The Queen's Fool, by Philippa Gregory

The Queen's Fool: A Novel
By Philippa Gregory

Amazon.com lists this book as "The Queen's Fool: A Novel (Boleyn)" though there are no Boleyn's in sight, unless you count Elizabeth. Brandy Purdy should take note of this, since this bodes quite well for her novel, The Boleyn Wife coming out in February 2010! maybe if I changed the title of my own book to "An Involuntary King: A Tale of a Possible Boleyn Ancestor "...

Hannah Verde Green the Fool is the daughter of a Morano book seller and printer. They escaped Aragon after Hannah's mother was burned at the stake as a heretic for continuing to practice Jewish rites though ostensibly converted to Christianity. In the England of Edward VI and then Mary I they are still under threat, first from an intolerant Protestant king and then an intolerant Catholic queen. Because Hannah is a seer, Lord Robert Dudley of did-he-murder-his-wife-to-marry-Queen-Elizabeth fame, takes her to court to be a "holy fool" for Edward. Hannah proceeds to be sent hither and thither to spy first on Mary, then Elizabeth, then.. well you get the idea. Every object of her espionage she becomes devoted to for one reason or another. Mary is so kind and loving, Elizabeth is so smart and spunky, and Lord Robert is so hot... Hannah has a betrothed who adjusts to her more egalitarian notions of gender roles eventually, and really their relationship is the most interesting part of this book for someone like me who is not star struck by the Tudors and hangers-on.

There are several things in this novel that did not sit well with me. The portrayals of Mary and Elizabeth were, I think, rather cartoonish, with May a sweet loving and well meaning woman who just happened to act on her sweetness, love and good intentions by burning a whole lot of people as heretics or friends of heretics. Hey, they didn't call her "Bloody Mary" because she was "bloody marvelous" you know. This reminded me of a Catholic high school history text I once found at a used book sale that admitted mary had a lot of people killed, thus her unfortunate nickname "Bloody" assigned by historians, but after all, she was just doing what she thought was right by defending Holy Church! I mean, sheesh!

Elizabeth conversely is vain, scheming and petulant, which may be accurate but she has had to have a more well rounded personality. Mary's two "pregnancies" are handled oddly. She says she knows her baby is "gone", no explanation about where it went, if she miscarried, if it died in the womb, nothing. If she was never really pregnant, then where did the belly com e from? Perhaps I missed something. Another problem is one I have identified as a drawback to novelization of the lives of Real People. As in "Here Be Dragons" which was reviewed here recently, you have to make the stony you are writing fit the calendar of real events. Thus the dramatic sculpting that takes place in pure fiction is impossible, and frankly I don't like that. Mary's illnesses dragged on and on. If this was purely fiction, this would be regarded as sloppy writing.

Here is a most puzzling error. Part of the beliefs that got all these folks burned at the stake was the conviction that the Scriptures should be read only in Latin, that one of the perfidies of the Protestants was using Bibles translated into English. Then why is one of the sevices Mary calls on Hannah to perform reading scripture to her in Spanish? Latin is Latin, not Spanish. Mary, it appears, was also a heretic.

Finally, Gregory just seems to have a knack for protagonists I don't like. John Tradescant in Earthly Joys is an exception, but I liked Hannah almost as little as I liked Alys in The Wise Woman. I know you aren't necessarily supposed to like a main character but to understand her frailties and watch her grow. But when it feels like you are supposed to identify with the character, as I think the point was here, that's not so easy to do. They have to appeal enough to keep you interested. I lost interest in the characters in this book about halfway through... but kept reading for That's All She Read's sake.

The one bright light in this novel is Will Somers, the real fool who managed to survive Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary. He appears as a loving, wise and protective father figure for Hannah. He is funny and thoughtful, well drawn, and I am glad to make his acquaintance.