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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
Philippa Gregory's Plantagenet novels are still keeping the high standard I found in The White Queen. Here Margaret Pole gets to tell her story, and we get to witness the heartbreak that Henry VIII caused his country from another perspective.
A woman's view
A compelling look into the life and death of Margaret Pole. She went through a lot just trying to live her life and raise her children. I'm not sure I need to say **spoiler alert** but it doesn't end well.
A compelling look into the life and death of Margaret Pole. She went through a lot just trying to live her life and raise her children. I'm not sure I need to say **spoiler alert** but it doesn't end well.
I always have to be in a mood for Gregory's books - which I enjoy, but they are some thick books. I didn't know much about Margaret Pole (or any of those involved in the War of Roses), but have been obsessed with Henry and his six wives since grade school.
That being said, the Cousin's War series, was some great insight for me. I've enjoyed a majority of the series (and two that were meh) and I thought this was a nice ending to that. Still, there were chunks of it that outright bored me and I still think her Tudor books were all-around better written.
That being said, the Cousin's War series, was some great insight for me. I've enjoyed a majority of the series (and two that were meh) and I thought this was a nice ending to that. Still, there were chunks of it that outright bored me and I still think her Tudor books were all-around better written.
Herdeira dos Plantageneta, Margarida, foi sempre vista como uma ameaça e é sempre mantida por perto mas longe, foi também muitas vezes tratada de forma injusta, no entanto, sempre leal, com uma fé inabalável e com uma capacidade para se reerguer fora de série.
Foi dama de companhia e muito próxima de Catarina de Aragão, o que levou a que fosse muitas vezes, durante toda a sua vida, a ser confrontada sobre a quem prestar lealdade.
Esta é a parte da história que nos traz um Henrique VIII tirano, inseguro, muitas vezes com medo, inconsequente, sem piedade, mulherengo, instável, brutal e corrupto. Sobre o jovem e belo príncipe, visto como salvador do país, que se transformou num velho gordo, sozinho, à sombra de uma maldição, é também a história do verdadeiro déspota.
Margarida, apesar de não ter tido uma vida tão interessante como todas as outras mulheres que conhecemos até agora, é homenageada neste livro num tributo a esta e a todas as mulheres que recusam aceitar o castigo que lhes é imposto de forma injusta e cruel.
Não foi dos livros que me cativou mais, arrastei a leitura durante algum tempo, embora já não seja a primeira vez que a Gregory repete a mesma parte da história sob outro ponto de vista, desta vez infelizmente não achei a vida da Margarida Pole tão interessante assim, embora tenha acabado por perceber toda a relevância da personagem no final.
Foi dama de companhia e muito próxima de Catarina de Aragão, o que levou a que fosse muitas vezes, durante toda a sua vida, a ser confrontada sobre a quem prestar lealdade.
Esta é a parte da história que nos traz um Henrique VIII tirano, inseguro, muitas vezes com medo, inconsequente, sem piedade, mulherengo, instável, brutal e corrupto. Sobre o jovem e belo príncipe, visto como salvador do país, que se transformou num velho gordo, sozinho, à sombra de uma maldição, é também a história do verdadeiro déspota.
Margarida, apesar de não ter tido uma vida tão interessante como todas as outras mulheres que conhecemos até agora, é homenageada neste livro num tributo a esta e a todas as mulheres que recusam aceitar o castigo que lhes é imposto de forma injusta e cruel.
Não foi dos livros que me cativou mais, arrastei a leitura durante algum tempo, embora já não seja a primeira vez que a Gregory repete a mesma parte da história sob outro ponto de vista, desta vez infelizmente não achei a vida da Margarida Pole tão interessante assim, embora tenha acabado por perceber toda a relevância da personagem no final.
Fictionalized history done well is always a rare treat. This is a great read if you are familiar with Tudor history and its political players (of which there are many). This novel is from the point of view of Lady Margaret Pole, one of the Plantagenets and the oldest victim of Henry VIII's execution frenzy. Really enjoyed being at the center of the Tudor Court from the White Rose perspective-very imaginative, yet true to historical events.
Trust me: with all of the historical fiction stories on the market about Henry VIII’s reign of terror during the Tudor dynasty, it is refreshing to find a storyline that delves into areas besides the king’s numerous marriages. The King’s Curse is narrated by Margaret Pole, a member of the Plantagenet family deposed by the victorious Tudors, and cousin to Henry’s mother, Elizabeth of York. When the book begins, it is Prince Arthur who is the hope of House Tudor now that his marriage to the Spanish Infanta Katherine of Aragon is to take place. Margaret’s husband is Arthur’s guardian in Wales, which places her in the castle during the brief marriage between the young royals before disaster strikes. The tale continues on from there, following Margaret as her loyalty to Katherine and the eventual Princess Mary takes her in and out of the Tudor’s good graces. Through it all, she must remember that her name is a brand on her person, always placing herself and her family in danger of those who feel the need to eliminate the possibility of another claim to the crown.
Margaret’s account includes the marriages of Henry to Katherine, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleaves, and Katherine Howard; as stories note about the king’s numerous marriages there is a loss of favor as death after death visits these women due to their inability to give Henry a male heir. But what is notable about The King’s Curse is that it also covers topics that I have not read about frequently. For example, the story includes the war on religion Henry begins so he can receive his way no matter what. I have always known of the way he removed Catholicism from England so he might be head of the Church of England, but I never truly knew about the extent he traveled to do so along with all of the repercussions of what happened. I’m sure the web extended even farther than the brutality and corruption covered in this book, but I was very interested in the dissolution of monasteries, priories, and religious relics, along with how people would try to defy him and fight back.
I leave this book with a greater interest in Henry’s reign in areas other than his marriages. As a historical fiction reader this is what I want.
Margaret’s account includes the marriages of Henry to Katherine, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleaves, and Katherine Howard; as stories note about the king’s numerous marriages there is a loss of favor as death after death visits these women due to their inability to give Henry a male heir. But what is notable about The King’s Curse is that it also covers topics that I have not read about frequently. For example, the story includes the war on religion Henry begins so he can receive his way no matter what. I have always known of the way he removed Catholicism from England so he might be head of the Church of England, but I never truly knew about the extent he traveled to do so along with all of the repercussions of what happened. I’m sure the web extended even farther than the brutality and corruption covered in this book, but I was very interested in the dissolution of monasteries, priories, and religious relics, along with how people would try to defy him and fight back.
I leave this book with a greater interest in Henry’s reign in areas other than his marriages. As a historical fiction reader this is what I want.
I enjoyed this as much as the last few Philippa Gregory's I have read (apart from Lady of the Rivers, which I found less engaging than the rest of "The Cousins' War" series). The King's Curse covers from Henry VIII's rise to the throne until his marriage to Ann of Cleves... Highly recommended for anyone who likes reading about the Tudor period, or historical novels in general.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Of course it's important to remember that this is historical fiction and, frankly, that just because she earned a PhD in history doesn't mean that it's more historical than fictional; she is not working in the field (and a graduate degree is just the beginning of one's training in any case). That said, this was a fun read, and it was especially interesting to read it whilst watching the BBC production of Wolf Hall. You would not think the two Thomas Cromwells were the same Thomas Cromwell, though I don't know if that's because Mantel is especially sympathetic or Gregory especially hostile, or both. I find historical fiction valuable for perhaps an unusual reason: I have an awful memory (odd for someone who studied history and then law), and historical fiction helps me remember things, the real things, the larger scaffolding that isn't fictional in either case (names and dates, sequence of persons on the throne, titles, it gets so confusing in Tudor England, and Gregory helps cement the details in my head). Read widely enough in historical fiction, and it's easier to remember the fictional details (*as* fiction, to be sure) because they are such amusing points of departure. Reading this, though, sent me back to my true history books, and I had to reread Scarisbrick next.