Three Sisters, Three Queens (The Tudor Court #2)
By Philippa Gregory
Three Sisters, Three Queens is Philippa Gregory's latest entry in a long line of books about the women of the Plantagenet and Tudor dynasties. And, like the others, it was an amazing blend of fact and fiction. No one does historical fiction as well as Philippa Gregory. She takes cold, hard facts and creates a world of real people complete with feelings and insecurities, putting the reader right in the middle of their lives, 500 years ago. Making the reader feel as if you are there witnessing history firsthand.
Margaret Tudor was sent into Scotland as a child bride. She ended up being the ancestor of the current ruling dynasty, although most of the attention landed upon her grandson James Stewart, nieces, brother, and even her sister instead of either Margaret or her husband, King James IV of Scotland. Margaret is portrayed as haughty, conceited, jealous and quite full of herself. She was entitled, indulged and spoiled. But how surprising is that when you remember her brother was Henry VIII? She is definitely not a likable character at first, but by the middle/end of the book; I was so rooting for her to succeed.
From the book blurb, I was expecting the book to be about three queens. The book is mainly about Margaret with the other two sisters/queens worked into her story. There has been so little written about Margaret that it was interesting to finally meet her. This is written from the point of view of Scotland and not England as is typical, including the battle at Flodden. What an interesting tale the battle was from another country’s perspective.
My only complaint was the book ended so quickly and abruptly. Nothing was particularly left undone it seemed to me that the story could have continued for a few more chapters for an even more satisfying ending. All in all - another amazing read from one of my favorite authors. Get lost in Three Sisters, Three Queens today; you won’t be disappointed.