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Three Sisters, Three Queens - Philippa Gregory

The story of this novel focuses on the lives of Margaret Tudor, Mary Tudor and Katherine of Aragon and is told from Margaret’s point of view. We see each of the women become a queen, get married, have children, lose children and deal with being a woman in medieval times.  My first thoughts about this novel was that like a couple of Gregory’s other books, it was a bit repetitive in places. Margaret is constantly reminding us that she is a Tudor and of her rivalry with Katherine that you feel like she is saying the same thing over and over. I felt the same way with The King’s Curse and The Red Queen , also by Gregory. This book was a bit of a slow burner to begin with but the pace did pick up a bit as I read on. The main character, Margaret, isn’t very likeable. She seems very fickle. Her attitude to people seems to change with the wind. She loves Katherine of Aragon then she hates her then she loves her again then she’s back to hating her. She seems very insecure (a common Tudor tr...
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A Dangerous Inheritance - Allison Weir

A Dangerous Inheritance is a novel about Kate Plantagenet, illegitimate daughter of Richard III, and Katherine Grey, sister of Jane Grey, who were born 70 to 80 years apart but are linked by their obsession of finding out what happened to the princes in the Tower. It is a split narrative between the two main characters. Both women are feisty and headstrong and are ruled more by their heart than their head which is dangerous given their close proximity to the throne at a time when the succession is an issue.  Katherine is tainted because of her association with her sister, Jane Grey. She converts back to the Catholic religion during the reign of Mary I and when Elizabeth comes to the throne many rally around Katherine, seeking to depose Elizabeth and install her on the throne instead - with or without her consent. She is heir to Elizabeth and sees herself as the logical successor. She knows one wrong move could put her in danger but she marries Edward Seymour without Elizabeth’s co...
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Stormbird - Conn Iggulden

Stormbird is the first book in the Conn Iggulden’s Wars of the Roses series.  The novel begins with Henry VI on the thrones of England and France but all is not well. England needs a truce with France at any cost. This desperate need for a truce leads to the marriage between Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou and England giving Maine and Anjou back to France as part of the treaty leading to many unhappy Englishmen. The fictional character of Derry Brewer, ex-soldier and spymaster to the king, is an interesting one. I felt it allowed William de la Pole to be a more sympathetic character than he has been in both the history books and other historical fiction works. It takes the responsibility away from him and puts it in Brewer’s hands and when he is killed we feel sorry for him. We are also told that Henry VI has no involvement in the plot apart from wanting the truce in the first place.  It was interesting to read a novel that champions people that are usually treated unsympathe...
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Red Rose, White Rose - Joanna Hickson

The Wars of the Roses was a bloody era of murder and mayhem featuring epic battles for political dominance between the houses of York and Lancaster. Red Rose, White Rose tells us the story of Cecily Neville from before her marriage to Richard of York to the moment her son, Edward of York assumes the throne as Edward IV.  There are two narrators in the story, Cecily and Sir Cuthbert, Cecily’s half-brother. Cecily Neville is known primarily in the history books as someone’s wife or mother. She was of royal blood - a descendent of King Edward III, as is every key player in the Wars of the Roses. Sir Cuthbert is a fictional character though you would never guess it. He feels very real and I was surprised to find out he was fictional. The addition of his character is a good one though as it allows us to see the battles of the time which Cecily would not have witnessed.  Cecily has an affair in this novel. Not the affair that is alluded to in the history books that questions Edward...
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The Humans - Matt Haig

I had heard so many good things about this book, read so many tweets about how good it was. I have read The Radleys , Matt Haig’s book about a family of vampires living in the suburbs, and enjoyed it so I put The Humans on my Christmas wish list.  The plot of the novel is an alien being sent to Earth because mathematician Andrew Martin has discovered the secret of prime numbers, a discovery that the human race couldn’t possibly be trusted with. The alien’s job is to eliminate Andrew, destroy all evidence of the discovery and get rid of anyone he may have told about it. Things start off well but there is one thing that they alien had not counted on, he starts to empathise with the human beings he encounters, he even grows to love them.  Our alien narrator makes many observations about humans and their behaviour and touches lightly on how foolish much of that behaviour is. However, as the alien spends more time on earth with humans he begins to question his orders and his plane...
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The King's Curse - Philippa Gregory

The King’s Curse is the final novel in Philippa Gregory’s Cousins’ War series. It focuses on the life of Margaret Pole, daughter of the Duke of Clarence and cousin of Elizabeth of York and the princes in the Tower.  The novel begins just after the death of Margaret’s brother, the Earl of Warwick during Henry VII’s time on the throne and takes us through to the last  years of Henry VIII’s reign. There is a bit of an overlap from her other books, The Constant Princess in particular, but when writing about the same period from different people’s perspectives I suppose that it is to be expected.  I don’t really have an issue with historical accuracy in this novel. Philippa Gregory tends to get her facts right. She is known for taking a position on facts that are still being debated today and sticking with it - Anne Boleyn committing incest, who killed the princes in the Tower - and this novel is no different. I did, however, find it hard to warm to the main character of Ma...
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The Tudor Bride - Joanna Hickson

This is Hickson’s follow up to The Agincourt Bride which focuses on the life of Catherine of Valois, wife to Henry V, mother to Henry VI and founder of the Tudor dynasty. This novel picks up where The Agincourt Bride left off and charts Catherine’s life from her arrival in England in 1420 to her death in 1437.  Catherine’s marriage to Henry V is short-lived when he dies unexpectedly leaving Catherine a widow at the age of 21 with a baby who is also now the king of England and France. Her brother-in-law, the duke of Gloucester and the villain of the novel, pushes her further and further out of her son’s life and refuses to let her remarry until the king is of age to rule in his own right. Lonely, Catherine finds love with Owen Tudor, a man far beneath her in status, and marries him in secret.  This book was even more enjoyable than the first. There is a lot more going on, much more to the story. The first novel depicting the first half of Catherine’s life is full of neglect, ...
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