I’ve read ‘The White Queen’ and whilst it is bad, I don’t remember it being that  awful….

Then again I have tried to put most of it out of my mind!

I haven’t read any of her books(only the first two pages from the Other Boleyn Girl)and from what I have heard I don’t want to read any of them.But I am aware of what she claims through her novels.I love historical fiction,but the one that stays truth to history,shows what went behind closed doors,have some actual basis in the way historical faces are shown and doesn’t claim to be the truth.If someone is to believe Gregory,then Anne was a jealous bitch,who hated everone,acted stupidly and have no morals,no self-respect and no limits.Forget the known Katherine of Aragone,yep that one who was religious,gracefull,who feared and respected God and believed that Pope was His word to the world.No,Katherine was equally bad as Anne in the Other Boleyn Girl.She humiliated her husband’s mistresses(the same Katherine who asked of her ladies not to speak bad of Anne),she lied and cheated her way through in order to become Queen,just like(always according to Gregory)Anne did.For one,I don’t believe that she lied in front of God,the Pope and neither she or Anne would have sinned in order to become Queens.Lastly,why she made Mary Boleyn one of the most boring people of the Tudor era.She was not just the other Boleyn girl.She carved her path in history before her younger sister and actually choosed poverty and anonimity.She had an interesting personality,since she became the official mistress of two kings.She was sister to Anne and George,two intellectual courtiers(what was she?Their stupid country maid sister?)She was also educated and gracefull.She choosed love over welth,defy everyone,lived her life as she wished to.So,that extraordinary woman,with a taste for freedom and determination,according to Gregory was a plain girl who loved the  country and living as a farmer.Just one note:While Anne and Mary lived in countryside,they were members of nobility,lived in their family castle(Hever),enjoying their pastimes and education as anyother proper lady of the time.They were women raised in courts,palaces and castles,not country girls,with no idea of the world, who caught the eye of a King

The main problem with her is that she poses as an historian,not as a historical novelist.In fact,she can be credited as a descent novelist.I wouldn't mind much her books if she didn't pose as she writes history and  undeniable truth.I feel the same way with you mainly because she seems to be obsessed to prove great ladies as conniving and power hungry bitches(Anne Boleyn and Katherine of Aragone suffered at her hands,one while plotting the death of every one in court and the other dressed as a harem wench).So,I guess your notion that she is no serious historical novelist is pretty much the truth!

Her books are sold at Hampton Court. That's how bad it is.

She's going to take over the world persauding people of all these false characters…

Though I don't remember that quote in The White Queen… I may have to spend an hour searching for it…

I would be OK with someone using real historical figures and then spinning fiction about them… IF the author was clear upfront that is what they are doing. PG gets into trouble because she seems to want it both ways, to spin fiction and be considered an historian.

Excuse my language on this guys but I feel this comment is really nessecary.

I f*cking hate Philippa Gregory. I wish I could burn all her horrible novels. I go into bookstores and hide her novels so people won't see them.

She paints Anne as this horrible monster, Elizabeth as a spoiled stupid brat and on top of that she claims her novels are legitimate fact. It's like she goes on Wikipedia and picks out the worst possible traits she can about a historical figure and bases her entire novel off of that. I absolutely hate how she claims “Mary Boleyn is her personal idol” when TOBG wasn't in the slightest what her life was like. And I HATE that TOBG movie made it worse. I really, really, REALLY hate how many people come up to me and ask if Henry VIII was a rapist, whether Anne really had sex with her brother, whether Anne got with Henry out of spite for Mary, or even people who hear about Mary's affair with Francis I and say “No she didn't! That didn't happen in TOBG” (I've actually heard that before) 

Impish_Impulse is so right, her novels wouldn't be all that bad if she would ADMIT to it all being pulled out of her ass instead of acting like she's a professional historian. Her actual “nonfiction” books make no sense what so ever and every “fact” in them is her own personal assumption and no where even remotely close to the actual events that took place. She even appears on historical shows about Henry VIII to give her “professional” opinion.

I bet every one of you right now that she's sitting at home at this very moment contemplating a way to make it sound “believable” that Henry VIII laid golden goose eggs in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory in his spare time. 

MegC said:

Chrystina:

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!  LMAO!!!

I couldn't have said it better myself!

Lol! Thank you! I'm glad someone agrees with me!
 

I'm sorry to rant like that guys but I just really, really hate Gregory. I think it has a lot to do with my age group, I'm 20, so even if I sit there and explain to someone how WRONG Gregory's writing is…it doesn't matter because to them I sound like the Teacher from Charlie Brown and they're still going to go on thinking Anne slept with her brother. *sigh*

I've learned to just tell people to pick up a real history book.

Sharon said:

Hiding her books at bookstores….I love it.  What a great idea!  Thanks for the suggestion.  BTW what non-fiction has she written?

“The Other Tudors” about Henry's alleged illegitimate children is the only one I know about. I hope their aren't more…