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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
I often find these stories to be repetitive because they condense an entire life of ups and downs into short chapters that highlight the most dramatic moments, but this one really had a whopper of an ending that I don't think we've seen from Gregory. This was a much better offering in the Cousin's War series than Book 5, The White Princess. Recommended.
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is #6 in COUSINS' WAR series, but can be read as a stand-alone. Audio version received Earphones award and is very good. The story revolved around Margaret Pole, who amazingly went from most-favored status to outcast and back, depending on who was king and who was queen. The contrast in her status at different times was truly amazing, from poverty to royal favors. Her brother (a Plantagenent) was killed to clear the way for the Tudors to gain the throne. Her brother's death made it clear to her just how precarious life was for her and her family. Margaret showed skillful knowledge and applications of protocols and politics to advance her and her children's lives. Women especially were subject to the unfair laws and whims of men, and this story illustrates many, many women who suffered. Philippa Gregory did a good job of researching and bringing to life this slice of history in the time of Henry VIII. This is an excellent book to learn more about daily life in the period of Henry VIII. The pages of family trees on the first few pages help the reader keep the characters straight, though it wasn't super important to know all of the characters in the first fourth of the book. I went online to look at the beginning pages of this book since I listened to the audio version.
I felt like this book would never end. I don't know if it's because I've read so many of her novels lately that I'm becoming less enchanted but the style felt much more journal/diary. For a woman who was sainted by the Catholic Church, Margaret Pole seemed to resist any actions that would place her or her family in danger, which makes sense but doesn't make for a very interesting story. if this book was meant to explain why she was one of two women given titles in their own right and then sainted by the Catholic Church, it fails. Given that this is fiction, it would've also been nice to spice up her life with something other than child rearing and grain harvests.
This book was super interesting and definitely hooked me. I didn’t really know what to expect from this as I thought it would just focus on Henry the eighth not having a son, but it really focused on Margaret Plantagenet and how she spent her life fearing for her life and for her family because of who she was born and that she has a claim for the throne!
I really felt for this character and I just wanted to tell her it was going to be ok, but it really wasn’t going to be because she would have always been a threat! It was cool to hear about her life because she is a character from history that we don’t really hear a lot about! So it was nice to read about a more-so unknown character (even though I already knew about her history).
I definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun historical fiction read!
I really felt for this character and I just wanted to tell her it was going to be ok, but it really wasn’t going to be because she would have always been a threat! It was cool to hear about her life because she is a character from history that we don’t really hear a lot about! So it was nice to read about a more-so unknown character (even though I already knew about her history).
I definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun historical fiction read!
'Henry the king goes too fast for me in a way that Henry the prince never did. For Henry the prince was quick and clever but Henry the king is as fast and as cunning as a madman: wildly decisive.'
Plot
Margaret Pole spends her young life struggling to free her brother, arrested as a child, from the Tower of London. The Tower – symbol of the Tudor usurpation of her family’s throne – haunts Margaret’s dreams until the day that her brother is executed on the orders of Henry VII.
Because of her dangerous Plantagenet name, Margaret is buried in marriage to Sir Richard Pole, governor of Wales. Margaret's life is changed however, when Prince Arthur and his beautiful new bride, Katherine of Aragon arrive to live in her household.
Tragedy throws Margaret into poverty, luck returns her to favour at the King's court when she becomes chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine. As the young King becomes increasingly paranoid of his rivals, he turns his fearful attention towards Margaret and her family.
Margaret must choose where her loyalties lie; with the increasingly tyrannical king, or with her beloved Queen and Princess. Margaret now has to find her own way, and hide her knowledge of a curse on the Tudors, which seems to be coming true.
My thoughts
This is the sixth and final book in The Cousin's War series by Phillipa Gregory. The series tells the story of six different women who are close to the throne of England, and have a lot to lose should they find themselves on the losing side.
This story is told through Margaret Pole, daughter to George Duke of Clarence, and niece to two former Kings; Edward IV and Richard III. She was also a close friend and cousin to Elizabeth of York, the wife of King Henry VII and mother to Henry VIII.
When Henry VII killed King Richard at the battle of Bosworth, Margaret's great Plantagenet name became dangerous. She's able to marry a lowly Knight and hide her name, but her younger brother isn't so lucky and is executed by a paranoid king.
This book really tells the story of the rise of Henry VIII, as Margaret watches him grow from a loving little boy eager to outdo his older brother, to a paranoid and tyrannical king. It's interesting to see how his mind and his health decline throughout this book. The people of England rejoiced when he ascended to the throne after the death of his father Henry VII, as Henry VII was greedy, and feared by many. The young king is kind, and dotes on his new wife, his brother's widow Katherine of Aragon.
However, after years of miscarriages and early deaths of his children, Henry grows paranoid that God does not approve of his marriage to Katherine and seeks to cast her aside, as he believes that she can't give him a healthy son.
Margaret is put in a very difficult situation, as she loves the Queen Katherine very dearly, but she can't be seen to oppose the king or she'll risk the death of herself and of her children. Putting the Queen aside also means disinheriting the Princess Mary, who has been raised as a Princess of England, and won't give up her title easily.
I've really enjoyed all of the previous books in this series, and this was no different. For some reason this one took me a long time to read, although it's around the same length as the previous books. There were times when the story seemed to drag out a bit, and I did want it to hurry up at times, but it always kept my attention. I've always had an interest in the reign of Henry VIII, ever since studying the Tudors in Primary School, and I found it fascinating to read Margaret's account of his assent to power, the descent of his mind, and the disappearance of the loving king that England hoped for.
Margaret Pole spends her young life struggling to free her brother, arrested as a child, from the Tower of London. The Tower – symbol of the Tudor usurpation of her family’s throne – haunts Margaret’s dreams until the day that her brother is executed on the orders of Henry VII.
Because of her dangerous Plantagenet name, Margaret is buried in marriage to Sir Richard Pole, governor of Wales. Margaret's life is changed however, when Prince Arthur and his beautiful new bride, Katherine of Aragon arrive to live in her household.
Tragedy throws Margaret into poverty, luck returns her to favour at the King's court when she becomes chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine. As the young King becomes increasingly paranoid of his rivals, he turns his fearful attention towards Margaret and her family.
Margaret must choose where her loyalties lie; with the increasingly tyrannical king, or with her beloved Queen and Princess. Margaret now has to find her own way, and hide her knowledge of a curse on the Tudors, which seems to be coming true.
My thoughts
This is the sixth and final book in The Cousin's War series by Phillipa Gregory. The series tells the story of six different women who are close to the throne of England, and have a lot to lose should they find themselves on the losing side.
This story is told through Margaret Pole, daughter to George Duke of Clarence, and niece to two former Kings; Edward IV and Richard III. She was also a close friend and cousin to Elizabeth of York, the wife of King Henry VII and mother to Henry VIII.
When Henry VII killed King Richard at the battle of Bosworth, Margaret's great Plantagenet name became dangerous. She's able to marry a lowly Knight and hide her name, but her younger brother isn't so lucky and is executed by a paranoid king.
This book really tells the story of the rise of Henry VIII, as Margaret watches him grow from a loving little boy eager to outdo his older brother, to a paranoid and tyrannical king. It's interesting to see how his mind and his health decline throughout this book. The people of England rejoiced when he ascended to the throne after the death of his father Henry VII, as Henry VII was greedy, and feared by many. The young king is kind, and dotes on his new wife, his brother's widow Katherine of Aragon.
However, after years of miscarriages and early deaths of his children, Henry grows paranoid that God does not approve of his marriage to Katherine and seeks to cast her aside, as he believes that she can't give him a healthy son.
Margaret is put in a very difficult situation, as she loves the Queen Katherine very dearly, but she can't be seen to oppose the king or she'll risk the death of herself and of her children. Putting the Queen aside also means disinheriting the Princess Mary, who has been raised as a Princess of England, and won't give up her title easily.
I've really enjoyed all of the previous books in this series, and this was no different. For some reason this one took me a long time to read, although it's around the same length as the previous books. There were times when the story seemed to drag out a bit, and I did want it to hurry up at times, but it always kept my attention. I've always had an interest in the reign of Henry VIII, ever since studying the Tudors in Primary School, and I found it fascinating to read Margaret's account of his assent to power, the descent of his mind, and the disappearance of the loving king that England hoped for.
In The King’s Curse, Ms. Gregory makes it extremely obvious that she is no fan of the Tudor family. In her ongoing version of the Cousins’ War, there is a good side and a bad side, and the Tudor family is most definitely the bad side. Her sympathy for the remaining Plantegenets, especially Margaret Pole, around whom the entire novel revolves, is not only obvious but also mentioned repeatedly. History is never as unequivocally black and white as Ms. Gregory makes it appear, which makes her portrayal of Henry VIII’s reign disturbing in its bias.
Then again, does anyone expect otherwise from a Ms. Gregory novel? She may pick fascinating subjects, but her storytelling does not bring history alive so much as it beats it to death with a blunt object. She has a way of driving home her point that is anything but subtle. Readers know they can skim the story or even skip entire sections without missing anything because she repeats herself so often.
She also tends to overdo the sympathy. Margaret Pole is on of the highest-born Plantagnents remaining in England. Having seen her brother executed as a threat to the Crown under Henry VII, she never forgets how perilous her situation is in the Tudor realm. Yet, Margaret is anything but humble and quiet. She is arrogant and smug. She prides herself on her lineage and detests anything that lowers her image in the eyes of the people. She may hate the king, and in many ways she does for what his family has done to hers and what he does to his wife and daughter, but she cannot stand to be away from court and outside of the king’s sphere of influence. She is about as unsympathetic as it gets given her propensity to worry over her material goods and her lineage more than anything else.
While Ms. Gregory’s novels always feature strong women who managed to dictate the terms in which they lived in spite of society being male-dominated, one gets the impression that there was not as much to Margaret Pole’s story as there was with some of her other characters. Yes, she was present at several key moments in history and rose up to become one of the wealthiest people, let alone women, in all of England. However, she does not do much other than dictate her sons’ actions. Much of the action occurs offstage because her sons are the ones doing all of the work. She boasts often of her ability to rule her lands, but even there, as a lady and owner of multiple estates, she is not doing any of the work but ordering others. Her lack of direct presence in most of the key proceedings makes for a rather dull story. It is difficult to feel her fear and confusion in this modern era, especially among readers for whom the idea of a monarchial rule is anathema to the society in which s/he was raised. In addition, since one sees little of the action directly but only as one of her sons is telling her what occurred, it is even more difficult to get caught up in her plight. Adding to the destructive mix is Margaret’s refusal to take action against the king. Much of the novel is her railing against Henry’s proclamations and rulings but doing nothing else. She is one of the first ones to capitulate and swear her allegiance over and over again. This lack of a backbone is unusual in a Gregory heroine and bothersome because in every other aspect of her life she is quite formidable.
Upon finishing The King’s Curse, one will not help but wonder if Ms. Gregory is finally ready to put the entire Plantagenent and Tudor line to rest. The stories have come full circle now as she ends much as she began, with Henry VIII and his quest for a male heir. In fact, most of The King’s Curse feels much like a rehashing of her earlier novels simply told from someone else’s point of view. Given how poorly written the story is and how unsympathetic Margaret Pole is throughout most of the novel, readers will not just wonder but hope that Ms. Gregory moves on to some other period in history. It is long past time to do so.
Then again, does anyone expect otherwise from a Ms. Gregory novel? She may pick fascinating subjects, but her storytelling does not bring history alive so much as it beats it to death with a blunt object. She has a way of driving home her point that is anything but subtle. Readers know they can skim the story or even skip entire sections without missing anything because she repeats herself so often.
She also tends to overdo the sympathy. Margaret Pole is on of the highest-born Plantagnents remaining in England. Having seen her brother executed as a threat to the Crown under Henry VII, she never forgets how perilous her situation is in the Tudor realm. Yet, Margaret is anything but humble and quiet. She is arrogant and smug. She prides herself on her lineage and detests anything that lowers her image in the eyes of the people. She may hate the king, and in many ways she does for what his family has done to hers and what he does to his wife and daughter, but she cannot stand to be away from court and outside of the king’s sphere of influence. She is about as unsympathetic as it gets given her propensity to worry over her material goods and her lineage more than anything else.
While Ms. Gregory’s novels always feature strong women who managed to dictate the terms in which they lived in spite of society being male-dominated, one gets the impression that there was not as much to Margaret Pole’s story as there was with some of her other characters. Yes, she was present at several key moments in history and rose up to become one of the wealthiest people, let alone women, in all of England. However, she does not do much other than dictate her sons’ actions. Much of the action occurs offstage because her sons are the ones doing all of the work. She boasts often of her ability to rule her lands, but even there, as a lady and owner of multiple estates, she is not doing any of the work but ordering others. Her lack of direct presence in most of the key proceedings makes for a rather dull story. It is difficult to feel her fear and confusion in this modern era, especially among readers for whom the idea of a monarchial rule is anathema to the society in which s/he was raised. In addition, since one sees little of the action directly but only as one of her sons is telling her what occurred, it is even more difficult to get caught up in her plight. Adding to the destructive mix is Margaret’s refusal to take action against the king. Much of the novel is her railing against Henry’s proclamations and rulings but doing nothing else. She is one of the first ones to capitulate and swear her allegiance over and over again. This lack of a backbone is unusual in a Gregory heroine and bothersome because in every other aspect of her life she is quite formidable.
Upon finishing The King’s Curse, one will not help but wonder if Ms. Gregory is finally ready to put the entire Plantagenent and Tudor line to rest. The stories have come full circle now as she ends much as she began, with Henry VIII and his quest for a male heir. In fact, most of The King’s Curse feels much like a rehashing of her earlier novels simply told from someone else’s point of view. Given how poorly written the story is and how unsympathetic Margaret Pole is throughout most of the novel, readers will not just wonder but hope that Ms. Gregory moves on to some other period in history. It is long past time to do so.