The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory

One of my currently favorite genres is historical fiction and this is a prime example. Hannah is a 14 year-old Jewish girl with a gift of “sight” prized in 16th century England, so she is brought to the court as a fool in boys clothing by Robert Dudley, where she befriends both Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth. I enjoy the personal connections, the romance, but am most gratified by the historical details. I especially enjoyed the description of the life of Jews – pretending to be Christians, but still being the shopkeepers, and in this case a book printer and seller. The religious intolerance, the struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism, the inquisition, imprisonments and executions were uncomfortable to read about, but important for me to understand. Having recently seen the Tower of London, I can better imagine what imprisonment there would be like. I was also fascinated by the power struggles for the throne of England – with Spain and France also in the mix, and Queen Elizabeth before she was queen. The importance of a male heir seems ridiculous to me now, but I guess back then… Plus Queen Mary was in her 40’s when she tried to deliver a live heir. If I was considered an old mother at 37, I could see that in those days she was ancient and had very little chances of delivering a healthy baby – plus she was so stressed out – with all the intrigues around her, and her absent husband. Ah well, some things never change. (Read Dec. 04)