Rating:  ☆☆☆☆

Recommended by:

Author:   Philippa Gregory

Genre:  Fiction, Historical Fiction

528 pages, published August 8, 2017

Reading Format:  Audio Book

Summary

The Last Tudor tells the stories of three Grey sisters:  Jane, Katherine and Mary.  The great-granddaughter of Henry VII through his younger daughter Mary Tudor, Jane was a first cousin once removed of Edward VI, Henry VIII’s only male heir who was King of England and Ireland in 1547.  When Edward VI died at 15 years old, Jane served as queen of England for nine days after Edward VI wrote in his will that his successor should be Jane, partly because his half-sister Mary was Roman Catholic while Jane was Protestant and would support the religion whose foundation Edward claimed to have laid.  Edward’s will named his half-sisters Mary (daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon) and Elizabeth (daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boelyn) as illegitimate and removed them from succession.  When the country’s allegiance switched to Mary, Jane was tried for treason and beheaded.  Jane’s sister Katherine Grey was the beauty of the family who earned the lifelong hatred of her cousin Elizabeth I when she married Edward Seymour for love.  Under four feet tall, the third sister Mary Grey was an extraordinary little person known as a dwarf in Tudor times, who defied Elizabeth to marry the tallest man at court in her own secret love match.

Quotes 

“You don’t get to be a favorite at a tyrant’s court without beheading your principles every day.”

My Take

Philippa Gregory, master storyteller and premier writer of historical fiction, has once again woven a fascinating tale that continues the stories of Elizabeth and Mary, the two daughters of Henry VIII.  In The Last Tudor, we get a different view of Elizabeth I who is portrayed as a tyrant who was constantly worried about losing her throne, especially to Mary Queen of Scots, and who was vindictively jealous of her prettier and happier cousin Katherine Grey.  As with all Philippa Gregory novels that I have read during my quest (The Queen’s Fool, The Taming of the Queen, The Kingmakers Daughter) I thoroughly enjoyed the rich details of the period and the compelling character studies of historical figures.