The Red Queen: A Novel Audio CD – Abridged, July 9, 2013

Gregory writes very well, and I enjoyed most aspects of her treatment of Margaret Beaufort. Still, the one overarching theme throughout the book is Margaret's overweening ambition coupled to her complete lack of self-awareness. If only we hadn't known this about her from the first pages, it would have kept me more engaged. Instead, there is never any doubt that Margaret sees herself as a perfect candidate for, if not sainthood, then for every honor that one human being can receive. She constantly wonders why others, so much less deserving than herself, keep receiving the things which she sees hers. Why are these things rightfully hers? Why, because she is God's most devout and devoted servant. Ergo, she alone deserves riches, respect and to be honored by others. All of her introspection, if such it can be called, is directed towards asking god to redress her endless grievances. This gets tiresome, hitting us as it does from the very first page. We get it, Margaret feels entitled.Still, her endless and mostly fruitless plots and schemes make an entertaining read, especially within the context of The White Queen, which should definitely be read before this volume. Her last two marriages are also well-explored by the author, and her feelings towards and interactions with first the cautious but honorable Henry Stafford and cautious but scheming Thomas Stanley were enough to keep me reading. Ultimately, and despite the protagonist's lack of introspection, I found it an enjoyable read.

The Red Queen is the a biography of a bad guy, and it's AWESOME!!Margaret Beaufort is this notorious/ infamous brutal & cold hearted women of English History, but how does someone get that way? Philippa Gregory lays down the foundation of how this woman came to be in this book, and who also becomes a prominent figure in multiple books after.As an influential figure in The Cousins War, she's never been one of my favorites; but I love this book for leveling me with who Margaret Beaufort is as a person and showing me why she is who she is. Philippa Gregory told the story of Margaret Beaufort in a way that evoked some emotions in me- she made me laugh, she made sad, she made me think, she humbled me, and she frustrated the heck out of me...and I loved every second!

This was a very interesting read. Lady Margaret is not a sympathetic character in my mind. It is true that women in this time period were ​little more than chattel, but she doesn't seem to know it. She doesn't appreciate her second husband, the only one who cares for her. When her third husband calls her out for her ambission, she is shocked. Her faith is not in God, but in her own greed and jealousy of the Yorks. It was fascinating to see how far she would go to put herself in a position of royalty. I didn't like her character, but I enjoyed filling in the history, even if it was fictional.

A bit easier for me to read than the first, The White Queen. The plot wasn’t as filled with conflict. And thank goodness for that! I had to put the first down to take a bit of a breather but this one I flew through!I was on the fence about this Queen, however. At first I was thinking I would like her more than Queen Elizabeth but as the story moved forward I became more confused with her motivation. Well, not her motivation, because that was always to put her son on the throne. But to the God aspect of her motivation. I feel like later on she was blaming everyone except herself for all the horrors in the world and she really should have been looking in the mirror instead of casting stones. She believed so fervently that God was backing her and her family that she would literally do anything that made that so!Even with that though, I really enjoyed how this one ended. There were questions that I had about the ending of the first and this one filled those in. There are still questions of course but I feel as if the next book in line, which is about The White Queen’s mother, does not sound as interesting to me as The White Princess which is #5 in this series! I just can’t wait that long!!

I am reading all of the books in timeline order, not written order. So naturally I read this book after The White Queen.I have to say that after reading The Red Queen, I dislike Margaret Beaufort even more than I thought.I never warmed up to her character in this book because I feel like she was arrogant and full of self importance. I felt like it was hard to relate with the character and I ended up just despising her completely.I understand the concept of the book was to write a different perspective of the same time frame. But because of this I may skip The Kingmaker’s Daughter all together since I don’t feel like Anne Neville had enough of a presence to constitute another book in the same timeframe.The Red Queen is well written as are all of Gregory’s stories, but I really didn’t enjoy this book like I did the others.

I am 3/4 thru this book and I don't care how religious history says Margaret Beaufort was. I'm sick and tired of every other sentence has her praying or on her knees or in church. The point was made early on in the book and it's completely unnecessary to keep repeating it over and over. I've read many of her books and generally enjoyed them but this one is terrible. The only other one she wrote that I didn't like was The Virgin's Liver but this may be worse. I will finish it but I may rethink that if Margaret compares herself to Joan of Arc one more time. Margaret, for all her praying, is not a true christian. She is a fanatic who has convinced herself God exists only for her! She is an unlikeable,cold, heartless and arrogant know-it-all.

If you like historic fiction bases on facts (faction) the this is a brilliant series. There are 6 books and, although each book stands alone, if you are going to read all 6 you should/must read them in the right order. Lady of the Rivers, White Queen, Red Queen, Kingmakers daughter, White Princess and Kings Curse. I found each difficult to put down. They all look at the same period of history but each from the view of different women of the time. They are a brilliant read. Each is a great story, brilliantly told, based on historical facts and not a little imagination. Highly recommended.

A Magnificent book as is only ever expected from the wonderful writer historian, Philippa Gregory. This book shows just how hideoussome of those people were, who took it upon themselves to live on the invented term "Royalty" a fallacy made on greed and other peoples blood, sweat, tears, torture and murder. I purchased this book on Kindle and listened to it in one go as I have to rest before going into hospital for a major operation so have lots of time. I had just finished reading a book about Margarets rival the Plantagenet Margaret Pole who took ten hits of the Sword to chop off her head at Tower Hill, plus the first book, 'The White Queen'. All quite gripping reading learning about what selfish people will go through and subject others in order to fufil their fanatical fantasies of being 'Royal'. They all needed a course of intense therapy with a team of psychiatrists. My collection of Philippa Gregory books grows and Amazon is the perfect place to find her work. I enjoy the option of audiobooks listening to a full cast or a good narrator bringing the work alive as well as actually reading the book myself. It takes a few days for the books to arrive but with Kindle, you choose your book and download within seconds. My days of resting are being filled with some fascinating historic reading.

The Red Queen is #2 in Philippa Gregory's Cousins War series about the Wars of the Roses. The heroine is Lady Margaret Beaufort, who I had vaguely heard of but didn't know much about, other than she was a tough old biddy who gave birth to the future Henry VII at the age of thirteen.I am a huge fan of Philippa Gregory. Ironically, my favourite books are about the real-life historical characters I'd never much cared about prior to reading their stories, such as Katherine of Aragon in The Constant Princess and Mary I in The Queen's Fool. I suppose that is part of Philippa Gregory's skill - making the reader feeling empathy for a person who was probably unlikeable in real life.The story is told in the first person from Margaret's point of view, apart from a couple of battle scenes. We first meet her as a very pious, precocious child. Even at the age of nine she knows she wants to devote her life to God, after becoming obsessed with Joan of Arc. Unfortunately, her sole duty is "to bear a son and heir ... a boy for the House of Lancaster" and she is soon packed off to Wales to marry Edmund Tudor.The plot deals mainly with Margaret's conviction that it is God's will her son should become King of England and her obsession with ensuring it happens. Unlike some of the other more unfortunate characters, Margaret's life is never really in danger, despite all her double-dealing and plotting. But the story is a fascinating read none-the-less, and there is the occasional humour in the way the characters, particularly Margaret's husband, tolerate her obsession. This is funny while Margaret is a child but around the halfway mark, as she grows older, you realise how much her obsession is hurting those around her. Towards the end of the story it is clear she has become absolutely ruthless, although there is a point when you feel the penny has finally dropped: "At last I recognise that the sin of ambition and greed darkened our enterprise." But then it is revealed that rather than admit to any failings of her own character for her troubles, Margaret is actually blaming her hated rival, Elizabeth Woodville!I loved this book and look forward to reading the others in the series.

I read this book in hardback when it first came out and didn't particularly enjoy it. In fact I couldn't remember any of the content - very surprising for me, and I was left asking myself if I'd actually read it at all. Having read some really mediocre historical fiction recently, I've been revisiting Philippa Gregory's books when they come up on special offer, as she is a good writer, does her research and brings her characters to life. This time round I was held captive by the story and could hardly out my kindle down!I liked the way Gregory developed the character of Margaret, her thoughts and speech reflecting her 12 year old self at the beginning of the book, maturing into her adult self as the story developed. What it must have been like to have been so certain of her own, and her son's, destiny. And the certainty that her wishes were God's will (and the clever inference that this might have been vice-versa). Life for a pious medieval mother. What focus and determination Margaret Beaufort must have had.Two minor omissions as far as this reader was concerned. The first was that half way through the book there was a 10 year break in the story line; I would have been interested in reading more about Margaret's life serving Elizabeth Woodville, even if it was just a short chapter. The second was that, as the focus of the story in the final chapters moved towards Henry Tudor, I felt I didn't really know much about him as a character, and I was left wondering what he was really like; he didn't spring off the pages as much as other key figures.Looking forward to picking up the next story in this sequence.

What a wonderful character Phillipa Gregory made, weaving much fantasy conversation and so-called pious thoughts around a woman self-obsessed by her religious fervour and her determination to put her son Henry on the throne of England.It would have been horrible to live in those days of near constant war and deceit.I found this book enthralling - and I must admit that prior to beginning to read PG's series on the Plantagenet era that I had always avoided reading about the period, always believing it to be too boring to be bothered with - how wrong was I???A fantastic action packed book, a delight to read, and now I can't wait to download the next in the series!