THE OTHER QUEEN
Philippa Gregory
Touchstone
Historical Fiction
Hardcover: 9781416549123
Paperback: 9781416549147
Mary, Queen of Scots was a beauty, a temptress, an angel, a saint, a martyr, a whore or a devil, depending on who you ask. This “other queen” continues to fascinate us over 400 years after her death. Still, the truth manages to evade us, and we are left to form our own opinion as to the strengths and weaknesses of this intriguing woman.
You might think that there could be nothing more to say on the subject of Mary, Queen of Scots. After all, it has been over four centuries since her death. Historians and novelists alike have examined, told and retold the story of this tragic historical figure, yet, as she so often does, Philippa Gregory finds a way to bring it to life and make us feel as though we are there amidst the harrowing events of Tudor England.
THE OTHER QUEEN is told in chapter after exciting chapter, alternating among the views of three principal players: George Talbot, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury; his wife, Bess of Hardwick; and Mary, Queen of Scots. By seeing into the minds and hearts of all three, we are able to form a complete and plausible picture of the events of the time.
Mary, Queen of Scots is the prisoner of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, when THE OTHER QUEEN begins. She has lost her throne and fled Scotland for the supposed safety of England hoping for her cousin's protection and to be named Elizabeth's heir to the English throne.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth guards her hard-won position as Queen as jealously as a lion guards its catch and toys with Mary, much as a cat toys with a mouse. Elizabeth is torn. She doesn’t want to kill her cousin, yet she doesn’t want to free her. Mary has become one giant headache that is impossible to dispose of with diplomatic aplomb.
While Mary plots and plans her escape and re-ascension to the throne of Scotland, George Talbot and Bess of Hardwick have become her hosts, or jailers, as the case may be. What starts as an act of hospitality to house the Queen of Scotland soon turns ugly.
While Queen Elizabeth has requested the pair house her cousin and promises to pay them for any expense, years drag on and the presence of Mary takes a toll on the lives, marriage and finances of the newly-married couple. What was a happy marriage turns to dust as Mary works her magic on George Talbot.
While Bess is not impressed with the alienation of affection that Mary causes in her marriage, she is ultimately more concerned with Mary's effect on their finances. A woman who was born to nothing and who has accumulated a great fortune through one auspicious marriage after another, nothing could hurt her more than to lose her money and her homes all to house a queen who irks her at every move.
And what of Mary? Is she an innocent victim of the ambitions of others, or a cunning and evil temptress determined to get her own way? That is for the reader to decide, and two people reading the same novel will likely come to two different conclusions.
By alternating the three points of view, Philippa Gregory allows us to see what motivates each character and how they interact with one another. By the end of the book, we feel as if we know them all intimately.
THE OTHER QUEEN is a fascinating tale of those who lived and loved, hoped and died, in the 16th century. We have a front row seat to events that shaped the history of England, Scotland and the world. It is a novel that stays with us long after we’ve turned the last page.
--- Reviewed by Amie Taylor
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