The Queen's Fool (Plantagenet and Tudor Novels) - Softcover

Gregory, Philippa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743246071 ISBN 13: 9780743246071

Publisher: Atria Books, 2004

Synopsis

#1 New York Times bestselling author and "queen of royal fiction" (USA TODAY) Philippa Gregory weaves a spellbinding tale of a young woman with the ability to see the future in an era when destiny was anything but clear.

Winter, 1553. Pursued by the Inquisition, Hannah Green, a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl, is forced to flee with her father from their home in Spain. But Hannah is no ordinary refugee; she has the gift of "Sight," the ability to foresee the future, priceless in the troubled times of the Tudor court. Hannah is adopted by the glamorous Robert Dudley, the charismatic son of King Edward's protector, who brings her to court as a "holy fool" for Queen Mary and, ultimately, Queen Elizabeth. Hired as a fool but working as a spy; promised in wedlock but in love with her master; endangered by the laws against heresy, treason, and witchcraft, Hannah must choose between the safe life of a commoner and the dangerous intrigues of the royal family that are inextricably bound up with her own yearnings and desires.

Teeming with vibrant period detail and peopled by characters seamlessly woven into the sweeping tapestry of history, The Queen's Fool is a rich and emotionally resonant gem from a masterful storyteller.

About this title

Review

The bitter enmity between Elizabeth the First and Mary Tudor, the daughters of Henry VIII (not to mention the conflict between their mothers Anne Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon) makes the squabbles between modern-day royals seem small beer indeed. This is particularly clear after reading something as enjoyable as Philippa Gregory's The Queen's Fool, which treats the period and its turbulent sweep with an almost operatic grandeur. In The Other Boleyn Girl, Gregory delivered a tremendous popular success and lifted this kind of popular historical writing from the realms of romantic fiction to something rich in authentic drama and convincing historical verisimilitude.

Mary and Elizabeth, the two young princesses, have a common goal: to be Queen of England. To achieve this, they need both to win the love of the people and learn how to negotiate dangerous political pitfalls. Gregory recreates this era with tremendous colour, and she makes the court an enticing but danger-fraught place. Into this setting comes the eponymous fool, the youthful Hannah, who (despite her air of guileless religiousness) is not naive. She soon finds herself having to deal with the beguiling but treacherous Robert Dudley. Dispatched to report on Princess Mary, Hannah discovers in her a passionate religious conviction (to return England to the rule of Rome and its pope) that will have fatal consequences.

From Tolstoy's War and Peace onwards, historical novelists have set fictitious characters among real-life personages with mixed success; the author's creations can often pale beside the historical figures. That is emphatically not the case here, and Gregory ensures that all her characters have a full and teeming life. Expect a major movie: something as colourful and exuberant as The Queen's Fool is a natural for screen adaptation. --Barry Forshaw

Review

‘Philippa Gregory... 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. Most impressively of all, she has taken a story in which we all know the protagonists and the hand history dealt them and has infused it with an extraordinary sense of suspense, drama and surprise.’ SUNDAY EXPRESS

‘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

Further acclaim for THE QUEEN’S FOOL:

‘With her excellent eye for detail, [Gregory] moves The Queen’s Fool along at a great pace’ MARIE CLAIRE AUSTRALIA

‘Totally absorbing...This is a triumphant piece of storytelling, not least because Gregory manages to make familiar events fresh and unloved people fascinating’ GAY TIMES

‘Gregory offers a subtle examination of the tension between profound personal faith and the dangers of imposing that faith on others.’ JEWISH QUARTERLY

‘It combines history and invention in gripping and memorable style.’ RED

‘Gregory weaves a brilliant and complex fictional web around historical fact. Hugely enjoyable’ SAINSBURY’S MAGAZINE

‘Historical fiction at its most masterly. Meticulously researched and realised and with an engaging and totally convincing heroine, The Queen’s Fool invites readers to rethink their opinions of both ‘Bloody’ Mary and the ‘Virgin’ Queen. Superbly plotted, exquisitely written with the enviable capacity to simultaneously thrill and provoke thought, this novel is even more ‘unputdownable’ than The Other Boleyn Girl’ HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW

‘Gregory serves up some more deliciously sombre moments from a factious Tudor court’ INDEPENDENT

‘Gregory’s dramatic, plot-driven novel is thoroughly readable’ SUNDAY HERALD

Edition details

• Publisher: Atria Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0743246071
• ISBN 13: 9780743246071
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 512