Book 11 of the Plantagenet and Tudor Novels
This is the book that made my husband refer to me as a semi-feral book goblin: I accidentally bought 3 copies of the hardcover edition of this book. I also have the Kindle version and the Audible version. A couple of days ago, I found a special edition with sprayed edges and the same dust cover as the other hardcover, but the actual book looks different – so I had to order that. And this is why my husband told his colleague I’m a semi-feral book goblin… well, I shall wear it as a nom de guerre!
This book’s protagonist is Lady Rochford; Jane Boleyn, Queen Anne Boleyn’s sister in law, the wife of George Boleyn. Jane is one of Anne’s ladies in waiting (and for the subsequent wives of Henry VIII as well) and a spy for her uncle Thomas Howard first, and for Thomas Cromwell later, after the death of her husband. Jane manages to become the confidante of all the queens. She is well versed in the ways of court and seems to be knowledgeable on the king’s fickleness. This makes her a perfect spySo I received 3 copies of this book on the day the book was released – I don’t even know how I managed to pre-order it three times. I can only assume that I was so incredibly excited for another book in the Plantagenet and Tudor series that I forgot I had already bought it twice… I don’t know. Thankfully Waterstones allowed me to return two copies.
It took me a little while to get to reading it. It’s now mid December and the book’s release date was October 7th. I was trying to finish my four main reading challenges.
The book was as good as I hoped it would be. James Boleyn doesn’t have the best reputation, due to the suspicions of espionage, yet Philippa Gregory makes her a likeable woman, who becomes a spy for her uncle Thomas Howard as a young woman who is still quite naive and wants to improve her station. After George Boleyn’s execution, she is a widow – the widow of a condemned traitor due to evidence she herself provided – and searches for protection and financial stability in Cromwell’s patronage.
I especially enjoyed the part of the book pertaining to Katherine ‘Kitty’ Howard. She was a mere teenager when she married Henry VIII who was in his late forties/early fifties by then and no longer in the best of health with a festering wound on his leg. Henry, who had only been able to sire two girls and a sickly boy, is desperate for an heir. Kitty is revolted by the king but loves the idea of being queen and she will only be crowned when she is pregnant. Unfortunately for Kitty, she falls in love with Thomas Culpepper, which leads to her downfall…
I highly recommend this entire series!
Read for A Librarian and her Books Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 17: Book about a Queen
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
