The Queen's Game My Rating: 4.8
England, 1565
Queen Elizabeth Tudor is wary of the Grey cousins. Ever since the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey nearly wrested the throne from her family, Elizabeth has been determined to ensure that the fate of England does not fall into Grey hands.
She has banished Catherine Grey from court, along with her two children, but Catherine’s unmarried sister, Mary, remains at Whitehall Palace as one of Elizabeth’s courtiers. Mary has ambitions for her family and realizes she may be the only one who can continue the Grey bloodline, since Catherine’s marriage has been declared illegitimate. Worried that her scoliosis may make pregnancy difficult, Mary does not want to waste any time and begins searching for a suitable husband at court.
Meanwhile, she discovers that her cousin, Lord Darnley, is scheming to marry the widowed Mary, Queen of Scots. If the marriage goes ahead, Darnley’s child could have a strong claim to the English throne, making Mary Grey even more determined to produce an heir of her own. As the battle for succession intensifies, will Mary see the Grey family name rise to victory, or tumble into obscurity?
I’m really glad I read Philippa Gregory’s series first. Even though Wemmlinger’s books focus on more minor historical figures, I was already familiar with so many of the people and events surrounding them, details that aren’t explored as fully in this series. Having that background made the stories feel much richer to me.
I really enjoyed this five-book series. The books were very readable, and more importantly, the series stayed consistently good from beginning to end.
No comments:
Post a Comment