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: How can I like this more than Philippa Gregory's Boleyn stories??
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know how it's possible that I liked "The Queen's Fool" even more than "The Other Boleyn Girl", and "The Boleyn Inheritance" which I loved. I think it's partially the addition of Hannah Green the young jewish girl escaping the Spanish Inquisition and becoming the Queen's Fool, telling the story. Having Hannah tell the story introduces how great an effect all the european countries and their politics have on other European countries.
I am sure it is also the fact that these stories build on each other, with characters whose families and circumstances are already familiar from the book before. I encourage you to read in sequence - and I encourage you to READ these stories and learn some history. Even if it is couched in some fiction, you still learn and this way is so much more fun. My friends are now as hooked as I am -- this many people can't all be wrong.
Book Review: Very entertaining
Summary: 5 Stars
I have really become fond of Philippa Gregory. With Gregory, the reader can indulge a love of history, but still be entertained with a good story and interesting characters. The Queen's Fool is no exception.
Told from the vantage point of Hannah Verde, a clairvoyant, the reader experiences the death of Edward and the ascention of Mary Tudor. Hannah still has many of her own adventures outside of court life, but her connection with the ruling class is always at the forefront of this tale.
This book should be read after The Other Boleyn Girl, and it should be noted that it briefly overlaps The Virgin's Lover. I am really looking forward to Gregory's next work, The Boleyn Inheritance, because she will be examining Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard. And, if you like Gregory, be sure to try Jean Plaidy, who also wrote about Henry VIII's wives.
Book Review: A Fool No More
Summary: 5 Stars
Another drama of the Tudors by Philippa Gregory. I enjoyed this one more than "The Other Boleyn Girl" because the main character had spunk and independence, unusual for a girl in those days. Although a vassal to a Lord with his own agenda, she developed a deep love for Queen Mary and was a loyal friend to her through all her suffering. For the first time, I got a clear picture of the conflict between Mary and Elizabeth before and after the death of their young brother the King. Both made huge mistakes but were strong women to be reckoned with. Hannah serves both but is still her own woman. Very exciting events unfold as the balance of power shifts back and forth between these two woman and their supporters. Adding to the drama is the fact that Hannah and her family are Jews passing as Christians during a time when heretics were burned at the stake.Book Review: A world of contrasts
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a fantastic piece of historical fiction. Other people have written on the plot, so I won't bore you or insult your intelligence with my interpretation. Philippa Gregory is one of the most historically accurate authors I have read in a long time. She manages to make the story seem like a living, breathing thing, where the reader shares his experiences with the characters. Hannah Green is a wonderful, complex young woman who is caught between childhood and adulthood, Christianity and Judaism, her desires and what she feels is her duty, and between life as a commoner and life at the court of Mary I and Elizabeth, in the role of "fool." It is a book of extremes, of light and dark; the choices Hannah makes have an impact not just on herself, but on the people around here. The Tudor era, vibrant in reality, is here rendered in exquisite detail.Book Review: Gregory is no fool...5 Star read
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't give out 5 stars for many books, but "The Queen's Fool" is worthy. An excellent ficitional account, from the perspective of Hannah Greene, an adolescent girl, blessed with "the sight". She is a practicing Christian, but at heart a Jew, hiding her religion for fear of reprisal and punishement. Hannah becomes The Queen's Fool, and lives her life at Court, witnessing history as it happens.I was not familiar with all of the history of the period, Queen Mary, Elizabeth, Robert Dudley, etc. but it was riveting. I could not put this book down and spent 3 late nights reading (well worth it!!)
Gregory brings this time period to life, with wonderful descriptions, dialogue and a great story. I highly recommend this book. Lose yourself in the past...time well spent.