The Queen's Fool (Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #12)

by Philippa Gregory

A stunning novel set in the Tudor court, as the rivalry between Queen Mary and her half-sister Elizabeth is played out against a background of betrayal, conflict and passion. The savage rivalry of the daughters of Henry VIII, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth, mirrors that of their mothers, Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Each will fight by any available means for the crown and future of the kingdom. Elizabeth's bitter struggle to claim the throne she believes is hers by right, and the man she desires almost more than her crown, is watched by her 'fool': a girl who has been forced to leave her homeland of Spain, as a Jew fleeing the Inquisition. In a court where truth is wittily denied and lies are mere games, it is the fool who can speak plainly: in these dangerous times, a woman must choose between ambition and love. Elizabeth will not make the same mistakes as her mother.

• ISBN10: 0743246071
• ISBN13: 9780743246071
• Publish Date: 4 February 2004 (first published 3 November 2003)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Atria Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 512
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I am of mixed feelings about The Queen's Fool. I found the characters to be inconsistent and weak, but even as I say that, I feel as though I am being unfair to the author - I am not learned on Tudor England, and perhaps the view she offers is realistic. Nonetheless, I found all the main characters a bit pathetic, which led to a lot of skimming and page turning. The book, much like a plot in an English court, requires patience and waiting for things to move along, as they do at their own very slow pace.

The fictionalized content in this book is greater than the other two I have read (The Constant Princess and The Boleyn Inheritance) since the protagonist herself is a work of fiction. Hannah, being a "seer," leads this particular book on the edge of a fantasy, being as often her episodes are what drives the entire plot forward. Gregory repeats herself often, then changes her mind, then repeats herself again - I'm not sure if all the characters are disloyal and ambivalent, or if it was the author herself who could not make up her mind.

That said, it wasn't a terrible read. It served for entertainment, and despite my dislike of the character and the speed of the storyline, Gregory does have a way of drawing her reader right into the world of Tudor England and enchanting us with the scenery and bringing to life the way things were. For that, she gets three stars.

((Cross-posted to my blog: The Literary Phoenix))