Author: Philippa Gregory
Double volume of the two Tudor Queens, Mary and Elizabeth.
The first book, The Queen's Fool, revolves around a fictional character, Hannah Green, who has the ability to see the future. She is taken under the wing of Lord Robert Dudley as his vassal, and placed in King Edward's court as the King's holy fool. Later, she serves Queen Mary, and is assigned by the Queen as a companion to Princess Elizabeth. All the while, she is forced to keep her true identity a secret - a Jewish refugee from Spain - to escape the Inquisition and Mary's increasing Catholic fanaticism.
The second, The Virgin's Lover, picks up where the Queen's Fool ends i.e Elizabeth's ascension to the throne of England. The Lover in question is the same Robert Dudley, who returns to Court as the Queen's favourite and Master of Horse, much to the despair of his estranged wife, Amy. It covers the early years of Elizabeth's reign, up to a scandalous death that causes Dudley to lose his exalted position at Court.
Judging by the thread of characterisation from previous books in these series that I have read (The Constant Princess and The Other Boleyn Girl), I felt that the author sympathised very much with Catherine of Aragon's lineage while clearly not too impressed with the Boleyns. Queen Mary, through the eyes of Hannah the Fool, is depicted as a good woman with noble intentions, but as a virtuous woman who married late, became obsessed with pleasing her handsome Spanish husband. Elizabeth, meanwhile, was portrayed from the very first page as a seducer of men, and although she is mentioned as being intelligent, she is also portrayed as a highly nervous young woman who had to rely heavily on her advisors, and sometimes ignored them when it suited her fancy - in this case, her adoration of Dudley.
The second book also plodded along somewhat, with the historical events mainly played out as just a background for the royal frolics and Dudley's talent for event management. Things only really picked up in the last third of the book, but by then I had begun to lose interest and was just intent on finishing the book so I could move on to other reading material. Despite my earlier statement, I think I'm ready to give Ms Gregory a break for now.
