The King's Curse

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Large Print / Fiction / Historical / Gregory, Philippa	4-week checkout	Due 05-20-2024

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author behind the Starz original series The White Queen comes the story of lady-in-waiting Margaret Pole and her unique view of King Henry VIII's stratospheric rise to power in Tudor England. Regarded as yet another threat to the volatile King Henry VII's claim to the throne, Margaret Pole, cousin to Elizabeth of York (known as the White Princess) and daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, is married off to a steady and kind Lancaster supporter--Sir Richard Pole. For his loyalty, Sir Richard is entrusted with the governorship of Wales, but Margaret's contented daily life is changed forever with the arrival of Arthur, the young Prince of Wales, and his beautiful bride, Katherine of Aragon. Margaret soon becomes a trusted advisor and friend to the honeymooning couple, hiding her own royal connections in service to the Tudors. After the sudden death of Prince Arthur, Katherine leaves for London a widow, and fulfills her deathbed promise to her husband by marrying his brother, Henry VIII. Margaret's world is turned upside down by the surprising summons to court, where she becomes the chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine. But this charmed life of the wealthiest and "holiest" woman in England lasts only until the rise of Anne Boleyn, and the dramatic deterioration of the Tudor court. Margaret has to choose whether her allegiance is to the increasingly tyrannical king, or to her beloved queen; to the religion she loves or the theology which serves the new masters. Caught between the old world and the new, Margaret Pole has to find her own way as she carries the knowledge of an old curse on all the Tudors"-- Provided by publisher.

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Margaret Pole in the Tudor Court submitted by Jen Chapin-Smith on June 23, 2017, 2:19pm "The King's Curse," part of Philippa Gregory's series about the Cousins' War (a.k.a., the War of the Roses), tell the story of the real Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, although it takes some liberties with the truth for the sake of story telling. Those who have read other books in the series, particularly "The White Princess," "The White Queen," "The Red Queen" and "The Lady of the Rivers" will better understand the context of this novel, particularly the legend of the king's curse.
Gregory's description of Henry's machinations, manipulations, and ego-centric, selfish power-grabs are quite informative for today's readers. The book also describes the religious aspects of the era's conflicts, particularly between Catholics (often in northern England and fighting against the Tudors) and Protestants (who saw their fortunes rise when Henry declared himself head of the Church of England). The Poles were certainly Catholic. Pole's son Reginald became the last Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Leo XIII beatified Margaret Pole (one of the steps to the Pope declaring someone a saint).

[Spoiler warning]
Margaret Pole was one of the oldest people English King Henry VIII ordered executed in his life-long quest to secure his reign. She had previously served as lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon, then to Katherine's daughter Princess Mary Tudor ("Bloody Mary"). Gregory bases her description of Pole's execution on an apocryphal account of the event in which Pole defies and tries to escape from the executioner. She did, in reality, point out just before her execution that she had not even been accused on a crime (much less tried and found guilty).