The Queen's Fool - Philippa Gregory

Advantages: Realistic portrayals of real life people, a fascinating read, clever plots
Disadvantages: None, I loved the book

...being able to second guess the author and know exactly what's going to happen at the end of the book. So in the library a couple of weeks ago I decided to pick a book which ordinarily I wouldn't look at twice on the shelf. I've read historical novels in the past and while I haven't particularly enjoyed the majority of them, I've learned that if you pick the right book you can become engrossed in the lives of people who lived many years ago. I've ...
...something different to read. The novel starts at the time when the boy-king Edward was on the throne of England, at only 15 his health was failing and there was dispute as to who should take on the role of Monarch after his death. He knew he was dying and so did his court. Plans were being made behind the scenes by both King Edwards supporters and 'traitors' who wanted nothing more than the king dead and one of his sisters on the throne. This is ... Read review

Advantages: A great read, involving, interesting, informative...
Disadvantages: Not quite as good as The Other Boleyn GIrl

...read - and hated - The Little House, but friends told me to try Gregory's historical fiction instead and I am glad I did, as I love it! I first read The Other Boleyn Girl, which was excellent and after that, I bought nine of her other novels. The Queen's Fool can be read alone, but I would recommend reading The Other Boleyn Girl first, because it provides the historical background for Elizabeth and Mary, the royal princesses who feature heavily ...
...Queen's Fool and will be the next novel I start. STORY The main character in The Queen's Fool is Hannah, a Jewish girl who escapes from the Inquisition in Spain and begins her new life in London. After encountering Robert Dudley in her father's shop and seeing a vision of an angel behind him, Dudley begs her to become the Holy Fool - not the jester kind, but the type of Fool who sees visions. So she moves to the royal court, first serving under ... Read review

Advantages: intriguing read, well paced, unusual insight into the past
Disadvantages: a weak ending in my opinion.

...Spanish in origin, running from the inquisition who burned her mother at the stake for being a heretic but in London there is nothing to prove her for anything other than a dedicated protestant, however the books and manuscripts in her fathers shop could cause outrage if their secret cellar were to be discovered. In the winter of 1552 Hannah Green a young Spanish Jew, finds herself whisked away from her fathers little bookshop, still in her boys ...
...bluntly truthful, something rare in the Tudor court. Lord Robert Dudley is her master and her first crush and the man who discovered her. Hannah saw an angel walking behind him as he entered her shop and remarked about it innocently, and now she works for him, spying on the young king and his courtiers and then on the Lady Mary, heir to the throne. She continues to spy on different people as her service progresses. She works under Queen Mary and ... Read review

Advantages: -
Disadvantages: -

...out of a window. Over the top of the picture of the woman was impressed some kind of scripted handwriting, impossible to read but greatly adding to the feeling of history. Now, you might not think a historical novel would be to your taste. No doubt like me you were bored to death by t having to write lists of all the good things the Romans gave us and having to learn that awful poem that was supposed to help you remember the names of all the rulers ...
...They take the known truth and wrap it in a shimmering layer of possibilities, filling in any gaps with exciting and entrancing tales that may or may not be true. Find the right historical novel and you will find yourself transported back in time, wearing a tight bodice and a full gown, involved in all the gossip and intrigue of a Tudor court. This novel begins during the reign of henry the eighths only son, Edward, a sickly young man whose health ... Read review

Advantages: Set in a great context with a brilliant storyline.
Disadvantages: Not always a page turner.

...we tend to think of the womanising Henry VIII and the excellent Elizabeth I and tend to forget the boy-king Edward VI and his half sister, the eldest, (bloody) Mary I. The revisionist view of this period is the mid-Tudor crisis, two Monarchs over a period of only 11 years and little to come out of their joint reigns except the lack of children which gives us Elizabeth. No one wants to talk about it. Except, here is Philippa Gregory, Tudor enthusiast, ...
...perhaps dispel some of the myths of the time. Telling the story from the point of view of someone other than royalty or nobility gives us an excellent, though obviously fictional, insight. The fabulous thing about historical fiction is that it’s usually fiction with a generous dollop of fact thrown in there and if you weed your way through it, you can actually learn a thing or two. The novel revolves around Hannah Verde (renamed Green when she comes ... Read review