Three Sisters, Three Queens (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels) by Philippa Gregory (Epub)

Description

As sisters they share an everlasting bond; as queens they can break each other’s hearts…

When Katherine of Aragon is brought to the Tudor court as a young bride, the oldest princess, Margaret, takes her measure. With one look, each knows the other for a rival, an ally, a pawn, destined—with Margaret’s younger sister Mary—to a unique sisterhood. The three sisters will become the queens of England, Scotland, and France.

United by family loyalties and affections, the three queens find themselves set against each other. Katherine commands an army against Margaret and kills her husband James IV of Scotland. But Margaret’s boy becomes heir to the Tudor throne when Katherine loses her son.

Mary steals the widowed Margaret’s proposed husband, but when Mary is widowed it is her secret marriage for love that is the envy of the others. As they experience betrayals, dangers, loss, and passion, the three sisters find that the only constant in their perilous lives is their special bond, more powerful than any man, even a king.

User’s Reviews

Review “Mesmerizing, intimate…Gregory defines what it means to be a writer of historical fiction. She lures readers straight into the hearts and minds of her characters by masterful storytelling and brilliant reimagination blended with historical fact. She brings history to life.” (RT Book Reviews)”A fictional tale as steeped in history as it is in intrigue and family dysfunction….Gregory excels in plucking real life women out of their secondary places in the historical chorus and placing them stage center in starring roles.” (Booklist)”Philippa Gregory’s historical fiction about the Tudors, including the best seller The Other Boleyn Girl, has earned her a devoted following, and Three Sisters, Three Queens is sure to bring her more.” (St. Paul Pioneer Press)“The ultimate job in centuries past was ruling. Historical fiction maven Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl) takes on three women, all part of King Henry VIII’s world, who serve as queens of England, France, and Scotland.” (Library Journal)”Spellbinding.” (Shelf Awareness)”By the time I had read the first few pages of Three Sisters, Three Queens, I knew that once again Gregory had grabbed me by the collar and simply wouldn’t let me go. . . . Although the urge to race through the novel to see what happens next is strong, smart readers will read slowly and savor the chance to travel back in time and live in an era that can now be found only in the pages of such a magical book.” (Book Reporter)Praise for The Taming of the Queen: “Who’s ever heard of Kateryn Parr? Henry VIII’s sixth wife was smart, independent—and managed to outlive him. In historical fiction queen Gregory’s latest, she’s unforgettable.” (People Magazine)“Full of vivid details and fraught with the constant tension of a court run by a madman, this novel will appeal most to historical fiction readers and those who enjoyed Wolf Hall. . . . Gregory beautifully builds the suspense.”—Library Journal “Gregory does her usual excellent job of ratcheting up the intrigue and suspense as another intelligent and strong willed heroine fights for her life and her legacy.”—Booklist “Gregory puts readers at the scene with visceral details.” (Kirkus Reviews)Praise for The King’s Curse: “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)“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 Praise for The White Princess: “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 Praise for Philippa Gregory: “The queen of royal fiction.”—USA Today “Sexy…Scandalous…Smart.”—Redbook “There’s no question that she is the best at what she does.” (Associated Press)“Philippa Gregory turns real life historical royalty into royally entertaining novels.”—Time “If only grade school history books were written so vividly.”—Entertainment Weekly “In thoroughly researched, wonderfully realized settings, she can make a period come alive.”—Boston Globe “Gregory … always delivers the goods.”—New York Post “Gorgeous fun.”—New York Daily News

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ I was expecting a book that would really delve into the lives of the three queens and instead got a book strictly from Margaret Tudor’s petty, spoiled, mean, vindictive, childish, and self important “woe is me” view. The only time the reader gets any look into the other lives is when we are shown letters from either of the other two queens and then Margaret cackles in glee over their misfortunes. Although it was very difficult to read a book with such a repugnant protagonist I was hoping that it would get better and she would have some character growth but then it just abruptly ended.

⭐ Consider this a 3.5 review, rather than 4. The insights into Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland (who will eventually be grandmother to Mary, Queen of Scots, and great grandmother–on both sides–to James VI of Scotland and James I of England) were fascinating! I’m so grateful to Gregory for capturing these stories and telling us about the women who made history happen. Two things lessened my enjoyment, and the main one was Margaret herself. She is not a very likeable narrator. Her selfishness and one-upmanship with her sister-in-law Katherine of Aragon, and her younger sister Mary, were exhaustingly annoying. This particularly saddened me, because of what an apparently gentle and loving mother she had in Elizabeth of York. Her husband, King James V of Scotland, seemed especially kind and patient in light of Margaret’s continual focus on how much more or less she had than her sisters. Once she began to truly focus on her adopted country of Scotland, later in the book, she became more likeable, but even then, she made some truly foolish decisions based on her self-centered values. My other issue was that, despite the title, this really is Margaret’s story. She spends a great deal of time wanting to be better and wealthier and more loved than Katherine and Mary. But their stories are given to us mostly through brief encounters and their letters to her. I had hoped to get more of Mary’s romance with Charles Brandon, but Mary’s letters are so very materialistic (amusingly so) that we really don’t get to appreciate it. Margaret’s narration makes some effort to link the theme back to the book’s title, to note that her relationship with her “sisters” is far more important in her life than her relationship to her brother Henry VIII or her Scottish king(s). But because it’s not an especially loving relationship, and they see each other so rarely, the title strikes me as misleading. Still, it was a enjoyable read. I did not mind what others are calling the lack of an ending — unless the book ends with the character dying, there will be some dangling threads (and even then!) Do not expect to love Margaret, and hopefully you will enjoy the book too.

⭐ I knew nothing about Margaret Tudor, the older sister of Henry VIII, so learning about her life in Scotland when she married King James IV of Scotland was at first interesting and informative. Since I had just been to Scotland, I knew the castles and palaces where Margaret lived from Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood House, and Stirling Castle as well as the borderlands where her second husband’s clan lived. When James IV died in a needless border war, he left behind his very young son, James V, and Margaret to try to keep her son’s kingship without much trust from the Scottish Council of Lords or support from her brother, Henry VIII. However, if she truly was as foolish and arrogant as the author portrays her, it is no wonder that she garnered little support. She made the very poor decision to hastily marry Archibald Douglas without the consent of the Council. The Council considered him to be a traitor to Scotland, duplicitous and with ruthless ambition. Margaret could not see Archibald’s true motives because of her love for him. He was using her to enrich his clan’s holdings and to wield power. She also ignored everyone who told her Archibald had another wife back home!Margaret Tudor comes across as being impetuous, foolish, stupid, totally entitled and self-absorbed. She is certainly not a likable person. She is constantly being forced to flee for her own safety from one royal castle to another, but she sets in motion most of the perilous circumstances in which she finds herself through her bad choices. It is difficult to have any sympathy for her.I found the writing to be rather dull, and the first person narrative was tiring. Margaret is portrayed as being so arrogant, entitled and self-centered that I skimmed many of the letters from her to her sisters. While constantly whining about wanting even more wealth, her jealousy of Katherine of Aragon and Mary Tudor never ends. There is far too much repetition of the same narcissistic babbling in the writing.I started the book with great enthusiasm and wanted to learn more about Margaret Tudor and that period of time in Scotland; but I quickly lost interest in such a shallow, un-redeeming person and decided maybe I didn’t really want to learn more about Margaret Tudor.

⭐ This is the worst Philippa Gregory book I have ever read. It was so monotonous and repetitive I gritted my teeth to finish it. Her writing is clunky and did I say repetitive?

⭐ Philippa Gregory tried to write a story about the interrelationships of Margaret, Katherine, and Mary: three women that would become queens, marry for love, and whose success and downfall depended on Henry VIII. However, the title is misleading: the story is told in first person by Margaret, and focuses mainly on her life, her thoughts, and her feelings. We only learn about Katherine and Mary through Margaret’s interaction with them, or her feelings towards them. Gregory, however, got lost in her idea of Margaret’s inferiority complex and jealousy towards Katherine and Mary, and created the most annoying character, an immature women that only complains about what she isn’t and doesn’t have. Reading this book felt like reading the diary of a self-absorbent teenager who always wants to feel like she is the most important of all the people around her. Margaret’s complains fill the entire book, to the point that it feels like Gregory just copy pasted them into every chapter. Philippa Gregory could have crafted a very interesting story, but she got lost trying to build the characters, and focused on Margaret’s vain personality, rather than on the story itself.

⭐ I absolutely love the books written by this author, especially the ones that have to do with the Tudor family and that time period. She writes so well that it is almost as if you are there experiencing it at the same time. For parts of this I was really torn with whether I liked it or not, after a little while I realized that it was because I had grown to love King Henry the eighth and all of the stories and wives that the author has put into perspective in the past. This book provided a different perspective of King Henry and the way that things were run and the condescending ways that he had and treated people. He treated this sister completely different then he did his other sister. There were dual standards in some many way. Yes at time Queen Margaret comes across as being an entitled whiny little girl but you also get to see and hear her grow. That being said with the dual standards in some ways I feel so bad for his sister, going into this book not knowing much about her really brought more knowledge and understanding of the way is a woman queen was mistreated and abused.

⭐ This is an entertaining work of historical fiction. The story is told from the perception of Margaret Tudor, the older sister of King Henry VIII. It includes Katherine of Aragon,the first wife of King Henry VIII, and Mary Tudor, his younger sister, but Margaret Tudor is at the heart of this story.Since little is known about Margaret Tudor, who married King James IV of Scotland, the author has taken known historical facts and fictionally filled in the substantial gap. It is written as a first person narrative, making it a highly personal reflection of Margaret’s life. Margaret also shares her perspective on the lives of her younger sister, Mary, and her sister-in law, Katherine. Their perspectives of events are also revealed through a series of letters they send to Margaret.Those who enjoy historical fiction should like this book. Fans of the Tudor era should also enjoy the author’s foray into the life of Margaret Tudor. The little that is known about her is intriguing, and the author has done much to present the reader with a well-fleshed character. At the same time, the reader should keep in mind that this is a work of historical fiction, with the operative word being “fiction”. That being said, I could not stop turning the pages of this book!

⭐ I have mixed feelings about this work of Philippe Gregory. Usually I rave about her books, which I have loved in the past. She has a gift for making the characters of medieval Europe come to life as we get to know them up close and personal. The title of this book is misleading. There is only one sister that we come to know, Margaret Queen of Scotland. The other two, Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII, and Mary, the youngest sister of Henry and Margaret, are present only in letters written to Margaret as she proceeds through her troubled life.Margaret is a narcissistic spoiled brat who is constantly comparing her status to that of her two sisters and coming up short. Her belief that she is entitled to be the fairest, richest, and most powerful is obsessive and makes her an unlikeable heroine but not quite a villain.The book is tiresomely long. Even though Margaret’s life runs through an endless cycle of ups and downs,it could have been told in fewer pages. Her alternating whining when down and bragging when up makes you want to rush to the end.However, I do recommend the book as an example of how a historical figure about whom little is known can be portrayed whole by a masterful writer.

⭐ My book club chose this book for November because we’ve read other Philippa Gregory books and truly enjoyed the dynamic discussions that followed.I predict this will not be among our favorites. In fact, it will likely rank at the bottom, with the likes of “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.”What should have been a lush, engaging page turner was instead a plodding woe-is-me tome that shed very little light on all of the characters. In fact, the only parts of this book that held my interest were sections concerning King Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn – and *only* because they reminded me of the terrific passages from the much better Gregory book “The Other Boleyn Girl.” (sigh)Too many of the characters lacked depth and detail – characters can’t be bad or good or scheming simply because the author tells us that the main character thinks they are. I need to feel my own level of loathing and distrust of them, which is something Gregory has accomplished in earlier works but fails utterly to do here.Too many subjects are mentioned but not explored – divorce, subjugation of women, the roles of regents vs rulers vs council advisors, war and betrayal, travel, traditions, clans… the list is long and Gregory skimmed over all of them, filling pages with stuff over substance.Without giving anything away, I found it especially disturbing to read page after page *after page* of Mary’s keen desire to be free of the oppression of a husband – only to dive quickly into her next marriage with no inner voice or journey rationalizing her change of position from “I can’t” to “I do.”I read with interest Gregory’s notes at the end, but learned only that she had little to work with and opted for presumptions to complete her characterization of Mary as daughter, sister, wife, ex-wife, mother, in-law, regent and rebel. I needed her to give voice – intense voice – to Mary and was frustrated that in almost 600 pages, Gregory never really did. Gregory’s Mary reminded too much of Scarlett O’Hara and I totally wasn’t into it.Overall, it’s a miss and not something I’d recommend to anyone.

⭐ This is probably my least favorite phillipa Gregory book that I’ve read. The main character, Margaret Tudor, got better but she was incredibly selfish and annoying. It seemed like no matter what happened, she was focused on the misery of her sisters and trying to outdo them out of spite and jealousy. The events in the book were exciting, and I had never put much thought into Henry viii’s family, so it was interesting to read about what was going on outside of Tudor England in a time that has been covered so extensively, mostly from a few points of view. This offered some interesting insights into how his family and neighbors would have viewed the events.

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