The Wise Woman: A Novel by Philippa Gregory
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Book Reviews of The Wise Woman: A Novel
Book Review: Good Choice
Summary: 5 Stars
The book was different than what I had imagined it would be, which was a nice surprise.Book Review: Compelling Story, Potentially Offensive Material
Summary: 4 Stars
The Wise Woman / 1-4165-9088-9
This is now my fifth Philippa Gregory novel I've read, and the fourth I've reviewed, and I cannot understand how Gregory can be so radically different with each novel, in terms of prose, technique, and sheer quality. "The Constant Princess" was wonderful - crisp, clean prose, with a little bit of didactic dialogue, but it fit Catherine's character perfectly. "The Other Boleyn Girl" was terrible history, but a decent fictional story, even if Gregory did rely a little too heavily on virgin/whore stereotypes, and even if she deliberately reduced her heroine into an idiot in order that everything could be explained to her in dialogue. "Earthly Joys" was so painfully boring that I simply could not finish it, and "The Virgin's Lover" was just awful, with characters' motivations just told to us in hurried prose, rather than shown to us properly in actual actions and dialogues. And now we have "The Wise Woman".
The writing in "The Wise Woman" is simply wonderful. The plot and the characters are so compelling because Gregory skillfully takes every stereotype and shortcut in a writer's manual, and turns each one on its head. The entire cast of stock characters are here: the Reformed Rapist Lover, the Bitter Barren Wife, the Kind Supportive Old Father, the Cruel Uncaring Hag, the Sweet Understanding Foster Mother. And just when we realize that we're dealing with historical romance stereotypical characters, and figure that we know the outcome of the story, Gregory chooses that moment to show the ridiculousness of the stereotypes and the reality of her own characters.
"The Wise Woman" does not have a happy story to tell. Entitled, rapist nobles do not reform into loving husbands. Bitter, barren wives have good reasons to be bitter. Noble fathers who seem kind to simple peasant girls have very different standards when it comes to marriage eligibility. Evil hags can still contain a kernel of kindness, and the nicest mothers are capable of cutting judgment and prejudice. Because these characters are so real, the plot is unpredictably bleak and shocking. Gregory seems to be asking the reader: Did you really think a lifetime of rape can be washed away by a pretty face? Did you really think that a lifetime of plotting and calculations would be abandoned simply because an old man is fond of a young girl? Did you really expect a happy ending?
Refreshingly, our heroine is also allowed to be a real person. She isn't a Virtuous Heroine, who will win marriage because of her pure heart. She's not a Schemer, destined for greatness because of her clever political wrangling. And she's not an Anti-Heroine, determined to tear down her tormentors at the cost of her own life. No, she simply is a real girl, full of the same virtues, vices, hopes, fears, angers, and loves. Gregory doesn't pass judgment on her character; we're not expected to see her as greedy for wanting a warm castle over a dirty hovel, and we're not expected to judge her for her actions, even as she becomes increasingly desperate and spirals into madness. For the characterization alone, I would give "The Wise Woman" five stars, and would point it out as an example of how to do a historical romance right.
However, there's a big caveat to all this before you rush right out to buy this book. There's a lot of material here that many people will find very objectionable. Of the many graphic sex scenes in this book, they all involve extreme violence, rape, forced drug use, or forced group sex. The scenes are often necessary to propel the plot, but they are certainly disturbing and will turn off a lot of readers. I wasn't offended by the scenes, but I did feel a little queasy after many of them - this isn't light reading material.
Secondly, Gregory has decided to make magic a real force in "The Wise Woman", and some of this magic could be disturbing or offensive to some readers. I think, in retrospect, that I would have enjoyed the novel more if there was a possibility that the "magic" was all in the heroine's mind as an indication of her spiraling insanity. As it is, Gregory makes it pretty clear that the magic our heroine works and suffers from is completely real, and not a hallucination. I would have preferred a little more subtlety.
The only other thing that keeps this from being a five-star book is the ending. I don't have a problem with the ending itself: it's realistic, it's cyclical, and it works. But I do have a problem with the way the ending seems rushed and tacked on, as if Gregory had a page limit to maintain and realized, twenty pages from the end, that - oh no! - she needed to wrap this baby up fast. Her careful, foreshadowing prose gets tossed out the window in favor of a dash to the finish line. The result is an ending that seems technically right, but feels horribly wrong.
Bottom line: If you are offended by graphic, violent sex scenes and/or graphic, violent magic, you will not enjoy this book. If you are a fan of historical romances and you would like to see some common stereotypes followed through to a dark and subversive conclusion, you may enjoy this book as I did. For all its joys, there are better novels out there, but if you are looking for something unusual and different, this is the Gregory novel for you.
~ Ana Mardoll
Book Review: Dark and explicit, classic Philippa Gregory
Summary: 4 Stars
I thought I had read every Philippa Gregory book out there except one ('A Respectable Trade'), so I was surprised to come across this novel at the book store and see how long ago it was written. The style is definitely earlier Gregory (story told from one point of view, dark characters, somewhat deviant sexual exploits) but is well-written and fast-paced in typical Gregory fashion. The author often likes to weave aspects of the dark Old Magick into her stories (think Wideacre trilogy, 'The Queen's Fool' and 'The White Queen'), and this book is no different. Some may find the mystical elements a bit weird, but I thought the author did a good job of integrating them into a mostly straight historical fiction plotline. I gave the book four stars because I did find it a good read, but even so 'The Wise Woman' was not one of my favorites.
To very quickly sum up the novel, the story is set in Tudor England, but unlike many of Gregory's other books, Henry VIII's exploits happen on the periphery of the plot rather than in the center. We learn of Anne Boleyn and her tragic fate through letters and gossip rather than actually being present at court. The main character, Alys, is a 16-year old girl whose survival instinct is stronger than anything else: honesty, loyalty, honor or even a basic sense of morality, and her deep desire to be Lady of the castle often drives her to act in ways that are more destructive than helpful. Alys is knowledgeable about herbs and the healing arts, so when the local lord becomes ill she is basically kidnapped to take care of him. The lord then discovers that she can read and write and drafts her to become his clerk. Alys also has enough skill with magic to exert minor control over her life and that of those immediately around her, and she recklessly invokes her powers in an attempt to raise herself in the social hierarchy. Alys, a typical teenager, is unfortunately too impulsive and naive to thoughtfully weigh the consequences of her actions, so when she falls in love with the lord's handsome, married son her immaturity leads her to dabble in black magic in an attempt to win his love in return. Chaos ensues. I wasn't sure how the novel would end and will confess I was surprised, but while some might think it a sad ending, I found it redemptive. Unlike many of Gregory's other novels, I put this book down pleased with the way she chose to finish the story.
If asked, I would absolutely recommend this novel to a friend; however, I would do so with a word of warning that the author does tend to explore the dark side of humanity. If one is hoping for a lighthearted read or is squeamish about explicit sexuality, choose a different author and certainly bypass this book. Philippa Gregory's imagination is not for the faint of heart.
Book Review: Be Careful What You Wish For
Summary: 4 Stars
When I was a young girl my mother always told me to 'be careful what you wish for'. Too bad Alys, the young girl around whom this story centers, didn't heed that admonishment when her mentor/mother Morach made it. At an early age Alys came to live with Morach, an old wise woman who lives alone in a remote cottage out on the moors. Morach trains the young Alys in the healing arts of an herbalist. When Alys falls in love though it is the young man's parents who literally offer Alys to the local nunnery.
Still a child, Alys takes one look at the luxurious life of the nuns (as compared to her own life living in Morach's hovel), and is happy to join them. She is fostered by Mother Hildebrande who treats her like a daughter. Shortly after Alys has taken her vows, the nunnery is raided and torched by Lord Hugo acting under the orders of King Henry VIII. Fleeing for her life in the dead of night, Alys realizes that her fellow sisters have all burned in their beds and that she is the only survivor. She finds her way back to Morach's filthy hovel and is taken back in. In no time at all she is back to being Morach's apprentice although she tries to keep to her vows as best she can.
When the old lord of the area, Lord Hugo's father, becomes sick he sends for the wise woman from the moors - not Morach, but Alys. She goes unwillingly but in time she wins the heart of the old lord and continues on at the castle to work as his clerk since she can read and write.
From this point on it becomes the familiar love triangle - Alys falls in love with Lord Hugo (who burned down the nunnery). Hugo is married however to a seemingly barren woman who has produced no heirs and he is prone to taking his pleasures everywhere else. Alys wants no part of him since she is trying to maintain the vows she has taken. In due time though she succumbs to Lord Hugo's charms and falls completely in love. When she finds that he thinks of her only as a pleasant diversion she brings in Morach. Morach warns her that in order to turn Hugo towards her it will take more than Alys may want to give up. In short, black magic or a pact with the devil. But Alys has her sights set on being the lady of the castle and nothing short of marriage to Hugo will please her. So she turns her back on everything holy and uses everything at her disposal to secure her future. But is she truly secure?
After getting pregnant with Hugo's child Alys believes that she is Hugo's chosen lady, especially since his wife suffers an ugly and unspeakable miscarriage. The tale concludes with a twist that is unexpected and brilliant. To say more would be anticlimatic.
Note: There are some explicit scenes not for the faint of heart.
Book Review: The Wise Woman
Summary: 4 Stars
The Wise Woman is the story of Alys, a teenage girl in the time of King Henry VIII. Like many women of that time period, Alys recognized that life could be hard unless she used her cunning to gain power and greater positions throughout her life. Therefore, the novel tracks her through her rise from common to a companion of the Lords at the castle in the town. However, Alys betrays many people on her way up and turns to witchcraft in order to get what she wants. Will she gain the perfect life she so desires or will the witchcraft take her over instead? She is playing a risky game.
I didn't enjoy this book as much as Gregory's later novels, such as the Other Boleyn Girl and the Constant Princess, but still found it entertaining and interesting. Alys is not always a likeable character but the reader needs to consider the limited opportunities for women at the time and the fact that she is only 16! I never completely made my mind up about how I feel about her, even after finishing the novel, but it gives you things to think about! If you want a glimpse inside the life of other people besides the royals of the Tudor time period, I recommend you give this book a try!