Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Book review: The King’s Curse by Philippa Gregory

Book review: The King’s Curse by Philippa Gregory

Published by Simon & Schuster

book-king

Philippa Gregory, the author who brought us Elizabeth the White Queen, Margaret the Red Queen and made us fall in love with Anne Neville’s husband Richard III, now introduces us to Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury.

Margaret Pole, Princess Margaret of York, was the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville, and niece of King Edward IV and King Richard III, but her life changed in 1485 when Lancaster heir Henry Tudor came to the throne and ended Plantagenet rule. Her cousin, Elizabeth, The White Princess, married Henry while Margaret married Tudor supporter Henry Pole, before becoming Lady-In-Waiting and life-long friend to Catherine of Aragon and Lady Governess to her daughter Mary.

The book follows the rise and falls in Margarets’ eventful life. She is tragically widowed with five small children and no money, though when Henry VIII comes the the throne, her fortunes improve again. She then sees the fall of Catherine, then Anne Boleyn, then the decline of the Tudor court as the King slowly became a paranoid, fat, selfish tyrant. But eventually, aged 65, she is arrested, accused of treason and sent to the Tower of London. There was no trial, and in 1541 aged 67, she was brutally executed.

In Margaret, Phillipa Gregory has given us another fabulous heroine; a likeable, clever character who becomes one of the wealthiest women in the country. The reader is drawn into her passion for life, as we see her mange her lands and properties, and look after her family and servants.

Her life, and this book, is a emotional soap opera full of love, joy, hope, betrayal, tragedy. When’s the TV Series…?