The Queen's Fool: A Novel (Boleyn) (original 2003; edition 2004)

It took me a while to read this novel and even longer to really get into it. Overall though I enjoyed the story and am still a huge fan of Philippa Gregory. :) ( )

on Thursday, February 09, 2006 I wrote about this book:

Bought this book which was on my wish list on ebay.co..uk.
reading now on February 8th 2006

Update. Great book. Really enjoyed this read. Want to read more books by this author
( )

Hannah the Fool to Queen Mary, also serves Princess Elizabeth, because she is in the service of Robert Dudley. She's a Jew pretending to be a Protestant pretending to be Catholic, since that's the way the wind blows.

Reasonably enticing and enjoyable, but I could have done without the side plot of her long betrothal, troubled courtship, and tumultuous marriage to Daniel. The story really stalled while she was in Calais, but fortunately she returns to court. ( )

I thought this was a good book. There was enough romance and harrowing adventure to keep me hooked. There was also a good historical foundation to hold the book in it's time. Very good. ( )

2 1/2 ( )

While the main character was fairly interesting, Ms. Gregory's tendency to cherry-pick her historical details is annoying. ( )

This book was made available in LilyKlip's Intl. BookXerpting.
I'm looking forward to read it. It may take a while, because MTBR is getting higher these past days, but summer holiday is coming up :-)

(Warning this book made me cry a little, because I’m really just a huge sap.)

In the continuation of Philippa Gregory’s very popular series of historical fiction about life at the court of the Tutors, The Queens Fool tells the story of one young woman who experiences life at the court of all three of Henry VII’s children. Hannah Green is newly english, born Hannah Verde she and her father have escaped the inquisition that burned her mother for being a Jew in Spain by coming to London. While Hannah and her father want to live simple quiet common lives Hannah’s power to see the future gets her begged as a fool to King Edward. Under the thrall of her Master Robert Dudley Hannah spys, schemes and gets her self passed from Edward to Mary and eventually to Elisabeth. With split loyalties and a betrothed who wants her to walk away from it all one young woman must try and make the right decisions in a world where knowledge is suppressed and the correct religion to practice changes with every monarch.

The first time I read this book it was directly after having read Philippa Gregory’s The Other Boylen Girl. I was pretty young (probably a little too young for the amount of sex and intrigue in the book) and thoroughly in love with all things historical fiction. In the hight of its popularity as a book (long before the movie) I thought of The Queens Fool as its smaller less glamorous sequel. But now almost 8 years later this is the story I enjoy more and feel more compelled to return to.

Hannah is complicated, conflicted, young, passionate, and ultimately incredible strong. As a woman and a character she is fantastic. Her life is complicated her choices are hard and there is almost never a right choice. In a time where woman were firmly the property of the men in there lives Hannah is strong intelligent and fiercely independent.

All the characters of this book are real people, and Hannahs intended husband Daniel is in my opinion the best kind of love interest. Not perfect, not a simple refelction of the main character, and honestly compatible and in love with our heroine. While of course Daniel is not the only contender for Hannahs heart, for me he falls in to the category of fictional characters I have a major crush on.

Even on what I think must be at least the 5th read through this book is still a page turner. It is compelling and beautifully written, It captures both the splender of court life, the fear of the Inquisition, and the day to day life of common men and women in England of this time.

I know one of the HUGE criticisms laid against Philippa Gregory is her loose use of historical fact making her books much more historical fiction then any history enthusiast can easily take. For me as long as you go in with eyes open and an understanding that first and formost this is a story for entertainment purposes then the story and lives portrayed by Gregory are so compelling that I don’t really care.

I would recommend this book to any fan of historical fiction or anyone who has read and enjoyed the Other Boleyn Girl. Having just purchased my own copy of this book I know it will be one that I will continue to return to over the years. ( )

http://www.monniblog.com/2009/08/the-queens-fool/ ( )

Great tale of old, life was never easy, even for a queen or princess. But the ordenary people got hung ( choked to death) on any ones say as to who was a haratic . Religen was very scary in those times. Here we are relaxed about church, but there are those coming that think diff and wont to change our country to their old way , why did they come then? We will see much change and be sorry some day soon. queen Mary's day may be here before we know it, WE will be sorry about this and we are doing nothing about it. ( )

RATING: 3.5 stars.Interesting book, I suppose. Some liberties taken with the period, certainly, but interesting. ( )

I think the better question would be what I liked about this book. I found the characters – every single last one of them – annoying, shallow, and irritating. Perhaps Queen Mary is the only exception to this, but that’s probably because she’s portrayed in a nice manner rather than her usual villainous role. Hannah is more of plot device than a character the reader should care about. She’s conveniently located for all major moments but of course not someone the reader gets to know until the end of the novel.

I mean, why would Mary accept Hannah not only as her fool but also as her companion and allow her access to meetings were secrecy is of the upmost importance? And then why would Elizabeth accept Hannah as her personal companion and fool knowing she’s friends with Mary, knowing Hannah is a spy for others, and knowing she (Elizabeth) is plotting against Mary.

The tidbits about Jews living through the Inquisition and Protestant/Catholic England were interesting and admittedly were the only reasons why I continued reading Gregory’s novel. I’m afraid, however, that it will be quite some time before I pick up another book by Gregory. ( )

Enjoyed the book in the main. found it a bit hard going at first but stuck with it. I find that I have to be in the mood to pick up a Philippa Gregory book. I enjoy the elements of history through the story and the details which are described wonderfully. ( )

The Queen’s Fool… Hmm, for quite a ways into the book, I was starting to feel like the fool myself for spending the time to read the book…

Relatively slow in getting absorbed by the story, and befuddled by the heroine, Hannah’s, obsession with Lord Robert (really? as simple as a young girl drawn by a handsome, dashing man), I finally got into the rhythm of the story much later, as I started to appreciate Hannah’s utter sense of loyalty, duty, and allegiance, especially to Queen Mary, and to a lesser degree (at least to me), to Princess Elizabeth. Her loyalty to her own values, her love affair with books, knowledge, being a genuinely intelligent young woman speaking multiple languages (Spanish, English, French, Hebrew) and reading Greek and Latin, and perceptively learning the ways of the court made her a person that you want to meet in real life.

My two key likes.
A) The book made me re-look up the British Monarch history. (The books’ general history was mostly accurate.)
B) Gaining some insights to the plight of the Jews in that era, noted as 1552 to 1558, hiding and concealing not just their faith, but also the associated customs, language, and knowledge. The relationship amongst the Jews, how they helped each other remain concealed throughout Europe, had a flavor of the Underground Railroad.

Ultimately, other than a perspective of history via the eyes of an intelligent young lady, this book did not offer substantial substance to me. Perhaps it was not meant to be either.

This book was not so creatively written that entertained my typical desire for learning new ways to manipulate words. Here are just a few quotes, partly for its content and partly for the charm of the sentence(s).
“Elizabeth was always such a mixture of raging emotion and calculation that I could rarely take her measure.”
“Books were my brothers and sisters; I could not turn against them now. I could not become one of those that see something they cannot understand, and destroy it.”
“And so I would rather not spur your wife’s irritation into rage if you are going to blow in and out again like a spring wind that spoils the peace of the orchard.” ( )

The Queen's Fool, another wonderful mix of fiction and fact from Philippa Gregory. Fact in so far as our history books tell. Gregory is wonderful at her craft of mixing this into a tale that is readable, probable and keeps the reader interested unto the very end. The Tudor tales are told with such intrigue, spies everywhere, lack of trust all around - not much different today, I am sure although with the complete separation of sovereignty the government which rules our country, our royal family are more concerned on hanging onto their title and role in the kingdom these times.
I find it quite interesting that Dr John Dee is getting so much coverage nowadays. Watching Later with Jools, I learnt that Damon Albarn's new outfit are called Dr Dee after this very same man. And on the show Albarn showed an ancient book with historical facts about John Dee. I guess it was coincidence that the very book I was reading at the time focussed a fair bit on this incredible man, however I was quite surprised at this.
If you like historical fiction and the reign of the Tudor's do read this wonderful tale. ( )

great historical fiction author, I 've enjoyed everything I've read by her. ( )

kind of fun; Hannah is independent, strong, likable. ( )

Over a ten-year stretch between 1548-1558 a young Jewish woman serves Queen Mary as her fool, falls in love with a plotting lord, becomes the confidant of Princess Elizabeth, and falls in love with the man to whom her father had betrothed her.
Hannah and her father have fled Spain. Jews who have hidden their religion, they ostensibly practice the Anglican and then Catholic Christianity of their adopted country, but they are always on the lookout for agents of the Inquisition. In the roil of politics and religion in Elizabethan England, Hannah, her father, the family of her fiancé and others, are always at risk.
While the overlay of modern sensibilities about gender and religious equality detract from the historicity of the story, this thoroughly engaging historical romance is worth a read. I’ll probably pick up others by this author. ( )

For safety, 14-year-old Hannah Green goes about London dressed like a lad as she helps her father, a widowed bookseller. One day, when Lord Robert Dudley comes to their shop, Hannah has an angelic vision. Realizing that the youngster has the prophetic gift of sight, Dudley carries her to court to be a "holy fool". There, still in breeches, she seres first Queen Mary, then Elizabeth. Loyal to both, Hannah is caught in a precarious position as the two women vie for England's throne. ( )

Would not recommend it at all. It's only saving grace is that it has a happy ending unlike most of Gregory's other books. The cross-dressing is distracting and plays no real part in the story. Her blind devotion is just plain annoying and I really has to force myself to finish this book. ( )

"A young woman caught between the rivalry between Queen Mary and her half sister, Elizabeth, must find her true destiny amid treason, poisonous rivals, loss of faith, and unrequited love."
What's not to like? ( )

The Queen's Fool tells the tale of Hannah Green, a secret Jew with the ability to see the future, who serves both Mary Tudor and Elizabeth Tudor as a fool. Hannah, partly because of her unique Sight, becomes embroiled with several plots in the turbulent Tudor court. Furthermore, she must hide her heritage and religious beliefs at a time of religious unrest and uncertainty. I found Hannah's Jewish beliefs one of the more interesting aspects of this novel, as it brought out an unseen portion of England's religious struggles in the sixteenth century and created a character adept at hiding her true beliefs. However, Hannah, for all the time she spends in the royal court, strikes me as incredibly naive, even towards the novel's end. Overall, The Queen's Fool is an good piece of historical fiction and a good read for fans of the Tudor era. ( )

Hannah Green is no ordinary 14 year old. She and her father are Jews escaping from the Spanish Inquisition and looking for a better life in England and she has the gift of Sight, which allows her to predict the future. A chance encounter with Robert Dudley, a noble at the court of King Edward, takes her from her father's humble print shop to the royal palace where she becomes the Holy Fool, a trusted companion of the Tudor queen and a spy for the Dudleys. Torn between her obligations at court and her family and heritage Hannah will become a woman like no other in the tumultuous years when the Tudor offspring fought for the throne.

This is the second book I've read by Philippa Gregory and the first one was so long ago that I've all but forgotten how enjoyable her books are. So enjoyable, in fact, that I didn't want this story to end and stretched out reading it as much as I could.
There is a very clear evolution of the main character from a girl who is afraid of her own shadow into a young woman who knows her own mind and can act decisively on a moment's notice. Hannah's fear of being discovered for who she really was at a time when being a Jew was most dangerous is almost palpable. The circumstances have made her into a habitual liar and it is easy to understand the cynicism of this young girl - she's seen the wind change so many times that she very clearly understand that more often than not what the right answer is depends on who is asking the questions and she has grown bitter at her heritage for preventing her from having a peaceful life. It was heartening however to see her lose neither the sight of who she was nor her appreciation of the people around her for what they brought to the table as her fear became less paralyzing.
One of the reasons I enjoy historical fiction so much is that it gives us a glimpse of what happened decades and centuries before our time in a voice very different from the dull monotone of history books. If the author has done her homework and unless she takes serious liberties with the course of history we get a very good ideas of the events that took place and the people involved. Gregory's mastery is revealed in the fact that I trust every word she writes. I can't help but believe that Mary, Elizabeth, the Dudleys, the Carpenters and the rest really were exactly the way Gregory portrays them and that it couldn't be any other way. It was also very interesting to gain the insight into not only the English court but also the clandestine Jewish community of XVI century Europe. Persecuted by both Catholics and Protestants, forced to hide who they were no matter where they went but not giving up on their heritage and their faith these people showed true courage and resilience in the face of the threat of death at every turn.
There were only two things that I didn't like about the book. One has to do with the plot and to stay true to my "no spoilers" policy I won't go into details. I will only say that what happened seemed unfair and that there was a double standard when actions of characters were evaluated. Another has to do with character development, so here I will elaborate. At one point Hannah talks about how the cattiness at court prepared her to deal with the relationships outside of it and the problem was that we didn't see any of her interaction with any courtiers besides the Dudleys and Will Sommers, the other royal Fool, and there was no animosity there. As soon as I read this little bit I knew that there was no support for it anywhere else in the narrative and while it made sense that courtiers competing for position were no angels it still jarred me out of the story.
These two things are by no means deal breakers and The Queen's Fool put Philippa Gregory on my list of authors to follow and I would recommend her books without reservation to any fan of historical fiction or anyone who wants to "test-drive" the genre. ( )

I was surprised that many of the reviews on this site were not very favourable and almost didn't read this book, but I'm slowly making my way through the Philippa Gregory books and thought I would give this a try. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. I liked Hanna, the main character, right from the start and found her story very intriguing and interesting. Although a fictional story, there are elements of history in this novel and it was interesting and fun to read about the English monarchy in those times. A fun, enjoyable read. ( )

Great book!! Wonderful read ( )