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The Other Queen: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Philippa Gregory
Publisher: Touchstone
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $15.57
You Save: $10.38 (40%)
New (45) Collectible (3) from $15.57
Avg. Customer Rating:  54 reviews
Sales Rank: 223
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.6
ISBN: 1416549129
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9781416549123
ASIN: 1416549129
Publication Date: September 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
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 of Scots, who trusted Queen Elizabeth's promise of sanctuary when she fled from rebels in Scotland and then found herself imprisoned as the "guest" of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his indomitable wife, Bess of Hardwick. The newly married couple welcome the doomed queen into their home, certain that serving as her hosts and jailers will bring them an advantage in the cutthroat world of the Elizabethan court. To their horror, they find that the task will bankrupt them, and as their home becomes the epicenter of intrigue and rebellion against Elizabeth, their loyalty to each other and to their sovereign comes into question. If Mary succeeds in seducing the earl into her own web of treachery and treason, or if the great spymaster William Cecil links them to the growing conspiracy to free Mary from her illegal imprisonment, they will all face the headsman. Philippa Gregory uses new research and her passion for historical accuracy to place a well-known heroine in a completely new tale full of suspense, passion, and political intrigue. For years, readers have clamored for Gregory to tell Mary's story, and The Other Queen is the result of her determination to present a novel worthy of this extraordinary heroine.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 49 more reviews...
 Other Queen just doesn't measure up November 16, 2008
Philippa Gregory is a masterful author, and I really did enjoy reading The Other Queen because of Gregory's style. However, it is not in the same league as the very exciting and event-filled The Other Bolyn Sister, which I have read half a dozen times and can never seem to put down. I had been looking forward to reading The Other Queen, largely due to the fact that so much less has been written about Mary and I wanted to see how Gregory handled the subject. Sadly, the book becomes quite tedious. Very little action occurs, just the same perspectives voiced over and over. Perhaps Gregory chose too narrow of a time frame. I was disappointed by the way she handled Mary, Queen of Scots.
 Not worth the money, get from Library November 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had really enjoyed Ms. Gregory's other books, but really a story told from three different people? It was difficult to follow and keep track of when event's were actually taking place and the story line seemed to drag on forever with no real destination. I was really disappointed. I would recommend reviewing the book at your local library before buying it.
Too Slow Paced For My Taste. November 12, 2008
What is happening? None of Philippa Gregory's other books can match The Other Boleyn Girl. That was a book that I couldn't put down. This book just didn't have any kind of excitement to it. It just dragged on. I was sorely disappointed. My only saving grace is that I got from the library. Don't bother spending your money.
My first Gregory book...can't wait for more November 11, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this book. I liked how the story is told by three different people, and three points of view. Bess, a countess who cares for money more than anything else, her husband, George Talbot, who falls in love with The Other Queen (Mary of Scots) and Queen Mary, who is imprisoned by her cousin Elizabeth.
I read other feedback and lots that read other Gregory books found this one to be lacking, however, as my first book, I enjoyed the perspectives, the points of view, and some history of how Queen Elizabeth handled her cousin of Scotland.
I would have loved to have had a little more history intertwined, but this book was just a snapshot of Queen Elizabeth's reign, and Queen Mary's imprisonment.
I can't wait for more.
Three interesting historical figures, but one misstep after another. November 9, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Philippa Gregory has done it again-- she brings Tudor England to life once more, this time telling the opposite side of the story that occurred in her novel "The Virgin's Lover," that of Mary Stewart, Queen of Scotts. She paints the beautiful young queen as a sympathetic figure and a model of the Catholic monarchs of the age. The novel takes place from Mary's point of view, as well as from George and Bess, Earls of Shrewsbury, her "jailers" that held her while Elizabeth I decided her fate.
Gregory makes several great insights throughout the story-- William Cecil, one of Elizabeth's advisors, becomes something of an opportunistic villain, much as she began his characterization in "The Virgin's Lover." Elizabeth's desire to release Mary and her simultaneous fear of her is an interesting dynamic. And as always, Gregory's research is impeccable and very accurate.
However, Gregory also made several missteps in this novel. The three-view narrative should have offered an opportunity to delve deeper into every scene of the book, but instead she ends up repeating herself. For instance, if has Mary telling us, before she meets an English Duke, that she hopes to seduce him, she will then have George telling us how he fears Mary's seductive powers, and then Bess telling us how she knows intuitively that Mary must rely on her seductive powers to sway this duke. That's pretty much what too much of this novel boils down to: Mary is seductive, charming, and uber-Catholic; George is chastely in love with Mary but will never turn his back on Elizabeth because of his Talbot honor; Bess is a self-made woman who has become hardened by Elizabeth's treachery. Instead of fleshing out the characters from the multiple viewpoint mechanism, they fall back and become 2-dimensional. Too much of the action is also left off the page-- most of the book is the characters talking about themselves and worrying about things that don't end up happening. Essentially, they're all just waiting for Mary to die.
Nevertheless, Mary, Queen of Scotts is eternally fascinating, and a great pick on Gregory's part. I wish she had chosen to write about Mary's earlier life, which was hinted at throughout the novel and seemed much more intriguing than her captive life... maybe she is saving that for a future book?
Of course, Gregory never fails to deliver a good read. If you want a good introduction to her Tudor novels, however, I suggest "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "The Virgin's Lover" before you tackle her later books, such as this and "The Boleyn Inheritance."
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