Product Description:

• Philippa Gregory has long been one of the most assured practitioners of historical fiction, but her profile was raised even higher by the film of her novel The Other Boleyn Girl. Gregory admirers, however, were heard to remark of that movie: ‘Not as good as the book!’ And if her new novel, the highly accomplished The Other Queen is ever afforded the Hollywood treatment, there will no doubt be a similar chorus. The reason for this dedication by her readers is not hard to fathom: assiduously researched historical facts are married to consummate storytelling skills – and the effortless ability to rescue historical figures from the dusty pages of the past.

  At the centre of this novel is Mary Queen of Scotland, forced to flee into England. Mary, a devout Catholic, is, of course, a living threat to the rule of her cousin Elisabeth, whose Protestant reign is uncertain. We’ve been here before, of course, in various books and films. But Philippa Gregory’s story this time has a different emphasis: Elizabeth’s chief advisor, Cecil, formulates a plan in which the destabilising Mary will live under guard with his faithful friend, Bess of Hardwick. Bess is a remarkable woman herself, someone who has forged her own destiny, and is now in her fourth marriage, to the distinguished Earl of Shrewsbury. But soon Bess and Mary find themselves plunged into very different personal crises – with Bess’s marriage under considerable strain.

  The Other Queen is wonderfully accomplished stuff, evoking a much-pored-over era with a totally fresh eye.
  --Barry Forshaw

Customer Ratings:

• Not very gripping. I am a huge fan of Philippa Gregory but really couldnt get into this book, in fact I didnt finish it. The charectors are one dimensional, predictable and not at all likable, the story line was tedious..if you have enjoyed her other books then give this one a miss.
• Good historical novel. I ve been fairly obsessed with the Tudor period since I first learnt about Henry VIII at school so when I started to read the Philippa Gregory series I was quite apprehensivethat the writer would ignore history for the benefit of their plot.
  
  I needn t have worried, for the book filled out the bare bones of history with character and feeling. I was particularly impressed with the fact that, despite knowing what was going to happen in the end, I still wanted to keep on reading.
• The other Queen - sorry, but I was disappointed.. I have just finished reading Philippa Gregory s latest Tudor novel and must confess that I was disappointed in it. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed all her other Tudor books, but the author just didn t hold my attention with this one.
  
  It is about Mary Queen of Scots, one of the most famous and enigmatic queens of history, and concerns a period during her captivity. She is being held in some of the various castles and houses belonging to the Earl and Countess of Shrewsbury( the famous Bess of Hardwick) dotted around England. The story is narrated by these three people only. Queen Mary always seems to be saying how wonderful she is, and how so many countries and people will do absolutely anything for her, including putting her back on the throne of Scotland or even on the throne of England. She plots and plans her escape continually and doesn t seem to mind putting her admirers in great danger for her. George, the Earl of Shrewsbury falls in love with her and is blind to all her plotting and deception, while his wife Bess watches all of this from the sidelines. Towards the end of the book, the Earl realises the Queen s deception, and I think that the author dealt well with that part.
  
  I have read quite a few books about Mary Queen of Scots and I appreciate how difficult it must be for an author to write about her from a new perspective. I can t help thinking that maybe there are no new facets to this dramatic historical person to be found. Authors are maybe just going to give rein to their imagination to create another story about her? People will always want to read more and more about Mary, and I include myself here too.
  
  My lasting impression of this book is one of repetition, repetition and more repetition. To date, Philippa Gregory has written wonderful books, so maybe she has just written a not so wonderful one?
• Shut up, its great. This book is great, ignore the 1 2 3 and 4 star reviews and stop rating gregory down!!!
• A captivating read. Philippa Gregory is my favourite historical author. Her style is both engaging and easy to follow. This book focusses largely on Mary s captivity. Her story is full of plots and intrigues and reveals an interesting part of history that has largely been overlooked, namely the northern rebellion, which posed a very real threat to Elizabeth I and her kingdom at the time, though sadly for Mary did not win her the victory she anticipated. The book portrays Mary as a strong willful beautiful woman who seemed to court bad luck at every twist and turn.
  Rather than just focussing on the central character, the book also cleverly illustrates the difficulties posed for the Shrewsbury household, who were responsible for housing this Queen at their own expense and reveals the real life problems they resultingly faced. I found myself completely drawn into this book, engrossed by a fasincating history lesson and intriguing story cleverly written.

• The Lady Elizabeth
• The Constant Princess
• The Virgin s Lover
• The Queen s Fool
• The Boleyn Inheritance