book by Ms Gregory :D
I love the portrayal of Margaret Pole's life but it was sooo sad!
I didnt realise that Henry VIII had gotten sooo insane!
It was another good book by Ms Gregory :D