Book Review: The Other Queen

Romance, intrigue, and politics can all be found in Philippa Gregory’s newest historical fiction novel, “The Other Queen.”

Moving away from the Tudor royal court, Gregory takes her readers into the countryside of England to the home of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. It is here that Mary Stuart, also known as Mary, Queen of Scots, resides as a “guest” after she seeks sanctuary from her own country. In reality, she is a prisoner, treated with comfort and care until her execution day. But she finds no love or sympathy in the Earl’s wife, Bess of Hardwick, who is a staunch royalist. Determined to see Mary hung, Bess will stop at nothing to bring her down and gain back the love of her husband.

Also wrapped up in the political intrigue are William Cecil, the right hand man of Queen Elizabeth, and Thomas Howard, cousin to the Queen and the Duke of Norfolk, as well as many more prominent figures in 16th century England.

As always, Gregory does a beautiful job of painting a picture of England while under the rule of the Tudors. Unlike her other novels of this era, Gregory switches gears, focusing on a Queen whose reputation as “a vain woman, a sinful woman, an idolatrous Papist woman” clouds the truth of who she really was. Gregory attempts to open her readers’ minds by showing the true character of Mary, giving her audience her vision of a strong woman faced with difficulty choices trying to keep her head.

This is what Gregory does best in her writing; she chooses women, strong women in their own right, and extrapolates from her research their characters, their personalities. Talbot’s wife, Bess, is a woman who had at least three marriages before landing an Earl and all three times she married to her advantage. Her business-like nature, conniving and cunning are the attributes that kept her alive and well, but it’s easy to forget her vulnerability and the vulnerability of Mary as well.

Though Gregory is a great writer, her stories are pretty much predictable. The trickiest thing about being a historical fiction author is that they cannot change history. Certain events must occur, some characters are doomed to disaster and the “good guy” does not always triumph.

The reader knows how the story will end, but the joy of reading a historical novel is not to reach the culmination of events. One reads this genre to understand more about the people in history, to see how their minds worked and their personalities through the eyes of the author.

So even if Gregory’s stories can be predicted and her writing style never changes, she can still weave together a beautiful piece of fiction to be enjoyed by almost anyone, men and women alike.
4 out of 5 stars