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270th out of 391 books
—
584 voters
The Queen's Sorrow
Plain and dutiful and a passionate Catholic, Mary Tudor is overjoyed when she becomes Queen of England. After the misery of her childhood, when her father, Henry VIII, rejected her and her mother, Mary feels at last that she is achieving her destiny. And when she marries Philip of Spain, her happiness is complete.
But Mary's delight quickly turns sour as she realizes that...more
But Mary's delight quickly turns sour as she realizes that...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
2008
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‘You question faith, and it’s broken, and it lets the darkness in.’
This novel was not what at all what I expected and initially I felt disappointed. However, as I continued reading, I found I was engaged by the lives of the various characters and at times was transported back to the politically and religiously difficult times in which they lived.
This is not really a novel about Mary Tudor (Queen of England 1553-1558). It is a novel about a number of people brought together by circumstance with e...more
This novel was not what at all what I expected and initially I felt disappointed. However, as I continued reading, I found I was engaged by the lives of the various characters and at times was transported back to the politically and religiously difficult times in which they lived.
This is not really a novel about Mary Tudor (Queen of England 1553-1558). It is a novel about a number of people brought together by circumstance with e...more
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Apr 09, 2012
Linda Lipko
added it
England post Henry VIII continued to be fraught with intrigue, back stabbing and a political system lending to a court of fear.
When Mary Tudor, Henry's first daughter, and child of Katharine of Aragon took the throne, the fires of Mary's hell raged throughout as indiscriminate burnings were a daily occurrence.
Married to a much despised Spanish King, Mary's heart was broken as it became obvious Philip loathed his bride and his primary goal was the throne. Philip brought his household to England w...more
When Mary Tudor, Henry's first daughter, and child of Katharine of Aragon took the throne, the fires of Mary's hell raged throughout as indiscriminate burnings were a daily occurrence.
Married to a much despised Spanish King, Mary's heart was broken as it became obvious Philip loathed his bride and his primary goal was the throne. Philip brought his household to England w...more
The book was a disappointment in that the blurb does not live up to the expectations it creates. However, this is overlooked as the characters are easy to identify with and follow.
The book really gives an insight into how the people of England lived under rule: with the eventual burnings and the amount of Spanish emmigrating into their country.
Being from the point of view of a Spanish man you see it all from a fresh perspectaive. With the few glimpses of the queen in this book she at last receiv...more
The book really gives an insight into how the people of England lived under rule: with the eventual burnings and the amount of Spanish emmigrating into their country.
Being from the point of view of a Spanish man you see it all from a fresh perspectaive. With the few glimpses of the queen in this book she at last receiv...more
Mary I of England, better known as Bloody Mary, has never evoked much sympathy, despite her fractured adolescence and horrible young adulthood, where she first suffered much of the deprivation and pain she later inflicted during her reign.
Nevertheless, her story is a fascinating one, and author Suzannah Dunn captures a fragment of it in her haunting novel, The Queen’s Sorrow. In focusing on the months after Mary's marriage to Philip II and her tragic, illusory pregnancy, Dunn has crafted an intr...more
Nevertheless, her story is a fascinating one, and author Suzannah Dunn captures a fragment of it in her haunting novel, The Queen’s Sorrow. In focusing on the months after Mary's marriage to Philip II and her tragic, illusory pregnancy, Dunn has crafted an intr...more
What a con this book is. The title and the blurb lead you to believe that this book is all about Queen Mary and her marriage to Prince Philip of Spain. I was really looking forward to getting more behind the skin of Bloody Mary and her phantom pregnancy etc but if she appears in more than 10 pages overall I'd be surpirsed. As for Prince Philip - well, I'm still waiting for his entrance.
This story is told through the eyes of Rafael Prado, a Spanish sundial maker who is one of Philip's entourage...more
This story is told through the eyes of Rafael Prado, a Spanish sundial maker who is one of Philip's entourage...more
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This book is set in the time of Mary Tudor, the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Shunted aside when her father abandoned her mother for Anne Boleyn, she succeeded to the throne upon the death of her half-brother Edward VI. There was rejoicing upon her accession to the throne but her reign was a terrible time and she is best remembered as “Bloody Mary”. She attempted to return England to Roman Catholicism and over 300 “heretics” were burned at the stake. Although the...more
If you're expecting a book about Bloody Queen Mary told from her viewpoint, you'll be disappointed. If, however, you're open to gaining insight into the ordinary person's experience during her rule, you'll find this book fascinating. Told from a man's perspective (and that in itself was refreshing to me) and who is one of the disliked Spanish foreigners "invading" England during the Queen's marriage, it's filled with nice historical observations, lovely language, and a surprising sweet love stor...more
The title of this book is misleading. The caption on the front of the book reads, "A love denied for which a country must suffer." You think the book is going to be about Queen Mary, her relationship with her husband, and her increasing religious fanaticism as her marriage falls apart. In a sense the book deals with that but only in a round about way. The book actually tells the story of Rafael, a Spainard who has come to England to design a sundial as a wedding present for Mary from her husband...more
Yet another deceiving title from Dunn as The Queen’s Sorrow and cover illustration as well as the synopsis on the back cover elude to this being the story of Mary Tudor, on her ascension to the throne. The story is told through the eyes of a Spanish sundial maker, Rafael, and actually is his story. Though Queen Mary is a central figure that the reader encounters briefly throughout the novel it is not her sorrow that we encounter but really that of Rafael. Perhaps the novel would be redeemed if R...more
This novel seemed less about Mary Tudor and more about Rafael Prado, a fictional sundial-maker to the King of Spain. Normally when authors create a fictional persona and place them in the thick of events, there's a careful balance between fact and fiction. That doesn't happen here. I picked up this novel because I've always been fascinated by Mary Tudor, her tragic life and how her behaviour shaped that of her half-sister Elizabeth. I've even had a soft spot for her, considering how badly she wa...more
Mary Tudor in this book is like the monarch in the Suzanne Vega song about the queen and the soldier. She has her troubles and a naive man believes that, as a result, things will go well for him. There are good descriptions of a harsh time in London - awful weather, poor harvests, capricious politics and lives turned upside-down - and a real attempt to make the reader sympathise with Rafael. However I could not credit his final mistake and so the only credible character in the book was, for me,...more
The cover, the title and even the synopses led to a mistake: Queen Mary appears very few times. The story revolves around Rafael, his story in England, his life in general, and his past in Spain. Mary is mentioned, of course, especially with all the brutal chances she had impose to her people, however, the only times I actually saw her “sorrow” was in two of the four encounters she had with Rafael – and what odd encounters! Their relationship, if we can say there was one, sounded so unreal! Near...more
A book which pictures life in London during the reign of Queen Mary. Maybe the title is misleading, as the story focuses on the actions of a Spaniard visiting London to build a sundial for the Queen. The depictions of the Londoners' mistrust of the Spanish, the squalor, the weather,and the household in which he is lodged are excellent. (Though I doubt whether anyone would go picking blackberries in October, a time when they have become tasteless and watery.) The mayhem brought about by ever-chan...more
More like three and a half stars because it was much better written than Queen of Subtleties and the characters were much more likeable but the actual monarch remained peripheral. If this had been marketed as a historical romance rather than a book about Queen Mary it would have fared much better, since it built you up for something that wasn't there. I had no sense of the relationship between Mary and her husband, who wasn't even 'on screen' once, nor how she really felt towards any of the even...more
This was the 3rd book by Suzannah Dunn I have read and so far all 3 have left me wanting more. This one was a disappointment in that the title Queens Sorrow (the queen being Queen Mary/Bloody Mary) and even the back cover make it look as if the book will have much to do with Queen Mary. Unfortunatey Queen Mary has little to do with the book at all. Even the great friendship between the make lead (Mr Prado) and the Queen mentioned in the back seems odd and unlikely in the book for the few times t...more
Although skillfully written, this book suffers from a fundamental flaw: the premise that brings the very distant protagonist into the presence of Queen Mary also removes the reader from her: first because the premise is silly and second because even if one accepted it, it would not allow enough access to make a book worthwhile in terms of insight or intimacy with the queen. As a case study of a man who has very little power--both politically and personally--this may work but also proves tedious...more
Jun 02, 2011
Alex
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
tudors,
historical-fiction
I honestly hate throwing in the towel on books. I never used to be able to do it, but I've finally gotten to a point in my life where I realized that trudging through a boring or bad book and hoping it gets better is not worth it. There's so many other books I want to read, it doesn't make sense to waste my time.
(I do always get at least 100-150 pages in before I quit, though.)
This book was just so incredibly disappointing. The title, the cover, the blurb on the back - they all suggest that we a...more
(I do always get at least 100-150 pages in before I quit, though.)
This book was just so incredibly disappointing. The title, the cover, the blurb on the back - they all suggest that we a...more
Despite its misleading title and even more misleading back-cover blurb, The Queen’s Sorrow by Suzannah Dunn is really the story of Rafael del Prado, a Spanish sundial-maker who arrives in England just after the marriage of Philip, heir to the Spanish throne, to Mary Tudor, Queen of England, known to history as “Bloody Mary.” Rafael is commissioned by the Prince to build a sundial as a wedding gift to his wife, but instead arrives in the midst of the diplomatic wrangling necessitated by trying to...more
A pretty fast read for historical fiction and while it was not wonderful, it was not bad. The title was misleading as it really was not about the queen (or her sorrow) but about a Spanish sun dial maker and his relationships - with England, with his host family, particularly Cecily and her son Nicholas, his fellow Spaniard Antonio and his wife Leonor and son Francisco home in Spain. And yes he has a couple encounters with the queen but she is really part of the setting in this book.
Felt completely let down by this book. The book is described as being about to Queen Mary. Much of the book is the thoughts and ramblings of a obscure spanish man. It was very difficult to keep reading this as it became very boring, only involving the Queen very minutely. I hate books that promise one thing and deliver another. Unfortunately that was not even a good alternative to what was promise in the book description.
I was a bit disappointed with this book. I enjoyed the other 2 Suzannah wrote on this period in English history, but this book entitled "The Queen's Sorrow" had really nothing to do with the queen at all! It focused on a spanish guy in service of the King but he didn't even do any service for the King. It was just about the spanish dude and his experience in England while reflecting back to memories of his life in Spain.
This was really disappointing, particularly when compared with Dunn's other books. Very slow, and more about England at the time of Mary, than Mary herself, despite the blurb. Part of the problem is the lack of dialogue, doubtless intentional as the two central characters do not speak the same language, but it means there is (imo) too much thinking and not enough speaking. Descriptive writing is as beautiful as ever but is not enough to compensate for a thin plot.
I purchased this book because it sounded like it would be about the Royal Court. Instead, it was about a home a short trip away from the Royalty. Told from the perspective of Rafael the story starts out very, very slow. I probably would have put this one down if not for trying to reach my year-end books read goal. I kept trudging through, and towards the halfway mark it got more enjoyable. A romance began to bud, which kept me intrigued and the violence in the country began to increase creating...more
I attempted to read this book once before and managed to finish it the second time around just because I am stubborn. I picked the book up because I enjoyed The Sixth Wife and the summary on the back of the book sounded like it would be interesting. To be blunt, The Queen's Sorrow was quite boring. I adore Tudor fiction so I was very disappointed.
This book was not what I expected and I was disappointed by it. I expected a historical fiction about Mary Tudor, as the title and blurb suggested, but instead it was all about a fictional Spanish character. And the ending was rubbish! It hasn't put me off reading any more of Suzannah Dunn's books, but I'll be more wary in the future - I enjoy Philippa Gregory's Tudor books a lot more.
After previously reading another of her Novels: Confessions of Catherine Howard, it was a big disappointment. The story was boring and never really got going, I kept reading in the hope it would improve but it never did. Any references to Queen Mary's reign were few and far between. Would'nt recommend it!
You know those books you pick up, start reading, and really aren't into? But then you think, "This has to get better"
Well, it doesn't. This has so very little to do with Queen Mary, I'm shocked they bothered mentioning her. It would be better titled "A Man Ruled By His Prick"
Jeez...
Well, it doesn't. This has so very little to do with Queen Mary, I'm shocked they bothered mentioning her. It would be better titled "A Man Ruled By His Prick"
Jeez...
I didn't enjoy this as much as The Sixth Wife or Queen of Subtleties. Nothing much really happened and I hoped to read more about Queen Mary not the sundial maker. Even though the scene of London in Mary's reign was portraied quite well it went on for too long with no actual story.
A quiet but compelling novel. If others find this book a let-down, it is because the write-up on the back is inaccurate, suggesting that this book is about Queen Mary, which it's not: her reign is merely the historical context of this gentle, moving love story.
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Suzannah Dunn was born in London, and grew up in the village of Northaw in Hertfordshire (for Tudor ‘fans’: Northaw Manor was the first married home of Bess Hardwick, in the late 1540s). Having lived in Brighton for nineteen years, she now lives in Shropshire. Her novel about Anne Boleyn (The Queen of Subtleties) was followed by The Sixth Wife, on Katherine Parr, and The Queen's Sorrow, set during...more
More about Suzannah Dunn...
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