Three Sisters, Three Queens

Margaret Tudor, sister to Henry VIII, grandmother of Mary Queen of Scots, and queen of Scotland. That is all I know about Margaret Tudor. So for me a book about her was a breath of fresh air and the chance to discover somebody new. I have read many Philippa Gregory books. Some I've loved like the Wideacre trilogy, The Wise Woman and The White Queen, some I haven't enjoyed as much such as The Other Queen, The Red Queen and The Kingmakers Daughter.This book started of quite well and straight away I was in Tudor times with my favourite people. However two hundred pages in and its a slog. There is no doubt that Philippa Gregory is a great historian and I like to read her work. However this book like some of her other books is very bland and drawn out. Dare I say I was bored.This book is titled Three Sisters, Three Queens, but it was all Margaret Tudor. Perhaps to break up the monotony it would have been nice to hear from Katherine of Aragon and Mary Tudor a bit more. This I think is what I was expecting.I have not quite read all the book and have flicked through a lot towards the end. Margaret Tudor had a fascinating life and not somebody I knew a great deal about. I'm sorry I wasn't enjoying the book more.I will always look out for new books by Philippa Gregory as she is the Tudor queen of fiction.

An amazing story about an underrated figure in Scottish and English history!

I love Philippa Gregory novels now I’m continuing on my way to the next book.

I had read a few of the other books in Ms. Gregory’s Cousins’ War series so I was pleased to be able to delve into this one about the three Queens that circled Henry VIII at the start of his reign; Katherine of Aragon, his sister Mary who became Queen of France for a short while and the main character in the book – Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland.Although the book title leads one to believe the story will be about the three girls it is Margaret’s story. Katherine and Mary play very minor roles and that was my first disappointment. I was expecting a fully developed story about all three women and I didn’t get that but had I gotten a rewarding story about Margaret I would have forgiven the overselling of the title but I didn’t. I got a book that I finished only to see if it would find itself and improve. It did – but only marginally.I don’t know if the problem was the lack of source material to draw from so as to create a fully developed character or what but the Margaret presented was a petulant, spoiled brat. Certainly not what one would expect of a woman reared in this time period to be a Queen. Her biggest concerns seemed to be who walked first into dinner, who had the most jewels and who got to eat under the cloth of estate.It was most tiresome that no matter what happened to her or hers the concerns and whining remained the same; she lost her babies, she lost her husband, she lost her country. Who cares? She just wants her goods, her clothes, her jewels and her precedence. It did not make for a very satisfactory read when the main character does not grow. Margaret never became likable and even in her worst circumstances barely became someone to care about.The writing had its moments but it too was repetitive much like Margaret’s complaints. I hate to write this as I so enjoyed the other books I read in this series. I wish I could understand why this book is so much less than the others.

It's 1501 and Margaret Tudor (sister to the future Henry VIII) is our narrator in Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory. The sisters in the title are Margaret Tudor, her younger sister Mary and her future sister-in-law Katherine of Aragon. All three sisters will become Queens in their own right - of England, Scotland and France - but it's how they get there that kept me enthralled. In fact, after the first page I knew this was going to be a 5 star read and was already mourning the fact it was going to end too soon for my liking.Three Sisters, Three Queens is primarily a story of sibling rivalry, envy, greed and the pursuit of true love. The importance of delivering a male heir and subsequent miscarriages is the cause of much angst and grief for the sisters, but also competition between them. Secret weddings, betrayals and invasions take place and Henry VIII's overarching influence over each of the women is evident. When the women are in his favour, his attention and support is like the sun, and when he turns his back on Margaret, it almost costs her life.I'm confident Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory will make it into my list of Top 5 Books for 2016. It's the perfect entry point for YA readers looking to dip their toe into historical fiction who may not know where to start. As well as offering a completely new perspective on the rule of Henry VIII and for me a welcome introduction to Margaret Tudor and her life in Scotland.Incredibly accessible, the history of the early 1500s unfolds in this novel like a TV drama series, leaving me wanting to binge-watch episode after episode, or in this case, chapter after chapter. Brilliant!* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster Australia *

I like all things Tudor but this wasn't the author's best work. Margaret was portrayed as a vapid, self centered, woman concerned about nothing but herself and her belongings or the belongings of others. I felt like strangling her. LOL

Very well narrated, brings the history to life. Interesting fiction based on fact.

It was an interesting book I was looking for more romance.

This one took me a while to finish - it was pretty slow. I didn't enjoy it as much as I have some of her other books.

Interesting way to show the relationship dynamic between the 3 of them. Fictional/historic it's sad how they maneuver a man's world. I just love the way she tells it.

I don't know why I keep reading these books. We know the outcome and they are all just the striving machinations of murderous egomaniacs. Very well written, but still: I always get annoyed with myself about 2/3 of the way through.

Though from the title, the reader might expect three points of view, this is Margaret Tudor’s story, told from her point of view as she intersects with her younger sister Mary, Dowager Queen of France, and her unfortunate sister-in-law, Catherine of Aragon, whom she refers to as Catherine of Arrogant.Margaret never loses her sense of entitlement as Tudor princess. She’s unimpressed by her new sister-in-law and though Katherine often refers to their sisterly relationship, Margaret ricochets between slight sympathy and extreme jealousy after Katherine’s widowhood and subsequent remarriage to Henry VIII.Likewise, Margaret never recovers from Mary’s marriage to the King of France, followed by an early widowhood and remarriage to Charles Brandon. “Why should Mary be happy”?, is Margaret’s constant whine.Margaret’s own marriage to the King of Scotland, isn’t grand enough for her. Named as regent for James V, Margaret casts aside her responsibility to her son to marry Archibald Douglas, the Earl of Angus. She wanted love; he wanted power and money. Finally able to obtain a divorce, Margaret makes the same mistake a second time, marrying Henry Stewart.I don’t know if Margaret was as immature and self-centered as she seems. She certainly is the least interesting of Gregory’s subjects. Gregory remains true to the historical record to profile a woman who in personality was much like her brother Henry VIII. If you like the historical period, it’s an interesting perspective. Otherwise, you might want to give this story a miss.

We have some keen history lovers in our group, so it would be an interesting experiment, reading a Philippa Gregory. Historical fiction can play an important role in widening the knowledge base of fiction readers, especially when the research is thorough and accurate. Gregory fills this role admirably and the majority of our group recognised this.However, there were some of us who felt Three Sisters lacked something essential in the details and found it hard to continue with the writing style and a quick search on Google delivered more information, filling in some important gaps. It could be argued this alone is a positive reason to read historical fiction. Any book that has you reaching further for information has to be a good thing, right?Then we had those of us who enjoyed both the content and writing style. The details of court life and the role of women within the royal fracas was found to be entertaining and engaging. Such a personal look into the women’s lives fills the need of the fiction reader, while at the same time imparting knowledge without the dry (and at times tedious) facts and figures of non-fiction.Either way Three Sisters, Three Queens showed the clear lines between those who love their pure history and those who are willing to speculate and enjoy an intriguing tale within the confines of the past. Dapto Tuesday Book Club

This book describes the perspective of Margaret Tudor during the realm and political turmoil of Henry VIII. Interesting read.

I'm always vowing to not read anymore Philippa Gregory novels - and then I always pick up another one. (Why do I do this to myself?) I appreciated that Margaret Tudor is tackled in this book - she is both seldom written about and completely fascinating - and despite the title this book is basically about Margaret (her relationships with her sister Mary and sister-in-law Catherine of Aragon are highlighted, hence the title). I did feel that Margaret deserved better motivations and characterizations than she received in this book, that the author seemed to take the easiest path and failed to explore more complex explanations for Margaret's actions.

I am a fan of Philippa Gregory and her take on English history. This novel about Henry VIII and the three women in his early life - his wife and his two sisters. Catherine of Aragon marries the older Tudor who dies. She then becomes the wife of Henry VIII, Margaret goes to Scotland to be Queen and Anne goes to France to be Empress. All of their stories are worth the retelling by Margaret with her determination and grit is the true heroine of this story.

I had read a few of the other books in Ms. Gregory’s Cousins’ War series so I was pleased to be able to delve into this one about the three Queens that circled Henry VIII at the start of his reign; Katherine of Aragon, his sister Mary who became Queen of France for a short while and the main character in the book – Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland.Although the book title leads one to believe the story will be about the three girls it is Margaret’s story. Katherine and Mary play very minor roles and that was my first disappointment. I was expecting a fully developed story about all three women and I didn’t get that but had I gotten a rewarding story about Margaret I would have forgiven the overselling of the title but I didn’t. I got a book that I finished only to see if it would find itself and improve. It did – but only marginally.I don’t know if the problem was the lack of source material to draw from so as to create a fully developed character or what but the Margaret presented was a petulant, spoiled brat. Certainly not what one would expect of a woman reared in this time period to be a Queen. Her biggest concerns seemed to be who walked first into dinner, who had the most jewels and who got to eat under the cloth of estate.It was most tiresome that no matter what happened to her or hers the concerns and whining remained the same; she lost her babies, she lost her husband, she lost her country. Who cares? She just wants her goods, her clothes, her jewels and her precedence. It did not make for a very satisfactory read when the main character does not grow. Margaret never became likable and even in her worst circumstances barely became someone to care about.The writing had its moments but it too was repetitive much like Margaret’s complaints. I hate to write this as I so enjoyed the other books I read in this series. I wish I could understand why this book is so much less than the others.

Note: Even though this is listed as Book 8 in the series, it works just fine as a stand alone novel.Henry VIII, King of England, had two sisters – Margaret (his elder) and Mary (his younger). These two ladies, along with Henry’s first wife (Katherine of Aragon), will form a unique sisterhood of queens, sometimes rivals, sometimes allies. This book is told solely from Margaret’s point of view, starting in her childhood and carrying through her three marriages.Over the years, I’ve dabbled in books about the Tudors. There are tons of them out there, both fiction and non-fiction. However, few of them have more than the bare bones concerning Margaret. So I was tinkled pink when Philippa Gregory came out with this book. Margaret wasn’t considered the great beauty her younger sister was. She didn’t wield as much power as Katherine. She wasn’t Henry’s favorite sibling. However, she still played an important role in Scotland, and hence in Scottish-English relations.We learn early on that Margaret is betrothed to James, King of Scotland, who is nearly twice her age. So she has to wait until she is 14 to go to Scotland. As a teen, Margaret’s concerns are rather narrow and self-serving. From Margaret’s point of view, there’s competition between the three ladies (Mary, Margaret, and Katherine) for attention and their beauty factors into that. While Katherine received a large, beautiful wedding to Arthur (Henry’s older brother), Margaret gets a small, perfunctory wedding at age 12 with a stand-in for James. This is just one example of how Margaret measures her worth (or lack of it) to the English court.Margaret’s character starts off as a mixture of naive, self-absorbed, and driven. Indeed, sometimes I felt her selfish attitude was going to do her in! But Gregory is such a good writer that you can see there is something more there, waiting to blossom, in this character. Once Margaret goes off to Scotland, she has to deal with hardships she never faced as a treasured English princess. The Scots had big, bushy beards! James, King of Scotland, has bastard babies! The Scottish Lords actually have to rule and work, including James! Indeed, it was a bit of a culture shock for her. She holds to her English superiority, but as the years pass, and she faces some true hardships herself, her attitudes shifts a bit, and a kernel of wisdom is formed.Now I didn’t always agree with Margaret’s decisions or her reasons but I also have the historical knowledge. She didn’t have that, obviously, but she also lacked reliable communication and news from the rest of Europe. In this light, most of her decisions make sense. By the end of the book, I felt Margaret was someone I would have enjoyed being friends with. She had grown from that self-absorbed child we met in the first few chapters.Throughout the book, Margaret, Mary, and Katherine write each other frequently, so you can’t help but compare the three of them. All three married more than once, each married for love at some point, and all three lost babies to illness. Also, each suffered ‘poverty’ at some point. Now, poverty to a royal is a little different than poverty for the masses. Indeed, they still have servants, even if they can’t pay them. They still have some fine clothing, even if they have to patch the sleeves. Still, it was interesting to see how each dealt with it differently.Margaret does have a few awe-inspiring moments in the book. There are times where she faces down Scottish lords, a besieging army, or a very difficult run for the border while several months pregnant. These are the moments when I liked her best, when she was under the most pressure. She shone in these moments, and that made it easier for me to excuse her petty side.The author includes a note at the end about how much of her book is factual versus fiction. I was surprised to learn that there is little historical information on Margaret beyond the bare bones of her life. The note did explain a bit about how Margaret’s decisions seemed to show her changing direction often. In my opinion, Gregory did a great job showing us how those swift changes in loyalty could make sense at the time. Indeed, I quite enjoyed this novel, including the self-absorbed aspects of the main character. Margaret was raised to think highly of herself and the story wouldn’t ring true without that attitude.I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.The Narration: Bianca Amato did an excellent job with this book. I really liked her various accents (English, Scottish, Spanish, French). She also did a great job with the variety of emotions the characters went through. Her male voices were believable.

This novel definitely tested my love of all things Tudor. I sense that Margaret of Scotland has less source material about her life available than the rest of the rowdy clan, because the author seemed to give her the same thoughts over and over again, and unfortunately for the reader, those thoughts tended to the whiny and self-absorbed. Gregory really wanted her readers to believe that Margaret was highly beloved, by her two sister-queens, and by the procession of handsome, accomplished men she called husband. Unfortunately, she didn't give us much reason to believe that, instead portraying a women whose obsession with place and precedence was nearly all she ever thought about.All that said, while this is certainly not my favorite of Gregory's Tudor novels, it did have all the juicy, gossipy pseudo-soap opera-y relationship shenanigans that make Gregory one of my main comfort read authors. Don't read this thinking you will fall in love with the main character - do read it for the insanity of the royal life that you just can't get enough of. It wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't the worst thing I've ever read either.

The story of Margaret Tudor, the oldest sister of Henry VIII; Mary Tudor, the youngest sister of Henry VIII; and, Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry. Told in first person by Margaret, this is a look at the historical complications of royalty during the Middle Ages.Margaret is immediately jealous of Katherine as she first marries Arthur, the eldest Tudor son. After Arthur's death, she is married to Henry, but is unable to produce a son. Margaret is married to James IV of Scotland as a young naive girl, but soon grows up following James' death. She makes many mistakes in judgment of people and eventually marries beneath her level as she marries Archibald Douglas, a mere Earl. Their marriage is turbulent and Archibald's loyalty to Margaret is constantly in question leaving turmoil in Scotland. A typical Philippa Gregory book; probably not her best, but still an interesting account of one of the more minor figures in Tudor history. I didn't particular like the first-person narrative as it seemed Margaret was constantly whining or making excuses for bad judgment.

If you enjoy audiobooks, I would highly recommend listening to THREE SISTERS, THREE QUEENS, because Bianca Amato's narration is outstanding. This book has a big cast of characters with different voices and accents, and Ms. Amato handled it beautifully. Very entertaining and well done!So, the title refers to sisters Margaret and Mary Tudor, and their sister-in-law Katherine of Aragon. The book focuses mainly on Margaret, from her girlhood days in the Tudor court, to her years as Queen of Scotland, though Mary and Katherine are always there on the sidelines to annoy, betray, and support, like sisters can do.I enjoyed Philippa Gregory's portrayal of Margaret, though she wasn't easy to like at first. Her character makes quite a transformation from a spoiled princess obsessing over the best gowns and titles to a struggling Regent holding the crown for her only son. She was a fascinating woman whose life was almost as turbulent as that of her granddaughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. It was interesting to read about Margaret's life (though, yes, a fictional account) and her rivalry and friendship (frenemies?) with pious Katherine and beautiful Mary. I love Ms. Gregory's storytelling, didn't want this one to end. THREE SISTERS, THREE QUEENS is book #8 in The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, though it can easily be read standalone. 4.5 stars!Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.