Blending historical fact with contemporary rumor, the bestselling author of The Queen’s Fool creates a dark and tense novel of Tudor times, which casts Elizabeth I in a light no one has suggested before. Passionate, fearful, emotionally needy, this is a queen who rules over a feverishly plotting, pleasure-seeking court.
Reading this series in chronological order, rather than in published order, has been something of an interesting experiment. Gregory’s capability at the art of storytelling definitely improved with time, as indicated to me by the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed her more recently published works in this historically based series, while not really engaging that well with most of the earliest installments.
What I liked about “The Virgin’s Lover”:
About that… – It wasn’t unreadable. I just didn’t…well, that’s for the next section. Shall we then?
What I didn’t care for:
Another whiny narrator – Yes, Amy’s circumstances were miserable. But there is nothing that turns me off more than eternal whining. I know that her options were slim, given social norms of England in the mid 1500s, but no situation is ever improved by whining about it. As such, it makes for irritating reading material.
Repetitive – It felt like there wasn’t a lot of plot advancement through the first two-thirds of the book. Elizabeth flirted. Cecil worried. Robert schemed. Amy moved from one house to another and whined and pined. Robert made Amy feel bad. Elizabeth led people on. Cecil tried to keep England and Elizabeth safe. Robert manipulated Elizabeth by way of her heart and her loins. There. I said it all in one concise paragraph what was stated and restated for the first 300 pages. This book could have been half the length and still told the same story.
The portrayal of Elizabeth I – I found it rather odd that a Queen I had always read was strong, confident, intelligent, and able, showed none of these qualities in this book. While I know the historical fiction genre isn’t for everyone, I do enjoy a good fleshing out of the-story-that-might-have-been between the facts we do have. This was not that. This felt entirely revisionist and I didn’t really care for that take.
Wondering what possessed me to award this book two stars instead of only one? The very end of the book, where something new finally occurs, was actually pretty intriguing. It is one take on the cold case that is “what really happened to Amy Dudley?” But if you’re looking for a fictionalized look at Elizabeth I coming into her reign, look elsewhere. This book doesn’t lie about its premise, which is not the famed Virgin Queen, but rather her (suspected) lover. Though she plays an active role, she remains just slightly out of focus as we follow Robert Dudley along his path of selfish and destructive ambition.
Philippa Gregory’s books never disappoint. Elizabeth 1 lurches from weak and at other times, strong willed. I don’t think Ms Gregory kept true to history regarding this queen but it does not detract from the story. This book portrays Robert Dudley as a vain and thoughtless man who, at first, aims to win Elizabeth’s heart so he can marry her and to rise to the greatest role in the land, but ends up falling in love with Elizabeth 1 which ends up causing him a great misfortune. It also portrays Robert’s wife Amy and how she suffered as a result of his infatuation/love with Elizabeth 1. Philippa Gregory brings the characters to life. A great read, though not one of her best books in this series.
great read..
Much shorter than the others in the Tudor series, this one is told from the points of view of Amy and Robert Dudley and William Cecil more-so than Elizabeth I.
I love how the characters from history come to life in this book!
An impressive historical novel based on the true story of the relationship between Elizabeth the First and the charming but ruthless Sir Robert Dudley. Step back into the middle of the 16th century and read how Dudley, determined to reclaim what he perceives as his destiny, contemplates setting his adoring wife aside in order to marry the young queen.
Read this in hard cover, quite good. I like her style and how she use words, thoughts and sentence structure.
I enjoy all of this author’s historical fictions that I’ve read. Entertaining with a bit of history. Generally I do not enjoy biographies or historical books, but the fictional story adds an interesting aspect
A must read! Anything that she writes!!