The Queen’s Fool is the second book by Philippa Gregory that I’ve read. This is the story of a young girl, Hannah who is caught in the middle of a feud between Queen Mary and her sister Princess Elizabeth. The book details the rein of Queen Mary in the late 15oos, after her brother King Edward dies from an illness. I love this book because it gives a historical account of England during the Tudor Rein. The book gives us an incite on what life was like back in 1558 for the regular people and the courtiers.
The most shocking part of this story was the heretical burnings. The government controlled the church, and when the figurehead changed so did the church.

The story goes that Queen Mary is wed to Prince Phillip of Spain; he is young, rich and handsome. While she is aging and needs to give birth to a male air to solidify her right to the throne. She is unable to have a baby, and Prince Phillip loses interest. Her sister, Princess Elizabeth catches his eye. She is known to be a flirt, and swiftly makes the Prince fall for her; meanwhile she is plotting to dethrone her half sister. For all who do not know the story, Elizabeth’s mother was Anne Boleyn, the 2nd wife to King Henry the VIII. Anne seduced Henry and got him to put his wife aside in order to marry her. Her 1st wife was Queen Katherine (Mary’s mother). The story of Anne is detailed in Pilippa’s other book “The Other Boleyn Girl”. This is also a must read.

While Queen Mary is trying to hold onto her husband, she is dying. Elizabeth is considered a traitor and imprisoned in a tower, to be sentenced to death, by beheading. She survives her confinement and eventually takes over the throne, after her sister’s death.

The book concentrates on the main character, Hannah the Fool, who rises in court as Queen Mary’s confidant, but ends up running from court and the country, because of her secrets (her true religion Judaism). The story line is intriguing while all the historical tidbits make this educational.

What I learned: How barbaric the English were during the 15th century, beheading anyone who doesn’t conform to their religion beliefs, or who says an ill word against the government.