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The Other Queen

(The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #15)

Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.67 · Rating details · 43,351 ratings · 2,764 reviews

Two women competing for a man's heart.
Two queens fighting to the death for dominance.
The untold story of Mary, Queen of Scots.

This dazzling novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory presents a new and unique view of one of history's most intriguing, romantic, and maddening heroines. Biographers often neglect the captive years of Mary, Queen o

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Hardcover, 438 pages

Published September 16th 2008 by Atria Books (first published 2008)

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Lists with This Book

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

Best Books About Tudor England

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Best Historical Fiction

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Sep 11, 2008 Diana rated it it was ok

This book took me quite some time to get through. I have read Philippa Gregory's other books, and though they are not always factually correct, and most often read like gossip mags, I have come to enjoy them and expect that of her books. This was so long and drawn out, and not at all enjoyable. It is written from the viewpoint of Mary Queen of Scots and her two jailers, but you are never engaged with any of the three main characters. Gregory simply twists and repeats the same sentiments for each ...more

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Sep 15, 2018 Erin Clemence rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

This review is for the audiobook version of “The Other Queen” by Philippa Gregory, published by Recorded Books, and narrated by Stina Nielsen, Jenny Sterlin and Ron Keith.

Audio: 5 stars The narration for this novel is a full-fledged five stars. The story is told from three viewpoints (Bess, Mary and George) and each character gets its own distinctive and independent voice. I give bonus points when audio books do this, as they can be hard to follow with only one narrator (not to mention ...more

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May 13, 2014 B the BookAddict rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Lovers of Historical fiction

Recommended to B the BookAddict by: Goodreads

Shelves: hist-fiction

photo 220px-Mary_Stuart_Queen_zps9caa0637.jpg

The ill-fated Mary Queen of Scots.
The Tudor blood ran in her veins yet she was ousted from Scotland and denied the English crown in the event of Elizabeth's death. Her right to the crown is often debated amongst historians.

photo 200px-George_Talbot_6th_Earl_of_Shrewsbury_1580_zps87e14ac8.jpg

Her guardian George Talbot 6th Earl of Shrewsbury.
A man torn between serving his own queen Elizabeth 1 and Mary who is thrust into his household.
He was in an unenviable situation; to serve England or to honor what is right and just.

photo Bess_Talbot_Countess_of_Shrewsbury_from_NPG_zps85674d1f.jpg

His wife Bess Talbot Countess of ...more

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Jun 16, 2011 Orsolya rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: queens, library, historical-fiction, mary-stuart

I cannot fathom why every reader must compare every book of Gregory's to The Other Boleyn Girl. I understand that it was the most popular and was made into a film. That doesn't mean every comment should be "This is not like The Other Boleyn Girl" or "This is so much better than The Other Boleyn Girl". Can't an author write other books and in other writing styles?! Furthermore, I will bet a million dollars that 80% of the other readers NEVER read The Other Boleyn Girl and only saw the film which ...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, 21th-century, historical, literature, british

The Other Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #14), Philippa Gregory
The Other Queen is a 2008 historical novel by British author Philippa Gregory which chronicles the long imprisonment in England of Mary, Queen of Scots. The story is told from three points of view: Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots; Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, also known as Bess of Hardwick; and George Talbot, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury.
Mary Stuart, cousin to Queen Elizabeth, has fled to England after she has lost t The Other Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #14), Philippa Gregory
The Other Queen is a 2008 historical novel by British author Philippa Gregory which chronicles the long imprisonment in England of Mary, Queen of Scots. The story is told from three points of view: Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots; Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, also known as Bess of Hardwick; and George Talbot, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury.
Mary Stuart, cousin to Queen Elizabeth, has fled to England after she has lost the support of the Scots after marrying Lord Bothwell (James Hepburn), whom the people believe murdered her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. She has left her son in Scotland in the hands of the Protestants and expects her cousin to restore her to her throne. Secretly, however, Mary recognizes herself as Queen of Scotland (since she was born to it), France (since she married to it), and England (since Elizabeth's paternity and her mother's marriage to her father is questionable). As Mary plots to overthrow Elizabeth, Elizabeth puts her in the custody of George Talbot and his wife, Bess of Hardwicke, in response to Mary's repeated attempts to claim the English throne. Mary is indignant at the captivity, repeatedly stating her royal status, and is upset when she is given some of the reigning queen's gowns to wear, saying that they are "hand-me-downs." She is unafraid of punishment for any reckless or insulting behavior she makes to her cousin, believing that one would never execute a fellow monarch. Most of the novel centers around the first few years of Mary's Stuart's imprisonment, during which time she makes several failed escape attempts and almost immediately begins to seduce the earl. George slowly begins to feel his loyalty to Elizabeth fade, replaced by a strong attachment to the captive queen. This results in marital problems with Bess, who ultimately separates from him.

عنوان: ملکه دیگر؛ نویسنده: فیلیپا گریگوری؛
ماری استوارت، معروف به «ماری یکم»، نه ماه پس از به دنیا آمدنش، تاجگذاری کرد، و به صومعه فرستاده شد، تا شناسایی نشود، و با امنیت بزرگ شود، و اداره ی کشور را بر دوش گیرد. ایشان در صومعه شناسایی شدند، و به جانشان سوء قصد شد. ایشان را به فرانسه فرستادند، تا با «فرانسیس (نخستین فرزند هانری دوم از دودمان والواها)» ازدواج کند. پس از درگدشت «هانری دوم» پادشاه فرانسه، «فرانسیس» بر تخت نشست، و یک سال بعد «فرانسیس» نیز درگذشت، و «ماری» به «اسکاتلند» بازگشت، تا شورش را سرکوب کند، و تاج و تختش را پس بگیرد. پس از چندی با پسر عموی خود «لرد دارنلی»، ازدواج کردند، که حاصل این ازدواج، تنها فرزند «ماری»، به نام «جیمز» بود. پس از کشته شدن «دارنلی»، «ماری» و «لرد باثول»، به شرکت در آن قتل متهم شدند. «ماری» فرزند خود را به «ملکه الیزابت انگلستان (دختر هنری هشتم انگلستان)» سپردند، تا او را وارث انگلیس و اسکاتلند کند. سرانجام «ماری»، در چهل و چهار سالگی، به دستور «ملکه الیزابت» گردن زده شد. «ماری» آخرین باری که فرزند خود را دید، در ده ماهگی او بود. ا. شربیانی ...more

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Jan 23, 2009 Vivienne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Gregory seems to have changed her style some since 'The Other Boleyn Girl'. This is certainly not a frothy bit of 16th century soap opera but quite a serious and well researched bit of historical fiction on life of Mary, Queen of Scots during the first few years of her imprisonment in England.

It also places a great focus on one of my personal heroines of the period, Bess of Hardwick. She is one of the three narrators. The others are Mary and Bess' husband George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, who s ...more

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Sep 18, 2009 Tara Chevrestt rated it did not like it

Shelves: women-that-really-existed-fiction, england, historical-fiction

As a Gregory fan, I am very very disappointed. This book has the same style as The Boleyn Inheritance, in which it goes back and forth between narratives of three different people. That, I did not mind. The narratives themselves are awful. You have Bess Hardwich who just goes on and on and on about her properties and her candlesticks stolen from monasteries and her account books. She never talks of much else and she speaks every 2nd chapter. You have her husband George that just rambles on about ...more

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Sep 20, 2008 Quianna rated it did not like it

Shelves: historical-fiction

This is the latest book in the Tudor series and it is painful to get through. I can pick up The Other Boleyn Girl and read through it in one sitting, but each book in the Tudor series grows more and more tired until we are left with the mess that is The Other Queen. Using three different perspectives worked fine in The Boleyn Inheritance, but in this book they change so often, sometimes lasting only a page and a half, it is hard to grow attached, or even understand the point of view of one singl ...more

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Sep 26, 2020 Gary rated it it was ok

Having enjoyed some of Phillipa Gregory's work I chanced upon this with great expectation. This was a major disappointment which I could not finish. Little insight is gained into Mary, Queen of Scots, and the other two narrators, Lord Shrewbury and his Lady Bess, came across as pathetic. This is such an exiting period of history and Mary, queen of Scots was such an interesting character that I found it hard to believe that story could be made so dull by the alternating missives of the three narr ...more

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Jan 10, 2009 Anna rated it did not like it

Shelves: fiction, library-book, read-in-2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 04, 2019 Natasa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: tudor-era, favorites, elizabeth-i, mary-queen-of-scots, the-stuarts

Full review you can find on my blog: http://poetryofreading.blogspot.com/2...

Anyone interested in history should find this fascinating. Although there are multiple interpretations of the accountability of Mary and all those involved with the many plots to restore her to the Scottish throne Gregory’s story is as plausible as any and more fascinating than most. ...more

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Nov 07, 2018 Andrea marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

Le sigh. I swore to never ever read another Gregory book. The sample sounds like I will loathe it. But how on earth am I supposed to resist the glorious combination of Richard Armitage and Alex Kingston? Huh? HOW??? Le sigh...

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Oct 27, 2012 Brittany B. rated it did not like it

Shelves: worst-book-ever, audiobook, historical-fiction, fiction, wish-i-never-read, historical-england, author_drives-me-nuts, authors-_why-am-i-still-reading-thi

This is Philippa Gregory's worst book. If this had been her debut novel, it would never have been published. I've read most of Gregory's books, Ive come to realize that the bad outweigh the good.

And here is her book of shame:

When the book opens, Mary, cousin to Elizabeth, seeks protection and refuge in England. She has been chased from France, following the death of her husband. The Scots hate and rebel ag/ her. She has no one but Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth promises her safety, but keeps her g

This is Philippa Gregory's worst book. If this had been her debut novel, it would never have been published. I've read most of Gregory's books, Ive come to realize that the bad outweigh the good.

And here is her book of shame:

When the book opens, Mary, cousin to Elizabeth, seeks protection and refuge in England. She has been chased from France, following the death of her husband. The Scots hate and rebel ag/ her. She has no one but Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth promises her safety, but keeps her guarded until she can be sure of Mary's loyalty. Elizabeth must also figure out how to help her: Mary is a queen with no throne; Scotland refuses to accept her. As this story begins, Elizabeth, acting both in good faith and in caution, places Mary under guard with a noble English family.

That is an intriguing backstory, is it not? So the first quarter of the book is slightly interesting. But....Then....nothing ever happens!!! There is no plot, we are "told" everything. There is no actual action. The setting is bland and the story is boring and completely repetitive.

What about the characters?? The main character, Mary Queen of Scots, is a monster bitch, I'm serious! Through her first person narrative, Mary shows herself to be the single most narcissistic and unsympathetic character I have read in a long time. O.K. Now that Mary is safe, thanks to her cousin, what does she do? She never stops plotting against Elizabeth, except to revel in her own charm and beauty and greatness.

One of the things we are "told" is that at some point, every man in England, Spain and France falls madly in love with Mary. We are told that she is so enchanting she is able to seduce loyalty from the English queen's most loyal subjects. The queen is justified in keeping Mary under guard, considering she endlessly conspires against the crown of England. But Mary swears she is unjustly kept prisoner. Men everywhere feel compelled to "free" her from imagined captivity, so we are told. Mary's plotting and failing, her rescue and capture goes on for the entire book. This woman ruins so many lives in this book...

Meanwhile, the other two main speaking characters, the husband and wife who must keep her at their home, lose their appeal very quickly. I don't know what the author's aim was with this book. All that comes through is negativity and spite for every character, including an aged Queen Elizabeth and her trusted councillor William Cecil. (Gregory made her feelings for Elizabeth clear in the previous book, nothing has changed.)

There is nothing good about this book and I finished it only so that I would feel justified in rating it.

*********
I know only a little about Mary Queen of Scots. But I do know that she indeed conspired with others many times to steal the English throne, capture and even kill Elizabeth. Mary was Catholic, so she was a convenient alternative to a Protestant Elizabeth. Mary was delusional in this novel about her power over all men. It wasn't enchantment of her beauty, but pure politics and religious power that allowed Mary a chance to the throne. The pope excommunicated Elizabeth, and ordered Catholics to revolt against her. Mary was a convenient Catholic to place in throne.
********

I learned nothing that was remotely historical from this book. Nor did Gregory help flesh out Mary, so that the reader could understand her better. Gregory shed no light on the real history, and her fiction was pointless. Literally, I have no idea what the purpose of this book was. She did not show a different point of view or paint any depth to her characters. I never struggled with conflicted feelings. I was never moved by anything in this book, except the desire to rant this review on Goodreads!!! Lol. ...more

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Feb 13, 2011 Iset rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Insomniacs

Recommended to Iset by: No one

Shelves: wall-bangers, renaissance-age-1400-to-1650ce-fict

I groaned when I realised that Philippa Gregory had returned (why, oh why?!) to the formula she used in "The Boleyn Inheritance" of three different first person narrators. Three reasons why this format doesn't work for Gregory. One, she has a tendency to use this as a crutch so that she can "tell" rather than "show". Two, the voice of the three different narrators is indistinguishable and you only knew who was narrating which chapter because the chapter heading always said so. Three, in an effor
I groaned when I realised that Philippa Gregory had returned (why, oh why?!) to the formula she used in "The Boleyn Inheritance" of three different first person narrators. Three reasons why this format doesn't work for Gregory. One, she has a tendency to use this as a crutch so that she can "tell" rather than "show". Two, the voice of the three different narrators is indistinguishable and you only knew who was narrating which chapter because the chapter heading always said so. Three, in an effort to really distinguish the personalities of her three narrators from one another Gregory tends to hammer her readers over the head with certain points. From her first chapter, which was only five and a half pages long in paperback, Mary Queen of Scots repeats three times how she is a sacred anointed queen and a queen of three countries (Dowager Queen Consort of France, Queen Regnant of Scotland, and rightful heir to the throne of England). I could tell instantly that this is what she would be harping on about for most of the book. The three protagonists often express the exact same thoughts in concurrent chapters. Real people do not think exactly the same thoughts as each other.

Once again, Philippa Gregory lazily amalgamates Francis Walsingham into William Cecil, and the historical inaccuracies are ever a problem in Philippa Gregory's works. This is the third book in which Gregory promotes the idea that Elizabeth was in fact the daughter of Mark Smeaton, the other books being "The Queen's Fool" and "The Virgin's Lover". I overlooked this in the previous two books, but by this stage the level of her anti-Elizabeth bias is plain for all to see. As a historian, this is a glaring example of how Gregory picks out baseless slander to insert into her books over the facts. There are plenty of anachronisms too. Bess refers to the exploits of "Sir Francis Drake" in a chapter dated 1569, but Drake would not launch his first major enterprise to the Spanish Main in order to plunder Spanish treasure ships until 1572, and he wasn't even knighted until 1581 - in 1569 he was no more than an officer in the private fleet of his distant cousin John Hawkins and no one in Elizabeth's court would have heard of him. Bess also refers to "a fine Turkey carpet" which keeps popping up in the novel. Turkey, as a nation state, would not come into being for several centuries; in 1569 it was known to Elizabethan England as the Ottoman Empire. Mary's character talks about the Spanish raising an Armada for her in yet another chapter dated 1569, when in fact construction work did not commence on a planned Armada until 1586. Astonishing. Gregory even picks out details such as Mary making an embroidery of her new motto - "In my end is my beginning" - whilst with Bess at Tutbury Castle, when in fact Mary sewed this motto when she was newly arrived in England and at Carlisle.

A word on the resolution of the two plots as portrayed in the novel. The first plot, known as the Northern Rebellion, is resolved in the book by a simple loss of confidence from the Northern forces and a melting away of the threat. In fact, though Elizabeth struggled to raise an army at first, she was able to muster an initial force of 7000 men, and a supporting army of over 12,000, against the estimated 4600 of the rebels. The second plot, the Ridolfi plot, was actually uncovered by John Hawkins - aforementioned relative of Francis Drake - who gained the confidence of the Spanish ambassador to England and informed the government. Elizabeth was also sent a second notification about the plot from the Grand Duke of Tuscany, so far from being without friends in Europe as the novel proclaims she was, this was not the case at all. There was no Spanish help coming for Mary - they rejected the idea of sending support because of Mary's close ties to France. Philippa Gregory must have researched even these basic facts when writing the novel, so why does she falsify events? Why not go with actual events? The only reason for doing this that I can see is to underplay Elizabeth's support and popularity, overplay the support and popularity of Mary, and portray Elizabeth's situation as far more precarious than it was. It's repeatedly stated that the whole of the North is in support of Mary, but this was not the case at all. The Papal Bull mentioned in the novel, encouraging Elizabeth's Catholic subjects to rise up against her and assassinate her, was widely ignored by English Catholics, who enjoyed the prosperity brought by her moderate middle-way policies.

This ties in with the repeated nonsense notions in the novel that Elizabethan England was crawling with spies, that torture was used as a matter of course, and that justice and law meant nothing to "evil Cecil" and Elizabeth's other "unscrupulous, hard-hearted" advisors. Norfolk's trial is portrayed as little more than a show trial. The Protestants, embodied in Bess, are portrayed as nothing more than greedy money-grabbers concerned only with expensive houses and possessions. All of this seems simply a ploy to further vilify and discredit the historical figures that Philippa Gregory dislikes, whilst at the same time promoting those she has taken a liking to. I'll give you an example of this. Towards the end of the novel, Mary receives a crude drawing of herself as a mermaid and a comment on her scandalous love life. Mary and Bess then discuss how the drawing and other scandals going around about Mary were probably created and spread by Cecil's agents. I mention this in particular because I've seen exactly the artefact on which this little incident is based. It comes from Edinburgh in Scotland (not from England), and dates to the spring of 1567 (not December 1571), at the height of Mary's affair with Bothwell. The placard was one of many such plastered throughout Edinburgh at the time, and reflected a widespread unpopularity of Mary amongst her own people. The fact that Philippa Gregory uses this artefact and twists it in such a way clearly demonstrates her bias against Elizabeth and Cecil and the way she changes the facts in her novels for seemingly no other reason than her own biases.

Gregory's selection of time period feels odd, given that she could have chosen from many other far more interesting periods in Mary's life, such as the murder of Rizzio and Darnley followed by the rebellion of Mary's lords against her and Bothwell. The characterisations of the three narrators were uninteresting - George was dull and I rushed to get past his chapters, and I found it incredulous that he was so blinded by his love for Mary (incidentally I would really like to see the supposed wealth of evidence that Philippa Gregory claims in her author's note strongly suggests that George was in love with Mary). Bess was reduced to a constant cataloguing of her income and outcome, always at her account books and grumbling about Mary reducing them to paupers. I found it hard to like Mary when not only is she so false, but almost every single character falls under her charms and Gregory drastically overplays her popularity and prospects. An even worse sin - she makes Mary boring. Most of her thoughts and conversation are rehashed and vapid fare.

The book also severely lacks action. I thought something might happen when the three protagonists were forced to flee from the Northern Rebellion, and in fact the way they went on about how convinced they were that the rebels would catch them, I was anticipating an action scene or two... but then nothing. I don't think Philippa Gregory can write action. She dodged out of it in "The Constant Princess", she dodges out of it here, and come to think of it the only action sequence I can recall in any of her novels is the fall of Calais in "The Queen's Fool". Frankly, the book drags interminably and feels dull throughout. I didn't think much of George foreseeing Mary's death in an afterthought at the end - Gregory writes with far too much hindsight. Overall, the novel was simply monotone, failing to make an impact. It lacked passion, excitement or intrigue, and some of Gregory's readers have suggested that Gregory was by this time bored with the Tudors. ...more

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Aug 20, 2019 M.M. Strawberry Library & Reviews rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, scotland, 16th-century, europe, england

This is the last of the Plantagenet and Todor novels if you read them in chronological order but this is one of the earlier books when it came to publication.

If you know the facts of the life of Mary Queen of Scots, it really is sad. It sounds like she did not have much happiness in her life, and given her position, it's clear many people saw her as a pawn. I'm not saying that she was an angel or a very good person, but in that kind of clime it's not hard to see how that could affect someone's m ...more

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Apr 27, 2008 Lois rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-book, historical-fiction, all-things-british-history, books-i-own-digital-copy, reread-in-2020, hoopla-libby-cloud-library

I liked this considerably better on the 2nd reading.
I'm much more familiar with Bess of Hardwick. ...more

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Jan 12, 2019 Jackie rated it really liked it

Some great moments and a ton of repetition but still a good book

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Feb 03, 2012 Barbara (The Bibliophage) rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, historical-fiction, 2019, own-digital, booked2019

The Other Queen is everything I want in a Philippa Gregory book. Massive amounts of political scheming, told from three viewpoints, and details, details, details. I loved it. Gregory tells the story of when Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in Elizabethan England in the mid-1500s. If you’ve seen the 2018 movie Mary Queen of Scots, like I have, this is a bit more of the story.

The two queens are jockeying for position in their world. One is Catholic and the other Protestant. They may be cousins, ...more

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Sep 27, 2008 Lacy rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, historicalfiction, 2008

Phillippa Gregory novels are sort of my secret shame - I love her books and pretty much devour them as soon as they come out. This one was...well, it was just okay. The historical focus(Mary Queen of Scots) is intriguing, but...I felt like it was sort of just..meh, as Gregory basically gave Mary no personality other than her bizarre obsession with freedom (honestly, the character must have said (or had commented about her) that she "had to be free" about 95 times. I GET IT, okay?) and did a lot ...more

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Feb 19, 2009 Meghan rated it really liked it

Shelves: tudor-era, historical-fiction

What I love about Philippa Gregory's novels is that you fall in love with the main character, even if you hated them as a periphery character in a previous book; and you also find yourself hating periphery characters that were main characters in another novel and you feel like your world is all upside-down and you love it all the more for that. In this book I find myself hating Queen Elizabeth once again because of my complete sympathy with the main character of Mary, Queen of Scots. At the same ...more

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Sep 11, 2015 Shari Larsen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This novel is based on the true life story of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.

Mary looks to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth of England, for sanctuary after fleeing the violent rebellions in Scotland. Though she is promised protection, Mary is perceived as a serious threat to the English crown, and finds herself imprisoned as a "guest" in the house of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsberry, and his wife, Bess of Hardwick. The newly married couple welcome the condemned queen into their home, hoping that servi ...more

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Apr 30, 2008 Heidi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-historical, fiction, from-library-bll

The latest in Gregory's Tudor Court novels is about Mary, Queen of Scots. It sent me back to my Anne Somerset biography of Elizabeth I to look at certain details, and like most historical fiction, has prompted an interest in reading more actual history about the characters involved.

The book surprised me by being *very* focused on the Queen of Scots, with little of Elizabeth at all. It makes sense, but still surprised me. What also surprised me was the assumption that the average reader would be The latest in Gregory's Tudor Court novels is about Mary, Queen of Scots. It sent me back to my Anne Somerset biography of Elizabeth I to look at certain details, and like most historical fiction, has prompted an interest in reading more actual history about the characters involved.

The book surprised me by being *very* focused on the Queen of Scots, with little of Elizabeth at all. It makes sense, but still surprised me. What also surprised me was the assumption that the average reader would be on Mary's side. (At least, that was the impression I got: I'll have to wait until a couple of other Gregory-fan friends read it and tell me whether they think I'm wrong on that). I know very little about Mary, Queen of Scots, and until now, haven't been all that interested in her. I do remember the scenes in the Sullivan Anne of Green Gables - the Sequel, where Kingsford Ladies College puts on a production of ?Schiller's play (must have been in translation), and Emmeline steps in at the last minute when Jen Pringle pulls out in a bid to ruin Anne - Emmeline has the line "I never believed that she murdered Darnely", which I remember, but never really paid much attention to beyond that. I think my mother has an Antonia Fraser book on her - which I might think about digging out and reading now. But there was a distinct (it seemed to me) assumption that Gregory in writing that "history will remember Mary rather than Elizabeth" actually thought that was what had happened, which for me at least, hasn't been the case.

I found myself really warming to Bess Hardwick - who Somerset refers to only once, as the Earl of Shrewsbury's "termagent wife", when discussing the claim to Elizabeth's throne of her granddaughter, Arbella Stuart (someone else who I'm now wanting to follow up books about). But in Gregory's fiction, she's fascinating. A while ago I saw the end of a National Trust documentary about Hardwick House, which Bess built after the time in which the majority of this book is set. But it does get a mention in the book (of which I was quite glad).

I know it seems like a back-handed compliment to say that the book is "better than I expected it to be", but it's true. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. As long as Gregory hasn't changed her plans, her next three books are going to be about Queens in the time of the Wars of the Roses, and I'm really looking forward to those!

...more

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Apr 22, 2020 Karyn rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

A surprisingly fun tale of Mary Queen of Scots.
My first Philippa Gregory book, and probably not my last.

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Mar 22, 2010 Linda rated it it was amazing

Actually, what really got on my nerves was that Bess of Hardwick had to be such a jealous bi***. What can she expect Mary to do? Seduce old men or sell herself? She is born to be a queen, and a born sofisticated young women, and bold, and truely brave. Not to mention a beautiful lady. Bess, to me seems like an old ugly b****. I see that she's jealous about George, her husband the Earl of Shrewsbury, falling in love with Queen Mary, but what can the poor guy do? She's so intimidating and has such Actually, what really got on my nerves was that Bess of Hardwick had to be such a jealous bi***. What can she expect Mary to do? Seduce old men or sell herself? She is born to be a queen, and a born sofisticated young women, and bold, and truely brave. Not to mention a beautiful lady. Bess, to me seems like an old ugly b****. I see that she's jealous about George, her husband the Earl of Shrewsbury, falling in love with Queen Mary, but what can the poor guy do? She's so intimidating and has such an overpowering sex-appeal. Bess just seems too nasty to me. Especially because she is pathetic for thinking she is "loyal" yet was ready to side with the Queen of Scots, Mary Stuart, when she was sure the Northern lords would win the battle to free Queen Mary. She is a free spirit and I love how Phillipa Greggory makes you almost fall in love with her yourself. Great book, tough ending. Not what I had expected or would have wanted. But kudos for making it sweet and romantic, as well as bold and unexpectedly dramatic. George in my mind as I picture him is a young handsome man, faithful, yet sweet and innocent how he craves to have
Mary, but the crazy way of how thing are back then, he cannot cheat on Bess. He might be even put on the scaffold for it, I don't know. Those pathetic fiends. Killing each other like animals would.
I love how smart and quick whitted Mary is, especially when George whispers her to her that Cecil's spies came to question her, she quickly realized it was clearly a danger zone, whereas when he came to question Bess, Bess asked aloud why she needed to beware, after George quickly warned her. Sootbrains. Bess is responsible and hardworking, yet uncharming, manly, jealous, and stupid. No grace at all.
But anyway, I congradulate Phillipa for going behind the legends and folk tales, to go into the mind of the most well known people, and show how ridiculous kings and queens were, and to appreciate that you don't live in such beast-like times. I know that's what I learned, LOL. ...more

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Aug 29, 2013 Carolynn rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: books_reviewed, given-to-charity, historical-fiction, 2009, tudor_fiction, fiction

This novel deals with Mary Queen of Scots' early captivity in England whilst under the ';care' of Gilbert Talbot and his wife, Bess of Hardwick.

The book is written in the first person with each of Gilbert, Mary and Bess have a 'voice' in which to describe events as they have seen / experienced them. This is an interesting idea but imposes limitations on Gregory which in turn become major weaknesses - we cannot know anything the characters themselves do not know which leads to the introduction of ...more

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Jun 15, 2015 Sally906 rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical

Not one of my favourite Gregory books.

THE OTHER QUEEN is about Mary Queen of Scots and covers the time from when she enters England to throw herself on her cousin's mercy. her cousin being, of course, Queen Elizabeth I - hence the title the other Queen. The story finishes at Mary's execution. Mary is kept in custody in England - and her jailers were husband and wife Bess and George. George falls in love with the doomed Queen and Bess just looks on. THE OTHER QUEEN is told from the points of view ...more

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Dec 12, 2008 Sheila rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, england-ireland-scotland-wales

Not Philippa Grefory's best book by far, but it was okay. The story of Mary Queen of Scotts, this one was told from the view point of three different people, and while the comparison between Mary and Bess was interesting, the book did seem very repetitive on many issues, and did drag a bit. ...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Rukhsana Sukhan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scotland, uk, historical-fiction, the-tudors, mary-queen-of-scots, elizabeth-1, protestant-reformation, relationships

Philippa Gregory writes brilliantly, and really draws her reader into the sights, sounds, feeling of the 16th century. She really brings history to life.

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Aug 08, 2014 Sharon Robards rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, tudor-period

After reading a few of Philippa Gregory’s books set earlier in the Tudor period, I should have predicted the ending to this. But of course I went into this, knowing nothing about Mary Queen of Scots. Out of the books I’ve read from this author, this is my favourite, perhaps because I really wanted to keep reading because of my lack of knowledge of the heroine, if we can call her that, and the ending surprised me. Yes. I know. I should have known how it was going to end. It was also a pleasant ch After reading a few of Philippa Gregory’s books set earlier in the Tudor period, I should have predicted the ending to this. But of course I went into this, knowing nothing about Mary Queen of Scots. Out of the books I’ve read from this author, this is my favourite, perhaps because I really wanted to keep reading because of my lack of knowledge of the heroine, if we can call her that, and the ending surprised me. Yes. I know. I should have known how it was going to end. It was also a pleasant change from reading about a few of the wives of King Henry VIII in the earlier books I read.

Told from three povs, sometimes ranting and irritating ones, the story follows Mary who has a claim to three thrones; France, England and Scotland, during her imprisonment in England at the request of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

If you imagine being born into and living a privilege life and the entitlement you would feel: being the daughter of a King, the wife of a King, the mother of a future king and a Queen in your own right… to have it all taken away, then you can imagine a little what it must have been like for Mary Queen of Scots.

I’m not sure I would have liked this as much as I did if I was a history buff on this period…Although close povs were used I often felt a little distant to the what was happening. I sometimes found the povs ranting and really wanted to slap Bess thinking on and on about money and her lands and let's not forget the precious candles her ex scrounged from fallen Catholic churches, and George for ranting about his honour. How different history might have been if he'd left his nagging wife, and rode off into the sunset with his Queen of hearts.

I often thought these guys just think, think, think and then do more thinking, without often physically being involved with anything. Action didn't seem to be happening a lot of the time...just thoughts and thinking about what has happened, what might happen.

What kept me reading was that I didn’t know the ending. I learnt something. Mary’s pov was up and down with a range of emotions of a young woman who is constantly told she’ll be able to return home, see her young son, hold her own court again as Queen of Scotland and potentially the English throne. I thought the possibilities for the future, the hopes, the dreams, the helplessness, the plotting, and vengeance all came out well in Mary’s pov.
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Jan 01, 2009 Allison rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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About Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory

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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 Bo ...more

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The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels (1 - 10 of 15 books)

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“When a woman thinks her husband is a fool, her marriage is over. They may part in one year or ten; they may live together until death. But if she thinks he is a fool, she will not love him again.” — 125 likes

“A woman has to change her nature if she is to be a wife. She has to learn to curb her tongue, to suppress her desires, to moderate her thoughts and to spend her days putting another first. She has to put him first even when she longs to serve herself or her children. She has to put him first even if she longs to judge for herself. She has to put him first even when she knows best. To be a good wife is to be a woman with a will of iron that you yourself have forged into a bridle to curb your own abilities. To be a good wife is to enslave yourself to a lesser person. To be a good wife is to amputate your own power as surely as the parents of beggars hack off their children's feet for the greater benefit of the family.” — 67 likes

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