The Queen of the Quill
Title - The Virgin's Lover
Author - Philippa Gregory
Publisher - Simon & Schuster New York
ISBN - 978-0-7432-6926-1
Format - Paperback
$16.00 US/ $18.99 CAN
How I Read it - Paperback purchased from Barnes & Noble
Rating - 3.5
Synopsis: In the autumn of 1558, church bells across England ring out the joyous news that Elizabeth I is the new queen. One woman hears the tidings with utter dread. She is Amy Dudley, wife of Sir Robert, and she knows that Elizabeth's ambitious leap to the throne will draw her husband back to the center of the glamorous Tudor court, where he was born to be.
Elizabeth's excited triumph is short-lived. She has inherited a bankrupt country where treason is rampant and foreign war a certainty. Her faithful advisor William Cecil warns her that she will survive only if she marries a strong prince to govern the rebellious country, but the one man Elizabeth desires is her childhood friend, the ambitious Robert Dudley. As the young couple falls in love, a question hangs in the air: can he really set aside his wife and marry the queen? When Amy is found dead, Elizabeth and Dudley are suddenly plunged into a struggle for survival.
Philippa Gregory's The Virgin's Lover answers the question about an unsolved crime that has fascinated detectives and historians for centuries. Intelligent, romantic, and compelling, The Virgin's Lover presents a young woman on the brink of greatness, a young man whose ambition exceeds his means, and the wife who cannot forgive them.
My Review: I'm never disappointed with a Philippa Gregory book, and this one is no exception. I love the way she's able to imagine a beautiful story into the facts we already know, this time about the early years of Queen Elizabeth's reign and her relationship with Robert Dudley.
This story alternates between the perspectives of Robert, his wife Amy Dudley, and William Cecil, who served as Elizabeth I's chief councilor for much of her reign. Each of them moves the story forward, the main focus being the relationship between Elizabeth and Robert.
I really liked the different perspectives that we got to see, and I very much wanted to be sympathetic to Amy - who wants to be a discarded wife? However, I just couldn't get myself there. Perhaps I am alone with this sentiment, but I found her to be so irritating that I even thought "No wonder Robert wasn't interested in her anymore." At each interaction, I would plead for Robert to be more kind to her, yet think that I would likewise be as harsh with her.
As much as I wanted to like Robert, a character I have liked in the past, I had a hard time doing so. Philippa Gregory does an excellent job of showing both how Robert Dudley was considered very charming, but also that he was a man very interested in furthering his own fortunes. I found it difficult to ever believe he cared as much for Elizabeth as he claimed, he always seemed more ambitious than a man doing things for love. But when he's professing that love, I likewise found myself feeling as I imagine Elizabeth did - wrapped up in that admiration and how much he claimed to care for her.
At the same time, I really loved watching this story unfold, all the while knowing how it ended - it's no secret that Elizabeth I never married, despite the best efforts of both Dudley and Cecil. And reading this book makes me want to go back and reread or watch things I've seen about Elizabeth in the past, to see how much my perspective has changed and compare my knowledge of the story from before.
My only complaint is the same that I always have with Philippa Gregory: she is willing to take an assertion that is widely considered to be false, and present it as fact. I know it's to create a thrilling story, but I still find it to be pretty frustrating. It's still a book very much worth reading, and I found it to be quite entertaining, so I challenge you to read it and come to your own conclusions.
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7 comments:
Thanks for the great review. I too had problems liking Robert in this book. I would have to say that so far it's one of my top Gregory books.
Thanks for the review.
I enjoyed seeing different perspectives in this novel but other than that I (and I hate using this word) hated it. PG's portrayal of Elizabeth is so un-Elizabeth that it completely turned me off of this book. I do agree that Robert is very unlikeable in this novel. I could feel sorry for Amy occasionally but her attitude really irritated me for the majority of the story.
I have to say that this is my least favorite of PG's novels.
Renee - He was definitely difficult to like, the asides in his head were really frustrating to me! And I was a little disappointed there wasn't more about their childhood together.
Robinbird - Elizabeth was also a frustrating character, I really really want her to consistently be a strong woman who knows exactly what she wants, so it was hard to see her so influenced by the people around her.
This is a new book for me so thanks for the review. Love her books.
Mystica - I hope you enjoy it! I love her books too :)
Now this is the one Gregory book I did not like. I didn't care for anyone in the book and I didn'y like her portrayal of QE I at all. Love all her other stuff though, even Wideacre, that crazy story! Great review.
Jenny Girl - It's definitely not my favorite of her books, and I was disappointed that Robert wasn't more of a likable character. Still, I think it was worth reading, although I don't think I'll be picking it up again in the future.
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