The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
416pp, (c)2006, historical fiction
rating: ***
I was excited to read another Gregory book following The Other Boleyn Girl, which I enjoyed tremendously, but probably should’ve waited a bit longer between the two. TCP started off well and it definitely held my attention for the first third-to-half of the book. I genuinely enjoyed learning about Katherine of Aragon’s background, where she came from, and her rise to power. It was once she achieved that power where my interest began to wane.
The second half of the book bordered between shmaltzy and frustrating. Reading through some of the reviews on Amazon just now I see I’m not alone in my opinion. The book can be a chore to read in places, as it’s written in both third and first person, and there are moments where the characters turn into caricatures of themselves. I went in knowing this was a work of historical fiction so I’m not as bent as some of the other reviewers on liberties taken and presumptions made, however, I perceive a line between taking historical fact and coloring in the lines around it versus molding a story around historical fact. For me, I prefer the former to the latter, and TCP felt like the latter.
Saving grace, the book does end on a high note and I appreciated Gregory’s choice to close Katherine’s story with her triumphs and not her downfall (while I don’t necessarily understand chopping 16 years out of the book to get there).
Meh, I’d give it three and a half out of five stars. Not a terrible book, but not one of the better ones I’ve read lately, either.
416pp, (c)2006, historical fiction
rating: ***
I was excited to read another Gregory book following The Other Boleyn Girl, which I enjoyed tremendously, but probably should’ve waited a bit longer between the two. TCP started off well and it definitely held my attention for the first third-to-half of the book. I genuinely enjoyed learning about Katherine of Aragon’s background, where she came from, and her rise to power. It was once she achieved that power where my interest began to wane.
The second half of the book bordered between shmaltzy and frustrating. Reading through some of the reviews on Amazon just now I see I’m not alone in my opinion. The book can be a chore to read in places, as it’s written in both third and first person, and there are moments where the characters turn into caricatures of themselves. I went in knowing this was a work of historical fiction so I’m not as bent as some of the other reviewers on liberties taken and presumptions made, however, I perceive a line between taking historical fact and coloring in the lines around it versus molding a story around historical fact. For me, I prefer the former to the latter, and TCP felt like the latter.
Saving grace, the book does end on a high note and I appreciated Gregory’s choice to close Katherine’s story with her triumphs and not her downfall (while I don’t necessarily understand chopping 16 years out of the book to get there).
Meh, I’d give it three and a half out of five stars. Not a terrible book, but not one of the better ones I’ve read lately, either.