February 2003 Archives

One for lovers (and avoiders) of historial fiction.

A fantastic page turner, with believable characters illustrating that events in the great Henry the Eighth's reign were not the dry theological and poltical posturigs they may have seemed at school.

Philippa Gregory's latest novel may have attracted criticism on the ground of historical inaccuracies, but it does not claim to be a text book. Rather, as a novel it provides a cast of the soap opera stars of the period and indications as to their motives, which in turn allows the reader to develop an understanding of what prompted the twists and turns of the court factions and of the king at its helm. This in turn underlines the signifiance of his power and his decisions, and their impact on the people living in the lands he ruled and in the wider European arena.

Personally I

Disappointing, but I ploughed on to the bitter end.

The blurb makes this sound like it

A bit of a nostalgia trip, harking back to Christmas 1998 when H and I were in Perth, and on the WA leg of our Australian Adventures. Add in some history, real characters to the mix of sun and suburb, and you've got a gem.

Verdict: Haddock Review

Buy it: Amazon link