Philippa Gregory: History Lesson's Though Fiction

Philippa Gregory clearly has a love for Elizabethan England. Her lush historical novels weave in and around the end of the Tudor dynasty. If you're in the mood for a little polictical intrigue, star-crossed love and fascinating historical detail and fancy then look no further!

The Constant Princess details the life of Katharine of Aragon, mother of Queen Mary - who's own story is told in more detail in The Queen's Fool. The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance show King Henry plowing through wives and mistresses in search of a son, while The Virgin's Lover tell's one version of Queen Elizabeth's tale. These novels are rich, and dense; packed with historical characters and detail, as well as a good bit of creative license and speculation. I wouldn't reccomend trying to read them all at once, either. Though set in the same period and dealing with many of the same people, Gregory's mythology changes slightly from book to book depending on which historical theories best serve the tale being told. It can be a little confusing to move from one to another without a little break in between them.