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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Infuses vitality into an oft-forgotten player in the aftermath of the War of the Roses—Margaret Poole, heiress to the defeated Plantagenet clan.”—Closer
“Margaret’s story is shocking, deeply moving and offers an alternative view on a much-told tale. Gregory is on form here; her depiction of Henry VIII’s transformation from indulged golden boy to sinister tyrant is perfectly pitched and seems more horrific still when we are made intimate witnesses to the devastation of Margaret’s family. . . . I defy anyone to remain dry-eyed as the story reaches its tragic denouement.”—The Sunday Express (UK)
“[A] gripping and detailed chronicle, with plenty of court intrigue and politics to spice up the action . . . . Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Nobody does dynastic history like Gregory.” (Booklist)
"Gregory manages to keep us in suspense as to what will befall her characters....Under [her] spell, we keep hoping history won't repeat itself.” (Kirkus Reviews)
"An illuminating portrait. . . Gregory moves confidently through a tangle of intrigue, revenge, and tyranny toward a shocking betrayal." (Publishers Weekly)
"Loyalties are torn, paranoia festers and you can almost hear the bray of royal trumpets as the period springs to life. It’s a bloody irresistible read." (People Magazine)
"Bring on the blood, sex and tears! . . . You name it, it's all here." (USA Today)
“This rich tapestry brings to vivid life the court of Henry and Elizabeth. Meticulously drawn characters with a seamless blending of historical fact and fiction combine in a page-turning epic of a story. Tudor-fiction fans can never get enough, and they will snap this one up.” (Library Journal (starred review))
"The White Princess features one of the more intriguing theories about the possible fate of the princes." (The Washington Post)
“The queen of royal fiction.” (USA Today)
“Gregory ... always delivers the goods.” (New York Post)
"Gorgeous fun." (New York Daily News)
“Margaret’s story is shocking, deeply moving and offers an alternative view on a much-told tale. Gregory is on form here; her depiction of Henry VIII’s transformation from indulged golden boy to sinister tyrant is perfectly pitched and seems more horrific still when we are made intimate witnesses to the devastation of Margaret’s family. . . . I defy anyone to remain dry-eyed as the story reaches its tragic denouement.”—The Sunday Express (UK)
“[A] gripping and detailed chronicle, with plenty of court intrigue and politics to spice up the action . . . . Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Nobody does dynastic history like Gregory.” (Booklist)
"Gregory manages to keep us in suspense as to what will befall her characters....Under [her] spell, we keep hoping history won't repeat itself.” (Kirkus Reviews)
"An illuminating portrait. . . Gregory moves confidently through a tangle of intrigue, revenge, and tyranny toward a shocking betrayal." (Publishers Weekly)
"Loyalties are torn, paranoia festers and you can almost hear the bray of royal trumpets as the period springs to life. It’s a bloody irresistible read." (People Magazine)
"Bring on the blood, sex and tears! . . . You name it, it's all here." (USA Today)
“This rich tapestry brings to vivid life the court of Henry and Elizabeth. Meticulously drawn characters with a seamless blending of historical fact and fiction combine in a page-turning epic of a story. Tudor-fiction fans can never get enough, and they will snap this one up.” (Library Journal (starred review))
"The White Princess features one of the more intriguing theories about the possible fate of the princes." (The Washington Post)
“The queen of royal fiction.” (USA Today)
“Gregory ... always delivers the goods.” (New York Post)
"Gorgeous fun." (New York Daily News)
About the Author
Philippa Gregory is the author of several bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl, and is a recognized authority on women’s history. Her Cousins’ War novels are the basis for the critically acclaimed Starz miniseries The White Queen. She studied history at the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. She welcomes visitors to her website, PhilippaGregory.com.
More About the Author
Born in Kenya in 1954, Philippa Gregory moved to England with her family and was educated in Bristol and at the National Council for the Training of Journalists course in Cardiff. She worked as a senior reporter on the Portsmouth News, and as a journalist and producer for BBC radio.
Philippa obtained a BA degree in history at the University of Sussex in Brighton and a PhD at Edinburgh University in 18th-century literature. Her first novel, Wideacre, was written as she completed her PhD and became an instant world wide bestseller. On its publication, she became a full-time writer, and now lives with her family on a small farm in the North of England.
Her knowledge of gothic 18th century novels led to Philippa writing Wideacre, which was followed by a haunting sequel, The Favoured Child, and the delightful happy ending of the trilogy: Meridon. This novel was listed in Feminist Book Fortnight and for the Romantic Novel of the Year at the same time - one of the many instances of Philippa's work appealing to very different readers.
The trilogy was followed by The Wise Woman, a dazzling, disturbing novel of dark powers and desires set against the rich tapestry of the Reformation, and by Fallen Skies, an evocative realistic story set after the First World War. Her novel A Respectable Trade took her back to the 18th century where her knowledge of the slave trade and her home town of Bristol produced a haunting novel of slave trading and its terrible human cost. This is the only modern novel to explore the tragedies of slavery in England itself, and features a group of kidnapped African people trying to find their freedom in the elegant houses of 18th century Clifton. Gregory adapted her book for a highly acclaimed BBC television production which won the prize for drama from the Commission for Racial Equality and was shortlisted for a BAFTA for the screenplay.
Next came two of Gregory's best-loved novels, Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth, based on the true-life story of father and son John Tradescant working in the upheaval of the English Civil War. In these works Gregory pioneered the genre which has become her own: fictional biography, the true story of a real person brought to life with painstaking research and passionate verve.
The flowering of this new style was undoubtedly The Other Boleyn Girl, a runaway best-seller which stormed the US market and then went worldwide telling the story of the little-known sister to Anne Boleyn. Now published in 26 countries with more than a million copies in print in the US alone, this is becoming a classic historical novel, winning the Parker Pen Novel of the Year award 2002, and the Romantic Times fictional biography award. The Other Boleyn Girl was adapted for the BBC as a single television drama and a film is now in production starring Scarlett Johansson as Mary Boleyn, Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn and Eric Bana as Henry VIII.
A regular contributor to newspapers and magazines, with short stories, features and reviews, Philippa is also a frequent broadcaster and a regular contestant on Round Britain Quiz for BBC Radio 4 and the Tudor expert for Channel 4's Time Team.
She lives in the North of England with her husband and two children and in addition to interests that include riding, walking, skiing and gardening (an interest born from research into the Tradescant family for her novel, Virgin Earth), she also runs a small charity building wells in school gardens in The Gambia. Fifty-six wells have been built by UK donors to date.
Philippa obtained a BA degree in history at the University of Sussex in Brighton and a PhD at Edinburgh University in 18th-century literature. Her first novel, Wideacre, was written as she completed her PhD and became an instant world wide bestseller. On its publication, she became a full-time writer, and now lives with her family on a small farm in the North of England.
Her knowledge of gothic 18th century novels led to Philippa writing Wideacre, which was followed by a haunting sequel, The Favoured Child, and the delightful happy ending of the trilogy: Meridon. This novel was listed in Feminist Book Fortnight and for the Romantic Novel of the Year at the same time - one of the many instances of Philippa's work appealing to very different readers.
The trilogy was followed by The Wise Woman, a dazzling, disturbing novel of dark powers and desires set against the rich tapestry of the Reformation, and by Fallen Skies, an evocative realistic story set after the First World War. Her novel A Respectable Trade took her back to the 18th century where her knowledge of the slave trade and her home town of Bristol produced a haunting novel of slave trading and its terrible human cost. This is the only modern novel to explore the tragedies of slavery in England itself, and features a group of kidnapped African people trying to find their freedom in the elegant houses of 18th century Clifton. Gregory adapted her book for a highly acclaimed BBC television production which won the prize for drama from the Commission for Racial Equality and was shortlisted for a BAFTA for the screenplay.
Next came two of Gregory's best-loved novels, Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth, based on the true-life story of father and son John Tradescant working in the upheaval of the English Civil War. In these works Gregory pioneered the genre which has become her own: fictional biography, the true story of a real person brought to life with painstaking research and passionate verve.
The flowering of this new style was undoubtedly The Other Boleyn Girl, a runaway best-seller which stormed the US market and then went worldwide telling the story of the little-known sister to Anne Boleyn. Now published in 26 countries with more than a million copies in print in the US alone, this is becoming a classic historical novel, winning the Parker Pen Novel of the Year award 2002, and the Romantic Times fictional biography award. The Other Boleyn Girl was adapted for the BBC as a single television drama and a film is now in production starring Scarlett Johansson as Mary Boleyn, Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn and Eric Bana as Henry VIII.
A regular contributor to newspapers and magazines, with short stories, features and reviews, Philippa is also a frequent broadcaster and a regular contestant on Round Britain Quiz for BBC Radio 4 and the Tudor expert for Channel 4's Time Team.
She lives in the North of England with her husband and two children and in addition to interests that include riding, walking, skiing and gardening (an interest born from research into the Tradescant family for her novel, Virgin Earth), she also runs a small charity building wells in school gardens in The Gambia. Fifty-six wells have been built by UK donors to date.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 47 people found the following review helpful
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the GreatReads!
TOP 1000 REVIEWER on August 20, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory is the sixth and concluding novel in The Cousins' War series, and follows in the footsteps of its preceding books - The White Princess, The Kingmaker's Daughter, The Lady of the Rivers, The Red Queen and The White Queen. This final chapter in The Cousins' War saga is centered on Margaret Pole, the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, who was executed for treason by his own brother, King Edward IV. Though not a prominent player in the story in the earlier books, some passing references have been made about her without going into too much detail. The King's Curse chronicles the tumultuous period from 1499-1541, around the period when Katharine of Aragon comes to England and her eventual death.
It is not easy to bring history to life, let alone discuss about it, more so when it comes historical figures. Philippa Gregory deserves to be commended for a work well done. What is striking about The Cousins' War, particularly The King's Curse, is the meticulous research undertaken to bring the details to life, and this book, as with the others is well researched and detailed. It paints a fascinating picture of Margaret Pole, who is the cousin of King Henry VIII's mother, Queen Elizabeth of York. Her Plantaganent bloodlines make her a strong contender to the throne. But the lesson of her innocent brother who was executed as a young man just because of his royal blood left a permanent mark on her. She is determined not to draw attention either to herself or her children.
Set at a time when the Tudors are on the throne and not the Yorks, The King's Curse is a story of political intrigue, loyalty, loss and love. It is about significant events in the lives of Henry VIII, Katharine of Aragon, Princess Mary, and Lady Margaret Pole. It provides an in-depth look at the life of a woman who was both powerful and vulnerable, and fittingly brings to an end a series that is both engaging and enlightening.
It is not easy to bring history to life, let alone discuss about it, more so when it comes historical figures. Philippa Gregory deserves to be commended for a work well done. What is striking about The Cousins' War, particularly The King's Curse, is the meticulous research undertaken to bring the details to life, and this book, as with the others is well researched and detailed. It paints a fascinating picture of Margaret Pole, who is the cousin of King Henry VIII's mother, Queen Elizabeth of York. Her Plantaganent bloodlines make her a strong contender to the throne. But the lesson of her innocent brother who was executed as a young man just because of his royal blood left a permanent mark on her. She is determined not to draw attention either to herself or her children.
Set at a time when the Tudors are on the throne and not the Yorks, The King's Curse is a story of political intrigue, loyalty, loss and love. It is about significant events in the lives of Henry VIII, Katharine of Aragon, Princess Mary, and Lady Margaret Pole. It provides an in-depth look at the life of a woman who was both powerful and vulnerable, and fittingly brings to an end a series that is both engaging and enlightening.
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34 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By
Kirsten
on August 23, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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2 Comments
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While other protagonists in the Cousins War series are obsessed with gaining or retaining the throne, the King's Curse is narrated by Margaret Pole, the daughter of George Duke of Clarence and the niece of Edward IV and Richard III. If you have read The Kingmaker's Daughter, you know about her tragic childhood - her mother died young, her father disappeared into the tower for treason, and her maternal aunt, wife of Richard III died broken-hearted before the Battle of Bosworth.
Margaret and her younger brother survived all this, and at the beginning of The King's Curse, she is married and banished to the country out of the new king's sight. Her brother is not so lucky, banished to the tower as a punishment for being born too close to the throne.
Margaret doesn't seem to have any ambitions to regain the throne for herself or her family. She is happy with minor royal responsibilities, such as looking after the new Spanish princess Katherine who comes to England to marry Arthur Prince of Wales. While she suffers indignities and injustices under Henry VII, she chooses to pursue a rewarding country life, looking after her lands and her people. Henry even stifles this ambition when he drives her into poverty after her husband dies. Then Henry VIII becomes king and he does not seem to have his father's craven mistrust of Margaret's heritage. She is welcomed back to the palace where she attends the beautiful young queen Katherine. When Katherine gives birth to her first son, Henry asks his beloved cousin Margaret to raise this new prince.
But the baby prince dies and the new king becomes obsessed with his own failure to sire an heir to his throne.Read more ›
Margaret and her younger brother survived all this, and at the beginning of The King's Curse, she is married and banished to the country out of the new king's sight. Her brother is not so lucky, banished to the tower as a punishment for being born too close to the throne.
Margaret doesn't seem to have any ambitions to regain the throne for herself or her family. She is happy with minor royal responsibilities, such as looking after the new Spanish princess Katherine who comes to England to marry Arthur Prince of Wales. While she suffers indignities and injustices under Henry VII, she chooses to pursue a rewarding country life, looking after her lands and her people. Henry even stifles this ambition when he drives her into poverty after her husband dies. Then Henry VIII becomes king and he does not seem to have his father's craven mistrust of Margaret's heritage. She is welcomed back to the palace where she attends the beautiful young queen Katherine. When Katherine gives birth to her first son, Henry asks his beloved cousin Margaret to raise this new prince.
But the baby prince dies and the new king becomes obsessed with his own failure to sire an heir to his throne.Read more ›
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By
dprallon
on September 3, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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3 Comments
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I've been following the Cousin's War saga since the first book, and waiting eagerly for the next one - and now it's finally finished.
This book works perfectly well - naturally so - as both the last book of this saga and as a story set during her Tudor stories (it starts almost 1/3 into "The Constant Princess" and ends up to almost half of "The Boleyn Inheritance"). It talks mostly about Henry VIII's reign and his fall from the most promising prince in Christendom to a tyrant married to a child -- all while managing to make one feel for his losses.
Margaret Pole, the protagonist of the novel, lived - or rather, survived - through some of the most turbulent period of the English History, from the second half of the war of roses to the beginnings of Anglicanism. Her story is remarkable; as is everything we can safely learn about her. As someone who generally sides deeply with York, I was looking forward to it. That said, she makes a rather unsympathetic protagonist - specially if you've learned to love and care for Gregory's protagonists through (both) the series. Extremely proud, overtly conscious of her own royal blood, Margaret looks down on EVERYONE around - except, perhaps, Catherine of Aragon. Not even her beloved cousin Elizabeth (Henry's mother) is excused from her sense of self-importance and she loses no opportunity to vilify everyone she sees as an "upstart" - from Woodville's to the Boleyns, passing through the Tudors themselves and her own loyal husband.
I still cared and felt for her children and grandchildren, I admired the written ending here, but most of the time I just wanted to smack the old lady in her head - both for bring arrogant and for the incredible amount of hypocrisy she shows. Naturally, in such court, it is necessary to lie and pretend, but doing so while thinking oneself better than the others was just too much for me.
Still, it's worth reading, specially if you've liked Gregory's previous works.
This book works perfectly well - naturally so - as both the last book of this saga and as a story set during her Tudor stories (it starts almost 1/3 into "The Constant Princess" and ends up to almost half of "The Boleyn Inheritance"). It talks mostly about Henry VIII's reign and his fall from the most promising prince in Christendom to a tyrant married to a child -- all while managing to make one feel for his losses.
Margaret Pole, the protagonist of the novel, lived - or rather, survived - through some of the most turbulent period of the English History, from the second half of the war of roses to the beginnings of Anglicanism. Her story is remarkable; as is everything we can safely learn about her. As someone who generally sides deeply with York, I was looking forward to it. That said, she makes a rather unsympathetic protagonist - specially if you've learned to love and care for Gregory's protagonists through (both) the series. Extremely proud, overtly conscious of her own royal blood, Margaret looks down on EVERYONE around - except, perhaps, Catherine of Aragon. Not even her beloved cousin Elizabeth (Henry's mother) is excused from her sense of self-importance and she loses no opportunity to vilify everyone she sees as an "upstart" - from Woodville's to the Boleyns, passing through the Tudors themselves and her own loyal husband.
I still cared and felt for her children and grandchildren, I admired the written ending here, but most of the time I just wanted to smack the old lady in her head - both for bring arrogant and for the incredible amount of hypocrisy she shows. Naturally, in such court, it is necessary to lie and pretend, but doing so while thinking oneself better than the others was just too much for me.
Still, it's worth reading, specially if you've liked Gregory's previous works.
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