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The Other Queen

By Philippa Gregory

(24)

| Hardcover | 9780007190348

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Critics

Queen of the home

When Mary, Queen of Scots lost her bid for the English throne, and eventually her head, she acquired the status of a doomed, romantic queen. Gregory's story focuses on the four years Mary spent under house arrest on the orders of her cousin, Elizabet ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Fri, 24 Sep 2010

The Other Queen By Philippa Gregory

The bibliography tucked at the tail end of Philippa Gregory's The Other Queen might come as a surprise to those who assume that only nonfiction writers are rooted to the rigors of scholarly research. For this best-selling author of novels such as The ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Sun, 12 Sep 2010

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7 Reviews

It took me a little while to get into this one, but it was really interesting reading about Mary Queen of Scots through her eyes and the eyes of the people entrusted with her care.

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Valentine said on Sep 25, 2010 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

it's so easy to read this book!

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Claudia said on Jul 13, 2010 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

Enjoyable and intellectually stimulating read!

First time dip for me into Philippa Gregory's historical fiction. Must confess I was not too keen to read it (it arrived as result of ordering two copies instead of one when buying a present) but as I got into it I found it more and more engrossing. The chapters, in the main, are very short which ad ... (continue)

First time dip for me into Philippa Gregory's historical fiction. Must confess I was not too keen to read it (it arrived as result of ordering two copies instead of one when buying a present) but as I got into it I found it more and more engrossing. The chapters, in the main, are very short which adds increasingly to the tension between the three protagonists. I was intrigued by the characterisation and found I was looking forward to how each person would react to the way the situation was developing. The details regarding the period are no less interesting than the characters. After a few chapters I began to feel I was a silent witness to all that was taking place.
An enjoyable and intellectually stimulating read!

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GraJon said on Jun 7, 2010 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

*** This comment contains spoilers! ***

A great historical novel through not as compelling as Gregory's other works.

I have read two Gregory books so far (The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance) and maybe I'm not reading these in order, but I don't feel too confused despite the many Elizabeths and Marys that have figured so far.
Just a little historical background: Mary Stewart is the only surviving hei ... (continue)

I have read two Gregory books so far (The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance) and maybe I'm not reading these in order, but I don't feel too confused despite the many Elizabeths and Marys that have figured so far.
Just a little historical background: Mary Stewart is the only surviving heir of King James V. By marriage, she became a French Queen, but for a short while. She was widowed and she remarried to her first cousin Henry Stewart, who became Scots king. This husband died under strange circumstances. She married an Earl, who was believed to be her ex-husband's murderer; this controversial union led to an uprising, forcing Mary to abdicate her throne to her one-year-old son. Mary tried to regain her throne, and she sought the help of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, whose crown she hoped to eventually inherit. (Hence Mary is often referred to in the book as being a queen three times over.)
The book focuses on the first few years that Mary was under house (er, castle arrest) under Elizabeth through the Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife. Mary was considered a threat because many believed that Mary was the rightful heir to the throne. The story is a tug-of-war when Elizabeth reneges on her promises to provide sanctuary and Mary plots her release with her powerful French and Spanish allies. An interesting twist is how Mary makes George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury fall in love with her, putting George in a bind between the woman he loves and his allegiance to his queen.
Like The Boleyn Inheritance, this story is told by several people: Mary's "jailors" George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife Bess of Hardwick; and Mary, Queen of Scots. These different viewpoints give us an insider look at how both sides plot and connive while maintaining the so-called dignity of royal life. But The Boleyn Inheritance is hands down the winner, where you feel even for the most despicable of characters - in particular Jane Boleyn, the wife of George Boleyn who was responsible for sending both her husband and his sister Anne Boleyn to the gallows.
And here The Other Queen fails miserably. The portrayal of the two queens is skewed in heavily in favour of Mary. You can't help but fall in love with her, just like the Earl of Shrewbury did. She comes across as regal yet childlike, a beautiful strong woman, and very, very dignified. Then there is that small, rather annoying detail of how she pronounces Shrewsbury - Chowsbewwy - a small detail obviously aimed at making you want to go awww.
On the other hand, Elizabeth, in the very few instances where she does appear in the book, comes across as cold and a mere puppet of her powerful advisor Cecil. It makes me wonder why Gregory didn't make Elizabeth one of her storytellers -- didn't she have enough material to make Elizabeth more human?
I liked the portrayal of Bess of Hardwick, who in this day and age, was a "self-made" woman who rose from poverty and learned the hands-on running of her estates, albeit her estates are by virtue of marriage or the spoils of the overthrown papal rule. But as the novel wore on, her constant complaining of how hosting Mary was driving them to ruin, was getting on my nerves.
The story plods along. There is little action but there is quite a bit of psychological action, though it can wear you down after a while. And probably because 19 years is a long time to cover, the story skips on to the end where there is a strange dream sequence of Mary's execution, where Mary is the heroine, George is watching with tears in his eyes, and Bess - now separated from George and with her wealth intact - hears about it through others.
Full review here: http://guiltlessreading.blogspot.com/2010/03/other-quee…

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guiltlessreader aka screamingbanshee said on Mar 19, 2010 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

The Other Queen

Another intriguing tale from the Queen of historical romance. When reading the novels of Philippa Gregory it is very easy to forget that they are works of fiction as her extensive research brings history alive on the printed page.
This time it is the story of Mary Queen of Scots, during her ye ... (continue)

Another intriguing tale from the Queen of historical romance. When reading the novels of Philippa Gregory it is very easy to forget that they are works of fiction as her extensive research brings history alive on the printed page.
This time it is the story of Mary Queen of Scots, during her years of imprisonment as the so called ‘guest’ of the Shrewsbury’s. This tale of suspense, passion and political intrigue is related to the reader by the three protagonists, Mary herself, George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury and his determined wife Bess of Hardwick.
George, Lord High Steward of England for Queen Elizabeth I and only fairly recently wed to Bess finds himself commanded to guard Queen Mary as a guest in his household.
Bess a self made woman who has used three previous marriages as a stepping stone to her fourth, The Earl, at first sees this arrangement as beneficial to her household. It is only after seeing her husband with Queen Mary that Bess realises that at forty one she is already an old woman. Past child bearing age she is a woman who has risen as high as she is likely and can now only face decline. It seems she is now competing with a Queen for her husband’s heart.
George takes his task very seriously as a loyal servant to Queen Elizabeth I, however he still finds himself becoming emotionally attached to this young woman who has become part of his household. It his gullibility that is the cause of him squandering his wife’s inheritance that she bought to the marriage on a young woman who will continue her fight for her throne no matter what.
Mary a young woman of tremendous courage and determination through out her imprisonment never gives up her fight for the throne, even as plot after plot to free her is discovered.
As a story based on historical fact told to us by three main players during an interesting period in history this novel could not be better. As the reader I felt involved with Mary, George and Bess as individually they told of their hopes and disappointments during the years that plans were made, acted on and failed time and again to restore Mary to her rightful place on the throne of Scotland and provide freedom of choice in religion for the British people. Had they succeeded the course of history would have been somewhat different!

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Lindyloumac said on Aug 30, 2009 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Interesting history but slow

Although I love Philippa Gregory's books, this - regrettably - was a bit too slow going for my taste. The book is written in three voices: George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and his wife, Bess of Hardwick, who were charged with responsibility for the Mary, Queen of Scots; and the third narrator ... (continue)

Although I love Philippa Gregory's books, this - regrettably - was a bit too slow going for my taste. The book is written in three voices: George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and his wife, Bess of Hardwick, who were charged with responsibility for the Mary, Queen of Scots; and the third narrator being Mary, Queen of Scots. Having read the author's full set of Tudor novels, this (to date) is the "final chapter".

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wgeddert said on Jul 6, 2009 | Add your feedback