The Queen's Sorrow

It wasn't quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it and that's what matters to me. The story of life in London was interesting, especially from a Spaniards perspective. Seeing the transformation of devotion to doubt in the character's internal analysis of their relationships was intriguing...and realistic. Absence does not always make the heart grow fonder!

Even though the central characters are more onlookers to the royals compared to the ones in her other books, I believe this to be Suzannah Dunn's best book yet.

Excellent, not what I thought but quite good.
Queen 'Bloody' Mary appears in the book several times, but is not the narrator. The narrator is a Spanish (of Jewish decent) sundial builder who is brought to England with Mary's new Spanish consort and his court. The palace is full and Rafael is placed with a private English family for the duration of his stay.
Rafael is an excellent narrator of this story as he likes and approves of Queen Mary, but is very familiar with Spanish Inquisition and watches in horror as innocents are murdered and burned in the name of faith.

I am actually on the fence with this one - 6 for the period detail, but 5 for the main character, who was poorly drawn.

Rafael is part of Philip's retinue on his marriage to Mary, later to be known as Bloody Mary. There to build a sundial, he is one of many Spaniards sat in London twiddling his thumbs while he awaits the call to work.

A foreigner living in an English household, a useful technique to explain the period in good detail. My gripe is that while the story was OK, I really didn't connect with Rafael, who seemed to be an extra in his own story.

This has potential, but I'm not quite sure it worked.
Rafael is a Spanish sundial maker who comes to England in the entourage of Phillip of Spain (Mary Tudor's bridegroom). By chance (and with a surprising lack of formality) he happens to meet the Queen in the garden that the sundial is due to be errected in. She is recently pregnant and (at 38) is concerned. Rafael's wife also had her first child late in life, and his story of her cheers Mary.
They have a later encounter after Mary begins her confinement at Hampton court - and this I didn't really buy into.
And then a third when he requests a favour - which probably goes horribly wrong.
In the meantime, he is lodged with a merchant's family and stays in the house with the housekeeper & show more small staff after the famiy return to the country. He develops a relationship with the housekeeper and at the same time you discover more about his life and wife. Somehow he is a very unconvincing man. His love life is all a bit naieve and two of his partners are described in ways that make you wonder if he has all his marbles - such tacit acceptance of an affair strikes me as distinctly atypical male.
The story ends very sddenly and, frankly, he runs away from the chain of events his request to the queen has set in motion. I can't imagine it ends at all well. But, at the same time, you never hear anything about how he rebuilds his life bac in Spain with a wife he realises he doesn;t love and a son that's not his.
The relationship between Cecily & Rafael I could accept, and her situation, but he just seemed a bit too pathetic. And the ending was unsatisfactory from both of their points of view.
Just not convinced, I'm afraid. show less

England post Henry VIII continued to be fraught with intrigue, back stabbing and a political system lending to a court of fear.

When Mary Tudor, Henry's first daughter, and child of Katharine of Aragon took the throne, the fires of Mary's hell raged throughout as indiscriminate burnings were a daily occurrence.

Married to a much despised Spanish King, Mary's heart was broken as it became obvious Philip loathed his bride and his primary goal was the throne. Philip brought his household to England were these members became as hated as Philip.

The story is told from the perspective of Rafael, a member of Philip's entourage.

This is a very disappointing book. The title is misleading. Infact, Mary is a mere back drop to Rafael's ramblings.

Mary show more and "The Queen's Sorrow" are mentioned but the title does not follow the story line.

NOT recommended

The only good thing I can say is that this is one more book read from my shelf. While I usually retain my books regarding England, this one is not a keeper in any way. show less

The front cover and the back cover blurb, give the impression that Queen Mary I will be a major figure in this book. But curiously she is not, and only makes a few appearances. Rafael is the main character here. He is a member of the Spanish entourage that accompanied Philip to England for his marriage to Mary. Rafael is a sundial maker. We see London through his eyes, and see his reflections on his home life back in Spain. He tells of the troubles that the Spanish in London face from the hostile Londoners, and on a more personal level, we see his troubles in settling into a household were he doesn't speak the language. It really does feel as though you are walking in Rafael's shoes.