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Philippa Gregory

Goodreads Author

Born

in Kenya

Website

http://www.philippagregory.com

Twitter

PhilippaGbooks

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction

Member Since

October 2012

URL

http://www.goodreads.com/philippagregory

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Philippa Gregory was an established historian and writer when she discovered her interest in the Tudor period and wrote the novel The Other Boleyn Girl, which was made into a TV drama and a major film. Published in 2009, the bestselling The White Queen, the story of Elizabeth Woodville, ushered in a new series involving The Cousins’ War (now known as The War of the Roses) and a new era for the acclaimed author.

Gregory lives with her family on a small farm in Yorkshire, where she keeps horses, hens and ducks. Visitors to her site, www.PhilippaGregory.com become addicted to the updates of historical research, as well as the progress of her ducklings.

Her other great interest is the charity she founded nearly twenty years ago; Gardens for The G ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

If you could live in another period of time, when would it be? Why?

Philippa Gregory I have a very strict rule on this! No woman should wish to live before 1960 – life without reliable contraception was always a constant anxiety. No…moreI have a very strict rule on this! No woman should wish to live before 1960 – life without reliable contraception was always a constant anxiety. No woman who wants political power could be happy before we got the vote in the 1920s. No woman wanting an education should live in any period before women were admitted to universities and could graduate – so the 1920s for the UK. No married woman could own her own property before 1870 – you fundamentally became part of your husband's estate. In short, despite the dresses and the jewels for the upper classes the best time to be a woman in the western world is probably now. (less)

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For some reason, your books draw more controversy than most other historical fiction books. I have never been sure why, since its clear that you do a tremendous amount of research. Any ideas why this is so?

Philippa Gregory Alas, poor me! I really hate the sort of trolling that occurs from time to time, and I am amazed at the tone that people think appropriate to write…moreAlas, poor me! I really hate the sort of trolling that occurs from time to time, and I am amazed at the tone that people think appropriate to write about someone, or even to write to them. A lot of the most spiteful people are not trained historians – so they haven't learned the habit of detachment from the subject – they write as if they are defending an unjustly accused personal friend, whereas the reputation of these characters is something which can be rightly and carefully considered, and the people lived 500 years ago! At all the universities where I have taught or studied there is an absolute commitment to scholarly discussion which should never be personal or rude, and is supposed to get you – by the exchange of views and information – to a greater truth. So it is surprising and even shocking when people just rant. But often they forget that the books are novels, they are fiction and though based on fact they are supposed to be works of literature with their own narrative arc and language. I am not obliged to record everything that happened or even the whole of the life. The other thing that people seem to forget is that the books are almost all written from a point of view – often it's not what I think of a character, but what the narrator thinks of a character. You can see this really well in the contrast between The White Queen which was written from the point of view of Elizabeth Woodville, and The Red Queen which was written from the point of view of Margaret Beaufort. Their opinions of each other are those of rivals and sometimes friends and ultimately enemies – but I don't think of Elizabeth Woodville as a conniving sexually manipulative witch – that's Margaret Beaufort's opinion. My job is to get into her head, so as to invite the reader into her head and let the reader see the world through Margaret Beaufort's eyes with her prejudices and her mistakes. AND (as if this weren't complicated enough) Margaret Beaufort does not know all the history that I know, she does not know what happens after her death, so her account of the times is not what I would write if I were writing history. She's a fictional character in my novel and her view is a fictional account from a very limited idiosyncratic point of view. And finally – sorry for such a long answer – I think the controversy is the downside of success. More than 9 million people read my books – naturally a proportion of them won't enjoy them, or prefer one to another, or prefer the tv or the films. But on the other hand I enjoy a lot of praise and I get great reviews and I number some of the great historians of the period among my personal friends. The best response is from the readers who have been inspired to study history and read the records that I use for research so that they can find out for themselves what they think a character was like. That's so much more interesting than trying to shout other people down.(less)

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Philippa Gregory's Books

Average rating: 3.88 · 1,116,876 ratings · 59,809 reviews · 77 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Other Boleyn Girl (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #9) 4.04 avg rating — 384,364 ratings — published 2001 — 107 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Constant Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #6) 3.87 avg rating — 125,965 ratings — published 2005 — 60 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The White Queen (The Cousins' War, #1) 3.89 avg rating — 120,115 ratings — published 2009 — 98 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Queen's Fool (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #12) 3.82 avg rating — 70,082 ratings — published 2003 — 58 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Boleyn Inheritance (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #10) 3.83 avg rating — 68,312 ratings — published 2006 — 75 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Red Queen (The Cousins' War, #2) 3.72 avg rating — 45,243 ratings — published 2010 — 74 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Virgin's Lover (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #13) 3.68 avg rating — 41,810 ratings — published 2004 — 49 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lady of the Rivers (The Cousins' War, #3) 3.95 avg rating — 33,299 ratings — published 2011 — 60 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Other Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #14) 3.60 avg rating — 33,413 ratings — published 2008 — 41 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Kingmaker's Daughter (The Cousins' War, #4) 3.93 avg rating — 26,182 ratings — published 2012 — 47 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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230 posts
Philippa Gregory's Blog: Philippa Gregory's News

Birth of Margaret Tudor

Margaret Tudor in the Prayer Book of James IV of Scotland

Today in 1489 Henry VII and Elizabeth of York had their first daughter – Margaret Tudor. She would grow up to be Queen Regent of Scotland, wife of James IV (the last monarch in Britain to die in battle) and mother of James V. Her parents' and her grandmother Margaret Beaufort's dynastic hopes rested on her brother Arthur, and later on her younger brother Henry VIII, but it is her descendants w... Read more of this blog post »

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Published on November 28, 2016 08:55 • 391 views • Tags: history

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Series by Philippa Gregory

The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels (14 books)
by Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)
3.91 avg rating — 1,002,822 ratings

The Tudor Court (8 books)
by Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)
3.93 avg rating — 741,708 ratings

The Cousins' War (6 books)
by Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)
3.87 avg rating — 261,114 ratings

Wideacre (3 books)
by Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)
3.45 avg rating — 36,197 ratings

Tradescant (2 books)
by Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)
3.50 avg rating — 9,762 ratings

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Interviews

February 2014, Philippa Gregory
"She brings her signature historical drama to Fools' Gold, along with a good dose of romance and magic. The novelist answers your questions about her hit books like The Other Boleyn Girl, plus gives reading recs. " ...More

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Philippa Gregory wrote a new blog post Birth of Margaret Tudor Today in 1489 Henry VII and Elizabeth of York had their first daughter – Margaret Tudor. She would grow up to be Queen Regent of Scotland, wife of... Read more of this blog post »
Nov 28, 2016 06:55PM · 45 likes · like
Philippa Gregory made a comment in the group Ask Philippa Gregory — Ask Philippa Gregory topic " Dear All - this has been such a pleasure to talk with you all. I am so sorry that I couldn't answer every question, but it's been fun to spend most of ...more "
Feb 21, 2014 06:46PM
Philippa Gregory joined the group Ask Philippa Gregory
Feb 07, 2014 02:27PM · 3 likes · like

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Quotes by Philippa Gregory

“For Harry Potter I have all the time in the world.”
― Philippa Gregory

697 likes

“You can smile when your heart is breaking because you're a woman.”
― Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl

642 likes

“If it means something, take it to heart. If it means nothing, it's nothing. Let it go.”
― Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl

tags: boleyn, england

470 likes

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Polls

Which book should be our December group read?

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

3 votes, 42.9%

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

2 votes, 28.6%

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell

1 vote, 14.3%

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

1 vote, 14.3%

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

0 votes, 0.0%

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

0 votes, 0.0%

7 total votes

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