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Philippa Gregory

Goodreads Author

Born

in Kenya

Website

http://www.philippagregory.com

Twitter

PhilippaGbooks

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction, Nonfiction

Member Since

October 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/philippagregory

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DR PHILIPPA GREGORY studied history at the University of Sussex and was awarded a PhD by the University of Edinburgh where she is a Regent and was made Alumna of the Year in 2009. She holds an honorary degree from Teesside University, and is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff. Philippa is a member of the Society of Authors and in 2016, was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award by the Historical Writers’ Association. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Neilsen for achieving significant lifetime sales across her entire book output. In 2021, she was awarded a CBE for services to literature and to her charity Gardens for the Gambia. and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal His ...more

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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 wo…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 ab…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: 3.95 · 1,857,747 ratings · 97,186 reviews · 117 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Other Boleyn Girl (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #9) 4.09 avg rating — 518,901 ratings — published 2001 — 197 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 Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #2) 3.96 avg rating — 185,106 ratings — published 2009 — 3 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) 3.93 avg rating — 168,509 ratings — published 2005 — 3 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, #13) 3.89 avg rating — 101,653 ratings — published 2003 — 106 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 Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #1) 4.05 avg rating — 96,026 ratings — published 2011 — 114 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) 3.92 avg rating — 96,566 ratings — published 2006 — 3 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 Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #3) 3.83 avg rating — 79,836 ratings — published 2010	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, #14) 3.74 avg rating — 58,164 ratings — published 2004 — 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 Kingmaker's Daughter (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #4) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 51,694 ratings — published 2012 — 96 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 Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #5) 3.95 avg rating — 50,155 ratings — published 2013 — 88 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

More books by Philippa Gregory…

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

Dawnlands pre-order bonus

I know some of you can’t wait to read the next instalment so my publishers are offering a sneak peek of my new novel Dawnlands to everyone that has pre-ordered it. Submit your receipt for either a hardback, ebook, or audiobook purchase and you’ll receive an exclusive excerpt emailed directly to you.

Head to the links below to find out more - you have until 7 November at 11.59PM GMT to submit.
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Published on October 07, 2022 05:57 • Tags: dawnlands

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Series by Philippa Gregory

The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels (16 books)
by

Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.98 avg rating — 1,602,617 ratings

The Tudor Court (8 books)
by

Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.98 avg rating — 1,063,496 ratings

The Cousins' War (6 books)
by

Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.97 avg rating — 496,594 ratings

The Fairmile (3 books)
by

Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.87 avg rating — 61,303 ratings

Wideacre (3 books)
by

Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.56 avg rating — 55,300 ratings

More series by Philippa Gregory…

At the beginning of each calendar month, Goodreads’ crack editorial squad assembles a list of the hottest and most popular new books...

Polls

What book about the Tudors or Tudor England would you like to have as our Group Read for March 2019?

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

10 votes, 16.1%

The Marriage Game: A Novel of Queen Elizabeth I by Alison Weir

8 votes, 12.9%

To Hold the Crown by Jean Plaidy

6 votes, 9.7%

The Locksmith's Daughter by Karen Brooks

6 votes, 9.7%

Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery by Eric Ives

5 votes, 8.1%

Prince Arthur: The Tudor King Who Never Was by Sean Cunningham

5 votes, 8.1%

The White Rose Murders by Paul Doherty

5 votes, 8.1%

Sovereign by C.J. Sansom

4 votes, 6.5%

Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Vanora Bennett

2 votes, 3.2%

Wolsey: The Life of King Henry VIII's Cardinal by John Matusiak

2 votes, 3.2%

Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey

2 votes, 3.2%

Edward VI: The Lost King of England by Chris Skidmore

2 votes, 3.2%

Mayflowers for November: The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn by Malyn Bromfield

2 votes, 3.2%

How to Behave Badly in Renaissance Britain by Ruth Goodman

2 votes, 3.2%

A Dead Man in Deptford by Anthony Burgess

1 vote, 1.6%

62 total votes

6 comments

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
75 Books...More o...: Authors you love	17	2320	Jan 27, 2009 04:14AM
The Rory Gilmore ...: Any good books?	38	591	Jun 13, 2009 05:55PM
Mystery/Thriller ...: Philippa Gregory - The White Queen	2	55	Jul 11, 2009 08:28PM
Everything Parano...: Mini Book Challenge Ends August 15th	19	84	Aug 15, 2009 12:05AM
Pick-a-Shelf: 2009-09 - Historical Fiction - What will you Read in September	117	164	Sep 29, 2009 08:27PM

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Philippa’s Friend Comments

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message 3: by Elizabeth(The Book Whisperer)

Feb 12, 2013 02:44AM

I am such a huge fan! I love historical fiction so much, and your books are just perfect!

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message 2: by Kellee (last edited Jan 28, 2013 08:57PM)

Jan 28, 2013 08:55PM

I can never express the influence your work has had in my life. I struggled with reading anything above a young adult level (even into my late twenties)until I was given The Other Boleyn Girl. Thank you! I am dyslexic and the effort was never worth the story, until I found your work. I have never been drawn into a story as I was with that novel. You are a master at your craft, thank you for the influence you have had in my life!

What a great surprise to find out I have not purchased everything you have written. I can't wait to finish my collection and get lost in your world.

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message 1: by Beth

Jan 28, 2013 04:01PM