The Red Queen - Philippa Gregory

The Red Queen

By Philippa Gregory

  • Release Date: 2010-08-03
  • Genre: Historical Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 661 Ratings

Description

The inspiration for the critically acclaimed Starz miniseries The White Queen, #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings to life Margaret Beaufort, heiress to the red rose of Lancaster, who charts her way through treacherous alliances to take control of the English throne.

Margaret Beaufort never surrenders her belief that her Lancaster house is the true ruler of England, and that she has a great destiny before her. Married to a man twice her age, quickly widowed, and a mother at only fourteen, Margaret is determined to turn her lonely life into a triumph. She sets her heart on putting her son on the throne of England regardless of the cost to herself, to England, and even to the little boy. Disregarding rival heirs and the overwhelming power of the York dynasty, she names him Henry, like the king; sends him into exile; and pledges him in marriage to her enemy Elizabeth of York’s daughter. As the political tides constantly move and shift, Margaret masterminds one of the greatest rebellions of all time—all the while knowing that her son has grown to manhood, recruited an army, and awaits his opportunity to win the greatest prize in all of England.

The Red Queen is a novel of conspiracy, passion, and coldhearted ambition, the story of a proud and determined woman who believes that she alone is destined, by her piety and lineage, to shape the course of history.

Reviews

  • Marvelous!

    5
    By stillmoshin
    Onto my third book related to the White Queen "series". The writing is so passionate and the imagery so strong that you feel you are there. I read the White Queen and now I am enthralled. Plans are to read all of Philippa's books, I can't put them down. Marvelous work!
  • Another treat from Phillipa!!!

    4
    By Nikosmommy920
    Again, Gregory has placed my mind in trance from the first several pages and effectively held it for the duration of the book. As always, at the end of any one of her novels, I feel completely satisfied. Well done, indeed.
  • Tough to get into

    2
    By JMG509
    I love Philippa Gregory and I have read all of her other Tudor-focused novels, but this one is disappointing. Really hard to get into because there doesn't seem to be much character development for anyone except Margaret Beaufort. She's the protagonist, so it makes sense, but she's not very likable, and without any other character development, there's no one else in the story for the reader to "root for." The best part about this book is the historical info, but even that is hard to muddle through. PG doesn't provide the kind of detail she does in other novels so I find myself getting confused pretty regularly. Disappointing overall. Wish I hadn't purchased this one.
  • If you enjoy this then you should be reading Pamela Hill.

    3
    By ReadSpeed
    The author Pamela Hill who writes books exactly the same as these on the iBookstore and I would say they are a lot better than this. I am glued to Pamela's latest iBook called 'Lady Kate' and I have just finished 'Prinny remembers' which is an amazing read. Don't get me wrong this is great but there are better alternatives here
  • Hopeing for another book in this series

    4
    By Toni Harris
    This and the white queen are great books, now I'm hoping for a continuation to bridge the gap between this story, and the Constant Princess!
  • The missing puzzle

    4
    By Daryl512
    I knew about all of the women of the time period, but Margaret Beaufort was still a mystery to me. Gregory paints a believable portrait of the mother of all Tudors in this novel. It's not as good as the White Queen, but it fills in many gaps, and is interesting to hear the story from the vain and self riteous point of view of this ambitious mother. I had a hard time putting it down. Gregory can make even unlikable characters fun to read!!
  • Ugh

    2
    By HoneyStone
    This book is historically interesting but a painful read. It's all in first person from the perspective of an evil, conceited, jealous, conniving, two-faced, power hungry, zealot of a woman. I don't need my main characters to be perfect human beings, in fact a few flaws makes a character more interesting - but Margaret Beaufort has pretty much zero redeeming human qualities, and reading the world through her eyes was horribly depressing and bleak. I seriously can't believe I actually finished this book. It was ugly. The only redeeming points of the novel for me were the well researched and vibrant descriptions of life in that time period.
  • I could not turn the pages fast enough!

    5
    By Trekmoore
    I love her books & this is one her best. I read White Queen before & she parallels the two books well. I couldn't put it down. I hope the next book will take off where this one ended.
  • RED Revenge!!

    4
    By Covertocover
    I only wish the book kept going. It stopped right when she was about to come into what was hers, what she had spent her life to achieve. This is a book stewed in revenge. Not as hot and heavy as The Other Boyln, but they can't all be.