The Queen's Fool: A Novel (Boleyn) by Philippa Gregory
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Book Reviews of The Queen's Fool: A Novel (Boleyn)
Book Review: Why the bad reviews?
Summary: 5 Stars
Philippa Gregory is great...and this book is no exception. Dismayed by the bad reviews, I read the next book-Virgin's Lover. These two books are very different, and you'll probably like one more than the other. Queen's Fool is more character-based on Hannah's life. There are about 100 pages solely devoted to Hannah without any court intrigue (which many people enjoyed in Other Boleyn's Girl/why they think its boring). There is also a lot about the battle of Calais, which may be boring to some (I liked it). The book consists of little snapshot incidents, like the Spanish king insulting the English, etc.
The Virgin's Lover, on the other hand, has a lot more court/romance than this book. It centers more around Elizabeth and her affair with Robert Dudley. To me, I got tired of hearing about them sneaking around-we got it the first 20 times, Philippa! That part was very similar to OBG. The Virgin's Lover also has more foreign policy/what to do in this war/secret plotting. The Queen's Fool is not all about the secret dealing-Hannah's only privy to what part she and her lord play in the deal, and what the public knows.
To the other reviewer who commented about Elizabeth at 14-I agree with you to some extent, but readers shouldn't be dismayed by it. The incident is only about the first three to five pages (really!). It's not a major point in a book of about 500 pages.
In short, do not pass over this book!! Even if only to read them in order, you'll enjoy this book!
Book Review: Another Excellent Historical Novel by Gregory!
Summary: 5 Stars
I finished The Other Boleyn Girl last week and went right on to The Queen's Fool, and again, couldn't put the book down, finishing it in less than 48 hours. Like The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool tells the story of great events in Tudor history--in this case, the great succession battles between the death of Henry's only son, Edward, through the final ascension of Elizabeth. The most surprising part of the book to me was the great sympathy I came to feel for Queen "Bloody" Mary, who came to the throne wanting to rule wisely and mercifully and who became a despised tyrant, burning Protestant heretics and executing anyone suspected of plotting against her. Gregory shows how Mary's circumstances lead her almost inevitably to the horrific outcomes, yet you feel sorry for her and repelled at the same time. And like Gregory's previous book, the great events are viewed through someone watching from the sidelines and caught up against their will--in this case, Hannah Green, a converso fleeing the Inquisition in Spain, whose gift of foretelling the future makes her Robert Dudley's servant and spy in two great royal households, while trying to make sense of her own life and hidden faith. I loved this book as much as The Other Boleyn Girl and recommend both highly, and can't wait to tackle more of Philippa Gregory's backlist.Book Review: One of my favorites
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book. My favorite Gregory novel is The Other Boleyn Girl, and this comes a close second.
Other reviewers have criticized the author for her portrayals of Mary and Elizabeth in this book, but everyone needs to keep in mind that we are viewing these women through Hannah's eyes, and this is fiction, not a historical textbook.
Hannah is a very likeable character, who struggles throughout the book to come to terms with her gift of sight, her religious faith and her place in the world as a woman.
In this book, as in The Other Boleyn Girl, it's the slow-building, passionate love story that touches me the most. The love story of Hannah and Daniel is very well-written and is my favorite part of the book. It is easy to see what draws them to each other and what keeps them apart. Though the road is bumpy, I was very pleased with the ending.
My only complaint would be that I thought the book ended a few pages too soon. (In fact, I would love to see a sequel about the next chapter in Hannah's life.) After everything Hannah went through to discover what she truly wanted, and after everything she went through to get it, I would have liked to see a more passionate ending and a little more assurance that Hannah's future would be as happy as I wanted it to be.
Book Review: Religous terror
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a big, scrumptious read for lovers of history and for lovers of the work of Philippa Gregory, who is queen of the stories of Tudor times. Hannah Green is a 14 year old Jewish girl who has escaped the fires of the Spanish inquisition with her father, to settle in London. Her mother was burned at the stake as a heretical Marrano, a Jewish convert to Catholicism. Father and daughter live in their place of business, a printing shop, with Hannah permanently dressed as a boy for the sake of safety. When the young King Edward dies, his throne is taken by his elder sister Mary, daughter of Henry V111 and Katherine of Aragon, and who is a fanatically devout Catholic who sets up the burning fields of Smithfield, to torture and burn alive, anyone who is declared to be not totally devoted to the cause of Catholicism. Hannah has the gift of "Sight" and is used by both Queen Mary and her sister, Princess Elizabeth, as a "Holy Fool", to foresee the future, but manages to tread a careful path between both of them. It's a big, informative book with fascinating glimpses into life at Court in treacherous times, as courtiers and citizens alike change their religions and allegiances to suit that of the reigning monarch. It's a wonderful read and one which ended too soon for my liking.Book Review: My Favorite Historical Fiction Novel!
Summary: 5 Stars
I LOVE this book, it's absolutely amazing. I read The Other Boleyn Girl first, because it had to do with Anne Boleyn due to the fact that I very much admire her, and that novel blew me away, so I decided to go on and read some more of her works. I fell in love with The Queen's Fool, which I feel a connection to in a way because I myself am Jewish. When Hannah's early life is being explained, you find that her mother was burned as a heretic in Spain, and that Jews were called "Marranos." That word was used for Jewish people during that time period to show the complete hatred the Spanish, and the world really, had for them. It means swine. The detail is wonderful, and I adored the relationship between Hannah and her betrothed. I love how it grows and matures as Hannah herself grows and matures. It really is a fantastic book with a beautiful story inside. Gregory's portrayal of Mary is off, yes, but I can see why she did that. Mary Tudor did not actually burn those she considered heretics because it was a good old time, but because she truly believed she was doing the right thing, what both God and the Pope would want her to do. Am I sympathetic with Mary now? No. But an author does have their own creative rights and views in a fictional novel, based on history or not.