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Philippa Gregory, The Taming of the Queen (Simon & Schuster, 2015)
Last week, Christine and I were invited back on to Chris Mann's Drivetime radio show on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire to discuss Philippa Gregory's latest novel, The Taming of the Queen. Taming centres on the marriage of Henry VIII to his final wife, Katheryn Parr, whom he predeceases. Having read a few of Gregory's earlier novels (her well-known 'Tudor Court' series), I knew what to expect and there weren't really any surprises. That's not necessarily a bad thing; for me, reading a Gregory novel of historical fiction is an enjoyable, stress-free experience. Gregory is good at what she does – it's not earth shattering, or incredibly profound, but nor is it the meaningless, bodice-ripping stuff of which her critics like to accuse her. For me, Gregory takes a fascinating period of history and humanises it. She gives a voice to female characters who are too often footnotes in history, or merely depicted as the titillating companions of more famous men.
Gregory researches her novels extensively and this is evident in her descriptions of the religious and moral debates of the day. She takes certain liberties with fact and embellishes where records are absent, but this is largely successful. There are, however, a few bum notes – the sex scene in the opening chapter of the novel hints that Gregory may be feeling a little anxious about today's craze for erotic fiction, but the description is cringe-inducing and painfully awkward. Similarly awful is Gregory's fictional account of how Katheryn Parr managed to gain a pardon from Henry VIII when he was hell-bent on executing her.
Despite these missteps, Gregory has written a compelling and absorbing novel. Christine was not quite so commendatory, but she too found the story enjoyable despite feeling that the final months of Katheryn's marriage (when her life hung in the balance) was too rushed.
Anne O'Neill
