The Other Queen

by Philippa Gregory

Written in recent Philippa Gregory style (three main characters in first person) this is the retelling of Mary Queen of Scots during her imprisonment by Queen Elizabeth. The Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife Bess reluctantly house the queen while she conspires and plots with Catholic Englishmen, the Scots lords and foreign powers alike.

This is the Philippa Gregory I love. I know I gave a bad review of The Wise Woman and I stand by my opinion on that earlier work, but I have thoroughly enjoyed all of her novels on the Tudor dynasty. The chapters are laid out nicely with a different character point of view, date and place for each, and it is interesting to get into the minds of more than one and to see events from their personal angle.

I would love to see her write about Lady Jane Grey next!