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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
A beautiful pov story about Margaret Pole, who gives a new perspective on the Tudor heritage and Henry VIII. It overlaps and intertwines with The Constant Princess, but allows for a story continuation and more information. Amazingly strong woman who has known so much sorrow in her life. Really quite a recommendation if you'd like a different perspective on (most of) Henry VIII's reign. What a horrible bastard was that man.
I haven't really fallen in love with a Philippa Gregory book the way I did with The King's Curse since [b:The White Queen|5971165|The White Queen (The Cousins' War, #1)|Philippa Gregory|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406950364s/5971165.jpg|13560666]. Lady Margaret Pole is just as intriguing and fascinating as Queen Elizabeth Woodville or [b:The Queen's Fool|252499|The Queen's Fool (The Tudor Court, #4)|Philippa Gregory|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399204116s/252499.jpg|1024199]'s Hannah Green. I felt much more invested in her story than I have in the characters of any of her other recent books (Queen Elizabeth of York and Queen Mary of Scots come to mind).
Another reader commented that the sense of Henry VIII's paranoia was really heightened in this books, and I agree. It almost felt like a mystery, in more of a cat-and-mouse game than anything else. Henry, of course, is the cat, and Margaret the mouse -- the only one of her family who lived an extraordinarily long life by evading her royal family members when she needed to most. Her view of five reigns -- both her uncles, her cousin, her cousin's husband, and her cousin's son -- is varied and depicted remarkably well.
Brava, Philippa Gregory. I think you've given me another liking for your books. Overall: 9.5/10 (because it did drag a little bit).
Another reader commented that the sense of Henry VIII's paranoia was really heightened in this books, and I agree. It almost felt like a mystery, in more of a cat-and-mouse game than anything else. Henry, of course, is the cat, and Margaret the mouse -- the only one of her family who lived an extraordinarily long life by evading her royal family members when she needed to most. Her view of five reigns -- both her uncles, her cousin, her cousin's husband, and her cousin's son -- is varied and depicted remarkably well.
Brava, Philippa Gregory. I think you've given me another liking for your books. Overall: 9.5/10 (because it did drag a little bit).
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 stars. Definitely my least favorite in the series.
Page Turner. You know it’s not all true, but you don’t even care. Very good at capturing the emotions of the time and the womens’ perspective of the court.
This book connects the Cousins War series with the Tudor series, timeline-wise. It's told through the eyes of Margaret Plantaganet, who was for most of her life on the wrong side of history as it were. This is what it adds to the already well known narrative of King Henry VIII's descent from golden prince into mad tyrant. I think this quote from the author's note sums up quite nicely the view this novel takes:
"Margaret went to the scaffold without a charge, a trial, or even adequate notice... Her execution was clumsy, perhaps because of an incompetent executioner, perhaps because she refused to put her head down on the block. As a tribute to her, and to all women who refuse to take punishment meted out to them in an unjust world, I have described her in this novel as dying as she may have lived - resisting the Tudor tyranny."
It's decently written and obviously scrupulously researched, and if you go into it realizing that this is one guess as to how it might have gone, woven in amongst the facts as they are generally accepted, then you should find it an interesting addition to the Tudor narrative.
"Margaret went to the scaffold without a charge, a trial, or even adequate notice... Her execution was clumsy, perhaps because of an incompetent executioner, perhaps because she refused to put her head down on the block. As a tribute to her, and to all women who refuse to take punishment meted out to them in an unjust world, I have described her in this novel as dying as she may have lived - resisting the Tudor tyranny."
It's decently written and obviously scrupulously researched, and if you go into it realizing that this is one guess as to how it might have gone, woven in amongst the facts as they are generally accepted, then you should find it an interesting addition to the Tudor narrative.