Philippa Gregory

[wtfrenchtoast]

So I'm getting through the Cousins' War trilogy right now. I read The White Queen and The Red Queen about two years ago, but I saw the last one at the library a few weeks ago, so I'm rereading the whole thing. I'm maybe 2/3 through The Red Queen again and I just love it. I loved The White Queen too, but The Red Queen makes me think of FJ fundies so much. The book is from the POV of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, or King Henry VII. She's a really Godly woman, but it's all like, an act. She prays ostentatiously and obnoxiously often just to get people to see how very Christian she is. She's super jealous of Elizabeth Woodville, who is married to King Edward IV. The way Gregory writes her is hilarious because if Margaret Beaufort were alive today, she'd be a most snarkworthy fundie. She can't be content with praying and being secure in her own faith. She has to show it off to everyone. It's great.

 

Anyway, any other Philippa Gregory fans here? I got hooked with The Other Boleyn Girl and have tried to read all her historical fiction since. I don't think I've gotten through all of the Tudor Court novels, but I just love her style.

[StarrieEyedKat]

I LOVE her as an author. People get very pissy because she writes historical fiction and takes license with her characters, but I love the books. I've read The Other Boleyn Girl at least twice a year since I was in high school. The movie was horrible.

[samurai_sarah]

I haven't read most of her newer works. I stopped with "The Boleyn Inheritance" due to severe Tudor fatigue, but I loved "Wideacre" and "The Wise Woman". The protagonists were pretty horrible people who did some terrible things, so it was interesting for me how she managed to make me feel compassion for them at various points throughout the novels. Maybe it's a bit strong to say that I loved them, but they've definitely stayed with me. So much so that just this morning, I wondered where my copy of "Wideacre" went. But based on the recommendation, I may temporarily suspend my search, and buy the cousins-trilogy instead.

[Loveday]

I LOVE her as an author. People get very pissy because she writes historical fiction and takes license with her characters, but I love the books. I've read The Other Boleyn Girl at least twice a year since I was in high school. The movie was horrible.

:oops: I'm one of the pissy ones. :lol: For those reasons and because her more recent books have gotten too formulaic and superficial. She's churning them out too fast or something, can't quite put my finger on it. I did like a couple of her earlier books, though. And I totally agree with you on the movie of TOBG. Gaah, that was bad.

[shesinsane]

I loved the Other Boleyn Girl, and enjoyed The Queen's Fool and The Virgin's Lover, after that I started the Wideacre trilogy. I didn't care for it and stopped getting books just because Philippa Gregory's name on them.

I've read a few good historical fiction novels by David Liss. I really liked A Conspiracy of Paper (18th century London), A Spectacle of Corruption, and The Coffee Trader (17th century Amsterdam).

[samurai_sarah]

I loved the Other Boleyn Girl, and enjoyed The Queen's Fool and The Virgin's Lover, after that I started the Wideacre trilogy. I didn't care for it and stopped getting books just because Philippa Gregory's name on them.

I've read a few good historical fiction novels by David Liss. I really liked A Conspiracy of Paper (18th century London), A Spectacle of Corruption, and The Coffee Trader (17th century Amsterdam).

edited: I just realized that I mixed up "A Conspiracy of Paper" with "A Conspiracy of Violence". Hence, never mind. One is set in the 18th century, the other is set in the 17th century and contains a rather silly sub-plot about a violent turkey. Sorry about that. :oops:

[StarrieEyedKat]

:oops: I'm one of the pissy ones. :lol: For those reasons and because her more recent books have gotten too formulaic and superficial. She's churning them out too fast or something, can't quite put my finger on it. I did like a couple of her earlier books, though. And I totally agree with you on the movie of TOBG. Gaah, that was bad.

Lol, I didn't mean the pissy remark as a bad thing, there's definitely an argument that she strays a bit far from "real life" with her characters.

[wtfrenchtoast]

I don't mind that she takes some creative license with the characters. I really like the way she imagines most of them. I loved the Melusina story line in The White Queen, I thought it was very well done. I also like the hint of a love story between Margaret Beaufort and Jasper Tudor in The Red Queen.

SEK, I love The Other Boleyn Girl. I had a copy once, don't know what happened to it. But I'm probably going to reread the Tudor series when I'm done with the war of the roses. I didn't love the movie, but it's tolerable. I own it, and I'll watch it sometimes. Have you seen that BBC is making The White Queen a 10-hour mini series? I'm so excited!

[ADoyle90815]

I also got hooked on her books with The Other Boleyn Girl, and I agree that the movie was really bad. I know she takes liberties with her characters as far as history goes, but I still love her as an author. I just started the series about the War of the Roses, with The Red Queen, but I plan to read the rest. Another couple of books I enjoy are the English Civil War series, about the Tradescant gardeners.

[Deleted01]

I'm another one who gets pissy about her artistic license when she's writing historical fiction. Yes I understand it's fiction, but in the historical context you shouldn't make shit up that is that completely unreal. I'm a quasi-expert on the Tudor era (meaning I've read everything Alison Weir has written on the subject, as well as several other books) so when my Tudors get messed with, well, I get pissy. ;)

I read Wideacre and just hated the protagonist so much I was glad they killed her. I tried recently to read The Favored Child but I couldn't make myself like any of those characters well enough to care what happened to them. I gave up about 1/2 way through and gave it back to the library. I did like The Red Queen, though.

[LilMissMetaphor]

I loved the Other Boleyn Girl, and enjoyed The Queen's Fool and The Virgin's Lover, after that I started the Wideacre trilogy. I didn't care for it and stopped getting books just because Philippa Gregory's name on them.

I've read a few good historical fiction novels by David Liss. I really liked A Conspiracy of Paper (18th century London), A Spectacle of Corruption, and The Coffee Trader (17th century Amsterdam).

I liked The Coffee Trader, too, but my father, who is Dutch, said it was terribly written. I'm going to give Liss another try with The Twelfth Enchantment.

[Maude]

I love her books. I'm currently reading The Virgin's Lover and hoping to finish up the Tudor Court series by November. I've also read Wideacre, Virgin Earth and The Cousins' War series sans the latest, The Kingmaker's Daughter, which I hope to read before the year is out. The creative license doesn't bother me so much because it's fiction uncontested. I don't think you can or should reasonably go into fiction expecting a point for point biopic.

[Paisy]

She's 100% responsible for my Tudor obsession.

[MaroonMandy]

I really like her books too and I don't mind that they're not completely historically accurate. It takes me for ever to read the books, because I'm constantly looking up family trees, timelines, reading account of events she talks about, etc. so I feel like I really learn something while reading her books.

[Deleted01]

She's 100% responsible for my Tudor obsession.

Alison Weir's fiction is really good, too. Actually, her non-fiction is quite readable, too. That woman can put words on a page.

[Paisy]

Alison Weir's fiction is really good, too. Actually, her non-fiction is quite readable, too. That woman can put words on a page.

Ohhh I'll have to check her out. Thank you.

[Loveday]

Ohhh I'll have to check her out. Thank you.

I'm still working my way through Weir's 'Captive Queen' (time constraints are making it slow going, not the book itself!), her Eleanor of Aquitaine novel. Really, really good. I enjoyed her Tudor novels, too, 'Innocent Traitor,' about Lady Jane Grey, and 'The Lady Elizabeth,' about Elizabeth I.

Her nonfiction is definitely readable, as PixieDust said. My favourite is 'Mistress of the Monarchy,' about Katherine Swynford, who was mistress to the Duke of Lancaster in the 14th century and had several children by him, some of whose descendants eventually came to the English throne. Better than a soap opera, that story! ;)

[ceg045]

I've read most of her books, but even as a medieval/Renaissance history buff, I've gotten pretty sick of the Tudors in recent years, so reading her has felt like more of an obligation as a historical fiction fan. Glad she's moving onto the Plantagenets, though she'd be hard to beat Sharon Kay Penman in that category.

I did love the Wideacre trilogy, however. I'm a sucker for dark novels, and I get a sort of perverse pleasure out of hating a protagonist--too many Mary Sues these days.

[Loveday]

I've read most of her books, but even as a medieval/Renaissance history buff, I've gotten pretty sick of the Tudors in recent years, so reading her has felt like more of an obligation as a historical fiction fan. Glad she's moving onto the Plantagenets, though she'd be hard to beat Sharon Kay Penman in that category.

I did love the Wideacre trilogy, however. I'm a sucker for dark novels, and I get a sort of perverse pleasure out of hating a protagonist--too many Mary Sues these days.

Weir does her best, but she's no match for Sharon Kay Penman in the Plantagenet department. :lol:

[aquitana]

I just finished "The Kingmaker's daughter" another one in the "Cousin's War" series, about Anne Neville, who ended up married to Richard III. I agree she's churning them out too fast, this last one, especially, I enjoyed but felt like she was rushing to finish it. I grabbed it off the shelf of the library, so didn't have to buy it.

They're my quilty pleasure, my junk food.

I've read Allison Weir's fiction and non-fiction too, it's excellent.

I also recommend Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, the most sympathetic portrait I've ever read of Cromwell.

[Maude]

So much historical fiction, so little time! With all the recommendations here, I'm going to be swimming in it for a while longer yet! (And I'm okay with that). :lol: Thank you!