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sabmanosa 's review for:
The King's Curse
by Philippa Gregory
Slower than the other novels in the Plantagenet and Tudor books (at least as I’ve read thus far), the book focuses on Queen Elizabeth’s cousin, Margaret Pole.
I found it not as exciting to read, and a lot harder to stomach, because Henry VIII’s cruelty and anger towards the numerous women, subjects, and friends in his life was so fierce. Through Margaret’s eyes, we see Catherine being pushed away from court, Mary being disowned, Henry killing the first of two wives, and treating his subjects with childlike anger and frustration.
Since she was close to the royal family, but not in it, most of her reports were second hand (especially after she fell out of favor) and just not as exciting to me. I also found the intertwining of The King’s Curse from The White Queen a little too forced since though it affected parts of Margaret’s life, she wasn’t directly suffering from it. (If her execution was explained as Henry’s fears from his lack of a male heir and him wanting to put down then possible Plantagenets that may rise, then it would’ve made more sense, but she didn’t really lament on this at the end).
All in all, a good book to fill in the missing pieces in the Tudor story, but not the most engaging character.
I found it not as exciting to read, and a lot harder to stomach, because Henry VIII’s cruelty and anger towards the numerous women, subjects, and friends in his life was so fierce. Through Margaret’s eyes, we see Catherine being pushed away from court, Mary being disowned, Henry killing the first of two wives, and treating his subjects with childlike anger and frustration.
Since she was close to the royal family, but not in it, most of her reports were second hand (especially after she fell out of favor) and just not as exciting to me. I also found the intertwining of The King’s Curse from The White Queen a little too forced since though it affected parts of Margaret’s life, she wasn’t directly suffering from it. (If her execution was explained as Henry’s fears from his lack of a male heir and him wanting to put down then possible Plantagenets that may rise, then it would’ve made more sense, but she didn’t really lament on this at the end).
All in all, a good book to fill in the missing pieces in the Tudor story, but not the most engaging character.