The Other Queen: A Novel - Dark Publications

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Product Description

Two women competing for a man's heart
Two queens fighting to the death for dominance
The untold story of Mary, Queen of Scots

This dazzling novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory presents a new and unique view of one of history's most intriguing, romantic, and maddening heroines. Biographers often neglect the captive years of Mary, Queen of Scots, who trusted Queen Elizabeth's promise of sanctuary when she fled from rebels in Scotland and then found herself imprisoned as the "guest" of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his indomitable wife, Bess of Hardwick.

The newly married couple welcome the doomed queen into their home, certain that serving as her hosts and jailers will bring them an advantage in the cutthroat world of the Elizabethan court. To their horror, they find that the task will bankrupt them, and as their home becomes the epicenter of intrigue and rebellion against Elizabeth, their loyalty to each other and to their sovereign comes into question. If Mary succeeds in seducing the earl into her own web of treachery and treason, or if the great spymaster William Cecil links them to the growing conspiracy to free Mary from her illegal imprisonment, they will all face the headsman.

Philippa Gregory uses new research and her passion for historical accuracy to place a well-known heroine in a completely new tale full of suspense, passion, and political intrigue. For years, readers have clamored for Gregory to tell Mary's story, and The Other Queen is the result of her determination to present a novel worthy of this extraordinary heroine.

Customer Reviews: Read 49 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

It's not a bad book, but nor is it terribly compelling. September 16, 2008
53 out of 56 found this review helpful

"The Other Queen" is about Mary, Queen of Scots' imprisonment in England, focusing on the early years of her imprisonment. Like "The Boleyn Inheritance", the story alternates between three perspectives. The narrators are George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife, Bess of Hardwick who were charged with responsibility for the Queen; the third narrator is Mary, Queen of Scots. Bess is an ambitious social climber who initially thinks that hosting Queen Mary will be a way to advance the family fortunes, but who is dismayed to find that it drains their financial resources instead. George on the other hand becomes infatuated with the Queen, which causes irreparable friction in his own marriage.

I've enjoyed other books by Philippa Gregory, but The Other Queen lacks momentum. It's a long book and not a lot happens (and when things do happen, they're invariably taking place somewhere else, rather than happening to the characters who are telling the story). You get the feeling that most of the exciting parts of Mary's life have already taken place, so there is lots of time spent filling in her back story. I enjoyed the book in a mild way, but it felt so repetitive: countless variations on Bess complaining about money, George idealizing Mary and Mary telling us how charming she is. Bess was actually quite a remarkable woman for her time, but she comes across as being so unpleasant that she failed to elicit my sympathy. I was also disappointed that Elizabeth I barely appears - only in one short scene, when Talbot goes to London to meet with her.

As always, Philippa Gregory has done her research. I didn't necessarily agree with her interpretation of Mary's personality, but I couldn't fault it on historical grounds. It did feel however as if she couldn't quite make up her mind what the nature of Mary and Bothwell's relationship had been and why Mary had chosen to marry him, which I think is something that she needed to establish more clearly. Towards the end of the book events also get twisted and compressed, presumably to bring about a neater conclusion. Mary's execution (still 15 years away) is described in a dream sequence: couldn't Philippa Gregory come up with a better way to include it?

I kept waiting for the book to get going, but it never really did. At one stage Bess writes: "I can hardly believe that this nightmare goes on, goes on and on, and we never achieve victory and we never achieve peace". In many ways that reflects how I felt about the book. It's not a bad book, but nor is it terribly compelling.

5 out of 5 stars

There's something about Mary September 16, 2008
27 out of 32 found this review helpful

I love it when historical figures are brought to life. The facts are easy to look up: Mary, Queen of Scots, was born in 1542, became queen of Scotland as a baby, and grew up in the French court. She had a legitimate claim to the English throne, where her cousin Queen Elizabeth ruled. Mary was forced to abdicate her crown in Scotland, fled to England, and was held in custody there for many years. At first George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his wife Bess were charged with the responsibility of confining Queen Mary. In 1587 Mary was beheaded for treason against Queen Elizabeth. These dry truths cry out for a writer of Philippa Gregory's talents to make them come alive.

"The Other Queen" focuses on the first years of Mary's imprisonment in England, begun when she was just 26 years old. The timeframe of the book is from 1568 through 1572, with a final entry in 1587. The book alternates between three narrators: George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury; his wife Bess; and Mary herself. Each of the three writes just a few pages at a time, so you get all three viewpoints in quick succession. It's like reading a diary of the events, written by the three main characters.

It is easy to get caught up in the intrigues and double-crosses, and to care for the characters. The decent George quietly becomes obsessed with the beautiful queen he is forced to hold in custody. Bess hardens her heart as she watches her newly wed husband fall in love with Mary, and spend their fortune on the queen's upkeep. Mary desperately tries to extricate herself from her predicament, all the while keeping up her charming royal demeanor.

It is an eye-opener to be reminded of how women were thought of in those days. Over and over, men and women alike refer to women as lesser beings, unable to think for themselves. George Talbot writes of his wife, Bess: "Sometimes I ask too much of her. She is only a woman and she takes strange fearful fancies. She cannot think clearly like a man, and she has no education and no reading. She is only a woman: everyone knows that women have no steadiness of mind." Over and over this sentiment appears, while both Bess and Queen Mary -- not to mention Queen Elizabeth -- are planning and plotting elaborate schemes. Indeed, the simplest and least cunning person in the book is George Talbot himself.

I recommend this book to anyone wanting history to live and breathe.

Other books by Philippa Gregory include The Boleyn Inheritance, The Constant Princess and The Other Boleyn Girl.

5 out of 5 stars

"Born Queen of Scotland, crowned Queen of France, heir to the throne of England." September 15, 2008
25 out of 34 found this review helpful

Set in 1568-72 and a climactic 1581, great forces converge in this powerful novel of Mary, Queen of Scots. Her throne usurped by an ambitious half-brother, Mary is a guest of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, while Mary's claim to the Scottish throne is sorted out. Mary is outraged when Elizabeth does not immediately demand her restoration; but Elizabeth, in collusion with her most trusted Secretary of State, William Cecil, must carefully assess the merits of Mary's case, a woman with a strong royal bloodline that rivals Elizabeth's. A Reformist, Elizabeth is the future, England's coffers greatly enriched by the plundering of churches and monasteries. Stuart, on the other hand, personifies the old ways, the old religion, clinging stubbornly to tradition. Certainly there is a risk in Elizabeth's prescient ambition, Cecil's impressive network of spies marking him the most powerful man in the land, much to the dismay of the nobles who would counsel Elizabeth in his stead. Even after ten years, Elizabeth remains insecure: "I thought we could teach her how to live like a queen with pride, not like a usurper with terror."

Elizabeth prevails upon her loyal northern lord, George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his pragmatic wife, Bess, to shelter Mary at their estate, providing the young queen comfort and security. What begins as opportunity for the newlywed Talbot's becomes, many months later, the siege of a marriage, one founded on the acquisition of property. With great precision, Gregory deconstructs the Talbot's. The tension is exquisite, a perfect balance of unresolved issues between husband and wife, Bess acutely sensitive to an impending threat, George, oblivious, assaulted by a passion that undermines his sense of honor. Then there is the other queen, the beauty who sits in their midst like a spider, spinning webs and pronouncing innocence, mocking her hosts: "She can speak three languages but she can tell the truth in none of them." Played out on a smaller stage, the Talbot's dilemma is sharply contrasted with the larger issue: Mary's fate. George defends his honor, Bess distractedly counting her diminishing resources, while Mary studies the horizon for rescuers; meanwhile, manipulating events to her own advantage, "Elizabeth's justice is clamping down on our lands like a harsh winter."

Thus is the great drama of the cousins framed; regardless of her torment over Mary's fate, Elizabeth is a survivor facing painful decisions when her throne is at stake, her attempts to protect Mary as a sister of royal blood nearly toppling the country as it falls to its knees on the cusp of war with northern lords who would restore Mary to Scotland and claim the throne of England for their queen. In an angst-riddled and terrifying preface to a pitched battle with the north, the Shrewsbury's and their guest shuttle from one residence to another, their once-hardy marriage assaulted with each precipitous escape. Gregory owns this material, her pivotal characters tormented by their shattered dreams and frustrated hopes, tied to one another by circumstance, awaiting their fates. The Shrewsbury's are wonderfully nuanced, each by turns infuriating and complex, Mary Stuart soaring through the pages of history to rival even the indomitable Elizabeth. Brave, impulsive and heroic, Gregory's phoenix rises from the ashes of history to claim her rightful place in our hearts. Luan Gaines/ 2008.

3 out of 5 stars

`She can speak three languages, but she can tell the truth in none of them.' October 4, 2008
25 out of 28 found this review helpful

In 1568, Mary Queen of Scots sought refuge in England. She has trusted Elizabeth I's promise of sanctuary only to find herself imprisoned on Elizabeth's behalf by George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his wife Bess of Hardwick.

Ms Gregory has taken the familiar story of the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots in England and presented the viewpoints of those obliged by Queen Elizabeth to act as her gaolers. The impact on the Shrewsburys should not be underestimated: keeping Mary Queen of Scots captive was not without its costs (both monetary and political). While Mary herself lived, she was both wittingly and unwittingly a focal point for political and religious intrigue.

In terms of the main characters in the novel, Mary herself comes across as manipulative and naive. Bess of Hardwick is far more interesting than her husband George, while Elizabeth herself is torn between removing the threat to her throne and herself and a reluctance to execute a fellow monarch. Ms Gregory presents an intriguing, if not always exciting, picture of a number of people thrown together by fate. This particular version of the story, focussed as it is on Mary's long period of imprisonment, not likely to bring much joy to those who prefer to see more action or a more sympathetic depiction of Mary. I enjoyed the novel without being fully swept up by it.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

3 out of 5 stars

Good Points and Bad Points September 18, 2008
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

First the good points about this books.

1. This is Philippa Gregory, so you know that the writing will be well done and the research thorough
2. Very interesting take on the relationship between Mary, Queen of Scots and her husband Bothwell

Now the bad points:

1. As others have noted, practically nothing happens in this book. It drags
2. Most of the action happened in the past and is being retold
3. Unlike TOBG which had snappy dialogue that made you keep turning the pages, this feels like one long monologue told by several different people all droning on and on

All in all, three stars.

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