The Virgin's Lover (Boleyn) by Philippa Gregory
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Book Reviews of The Virgin's Lover (Boleyn)
Book Review: Not as good as her other books, but still interesting
Summary: 4 Stars
I so enjoy the writing style of Phillipa Gregory. This book was interesting, I just don't think she had as much "drama" to work with in this story as in the others, such as The Other Boleyn Girl.Book Review: Lovely Historical fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
I love Phippa Gregory's books and this one is equally good.. Elizabethan times and great background for a new tale.Book Review: Disappointing after Other Boleyn Girl and Queen's Fool
Summary: 3 Stars
I listened to this book as an abridged audiobook on CD, and my comments pertain to that edition.
I can't say enough good things about the first two of Philippa Gregory's books that I read, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool. Both take place in Tudor England, feature rich historical detail, and tell compelling and suspenseful stories of observers on the edges of one of the most fascinating periods of history.
I dislike abridged audiobooks, but since that is the only edition of The Virgin's Lover available, and since it came to me at an excellent price, I gave it a shot.
Unlike the previous two books, The Virgin's Lover does not tell the tale of an observer to a tumultuous period of English history, but that of two of its central figures: Elizabeth I and her lover Robert Dudley, in the period immediately after Elizabeth has taken the throne of England. The obstacles facing the young queen are daunting: she is female, she is opposed by the Catholic church for her Protestantism (along with many of her subjects), England is caught between two far greater powers of the time, France and Spain, and very well end up a vassal state to one or the other by military might or by Elizabeth's marriage. The responsibility to steer the nation through all these obstacles falls on the shoulders of a very young woman, and on top of all of that, she must make a good and strategically valuable marriage. But she is in love with a completely unsuitable suitor: the very married Robert Dudley, descendant of a family whose loyalty to the throne has been in question as recently as the last generation. While he is the epitome of the Tudor gentleman's ideal--excellent horseman, fine figure, cultured--he cannot be the king or consort that will secure Elizabeth's throne and England's future. In fact, he could bring down both.
This would be a more tragic tale if either Elizabeth or Dudley were sympathetic characters. But Dudley is full of himself and completely selfish. All he can see is his own potential for glory. He may genuinely love Elizabeth, but even she cannot replace his first love--himself and his own ambitions. And Elizabeth comes off looking terrible--impetuous, whining, repeating over and over again that she can't bear it, whether "it" is the responsibility for the nation or sending Dudley away. On the edges are two more sympathetic characters: Amy Dudley, Robert's long suffering wife, and Cecil, Elizabeth's sage advisor who is ruthless in doing what needs to be done to save his queen and his country, but who has the best interests of both at heart.
The biggest problem with this book was its deeply sagging middle. THe abridged audio edition is 5 discs. Disc one sets up the situation nicely, and disc 5 has a great deal of suspense as the inevitable consequences play themselves out. In between is stagnant, with the same situation replaying over and over--Dudley and Elizabeth in frantic love/lust, trying to figure out how to make it work or get free of the situation, interspersed with political intrigue as Elizabeth vacillates over the questions of marriage, diplomacy with France and Spain, and what must be done to protect England from a Scottish/French invasion. AFter a while I thought I might literally start grinding my teeth if Elizabeth made a decision, called it back, and then moaned "Cecil, I can't bear it!" one more time.
I allow that part of my difficulty might be the abridgement. The full edition might have subplots or scenes that engender greater sympathy for the two lead characters, or at least that spread out the scenes of "I love you but we can't do this/Oh, call my armies back!" to make them less repetitive. But I think that part of the problem is that unlike Mary Boleyn and Hannah the queen's fool, Elizabeth and Robert are well known historical figures. We know how the story will end so much of the suspense is gone. Couple that with the fact that neither lead is terribly sympathetic, and despite the deep historical detail and excellent writing, one is left with a story that is a bit of a slog.
There is still much of Philippa Gregory's body of work that I have not read yet, and I'm still looking forward to it. I think that she would be better served by unabridged editions of her books on audio, however.
It is possible that some of the shortcomings of this book are due to the abridgement, but I think that
Book Review: Gregory's Elizabeth Tudor
Summary: 3 Stars
As stated in my other reviews of Philippa Gregory's books, I am fascinated with the Tudor period. Also, I loved Gregory's "The Other Boleyn Girl", as well as her "The Constant Princess". Deciding to read all of Gregory's Tudor works in chronological order, I have arrived at "The Virgin's Lover", the novel of Elizabeth I's first two years as the Queen of England, as seen through the eyes of the two most important men in Elizabeth's life at the time: Robert Dudley and William Cecil. Gregory throws in the view of Robert Dudley's wife, Amy Dudley, into the equation as well.
Elizabeth I came to the throne of England upon the death of her sister Mary, in November 1558. At the time of her death Mary I was widely disliked, largely because of her husband, King Philip II of Spain, but also because of religious persecutions and wars that almost bankrupted the treasury of England. At 25 years of age, Elizabeth was vibrant and full of life, her very existence a promise of a better future for England. As a single, young woman, Elizabeth was not secure on her throne, making marriage the top priority for Elizabeth's advisors.
Being painfully aware of her own mother's demise, as well as having had suspect encounters with married men in her life, the most famous being Thomas Seymour and King Philip II, Elizabeth was more than suspicious of marriage. Her favorite at court, Robert Dudley, Master of Horse and Elizabeth's confidant, was also married. A master of flirtation and vacillating between marriage and single life, Elizabeth bade her time while trying to secure the country.
Gregory's version of Elizabeth I is that of a young woman uncertain of anything in her life: cowardly, adulterous, unscrupulous, selfish, fickle, calculated and capricious. While there is no doubt that Elizabeth was some of these things, Gregory's novel portrays this queen as none of the good things that she undoubtedly was. In "The Virgin's Lover" we see Amy Dudley's suffering as her husband Robert, driven by ambition, all but abandons Amy in favor of Elizabeth and the court. Robert Dudley, widely thought to be the best looking man in England at the time, indeed ambitious and calculated, sees Elizabeth as his ticket to Kingdom and power.
"The Virgin's Lover" reads more like a Tudor-time romance novel involving the Queen of England herself than a novel of historical fiction. While I know that Gregory emphasized the fact that this novel is a work of fiction, I am still disenchanted by this description of Elizabeth. And while there is very little doubt that there was some sort of intimate relationship between Elizabeth and Dudley, Gregory's assertion of a full-blown relationship and almost marriage, prevented only by William Cecil, is a bit far-fetched. Gregory's elaboration of Amy Dudley's death was actually pretty good. The death of Lady Dudley is still a mystery for the historians.
Philippa Gregory is very good with narratives and character development. She definitely can build a suspense and make the reader believe that they are actually included in the thinking processes of the mightiest people in England. Gregory does stretch her fictional license by describing Elizabeth I in terms that are utterly unflattering to this great monarch. The novel, however, is very easy to read, even if one disagrees with Gregory.
All in all, "The Virgin's Lover" is a well-written novel about the first years of the reign of Elizabeth I; a novel concentrating on Robert Dudley's attempt to sway the Queen into marrying him. Good narration loosely relying on history makes the novel entertaining. The fact that the novel reads as a romance novel more than anything else is a matter of taste for individual readers, a matter that did not particularly appeal to me personally. Recommended with caution.
Book Review: Unlovely Romance
Summary: 3 Stars
I read Phillipa Gregory's first two Tudor books, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool, and I was very happy with them. I read them so quickly that I was surprised by it. I came into The Virgin's Lover expecting to read it as quickly as the last two.
I did, but not with the same relish I did the other two books. In her first two I was really caught up with the inner workings of court and the inner workings of people's minds. In this one I felt a little....let down. Though I got to understand where her characters were coming from they were very repeatitive and a bit boring to me.
Elizabeth is nothing how I'm used to seeing her. She's so much like the women I seriously cannot stand, rather than the bold, decisive, forward woman I've grown to admire. Gregory has her acting like a high school girl over a 25 year old woman. She can't make up her mind in anything. If all the men of her era thought women couldn't do anything without them, she played right into that without even trying hard. She's Queen of England and needs men to tell her to get dressed! Ugh! If you're looking for Elizabeth the girl, instead of Elizabeth the Queen, then you're welcomed to this.
Robert Dudley. A boarish man. If this is the height of Tudor manhood then thank God I'm a woman of the current era because this....no. He claims to love Elizabeth, but uses her. He treats his wife like dirt, and Elizabeth says nothing, nor even takes this as a warning sign. He's suddenly sorry when his wife dies, but doesn't care long enough because he's still trying to be King.
Amy Dudley. I first felt her to be whiney, but realized that women were bred to be docile, subservient things to overly stupid men(sometimes.) When she finally says something it's too little, too late. I was glad that she did finally get some courage and told Robert where to stick his lance, but she wavers too much for it to stick. Love or no love, men aren't worth heart break for. But alas, she was a victim of the times.
William Cecil is about the only main character who really is pretty neutral in this. Until the end where he feels that Amy Dudley must be gotten rid of. Sad tarnish on a good record. He's about the only man I liked, but I was really only given two main men and Dudley was far from it.
I still give this a 3 out of 5 because it's hard for me to hate a book, and I rarely dislike books unless it's really just that bad. The romance in the book was soap opera-ish. If you really think that sort of thing is good then you'll love this; if you think love should be more than soft touches, swooning and blushing then this romance isn't for you.