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dandelionfluff 's review for:
The King's Curse
by Philippa Gregory
This took me a little while to get through, more because of the length and narrative style than anything. While I appreciate learning about Tudor England, I couldn't help but feel this was more a history lesson veiled in fiction. The character voices are all fairly similar, and even after 600+ pages of reading, I never had a sense of who Margaret is. Yes, she's a Plantagenet, yes, she is royal by birth, yes, she has property, connections, etc, but what about her as an individual makes her great? I suppose I just never understood her as a person, like everything is written at arm's length.
What also struck me was how major events are related with pretty tepid emotion. The "life goes on" mentality, even when the Pope's being held captive and who knows what is on the horizon. There are moments of clarity where events are related with wonderful, biting emotion, and I feel, judging by other reviews, that people wish Gregory would return to her earlier style of writing. I have an inkling that, perhaps, she set out to complete this daunting series and became a bit disenchanted with it. Write to relate a story and get work done, but missing passion. (She's lovely, by the way. Read her interviews on here and elsewhere-- she definitely knows what she's doing, and is very much a professional.)
Oh, and the curse isn't really a huge part of the story. Even when it's brought up, it's more of a wiggly-finger "oOoOoo the cuuurse, don't talk about it or you'll be accused of treeeason." Curse or no, there are many people vying for power, and that's enough for some major sh*t to go down.
I did learn so much about the Tudors and this part of English history, though, and for that I'm thankful. Of course, you have to do some cross-referencing to make sure you're not becoming tangled in fiction, but it's worth the Google.
On the whole, if you're willing to forgive liberties taken with history as we think we know it, and want to dedicate yourself to a longer (fictional) look at the Tudors, you very well might enjoy yourself.
What also struck me was how major events are related with pretty tepid emotion. The "life goes on" mentality, even when the Pope's being held captive and who knows what is on the horizon. There are moments of clarity where events are related with wonderful, biting emotion, and I feel, judging by other reviews, that people wish Gregory would return to her earlier style of writing. I have an inkling that, perhaps, she set out to complete this daunting series and became a bit disenchanted with it. Write to relate a story and get work done, but missing passion. (She's lovely, by the way. Read her interviews on here and elsewhere-- she definitely knows what she's doing, and is very much a professional.)
Oh, and the curse isn't really a huge part of the story. Even when it's brought up, it's more of a wiggly-finger "oOoOoo the cuuurse, don't talk about it or you'll be accused of treeeason." Curse or no, there are many people vying for power, and that's enough for some major sh*t to go down.
I did learn so much about the Tudors and this part of English history, though, and for that I'm thankful. Of course, you have to do some cross-referencing to make sure you're not becoming tangled in fiction, but it's worth the Google.
On the whole, if you're willing to forgive liberties taken with history as we think we know it, and want to dedicate yourself to a longer (fictional) look at the Tudors, you very well might enjoy yourself.