After the disappointment of something new in fiction, I decided to go for something old. This led me to one of my reading staples, historical fiction, in the form of Philippa Gregory's 'The Constant Princess'.
Showing posts with label Tudors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tudors. Show all posts
08 September 2018
Catalina: Warrior Princess
'The Constant Princess' by Philippa Gregory
After the disappointment of something new in fiction, I decided to go for something old. This led me to one of my reading staples, historical fiction, in the form of Philippa Gregory's 'The Constant Princess'.
'The Constant Princess' is the story of Catalina, Infanta of Spain and Princess of Wales, the youngest daughter of Renaissance power couple Isabella and Ferdinand. Born while her parents are on campaign against the Moors, she lives and breathes war, religious ideology and a sense of destiny from childhood, until victory brings peace and the luxury of the Alhambra Palace. But at the age of 13 she leaves her parent's exotic court for England to marry Arthur, Prince of Wales, sealing an alliance between the newly united Spain and the freshly conquered country of Henry VII. But from the moment she arrives, Catalina finds herself at odds with the brusque king and the alien culture. She eventually finds solace and purpose in her marriage, but everything changes when an unexpected death leads Catalina to make a promise that will echo through history...
After the disappointment of something new in fiction, I decided to go for something old. This led me to one of my reading staples, historical fiction, in the form of Philippa Gregory's 'The Constant Princess'.
19 April 2017
Suspicious Minds
I've finally got around to reading another book in Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series, 'The White Princess'. About time, I'm only about four books behind...
'The White Princess' sweeps the veil of Tudor propaganda aside and suggests an alternative story of the dynasty's founding couple, Henry VII, only child of the ambitious Lancastrian Margaret Beaufort, and Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of the late King Edward IV and sister to the famed Princes in the Tower. When her usurper uncle Richard III is defeated at the Battle of Bosworth Field, Elizabeth once again finds herself the unhappy victim of another dramatic change of circumstance, one of many that has seen the wheel of fortune turn her from princess to pauper and back again many times. With few options open to her, Elizabeth is forced to become a pawn in the power games between the new rulers and her mother, the widowed Elizabeth Woodville, While Henry VII and Margaret Beaufort weave a public story of strength, unity and authority, Elizabeth sees the threadbare truth of a family wracked with fear and eaten away by suspicion, a situation that reaches breaking point when a pretender marches on the kingdom claiming to be Elizabeth's missing younger brother, Richard of York...
The difficulty with Philippa Gregory is that all of her work is of such a consistently high standard that each book really has to work hard to stand out from the others. I'll admit that I haven't enjoyed many in the Cousins' War series so far because I think they often suffer from two common historical novel issues. Number one: if you have an aristocratic female lead, then they don't get to do much, which can get quite frustrating, especially if they don't hear about what's going on in the outside world through a spy network or letter writing relations. Number two: the writer is constrained by having to hit certain known historical events to retain authenticity, but consequently loses some control over pace and don't have full creative freedom. The minute a historical novelist of Gregory's supreme talent is able to flex her muscles with a less well known historical figure, the difference is obvious and, for me, the results are always better.
The strength of 'The White Princess' is that it provides a different perspective on the traditional story of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Usually portrayed as the rather romantic way that the Wars of the Roses ended and a genuine love match, Gregory successfully suggests an alternative view that seems more plausible and reminds the reader not to take everything they think they know about the past for granted.
Overall, this is a worthy addition to the Cousins' War series of books and hasn't stopped me wanting to read more, but unlike 'The Other Boleyn Girl', 'The Other Queen' or 'The Lady of the Rivers', I doubt I'll want to read this again.
Now, what next...?
Related Posts
'The Lady of the Rivers' (Cousins' War Book I)
'The White Queen' (Cousins' War Book II)
'The Red Queen' (Cousins' War Book III)
'The Kingmaker's Daughter' (Cousins' War Book IV)
'The Virgin's Lover'
'The Other Queen'
'The White Princess' sweeps the veil of Tudor propaganda aside and suggests an alternative story of the dynasty's founding couple, Henry VII, only child of the ambitious Lancastrian Margaret Beaufort, and Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of the late King Edward IV and sister to the famed Princes in the Tower. When her usurper uncle Richard III is defeated at the Battle of Bosworth Field, Elizabeth once again finds herself the unhappy victim of another dramatic change of circumstance, one of many that has seen the wheel of fortune turn her from princess to pauper and back again many times. With few options open to her, Elizabeth is forced to become a pawn in the power games between the new rulers and her mother, the widowed Elizabeth Woodville, While Henry VII and Margaret Beaufort weave a public story of strength, unity and authority, Elizabeth sees the threadbare truth of a family wracked with fear and eaten away by suspicion, a situation that reaches breaking point when a pretender marches on the kingdom claiming to be Elizabeth's missing younger brother, Richard of York...
The difficulty with Philippa Gregory is that all of her work is of such a consistently high standard that each book really has to work hard to stand out from the others. I'll admit that I haven't enjoyed many in the Cousins' War series so far because I think they often suffer from two common historical novel issues. Number one: if you have an aristocratic female lead, then they don't get to do much, which can get quite frustrating, especially if they don't hear about what's going on in the outside world through a spy network or letter writing relations. Number two: the writer is constrained by having to hit certain known historical events to retain authenticity, but consequently loses some control over pace and don't have full creative freedom. The minute a historical novelist of Gregory's supreme talent is able to flex her muscles with a less well known historical figure, the difference is obvious and, for me, the results are always better.
The strength of 'The White Princess' is that it provides a different perspective on the traditional story of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Usually portrayed as the rather romantic way that the Wars of the Roses ended and a genuine love match, Gregory successfully suggests an alternative view that seems more plausible and reminds the reader not to take everything they think they know about the past for granted.
Overall, this is a worthy addition to the Cousins' War series of books and hasn't stopped me wanting to read more, but unlike 'The Other Boleyn Girl', 'The Other Queen' or 'The Lady of the Rivers', I doubt I'll want to read this again.
Now, what next...?
Related Posts
'The Lady of the Rivers' (Cousins' War Book I)
'The White Queen' (Cousins' War Book II)
'The Red Queen' (Cousins' War Book III)
'The Kingmaker's Daughter' (Cousins' War Book IV)
'The Virgin's Lover'
'The Other Queen'
03 February 2013
There's Something About Mary
Goodness, it's been a long time since I finished a book! It's taken me about two months to read 'My Heard is My Own', John Guy's biography of Mary, Queen of Scots. Not a good start to 2013, but nevermind, I'm still determined!
'My Heart is My Own' explores the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, from her birth at Linlithgow Palace in 1542 to her execution in at Fotheringay Castle in 1587. It's a story full of excitement and intrigue from the very beginning as Queen Mary battles forces seen and unseen to stay on the throne. As soon as she's born, Mary is under very real threat from the Scottish nobility and they remain a thorn in her side all her life. The key theme of Queen Mary's life seems to be 'nothing going to plan' or, if you're feeling less generous, 'bad decision-making'. As well as her efforts to control the bickering nobles in Scotland resulting in uprising and exile, none of her three marriages go as expected and a final appeal for her 'sister Queen' Elizabeth in England ultimately leads to imprisonment and death. In the end, even her family abandon her. But despite all this, Mary remains a strong character and, as a reader, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd have done anything differently in her situation. This is the story of a fallible human being, which contrasts well with the popular myth of almost unimpeachable Elizabeth I.
I didn't know much about Mary, Queen of Scots, before reading this book, which is why I bought it in the first place. I have a lifelong admiration for Elizabeth I, which led to a less than flattering idea of Mary, a prejudice that I didn't even realise I had. It just goes to show that powerful. positive image Elizabeth created of herself in the popular imagination has managed to survive more than 400 years. Just as her grandfather Henry VII rewrote history to make Richard III and his predecessors wicked tyrants, she recreated herself as the venerable 'Gloriana', England incarnate, bold, beautiful, just and bountiful. Mary, Queen of Scots, is often portrayed on screen as the opposite of Elizabeth, so I'm glad I read this book to realise that things certainly aren't that clean cut.
'My Heart is My Own' is an enjoyable, accessible read right up until chapter 22. Unfortunately, I really hit a wall with chapters 22 (Mary's Story), 23 (Bothwell's Story), 24 (The Lords' Story) and 25 and 26 (dealing with The Casket Letters). Up until that point, longer quotes from original sources had been kept to a minimum, so the author was in control of the narrative and able to give it pace and drama. In these chapters, the pace changes completely and the true historian comes out, so we get longer quotes from the protagonists' letters. Unfortunately, Mary isn't an easy writer to read and this is a stumbling block I didn't quite get over. By this point in the book, the narrator has earned my trust and I didn't need to see all of Mary's own words to believe his interpretation of them.
The chapters dealing with the Casket Letters, a cache of probably faked correspondence used to show Queen Mary complicit in murder, was so confusing that I found myself rereading whole paragraphs to try and get to grips with them. Really, this in depth analysis of the texts could've been consigned to an appendix, so it could still be read, but without interrupting the until then excellent narrative. As it was, it stalled the story further and meant that the book began to lose my attention. Reference to primary sources would be important in an essay, but wading my way through the archaic and sometimes incomprehensible language just made me feel disappointed after enjoying the book so much up to that point.
Overall, I did enjoy this book enough to want to read more by Mr Guy, but I am slightly worried that storytelling will be lost to academic analysis in his other publications. I love history, but have to accept that I'm a casual reader without the time to take in indepth analyses of the evidence. I need books such as 'My Heart is My Own' to balance readability with fact. I'm very glad I read this book, however, as I've learned a great deal and gained a new perspective on an oft maligned historical figure. It's also made me want to find out more about other figures, including William Cecil, who has also changed in my perceptions too.
I would recommend 'My Heart is My Own' to anyone with and interest in the era, but be prepared for the narrative shift in some chapters!
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| 'My Heart is My Own' by John Guy (2004, Fourth Estate) |
I didn't know much about Mary, Queen of Scots, before reading this book, which is why I bought it in the first place. I have a lifelong admiration for Elizabeth I, which led to a less than flattering idea of Mary, a prejudice that I didn't even realise I had. It just goes to show that powerful. positive image Elizabeth created of herself in the popular imagination has managed to survive more than 400 years. Just as her grandfather Henry VII rewrote history to make Richard III and his predecessors wicked tyrants, she recreated herself as the venerable 'Gloriana', England incarnate, bold, beautiful, just and bountiful. Mary, Queen of Scots, is often portrayed on screen as the opposite of Elizabeth, so I'm glad I read this book to realise that things certainly aren't that clean cut.
'My Heart is My Own' is an enjoyable, accessible read right up until chapter 22. Unfortunately, I really hit a wall with chapters 22 (Mary's Story), 23 (Bothwell's Story), 24 (The Lords' Story) and 25 and 26 (dealing with The Casket Letters). Up until that point, longer quotes from original sources had been kept to a minimum, so the author was in control of the narrative and able to give it pace and drama. In these chapters, the pace changes completely and the true historian comes out, so we get longer quotes from the protagonists' letters. Unfortunately, Mary isn't an easy writer to read and this is a stumbling block I didn't quite get over. By this point in the book, the narrator has earned my trust and I didn't need to see all of Mary's own words to believe his interpretation of them.
The chapters dealing with the Casket Letters, a cache of probably faked correspondence used to show Queen Mary complicit in murder, was so confusing that I found myself rereading whole paragraphs to try and get to grips with them. Really, this in depth analysis of the texts could've been consigned to an appendix, so it could still be read, but without interrupting the until then excellent narrative. As it was, it stalled the story further and meant that the book began to lose my attention. Reference to primary sources would be important in an essay, but wading my way through the archaic and sometimes incomprehensible language just made me feel disappointed after enjoying the book so much up to that point.
Overall, I did enjoy this book enough to want to read more by Mr Guy, but I am slightly worried that storytelling will be lost to academic analysis in his other publications. I love history, but have to accept that I'm a casual reader without the time to take in indepth analyses of the evidence. I need books such as 'My Heart is My Own' to balance readability with fact. I'm very glad I read this book, however, as I've learned a great deal and gained a new perspective on an oft maligned historical figure. It's also made me want to find out more about other figures, including William Cecil, who has also changed in my perceptions too.
I would recommend 'My Heart is My Own' to anyone with and interest in the era, but be prepared for the narrative shift in some chapters!
08 March 2012
Knight takes Queen, Queen takes Pawn...
Who would've thought it, finishing two books in one week!
I've just finished 'The Virgin's Lover' by popular historical novelist Philippa Gregory. This is the fourth book of hers I've read, the others being 'A Respectable Trade', 'The Queen's Fool' and (the one she'll probably always be remembered for) 'The Other Boleyn Girl'.
'The Virgin's Lover' tells the story of the illicit love affair between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley in the early years of her reign. Caught in the middle are Dudley's unfortunate wife, Amy, and the arch-politician William Cecil.
Normally, I find Gregory's books hard to get into, but once I'm a few chapters in, I can't put them down. On this occasion, however, I got into the book straight away... but got a bit bored in the middle. I really don't like pure historical romance and what felt like chapter after chapter of secret assignations became a bit tiresome after a while. Gregory's books are at their best when they balance personal and political plots and this is quite a narrow story without a lot of politics in it. When the court intrigue began to develop towards the end of the book, I began to enjoy it much more.
Elizabeth and Robert are quite hard to get to grips with. Elizabeth I's story has been told so many times and in so many ways, it's quite difficult to deal with her as a bit of a sap who puts her lust before her belief in her right to rule. It seems a bit out of character considering how hard she fought for the throne in the first place for her to risk handing it all over to an obvious prat like Dudley. Then again, maybe once she was finally in power, she almost frightened herself and began to doubt her ability, perhaps regressing until she came to terms with it and regained her confidence. Or maybe I just find it hard to see what she saw in him!
Now, I'm not a violent person, but I did spend most of the book hoping someone would slap Dudley. Preferably Elizabeth. And preferably with a spade. In fact, the more I think about it, this story wasn't really helped by the fact that the two leads were terribly aggravating for the most part! Amy was arguably also quite annoying, but on the whole I found I had a lot of sympathy for her and, although I knew things couldn't turn out well for her, I somehow hoped she would find some sort of happiness.
As always, Gregory's great strength is her ability to create an incredible sense of time and place. It's wonderful to be able to immerse yourself in a different context at the end of a hard day and forget all about the real world for a while. Thank you, Ms Gregory!
On the whole, I think this was a good book, if a slightly thin story, and well told. In the hands of a lesser writer, the three leads could have become intolerable, so it's a credit to Gregory that they don't. But because there isn't a very meaty story here, I think this is perhaps more of a holiday read than her other stories.
I have a copy of Jean Plaidy's 'Lord Robert' on my shelf as well, so I will be interested to see how the two books compare. I think that will be for a later date, though, time for a change now I think!
I've just finished 'The Virgin's Lover' by popular historical novelist Philippa Gregory. This is the fourth book of hers I've read, the others being 'A Respectable Trade', 'The Queen's Fool' and (the one she'll probably always be remembered for) 'The Other Boleyn Girl'.
'The Virgin's Lover' tells the story of the illicit love affair between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley in the early years of her reign. Caught in the middle are Dudley's unfortunate wife, Amy, and the arch-politician William Cecil.
 |
| 'The Virgin's Lover' by Philippa Gregory (HarperCollins, 2005) |
Elizabeth and Robert are quite hard to get to grips with. Elizabeth I's story has been told so many times and in so many ways, it's quite difficult to deal with her as a bit of a sap who puts her lust before her belief in her right to rule. It seems a bit out of character considering how hard she fought for the throne in the first place for her to risk handing it all over to an obvious prat like Dudley. Then again, maybe once she was finally in power, she almost frightened herself and began to doubt her ability, perhaps regressing until she came to terms with it and regained her confidence. Or maybe I just find it hard to see what she saw in him!
Now, I'm not a violent person, but I did spend most of the book hoping someone would slap Dudley. Preferably Elizabeth. And preferably with a spade. In fact, the more I think about it, this story wasn't really helped by the fact that the two leads were terribly aggravating for the most part! Amy was arguably also quite annoying, but on the whole I found I had a lot of sympathy for her and, although I knew things couldn't turn out well for her, I somehow hoped she would find some sort of happiness.
As always, Gregory's great strength is her ability to create an incredible sense of time and place. It's wonderful to be able to immerse yourself in a different context at the end of a hard day and forget all about the real world for a while. Thank you, Ms Gregory!
On the whole, I think this was a good book, if a slightly thin story, and well told. In the hands of a lesser writer, the three leads could have become intolerable, so it's a credit to Gregory that they don't. But because there isn't a very meaty story here, I think this is perhaps more of a holiday read than her other stories.
I have a copy of Jean Plaidy's 'Lord Robert' on my shelf as well, so I will be interested to see how the two books compare. I think that will be for a later date, though, time for a change now I think!
29 May 2011
Top of the Blocks...
At last! Finally finished the 646 page epic 'Murder Most Royal' by Jean Plaidy! OK, that makes it sound like a chore, but the only real chore was holding up long enough to read it and having to carry it round with me (see earlier post!). Glad to say no further injuries have been incurred, but I'm being careful not to drop it on my foot or anything now that I've finished it.
As always, Plaidy created a great sense of time and place in this retelling of the story of Henry VIII's second and fifth wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, cousins who were both sent to the block for infidelity, a treasonable offence in a queen. The story also includes Jane Seymour (wife number three) and Anne of Cleves (wife number four), though they were hardly touched on. This was very much Anne Boleyn's show and, even if Henry didn't love her as much as the book suggests, you get the feeling that Plaidy certainly did! The majority of the book is focussed so much on Anne, it feels like Plaidy completely forgot about his other wives and suddenly realised she needed to talk about them too about two thirds of the way through. By comparison, their stories feel incredibly rushed and I almost wished she'd written three books rather than one. From what I understand from other books and documentaries, these wives were actually quite interesting in their own right and I almost feel sad that they've been overlooked once again in favour of the more glamorous queens.
The thing I normally like about Plaidy's books is that she often talks about the bigger picture, including politics and the stories of people I know less about. A good example is hearing about Katherine of Aragon's family in 'Katherine the Virgin Widow' (great book). Unfortunately, the focus on Anne Boleyn got in the way of this a bit here, so it didn't feel so much of a rounded picture of the time.
I know it's a real nit pick, but sometimes Plaidy's tendency to use old language winds me up a bit too. It can feel like she's learnt something new and is determined to use it at every opportunity! Yes, it's probably intended to add to the sense of time and place, but I don't want it to feel like I'm translating every time I read a piece of dialogue. I had enough of that with the Yorkshire brogue used by Emily Bronte in 'Wuthering Heights'!
Anyway, on the whole I enjoyed this book, certainly enough to want to see it through to the end, even though I knew what happened. Not one of Plaidy's best and certainly not the one I'd recommend people to start with, but she wrote so many books, it's hard to get too upset about one that's not quite as good as some of the others. It's not like I'm going to send her to the Tower over it or anything!
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| 'Murder Most Royal' by Jean Plaidy (Published by Arrow Books, 2006) |
The thing I normally like about Plaidy's books is that she often talks about the bigger picture, including politics and the stories of people I know less about. A good example is hearing about Katherine of Aragon's family in 'Katherine the Virgin Widow' (great book). Unfortunately, the focus on Anne Boleyn got in the way of this a bit here, so it didn't feel so much of a rounded picture of the time.
I know it's a real nit pick, but sometimes Plaidy's tendency to use old language winds me up a bit too. It can feel like she's learnt something new and is determined to use it at every opportunity! Yes, it's probably intended to add to the sense of time and place, but I don't want it to feel like I'm translating every time I read a piece of dialogue. I had enough of that with the Yorkshire brogue used by Emily Bronte in 'Wuthering Heights'!
Anyway, on the whole I enjoyed this book, certainly enough to want to see it through to the end, even though I knew what happened. Not one of Plaidy's best and certainly not the one I'd recommend people to start with, but she wrote so many books, it's hard to get too upset about one that's not quite as good as some of the others. It's not like I'm going to send her to the Tower over it or anything!
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