The Virgin's Lover (Boleyn)
by Philippa Gregory
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Book Reviews of The Virgin's Lover (Boleyn)
Book Review: A great read
Summary: 5 Stars
Here's one for the many fans of the Tudor period in English history. Gregory's novel depicts the notorious love affair between Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I. In reality whether the two were technically lovers is unknown, but the relationship scandalized the Court nevertheless. Gregory does an excellent job of depicting the complexity of the two main characters. She portrays Elizabeth at times as emotional, indecisive and far too easily influenced, but at the same time clever, manipulative and fiercly protective of her perogatives as Queen. Dudley truly loves her, but is also engaged in a brutal power game played by the many factions at court. In the end, Elizabeth's sense of her own destiny wins out, as she realizes that marriage to almost anyone would necessarily mean a lessening of her own power. She also astutely realizes that her availability as a marriagable woman is a potent political tool to keep the monarchs of Europe off-balance and perpetually guessing. Gregory deftly lets us see glimpses of the woman Elizabeth will become--she truly was her father's daughter. Gregory's style is vivid and fast-paced--I lost a few hours' sleep as I was engrossed in this one. Highly recommended.Book Review: SPELLBINDING!! I COULD NOT PUT T HIS BOOK DOWN!
Summary: 5 Stars
History comes alive and wraps you into the many intrigues and glamourous personalities in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. The infamous romance between the married but wildly ambitious Sir Robert Dudley and the Queen is the focus of this novel. Dudley could be deemed the Elizabethan version of the "Comeback Kid". At one point, he was part of a lost military campaign in France and came back penniless, but he rose again to greater heights than anyone would have imagined. Dudley was also imprisoned in the Tower for treason, but once again..came out swinging and triumphant.
His anticipated coupe de grace was the romance and hopeful marriage to "The Virgin Queen", except for the inconvenient presence of his estranged wife Amy. The mystery of Amy's accidental death remains unsolved to this day.
I love Philippa Gregory's novels because she has a way of drawing you into the characters of the book, making it very easy reading. This is because she bases them on often little known, but fascinating historical characters. This book is no exception. She's done her research.
Book Review: Abomination
Summary: 1 Stars
I finally reviewed my favorite book on Elizabeth, "Legacy" by Susan Kay, so I needed to sit down and review my most reviled book on her. That is "The Virgin's Lover".
This book just horrified me. Not merely because I KNOW Ms. Gregory is a better writer than this. Don't get me wrong, I disagree strongly with her portrayal of Anne Boleyn as the embodiment of all that's evil in the world, but I still respected her work. This novel was simply hideous. The weakest, most simpering, spineless portrayal of Elizabeth I think I've ever read.
She doesn't know her way around court? Come on! CECIL doesn't know his way around court? They both have to be helped by the grand Robert Dudley?
I suspected when I read this that Ms. Gregory's lost without a spineless, bland, innocent-to-the-point-of-stupidity character to tell her story for her. However, Wideacre (told from the POV of a clear sociopath) was a good book.
I can only second those who have suggested someone is ghostwriting books in her name now. There is no excuse for "The Virgin's Lover."
Book Review: I really hate to do this, but...
Summary: 1 Stars
I had to force myself to finish this book, basically because I spent 16 bucks on it. Had I borrowed it from the library, I'd never have finished it. And Gregory is my favorite "guilty pleasure" author. This thing has taken me weeks to finish. A book this size I usually finish in 2 days or so. The plot is loose and boring. It just goes on and on and on, and you wait for something to happen. Dudley is a jerk, again and again. Elizabeth has no idea what she's doing. Amy just stares blankly into the distance or prays. The characters are SO shallow and I just really don't care about them. She'd have done better making the novel from Cecils point of view. At least he seemed to have an opinion. It's like reading the diaries of three very stupid, conceited (except Amy), boring people who are unaware of how badly they are being used. If you've never read Gregory's books before, do NOT start with this one! A great book of hers, is "The Queen's Fool" and if you want a good (if a little slow in parts) book about Elizabeth, try "I, Elizabeth" by Rosalind Miles.Book Review: Not Gregory's best
Summary: 2 Stars
I loved "The Other Boleyn Girl" when I read it last year, especially because of the interesting topic. It was with great anticipation then that I picked up this book, especially having read several Elizabeth biographies. This book wasn't nearly as good.
First, the historical accuracy isn't so good. One glaring mistake: the book has Elizabeth coronated in March, not November.
Second, the characters are really annoying. The Elizabeth here is weak and whiny, not how she was in real life. Robert Dudley is impossible to like. Amy is the worst though. All she does is whine about how much she loves Robert and how horrible Elizabeth is, not showing any will at all. Cecil is the only one to like.
Third, towards the end of the book, it just drags on and on. The readers know that Amy is going to die, so why prolong the inevitable? That, coupled with the endless "I love yous" from Robert and Elizabeth made me just stop reading then and there.
I highly recommend The Other Boleyn Girl, but not this book.