The Other Queen: A Novel | Philippa Gregory

The Other Queen: A Novel | Philippa Gregory | Not that exciting, but not terrible either

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The Other Queen: A...

	The Other Queen: A Novel Philippa Gregory Touchstone, 2008 - 448 pages average customer review:based on 67 reviews view larger image
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Like a fly on the wall

I bought this book with some trepidation because though I enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl (long before the dreadful film) and its sequel, the others in the series, not so much. But this was written in such concise, compelling prose from the respective points of view of the main characters that I found myself taking the book with me wherever I went, just to be able to read it whenever I had a free moment. It does not disappoint in any way. Characters you can identify with, although all three have separate agendas; historical fiction that is informational in an organic way; a story stranger than fiction but most of it, based on fact; dialog (and internal monologues) that are as if you are a fly on the wall. Brava, Ms. Gregory!

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Not that exciting, but not terrible either

I've read quite a few of Gregory's other books and enjoyed them. This one wasn't as good as the others. Although I appreciate the fact that focusing on the years that Mary Stuart was a prisoner in England is a different focus for telling her story, the down side is that all of the most exciting parts of her story have already happened and are being retold or remembered. Since Mary is a prisoner there is really nothing for her to do, except plot and flirt.
The Earl of Shrewsbury is depicted as annoyingly simple. He falls in love with the Queen of Scots and despite the fact that she is constantly plotting and lying he STILL defends her to his wife and Queen Elizabeth, and STILL cannot say no to her.
The Countess was the most sympathetic character of the whole story. She is the only voice of reson and moderation. The only thing that bothered me was her constant assertion that she is a self-made-woman, risen from nothing. After hearing about how her previous husbands helped her gain and maintain her fortune over and over again I was ready to yell, "OK! I get it!".
I guess that I would have to say that I'm glad that I checked this book out of my local library and read it for free. It's not a terrible book, but when compared to Gregory's other books I feel that it comes up short.

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Tough material to write a novel about

While this was my least favorite of Phillipa Gregory's books, I think the problem was with the story she chose to tell, not because she did a poor job. From a historical angle, it was very interesting and I thought the idea of presenting this story from the perspectives of the guardians as well as the queen (and their division over what this responsibility meant and stood for) was great. It just wasn't an "entertaining" read. It would be difficult to write an "exciting" book when the main character is imprisoned throughout the entire novel. I thought she did a wonderful job with phrasing and writing, the plot itself just doesn't measure up to the other books I have read by her.

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