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A good read, would give three and a half stars.not as good as "The Other Boleyn" though, which I thought was amazing.
If you're looking for thematic undertones and hidden meanings, you're sure to find it. The Virgin's Lover picks up right where The Queen's Fool leaves off and describes the infamous Queen Elizabeth I's rise to power, early reign, and love affair with her Master of Horse Sir Robert Dudley. The reader will quickly fall in love with Queen Elizabeth and with Philippa Gregory's writing.Fantastic love story that has meaning and implications that run deep throughout Philippa Gregory's words. If you' don't care for that stuff, it's still a great love story.I would read The Queen's Fool first. provides some context.
Listening to Amy whine was just one of the barbs that annoyed me beyond measure. The Virgins Lover was to me the same rehashing of one of the best known assumed romances. The same enamoring story just was not there for me with The Virgins Lover.The prose itself was not the problem for as far as writing style it is the same style I have come to appreciate with Phillipa Gregory, but the story itself was lacking. I was however a little disappointed in this book. As my yearly renaissance festival rolls closer I decided to embroil myself for a little bit into the time period by reading The Virgins Lover by Phillipa Gregory. They can't all be winners after all. But I was a bit disappointed. Though on the flip side, he should have been a better husband without a doubt.The story of Robert Dudley and Elizabeth is not a new one, but I had hoped for some excitement from one of my favorite historical authors.
So as much as I love Phillipa to me this is one to skip. But when one married a man in such a time you had to expect some of the things that would be happening. I have been a big fan of her stories, and am always happy to read a tale as told by her. It was a dragging read for me. Now I can understand her pain, and believe me I do. Her husband was almost killed, she should have been happy he was not. But it won't stop me from continuing to read her works.
I got lost in discussions about French, Scottish and English alliances--it turned into a history lesson. In Philippa's other books, I've become attached to at least one character, and can't wait to find out what happens to them.
The good news is there is a twist at the end. The bad news is, it's pretty slow before that.
I wanted to finish the series, so I forced myself to finish this one. Without all the twist and turns of her other books with a large cast of characters, there isn't much intrigue here.
I'm guessing Philippa was trying to cover the whole era, and this part is a yawner. There is really only 2 main characters, with three minor characters.
I didn't have any favorites here. You could probably skip this one without losing your place in the series.
It seems like Gregory was trying to write for a bunch of rowdy teenagers who wanted to read nothing but sex on every other page.The way Gregory portrays the main characters in this book are absolutely horrible and so totally OUT of character from the way history usually portrays them. This story holds so much potential because Elizabeth is such a fascinating woman. I kept reading because I kept telling myself it had to get better at some point. It was horrible.
I understand authors taking creative license and I don't mind that but really. There are two story lines running parallel to each other in this: Elizabeth and Robert Dudley's story at court and then Robert's story with his wife Amy. The novel drags on for 400 something pages with Robert's schemes to marry Elizabeth and to get Cecil out of the way, Amy's hysterical outbursts at everyone, courtiers threatening to kill Dudley, Cecil trying to save his Queen, etc, etc. I was excited to find this book in an airport bookstore as I enjoyed TOBG (entertainment wise and interesting characters) and I love reading anything I can get my hands on about Elizabeth I so I settled down with this one on the flight home. Gregory makes her seem like a valley girl. That is what was lacking in the two main characters - Elizabeth acted like an idiot the whole time and Dudley was sickening in his arrogance the whole time.I really can find nothing in this book to recommend it to anyone. However, there is so much more to him and his character really could have been expanded more; he was really one dimensional.
Elizabeth's close advisor William Cecil plays a big part in this telling as well. I found myself hating him for his over-the-top ambition and most especially his arrogance. Robert Dudley comes across even worse (which is hard to believe). Gregory goes back and forth throughout the novel letting the reader see what Amy's life is like being the cast off and unwanted wife of a very ambitious man and what Elizabeth is having to deal with as she tries to keep a hold of her crown. While I have said before that Gregory's works are good just for entertainment value and characters interesting enough to keep you wanting to read about them, she must have been on medication while writing this book. I'm sure the real Dudley was ambitious and wanted to get all he could but I don't think anywhere in history is it recorded that he was as sly, sneaky, possessive, domineering, arrogant, and down right mean as Gregory portrays him. I really can't see the real Robert Dudley getting into a screaming match with his wife in the middle of the road in front of others. Yes, Elizabeth is documented as being vain and a flirt but she used it to successfully control her council, her suitors, and her enemies.
There was not one interesting thing in this book - no interesting plot twist, no mystery, nothing. I don't think so. What was a bit intriguing was Gregory's take on how Cecil had a hand in Amy Dudley's fate; as it is still a mystery even to this day what really happened it was an interesting road for Gregory to take. I wanted to throw it out the window and see it land in a river somewhere between Shreveport and Atlanta. Cecil seems to act the way I would expect him to, having spies everywhere to make sure he knows what's going on in the realm, trying to guide Elizabeth, being horrified at Dudley influence over her, etc.
As much as I wanted to shake Elizabeth for being such an idiot I wanted to punch Dudley full in the face and I was quite happy to see him deprived of his dream at the end.The only two characters that weren't butchered, in my opinion, were William Cecil and Amy Dudley. As for Amy, I don't think there is much about her in historical record so Gregory probably had much more freedom to create a personality for her and she does a decent job. Perhaps someone who isn't interested in much history and is just reading for the sex could enjoy it. She was very determined not to let a man run her life and I find it hard to believe that she wouldn't have been able to think straight and make a coherent decision about her realm without Dudley being nearby. It didn't.This installment of Gregory's Tudor series covers the first couple of very dangerous and uncertain years of Elizabeth I's reign.
She really irritated me most of the time but there were those few moments where something else shone through and that is what made her probably the most well rounded character in the story; she had more than one side to her personality and it made her somewhat interesting. A Queen Elizabeth who giggles constantly, can't make one rational decision without Dudley, and who acts like a complete airhead. She was a highly intelligent woman who knew what she needed to do to keep her crown; there is no sign of that woman in this Elizabeth. Throughout the story there are times when I want to shake her and smack her across the face for her stubbornness and her blindness to things but at other times I feel so incredibly sorry for her (though I will admit those times are few). Gregory completely missed with this one.
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