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| Discussion: Phillipa Gregory Pages: 1 2 I have never got lost in a novel so graphically as in a novel by Phillipa Gregory as soon as I had finished I wanted the whole world to read it and talk about it I'm so glad I found this site to convey my ideas!!!I >>By CMS I also just want to say I completley agree with Catherine B and she can flork me if she likes >>By CMS I just discovered this author through The Other Boleyn Girl and am so disappointed that I missed a personal appearance by Ms. Gregory by 24 hours. Truly, I enjoyed this historical fiction and if it is isn't erudite enough for some readers, then they should find a different author. I thoroughly enjoyed it and did not find the characters missing any dimensions. It was a "I can't put it down" read for me. >>By readingrita Loved this book...couldn't put it down and couldn't figure out why..after all, I knew the story (and the ending). It doesn't bother me that it's fictionalized and I accept that all the details are not historically accurate - it was a GREAT read! That's why I like belonging to a book club. Makes me read things that I probably wouldn't otherwise pick up. >>By suzyq I have to say, I read The Queen's Fool and found it a very good book. SO I grabbed The Other Boleyn Girl and just loved that book. So in my usual style I grabbed her other books so I could devour them. I read Wideacre and felt uneasy with the whole brother sister act. The story was good and I was very happy with the ending. Beatrice's death. So I grabbed the Favored Child and again with the brother sister thing!!! YUCK. I was a little more bothered by the simpering Julia in this story, but I read it through. Now The only reason I am reading the last one is because I know Sarah/Meridian has no brother. Incest repulses me in the deepest way. So I am hoping that this third will make this inbred girl have a little more strength then her simpering mama had. I do look forward to finishing all of this authors books. I am also hoping no more incest happens. Something about reading and feeling nauseous about it at the same time just does not appeal to me. >>By PugBeads Like most other people who have contributed I have enjoyed every Phillipa Gregory book I have read, and am looking forward to starting the Virgin's Lover in the next week. I agree with those posters who have found the Wideacre books the least satisfactory, but in my view they are still a fine read and I hardly feel that the author's powerful description of incestuous relationships can be taken as endorsement or advocacy of this practice! Incest makes me uncomfortable too, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't read Ms Gregory's well written description of it, just as the fact that I admire her portrayal of the Marian reign of terror in the Queen's Fool means that I support the burning of Protestants! Quite the opposite. For me the best read was the Tradescant books. These have a stunning sensuousness, not least in the way they portray the family's love of plants (I first read Earthly Joys in the spring and still feel a special stirring of joyous recognition of John Tradescant's hand in shaping the English landscape whenever I see a horse chestnut in flower!) They are also, like Gregory’s other books, excellent history. I disagree with Gareth when he argues that good historical fiction cannot be controversial. The thesis behind The Other Boleyn Girl is not widely held, but the author acknowledges this, and anyone who wishes to examine the arguments will undoubtedly be greatly helped to understand the Tudor period by the meticulous research and powerful insight behind the book. Earthly Joys and Virgin Soil provide a unique overview of the processes of the English Revolution which provided excellent insights to me as someone who has read a lot about 17th Century England but which I would also unreservedly recommend as an invaluable introduction to both the chronology and the feel of the period to any beginner. Moreover, Virgin Soil provides yet more historical insights on a global scale in its portrayal of the impact of colonial exploitation on the peoples and environment of North America. For me, one of the most exciting historical and personal insights in the books is when the younger John joins Lambert’s rebellion, abandoning the political neutrality he and his father had followed, totally unselfishly, at the very point that Good Old Cause he embraced faced defeat. I remain uncertain whether this is merely a plotting device of great brilliance or whether Ms Gregory has some historical evidence to support it, I have certainly have not been able to find this, but still dearly hope it exists. I am surprised, however, that no-one else has mentioned the first of Ms Gregory’s books I read, A Respectable Trade, which tells the story of the slave trade in Bristol. It is a beautiful portrayal of forbidden love, but also powerfully shows the way in which exploitation based on race gender and class were intertwined in Georgian England. It was also dramatised some time back by the BBC and I was particularly struck on screen (more so than when I read it on the page) by the poignant irony of the scene in which a black slave recites Caliban’s speech from the Tempest for the after dinner entertainment of his master and his drunken business associates. A Respectable Trade is an excellent book I'd recommend to anyone who has enjoyed Phillipa Greogory's other novels and as a resident of Bristol it certainly made me see my home town in a different light. Paul. >>By paulm ps just noticed that I, and everyone else in this thread have been misspelling the author's name it should be phiLiPPa! perhaps there is a parallel flork thread in which anagrams or misspellings of our names are writing about a correctly spelt Philippa Gregory??? >>By paulm Have checked.... and yes there is, but apparently there are only 2 Florkers who know how to spell her name!!! Paul. >>By paulm You are not logged in. 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