The Other Queen

Description

A dramatic novel of passion, politics and betrayal from the author of The Other Boleyn Girl. They can fear me, and they can hate me. They can even deny me. But they cannot kill me. 1568. The Virgin Queen Elizabeth I has ruled England for ten years, but refuses to name a successor, despite the rival claims that threaten her kingdom. Bess of Hardwick, the new Countess of Shrewsbury, has secured her future with her fourth marriage to George Talbot. Ambitious and shrewd, Bess anticipates royal favour when she and the Earl are asked to give sanctuary to the fugitive Mary Queen of Scots. But the Scottish queen rails against house arrest in a desolate castle and plots to regain her throne. The castle becomes the epicentre of intrigue against Elizabeth, the Earl blinded by admiration for the other queen. Even Bess's own loyalty is thrown into question. If Elizabeth's spymaster William Cecil links the Talbots to the growing conspiracy to free Mary, they will all face the Tower...

Philippa Gregory is an established writer and broadcaster for radio and television. She holds a PhD in eighteenth-century literature from the University of Edinburgh. She lives in the North of England with her family.

Praise for The Other Queen 'No-one writes historical fiction with quite the elan of Philippa Gregory' Easy Living 'A real delight' Woman and Home Praise for 'The Boleyn Inheritance': 'Philippa Gregory truly is the mistress of the historical novel!It would be hard to make history more entertaining, lively or engaging: the characters truly come alive!This is a reliably breathtaking, suspenseful and imaginative romp from Gregory. Full of all the colours, sights and sounds of the Tudor court, it really transports you to the era. A winning formula.' Sunday Express 'This is historical fiction at its best' Bella 'A thrilling romantic history' Eve 'A fascinating insight into court life!Highly readable and thoroughly enjoyable and no-one writes popular history as well as Philippa Gregory' Daily Express 'Philippa Gregory brings the turbulent Tudors to glorious life!Delicious' Times Praise for 'The Constant Princess': 'One of Gregory's great strengths as a novelist is her ability to take familiar historical figures and flesh them into living breathing human beings. "The Constant Princess" is a worthy successor to her previous novels about the Tudors and deserves to be a bestseller.' Daily Express 'Gregory's research is impeccable which makes her imaginative fiction all the more convincing.' Daily Mail 'Gregory is great at conjuring a Tudor film-set of gorgeous gowns and golden-plattered dining.' Telegraph 'The contemporary mistress of historical crime. Her novels are filled with strong, determined women who take their fate into their own hands!Gregory brings to life the sights, smells and textures of 16th-century England.' Kate Mosse, Financial Times 'The Virgin's Lover': 'A book to lose yourself in!a simmering mixture of intrigue, lust and betrayal at the court of Elizabeth I, it breathes new life into the suspected love affair between the young queen and Robert Dudley.' Daily Mail 'Convincing and entertaining'. Daily Telegraph 'A fascinating new take on a story we thought we knew.' Eve 'History has a sexy makeover in an erotic account of Elizabeth l's relationship with the married and tantalisingly unavailable Robert Dudley.' Glamour, Books of the Year 'Gregory's success lies in restoring humanity to her historical figures.' Daily Mail 'Gregory vivdly portrays court life -- all the political intrigue, divided loyalties, love and betrayal.' Woman and Home 'Queen of the historical novel.' Mail on Sunday 'The Other Boleyn Girl': 'It is a credit to Gregory that she is able to sustain interest in an epic-length tale when the ending is one of the most well-known moments in English history. The very believable dialogue and detail take you all the way into the claustrophobic privy chambers of the royal palaces!Gregory has launched herself into a popular period and produced something with that most underrated of virtues: readability.' The Times 'This is an intelligent variation on a familiar tale [with] witty use of metaphor.' Time Literary Supplement 'This compulsively readable novel is a wonderful account of the tudor court!This is the finest historical novel of this year.' Daily Mail 'The Queen's Fool': 'Totally absorbing!this is a triumphant piece of storytelling, not least because Gregory manages to make familiar events fresh and unloved people fascinating.' Gay Times 'Gregory offers a subtle examination of the tension between profound personal faith and the dangers of imposing that faith on others.' Jewish Quarterly 'It combines history and invention in gripping and memorable style.' Red 'Historical fiction at its most masterly. Meticulously researched and realised and with an engaging and totally convincing heroine, "The Queen's Fool" invites readers to rethink their opinions of both 'Bloody' Mary and the 'Virgin' Queen. Superbly plotted, exquisitely written with the enviable capacity to simultaneously thrill and provoke thought, this novel is even more 'unputdownable' than "The Other Boleyn Girl."' Historical Novels Review 'Gregory serves up some more deliciously sombre moments from a factious Tudor court.' Independent 'Gregory's dramatic, plot-driven novel is thoroughly readable.' Sunday Herald