The Queen's Fool - Book Review
‘The Queen’s Fool’ by Philippa Gregory is a delightful work of historical fiction. I have been a fan of Philippa Gregory since I discovered ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ in 2013, and read it within a few days, devouring every bit of the dramatic tale steeped in history. I found ‘The Queen’s Fool’ to be equally exciting, and if you aren’t already a fan of Philippa’s work, I hope my review will inspire you to explore her novels.
‘The Queen’s Fool’ follows Hannah Green, a young Jewish girl who has been forced to run from Spain with her father and begin a new life in England. Much to her own surprise, shortly after arriving in England Hannah learns that she has the gift of ‘Sight’ which allows her to see patch worked glimpses of the future. Her gift results in her being brought to court to serve as a ‘holy fool’ for Queen Mary. From here on out, Hannah is pulled along on a twisted path as she attempts to serve several interests and people, and as she discovers how her own secrets and desires can make her life more interesting and infinitely more dangerous.
In this novel, we watch Hannah grow from a young girl with only her wits and a few friends on her side, into a woman who knows what she wants and what she is willing to do to freely live her own life. Hannah goes through many trials and tribulations in this story, and although I do not fully agree with how she handled her life, and I did often find myself disagreeing out loud with how she was behaving as I was reading, I believe this story, shown from her perspective, sheds a light on the difficulty of being a woman in this time period, and how the complicated relationship between Queen Mary and the then Princess, and eventually Queen Elizabeth was strained much more than it would have been had they both been men. Though I did not always agree with this story and these characters, I think this novel shows an interesting side of history, the history of women making their own way in a male-dominated world.
If you enjoy historical fiction, I highly recommend this book. I found it to be quite riveting and fast-paced, once I started reading it, I did not want to stop until I was finished with it. If you already enjoy Philippa Gregory’s writing and haven’t read this one, definitely pick up a copy, and if you are looking to get into historical fiction, this would be a perfect choice.
