0 ratings | 0 reviews | avg rating:0.0

more photos (1)

#12 most followed

Philippa’s Year In Books

Philippa’s 2020 Year in Books

Take a look at Philippa’s Year in Books. The long, the short—it’s all here.

See Philippa’s 2020 Year in Books

Philippa Gregory’s Followers (29,185)

More followers…

Philippa’s Bookshelves

read (2)
currently-reading (0)
to-read (0)

Philippa’s Friends (2)

Touchstone Books

324 books | 2,811 friends

Simon & Schuster Canada

1,551 books | 3,952 friends

Philippa Gregory

Goodreads Author

Born

in Kenya

Website

http://www.philippagregory.com

Twitter

PhilippaGbooks

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction

Member Since

October 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/philippagregory

edit data

Philippa Gregory is one of the world’s foremost historical novelists. She wrote her first ever novel, Wideacre, when she was completing her PhD in eighteenth-century literature and it sold worldwide, heralding a new era for historical fiction.

Her flair for blending history and imagination developed into a signature style and Philippa went on to write many bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen.

Now a recognised authority on women’s history, Philippa graduated from the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she is a Regent and was made Alumna of the Year in 2009. She holds honorary degrees from Teesside University and the University of Sussex. She is a fellow of the Uni ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

Philippa Gregory is currently not accepting new questions.

Popular Answered Questions

If you could live in another period of time, when would it be? Why?

Philippa Gregory I have a very strict rule on this! No woman should wish to live before 1960 – life without reliable contraception was always a constant anxiety. No wo…moreI have a very strict rule on this! No woman should wish to live before 1960 – life without reliable contraception was always a constant anxiety. No woman who wants political power could be happy before we got the vote in the 1920s. No woman wanting an education should live in any period before women were admitted to universities and could graduate – so the 1920s for the UK. No married woman could own her own property before 1870 – you fundamentally became part of your husband's estate. In short, despite the dresses and the jewels for the upper classes the best time to be a woman in the western world is probably now. (less)

flag

643 likes · like
35 comments

For some reason, your books draw more controversy than most other historical fiction books. I have never been sure why, since its clear that you do a tremendous amount of research. Any ideas why this is so?

Philippa Gregory Alas, poor me! I really hate the sort of trolling that occurs from time to time, and I am amazed at the tone that people think appropriate to write ab…moreAlas, poor me! I really hate the sort of trolling that occurs from time to time, and I am amazed at the tone that people think appropriate to write about someone, or even to write to them. A lot of the most spiteful people are not trained historians – so they haven't learned the habit of detachment from the subject – they write as if they are defending an unjustly accused personal friend, whereas the reputation of these characters is something which can be rightly and carefully considered, and the people lived 500 years ago! At all the universities where I have taught or studied there is an absolute commitment to scholarly discussion which should never be personal or rude, and is supposed to get you – by the exchange of views and information – to a greater truth. So it is surprising and even shocking when people just rant. But often they forget that the books are novels, they are fiction and though based on fact they are supposed to be works of literature with their own narrative arc and language. I am not obliged to record everything that happened or even the whole of the life. The other thing that people seem to forget is that the books are almost all written from a point of view – often it's not what I think of a character, but what the narrator thinks of a character. You can see this really well in the contrast between The White Queen which was written from the point of view of Elizabeth Woodville, and The Red Queen which was written from the point of view of Margaret Beaufort. Their opinions of each other are those of rivals and sometimes friends and ultimately enemies – but I don't think of Elizabeth Woodville as a conniving sexually manipulative witch – that's Margaret Beaufort's opinion. My job is to get into her head, so as to invite the reader into her head and let the reader see the world through Margaret Beaufort's eyes with her prejudices and her mistakes. AND (as if this weren't complicated enough) Margaret Beaufort does not know all the history that I know, she does not know what happens after her death, so her account of the times is not what I would write if I were writing history. She's a fictional character in my novel and her view is a fictional account from a very limited idiosyncratic point of view. And finally – sorry for such a long answer – I think the controversy is the downside of success. More than 9 million people read my books – naturally a proportion of them won't enjoy them, or prefer one to another, or prefer the tv or the films. But on the other hand I enjoy a lot of praise and I get great reviews and I number some of the great historians of the period among my personal friends. The best response is from the readers who have been inspired to study history and read the records that I use for research so that they can find out for themselves what they think a character was like. That's so much more interesting than trying to shout other people down.(less)

flag

295 likes · like
34 comments

See all 30 answers from Philippa Gregory…

Combine Editions
Philippa Gregory’s books

Average rating: 3.92 · 1,506,898 ratings · 77,774 reviews · 99 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Other Boleyn Girl (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #9) 4.06 avg rating — 461,891 ratings — published 2001 — 139 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The White Queen 3.94 avg rating — 157,729 ratings — published 2009 — 109 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Constant Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #6) 3.91 avg rating — 151,651 ratings — published 2005 — 83 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Queen's Fool (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #12) 3.86 avg rating — 90,855 ratings — published 2003 — 74 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Boleyn Inheritance (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #10) 3.87 avg rating — 83,598 ratings — published 2006 — 97 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lady of the Rivers (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #1; Cousins War #3) 4.01 avg rating — 67,146 ratings — published 2011 — 75 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Red Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #3; Cousins War #2) 3.79 avg rating — 63,945 ratings — published 2010 — 93 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Virgin's Lover (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #13) 3.71 avg rating — 50,733 ratings — published 2004 — 67 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Other Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #15) 3.66 avg rating — 43,044 ratings — published 2008 — 58 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The White Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #5; Cousins War #5) 3.90 avg rating — 37,924 ratings — published 2013 — 61 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Philippa Gregory…

443 posts
Philippa Gregory's Blog: Philippa Gregory's News

Gardens for the Gambia update

Today, with huge pride in all the work that we have done, my partner in The Gambia and I have closed our charity and NGO Gardens for the Gambia. Those of you who have followed the progress of this little charity with big effects will know how much it has meant to me.

I founded it in 1994 by accident more than design, with a gift to a small rural school of the price of digging a well in the schoolya Read more of this blog post »

20 likes · Like • 3 comments • flag

Published on December 15, 2020 06:55 • Tags: gardens-for-the-gambia

View all 443 posts »

Series by Philippa Gregory

The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels (15 books)
by

Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.94 avg rating — 1,340,011 ratings

The Tudor Court (8 books)
by

Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.95 avg rating — 931,162 ratings

The Cousins' War (6 books)
by

Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.93 avg rating — 390,944 ratings

Wideacre (3 books)
by

Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.50 avg rating — 44,523 ratings

The Fairmile (2 books)
by

Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.80 avg rating — 16,670 ratings

More series by Philippa Gregory…

Related News

6 Great Books Hitting Shelves This Week

Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day. To create our...

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

rss
Philippa’s Recent Updates

Philippa Gregory has read Tidelands (The Fairmile #1) by Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 21, 2020 06:34AM · 22 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Tidelands by Philippa Gregory. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Tidelands by Philippa Gregory <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Philippa Gregory answered Janine's question: For some reason, your books draw more controversy than most other historical fiction books. I have never been sure why, since its clear that you do a tremendous amount of research. Any ideas why this is so? Alas, poor me! I really hate the sort of trolling that occurs from time to time, and I am amazed at the tone that people think appropriate to write about someone, or even to write to them. A lot of the most spiteful people are not trained historians See Full Answer
Aug 07, 2015 09:20AM · 295 likes · like View all 34 comments Patty Just finished the last of the Tudor books...The Virgins's Lover...I am sad...in a state of depression. I am stuck in the 1500's in England etc and can ...more May 04, 2017 08:24AM Kathleen Your books always set me off to learn more about the history. You are correct, it’s important to remember the books are fiction and enjoy. Once I have ...more Apr 30, 2020 11:11PM
Philippa Gregory made a comment in the group Ask Philippa Gregory — Ask Philippa Gregory topic " Dear All - this has been such a pleasure to talk with you all. I am so sorry that I couldn't answer every question, but it's been fun to spend most of ...more "
Feb 21, 2014 08:46AM
Philippa Gregory joined the group Ask Philippa Gregory
Feb 07, 2014 04:27AM · 5 likes · like

More of Philippa's books…

Quotes by Philippa Gregory

“For Harry Potter I have all the time in the world.”
― Philippa Gregory

707 likes

“You can smile when your heart is breaking because you're a woman.”
― Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl

681 likes

“If it means something, take it to heart. If it means nothing, it's nothing. Let it go.”
― Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl

tags: boleyn, england

503 likes

See all Philippa Gregory's quotes »

Polls

Which book should be our December group read?

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

3 votes, 60.0%

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

1 vote, 20.0%

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

1 vote, 20.0%

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell

0 votes, 0.0%

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

0 votes, 0.0%

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

0 votes, 0.0%

5 total votes

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
75 Books...More o...: Authors you love	17	2121	Jan 27, 2009 04:14AM
The Rory Gilmore ...: Any good books?	38	533	Jun 13, 2009 05:55PM
Mystery/Thriller ...: Philippa Gregory - The White Queen	2	53	Jul 11, 2009 08:28PM
Historical Fictio...: The Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List: Chapter 1, Historical Fiction	5	3589	Aug 03, 2009 08:14PM
Everything Parano...: Mini Book Challenge Ends August 15th	19	84	Aug 15, 2009 12:05AM
Pick-a-Shelf: 2009-09 - Historical Fiction - What will you Read in September	117	158	Sep 29, 2009 08:27PM