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Mary, Queen of Scots has been driven from Scotland by the lords that will not accept her there. The descriptions of the properties around England are interesting as are the costs of housing a royal court and all the items that a queen requires to live comfortably.Mary Queen of Scots is an interesting subject and a well written book by Philippa; just not one of my favorites of hers. Each character clearly had their role to play which they stated each time the narrative switched back to them.
Instead of refuge and assistance to return to her throne, she faces inquiry and is sent as a prisoner/guest to George, the earl of Shrewsbury and his wife Bess.This is the setting for the opening of The Other Queen which tells the story of the downfall of Mary, Queen of Scots through the voices of Mary, herself and George and Bess Shewsbury. Readers will pick up on this even without the repetition which I feel could have been scaled back. She is now seeking refuge in England and help from her cousin, Queen Elizabeth.
For example, Bess her worry about her fortunes each time she "speaks". The impact of this arrangement affects them all as Bess has to share her household with the Queen and George has to decide between love for his country and wife and his desire to help Mary be free. All three are put in a dangerous position with Queen Elizabeth.While I enjoyed the story the novel had to tell, there were a few things that irritated me.
Mary also becomes somewhat repetitive in her sections.The intrigues are enjoyable and this is a quick read despite the size of the novel. The Boleyn Inheritance is written in the same manner with the switching of the narratives, but it is a more interesting read with more fleshed out characters.
This book is basically about the power struggle between Queen Elizabeth and her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. It is narrated from the viewpoints of several different people, including Mary and her two caretakers during the time she was imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth. From history, we all know who won that struggle. So there is not a lot of suspense here, but its still a good story. This book also gives you a good idea of the politics, culture and lifestyles during that time period. I highly recommend this book, especially for anyone who is interested in this time period in history.
It's a great book to read. The author did a wonderful job with her characters and making the story flow from one point to another.
albeit with absolutely no depth.). Only slightly better than "The Virgin Queen" and there is hardly any of the really interesting details of Tudor life that were so prevalent in "The Other Boleyn Girl". This is an awful book. Later in the book, this fades into a repetetive whining. No flow, no depth, no sympathetic characters, except maybe Cecil. of one of the three characters talking about how great they are, their family were, or they were supposed to be. It's a truly annoying book.
This book was only published because it's riding on the coat tails of her previous, better, books. Chapter after chapter (at least they are very short chapters. Gregory was never literature, but she at least used to be compelling. How hard they worked (Bess often talks about doing things, but come on, really, she's just ordering around the servants)., how much god loves them because they are.well, there's never much of a reason, except that they are the true believers, which is great, if god ranks people by how much they twist things around for their own benefit. Everything is so awful, the fires don't get big enough, the room is dark, Bess has to haul her stolen silver in a cart, whine whine. It seems this book was written in about 5 minutes a day, over a few months, until she gets to the end of Queen Mary's story. I wanted him to get rid of all of them.
Oh, we are TOLD about what has happened elsewhere and what has been discussed or plotted between various parties, but the Mary/Bess/George dynamic grows stale after the 5th or 6th time you've read how Bess is disgusted by all the money she is wasting, how Mary continues her plotting and flirting, and George remains oblivious to it all. I especially enjoyed the interaction between Mary, Bess and George in this novel. I envision this book being staged as a one-set play with every bit of the drama happening off-stage, while the main characters read letters of what happened. George's idealized view of the world and the political situation is intertwined with Mary's political scheming, and cleverly grounded by Bess' practical day-to-day struggle to house and feed Mary and her huge entourage. The concept is a good one, and it is entertaining, until about half way through the book when you realize that not much really happens. Interesting concept, but once established, it became too repetitious. I'd give the book 3-1/2 stars if I could, but felt it was closer to 3 than 4.
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