The Virgin's Lover (Boleyn)
by Philippa Gregory
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Book Reviews of The Virgin's Lover (Boleyn)
Book Review: This Author has so much more to offer
Summary: 3 Stars
If you are a first time Gregory reader, this is not the best she has to offer. I found "The Other Boleyn girl" to be absolutely fascinating and impossible to put down. I am a slow reader and finished that one in record time. This book, although entertaining, lacks some of the qualities that made Boleyn sooo good. In Boleyn, Gregory takes a subject matter that most of us thought we knew about and turned it on it's head. She illustrated the royal court to be a dangerous place, full of scheming and coniving people, that I had never imagined before. It was like a good piece of juicy and shocking gossip. Although there is plenty of scheming in The Virgin's Lover, it is not nearly as entertaining and fresh. If you have read and loved The Other Boleyn girl, The Virgin's Lover may come up short if you are expecting to find more of the same eye-opening story telling. If you haven't read any of the books in this series, go for The Other Boleyn Girl first.Book Review: Love English history
Summary: 3 Stars
Definitely better than THE QUEEN'S FOOL, but nowhere close to THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL. An enjoyable read, but could have been cut down by a hundred pages or so. People who saw me reading this book were easily put off by the title, thinking it a cheap Harlequin romance (which at times it resembled). I can't believe that a Queen as heralded as Elizabeth I could have been so weak, immature and indecisive as she is portrayed here. And Robert Dudley...what a conniving, manipulative, power-hungry, heartless, chauvinistic pig (I could go on all day)! I appreciated the way William Cecil's evenheaded, intelligent and respectful character balanced out the story (thank goodness he was included).
Overall, an enjoyable read. By the way, if you reading this book because of an interest in the Amy Robsart death mystery, the whole climaxing event doesn't happen until the last 20 pages or so (although her character plays a role throughout the entire book)!
Book Review: An Inside Look into Elizabeth I's Court
Summary: 4 Stars
Philippa Gregory's third novel on the Tudors focuses on Elizabeth I's accession to the throne and her youthful romance with Robert Dudley, the Earl of Liecester.
In The Virgin's Lover readers are placed into the minds of Elizabth, Dudley, William Cecil-Elizabeth's chief advisor, and Amy Robsart-Dudley's first wife. This gives a well-rounded view of Elizabeth's first few tumultuous years on the throne.
All in all a very wonderful glimpse into Tudor court life. One negative is that Gregory writes Elizabeth as very indecisive and easily dominated, especially by Dudley; with this it leaves one to wonder how she became the much adored "Gloriana".
However, a page turner. Gregory uses her own conclusions as to who killed Amy Robsart, the planned assasination of Mary of Guise, and whether Elizabeth and Robert actually consummated their relationship; in true history the actual answer is not known.
Book Review: AMAZING!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was utterly amazing. I started reading Phillpa Gregory's works with "The Other Boleyn Girl" and have ravenously devoured all the series since. This was one of my favorite books, someone you feel for all three characters (Amy, Robert, and Elizabeth). It is amazingly well written as always, although I will say Elizabeth's "I'm sooo afraid of war! Someone save me! We'll fight! Wait no, I take it back! No, wait, we will fight! Oh, I'm so afraid!" routine. It kind of makes you want to grab her and shake her around! But, all in all, this book is wonderful, and if you are a fan of this author, you should enjoy it as much as I did!
By the way, buy it from Amazon, I'd never thought to check here, and I was super mad at myself when I saw that it's only $4.00 here...I paid $18.00 after taxes from Barnes and Nobles! It was worth it, but if you have the choice, order from here!
Book Review: Queen Elizabeth Fans Beware
Summary: 2 Stars
While I have enjoyed several of Gregory's other works, including The Constant Princess, The Queen's Fool, and The Other Boleyn Girl, I couldn't even make it through this book. I am an avid reader of historical fiction and non-fiction and never have I been so disgusted with a portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I. Gregory writes about an immature, one-dimensional girl unable to make the simplest decisions without her lover, more focused on lust and adolescent games than running a country. Despite the fact that Queen Elizabeth I was fluent in English, Latin, Greek and had studied War, Science, Mathematics and was a model pupil throughout her schooling, Gregory expects you to view the Virgin Queen as little more than a village idiot who has the crown thrust upon her. While Gregory's works are on the whole fulfilling this left me completely dissatisfied and unimpressed with her writing.