T
itle: Three Sisters, Three QueensAuthor: Philippa Gregory
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis: Margaret Tudor, the second child and first daughter of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, has always known she was meant to be a queen. After her brother, Arthur, and Katherine of Aragon marry, Margaret is betrothed to the King of Scotland. In time, Katherine and Margaret's younger sister, Mary, both also become queens by marriage. Their sisterhood becomes a struggle between rivalry and friendship, as the wheel of fortune turns for each of them.
Other books I have read by this author: The Other Queen, The Boleyn Inheritance, The Constant Princess, The Last Tudor, The Taming of the Queen, The Queen's Fool, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Lady of the Rivers, The White Queen, The Red Queen, The Kingmaker's Daughter, The White Princess, The Red Princess, The King's Curse, The Virgin's Lover.
My Thoughts
I first expected that this novel would be written from three different points of view; Katherine of Aragon, Margaret Tudor, and Mary Tudor. In several of her other novels, Gregory uses this approach to tell the story from several vantage points. I was surprised and excited to find that it was, in fact, all first person present tense from Margaret. Gregory has told Katherine's story in the Constant Princess and The Last Tudor, and while I knew a bit about Mary, (like that she was Henry VII's favorite sister) I had never read anything about Margaret Tudor at all. Apparently, that is for good reason, because little has been written about her.
Margaret's relationship with her sister-in-law and sister is shown mostly through the writing of letters and the exchange of gifts, since she spends most of her life in Scotland, away from both of them. The author gives the reader a strong sense of the isolation that Margaret feels as she tries to keep peace between England and Scotland, and fights for the regency after a hasty second marriage.
As you can see, I am a faithful reader of Gregory's Cousin's War and Tudor series and with this novel, I have now read them all. Not only do I highly recommend this novel, but all of the novels in these series, as Gregory works to give voices to female figures in history who influenced events more strongly than they are given credit for.
Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!
To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above
I first expected that this novel would be written from three different points of view; Katherine of Aragon, Margaret Tudor, and Mary Tudor. In several of her other novels, Gregory uses this approach to tell the story from several vantage points. I was surprised and excited to find that it was, in fact, all first person present tense from Margaret. Gregory has told Katherine's story in the Constant Princess and The Last Tudor, and while I knew a bit about Mary, (like that she was Henry VII's favorite sister) I had never read anything about Margaret Tudor at all. Apparently, that is for good reason, because little has been written about her.
Margaret's relationship with her sister-in-law and sister is shown mostly through the writing of letters and the exchange of gifts, since she spends most of her life in Scotland, away from both of them. The author gives the reader a strong sense of the isolation that Margaret feels as she tries to keep peace between England and Scotland, and fights for the regency after a hasty second marriage.
As you can see, I am a faithful reader of Gregory's Cousin's War and Tudor series and with this novel, I have now read them all. Not only do I highly recommend this novel, but all of the novels in these series, as Gregory works to give voices to female figures in history who influenced events more strongly than they are given credit for.
Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!
To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above
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