Product Description

Sumptuous historical novel from bestselling author of THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL and THE QUEEN'S FOOL Elizabeth I has acceded to the throne of England, a position she has waited and schemed for all her life. She is surrounded by advisers, all convinced that a young woman cannot form political judgements. Elizabeth feels that she can rely on just one man: her oldest friend, Robert Dudley. It is soon plain that he is more than merely a friend. In a house in the countryside waits a very different woman, Amy Robsart -- Robert's wife. She has no taste for life at court and longs for the day when her husband will return home. She has loved him since she was a girl, but now they are adults she hardly sees him. Meanwhile, the pressure grows for Elizabeth to marry, for it is unthinkable that a queen should rule on her own. Elizabeth's preference is clear, but he is unavailable. But what if the unthinkable were to happen! Philippa Gregory blends passion, personalities and politics in this stunning novel of the Tudor court and a country divided.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2252 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Review
Praise for THE QUEEN'S FOOL 'Philippa Gregory [who] is a mesmerizing storyteller.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'An atmospheric read for anyone who loves to wallow in Tudor intrigue.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'After serving up the highly delicious The Other Boleyn Girl!Gregory has concocted yet another treat from the Tudor court!.I loved The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool is even better!.The pleasure to be found in this kind of historical fiction!.is a chair-by-the-fireside-on-a-cold-winter's-night kind of pleasure!it is the kind of pleasure only a born storyteller can offer.' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'A rich brew of passion and intrigue.' DAILY MAIL 'Potent historical romance!a thrilling plot.' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Fascinating!engrossing!.memerising!riveting!.compelling!.a pacey narrative that is just begging to be read in one sitting.' SUNDAY EXPRESS Further acclaim for THE QUEEN'S FOOL: 'A splendid tale of passionate liaisons. Gregory exuberantly depicts the struggle between Mary and Elizabeth' WOMAN & HOME 'A hugely satisfying plot-twist-a-page story.' TIME OUT 'Burns with passion.' INDEPENDENT 'A gripping page-turner; this follow-up to The Other Boleyn Girl confirms Gregory as our best writer of historical fiction.' CHOICE Praise for THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL: 'It is a credit to Gregory that she is able to sustain interest in an epic-length tale when the ending is one of the most well-known moments in English history. The very believable dialogue and detail take you all the way into the claustrophobic privy chambers of the royal palaces!Gregory has launched herself into a popular period and produced something with that most underrated of virtues: readability.' THE TIMES 'This is an intelligent variation on a familiar tale [with] witty use of metaphor' TLS 'This compulsively readable novel is a wonderful account of the Tudor court!This is the finest historical novel of this year' DAILY MAIL

About the Author
Philippa Gregory is an internationally renowned author of historical novels. She holds a PhD in eighteenth-century literature from the University of Edinburgh. Works that have been adapted for television include A Respectable Trade, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool. The Other Boleyn Girl is now a major film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Eric Bana. Philippa Gregory lives in the North of England with her family.

Customer Reviews

Nothing...happened.
I'm an avid reader of Philippa Gregory's books, and I really enjoyed 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and 'The Boleyn Inheritance' - this book, however, misses the high mark set by Gregory's other works.

The two problems I had with this book are pretty simple:

1) The characters. Amy Dudley, despite her difficult position, failed to get my sympathy - she was interesting, but she was also deeply annoying, since all she seemed to do throughout the whole book was whine about one thing or another. I had even less empathy with Robert Dudley, who was completely unlikeable and not charismatic enough to hold my attention. Elizabeth was good at times and bad at others, but she too was aggravating through much of the book - she showed her spirit, but there were times when her inability to see Dudley's bad side was incredibly infuriating. The brilliant and cunning Elizabeth of 'The Queen's Fool' has mysteriously vanished without a trace.

2) The plot. Gregory's other books have had excellent plots with a fair bit of moving around, but the problem with 'The Virgin's Lover' is that nothing actually HAPPENS in it. Yes, Elizabeth is in love with Dudley. Yes, Amy is in love with Dudley as well. And yes, Dudley is lusting after Elizabeth. Good. Now, can we get back to the politics and court backbiting, please?

If you see this book somewhere for 50p, then go ahead and buy it - you might enjoy it more than me, as the other reviews here attest. But I wouldn't advise you to waste your money on paying the full price for it - go and read 'The Boleyn Inheritance', instead.

Entertaining but not necessarily historically correct
I have to admit that I do like Philippa Gregory's novels, her style of writing and that she tries to give a new perspective of events and personalities. Of course as a novelist she is freer than a historican to paint a picture of those personalities involved.

Her way of seeing Queen Elizabeth I. and the two leading men of her reign (Cecil & Lord Robert Dudley) was going to be controversial:The Queen and Lord Robert being lovers in the actualy sense of the word, The Queen promised to marry Lord Robert and The Queen and her first minister plotting and putting into effect the death of Dudley's first wife in order to put a moral obstacle to marriage to Robert and honouring her promise.

The Book made me laugh with regards to the title: The VIRGIN's lover... if they were lovers as the author claims than the title is quite wrong or can one say it makes The Queen a professional virgin?

The theories on the death of Lady Amy Dudley are numerous; none has really escaped of being pointed at as the guilty part. The theory that The Queen and Cecil really plotted the death in order to bar Robert from marrying the Queen was quite new to me. It is interesting and I believe mainly based on the assumption that the throne always meant more to Elizabeth than marriage or love. When her throne became endangered than rid herself of this danger, even if she had to go against her own emotions. Well, why not as a base for a novel. However, I have to admit I am not convinced.

But nevertheless I find this book highly entertaining being written with great flow and understanding. 4 stars well deserved.

Don't Compare To Other Efforts!
Although new to this author I've read a few of her earlier works and truly enjoyed her take on historical figures and the stories she created around them. With that said I feel that Ms. Gregory's latest effort "The Virgin's Lover" although entertaining was a tad of a let down. Perhaps due to the fact that it's a story about Queen Elizabeth and there are so many preconceived ideas about this amazing woman that creating a story for her cheats the reader.

The story revolves around the love triangle of the young queen Elizabeth, Robert Dudley, and Dudley's wife Amy. There was always a connection between Elizabeth and Robert that neither could admit to or act on. Despite this their relationship grows, changes and although Elizabeth loves Robert she draws the line at allowing him to rule as King. She'd rather he rule as Queen's Consort. On the otherside of this coin is Robert and his wife Amy. Amy is a Catholic and although she practices in secret a divorce from Robert is not in the cards. Elizabeth feeling torn turns to her trusted advisor William Cecil looking for help. Cecil has no love for Dudley and he knows that it would be bad policy if he was made King. But he is more concerned with the fact that the Dudley family historically has participated in treasonous activities and that Roberts love for Elizabeth may not be the best thing for the young queen. After all an ambitious man will do almost anything to see that he gets what he want's. When love, a countries best interests, and a secret meet...nothing good can come from it. What will Elizabeth do when faced with this situation and William Cecil's plans to put it to rest?

Historically speaking it's difficult to put twists and turns on events that truly happened. The creativity then come from the concept of "what if..." and I feel that this is where Ms. Gregory started her plotting. This is a fantistical love triangle that truly existed. Robert Dudley was the Queens favorite and this is historically understood. Perhaps this is why this story fell flat. No matter how hard you try...you just can't re-write history. Ms. Gregory though does an amazing job of bringing to life, the court, the time period, and her characters Robert and Elizabeth. The reader will truly feel the angst of this love triangle. Come to this read with an open mind and the reader should do just fine. Forget what you were taught and just enjoy this work of fiction as it stands.