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The Virgin's Lover
 
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The Virgin's Lover [Audio Download]

by Philippa Gregory (Author), Rupert Penry-Jones (Narrator)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Audio Download
  • Listening Length: 5 hours and 47 minutes
  • Program Type: Audiobook
  • Version: Abridged
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited
  • Audible Release Date: 29 Mar 2007
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B002SQ8ZGA
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Elizabeth I has acceded to the throne of England, a position she has waited and schemed for all her life. She is surrounded by advisers, all convinced that a young woman cannot form political judgements. Elizabeth feels that she can rely on just one man: her oldest friend, Robert Dudley. It is soon plain that he is more than merely a friend.

In a house in the countryside waits a very different woman, Amy Robsart - Robert's wife. She has no taste for life at court and longs for the day when her husband will return home. She has loved him since she was a girl, but now that they are adults, she hardly sees him.

Meanwhile, the pressure grows for Elizabeth to marry, for it is unthinkable that a queen should rule on her own. Elizabeth's preference is clear, but he is unavailable. But what if the unthinkable were to happen?

Philippa Gregory blends passion, personalities, and politics in this stunning novel of the Tudor court and a country divided.

©2004 Philippa Gregory; (P)2004 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London UK
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First Sentence
IN HIS DREAM he saw once again the rough floorboards of the empty room, the sandstone mantelpiece over the big fireplace with their names carved into it, and the leaded window, set high in the stone wall. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Nothing...happened. 26 May 2007
Format:Paperback
I'm an avid reader of Philippa Gregory's books, and I really enjoyed 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and 'The Boleyn Inheritance' - this book, however, misses the high mark set by Gregory's other works.

The two problems I had with this book are pretty simple:

1) The characters. Amy Dudley, despite her difficult position, failed to get my sympathy - she was interesting, but she was also deeply annoying, since all she seemed to do throughout the whole book was whine about one thing or another. I had even less empathy with Robert Dudley, who was completely unlikeable and not charismatic enough to hold my attention. Elizabeth was good at times and bad at others, but she too was aggravating through much of the book - she showed her spirit, but there were times when her inability to see Dudley's bad side was incredibly infuriating. The brilliant and cunning Elizabeth of 'The Queen's Fool' has mysteriously vanished without a trace.

2) The plot. Gregory's other books have had excellent plots with a fair bit of moving around, but the problem with 'The Virgin's Lover' is that nothing actually HAPPENS in it. Yes, Elizabeth is in love with Dudley. Yes, Amy is in love with Dudley as well. And yes, Dudley is lusting after Elizabeth. Good. Now, can we get back to the politics and court backbiting, please?

If you see this book somewhere for 50p, then go ahead and buy it - you might enjoy it more than me, as the other reviews here attest. But I wouldn't advise you to waste your money on paying the full price for it - go and read 'The Boleyn Inheritance', instead.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Kristin
Format:Hardcover
Compared to Philippa Gregory's other historical novels, particularly The Other Boleyn Girl, The Virgin's Lover is a bit disappointing. While an entertaining read by an author who always does her research meticulously, it lacks the tension and the sympathetic characters which have driven her other books. It centres around Elizabeth I in the early days of her reign, along with her lover Robert Dudley, his wife Amy and Elizabeth's advisor Cecil. The problem is that Elizabeth is alternately weak and pathetic, and selfish and ambitious; Robert is almost entirely unlikeable as an ambitious, selfish womaniser; Amy, who is the least disagreeable of the central characters, is given less "air time" and though she wins the reader's sympathy she is too submissive and unassuming to be a heroine. Gregory presents an interesting version of the events surrounding the still-mysterious death of Amy Dudley, but which lacks the page-turning appeal of her other work.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By Lawyeraau HALL OF FAME TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
This is romantic historical fiction at its finest, replete with an abundance of period detail. The focus of the book is the romantic triangle involving the newly crowned tempestuous Queen, Elizabeth I, her lover and Master of Horse, Sir Robert Dudley, and his long suffering wife, Amy, whose dreams of a simple life with her husband are shattered with Elizabeth's rise to the throne upon the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary.

There is also a cat and mouse game involving Elizabeth, her Secretary of State, the canny and shrewd William Cecil, and Robert Dudley, which develops as it becomes clear that Dudley has his heart on becoming King and ruling alongside Elizabeth as an equal, something that can only be accomplished through marriage to Elizabeth.

Unfortunately for Sir Robert Dudley, his wife, Amy, a secret Catholic, has no intention of divorcing him. Moreover, Elizabeth has no intention of letting Dudley rule as King rather than just being King consort, were they to someday wed. Yet, she is in a quandary, as she finds herself unable to resist Dudley's charms and can refuse him nothing. Elizabeth turns to William Cecil for help in saving her from herself. William Cecil knows all too well that marriage to a Dudley would be disastrous for England, as Dudley, being the Queen's favorite, is one of the most unpopular men at court with the other courtiers. Moreover, the Dudley family, though a powerful and ancient lineage, has a treasonous history.

What Cecil devises is diabolical but plausible. This twist in the tale is certainly an ingenious way of explaining a mysterious death, a death that has never been satisfactorily explained by historians. It is a death that certainly served to cast a pall upon Dudley's ambitions and ensured that he and Elizabeth would never wed. It also ensured that the canny William Cecil would be the most powerful person in England, excepting Elizabeth.

This is a wonderful tale of the Tudor Court and the beginning of the Elizabethan era. Those who enjoyed the author's book, "The Other Boleyn Girl", will surely enjoy this one. Set against a backdrop of political intrigues, it is a well-written, well-researched work of romantic historical fiction that will keep the reader turning the pages.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
fabulous
i really love phillipa greggory and this is another stunner from her, great book that really sucks you in, when you stary tou wont stop.
Published 1 month ago by anni0405
The Queen's Master
The book is set over the beginning of Elizabeth's reign covering the potential love affair with Robert Dudley, cumulating in the mysterious death of his wife Amy and the end of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. M. Carragher
Did she fall or was she pushed?
The book starts with a witty oxymoron for a title `The Virgin's Lover' and drew me to it instantly. It is one of the most fascinating periods of history covering the mysterious... Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. Wilson
An interesting read, but not enough drama
This is not one of Philippa Gregory's finest novels.... It's interesting and I did learn a fair bit from it, but it lacks the usual drama that gets me completely hooked to the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by N. S. Ingle
Really it's a 3.5 for me - First Time Reader of PG
This was a 'holiday read' for me - easy to read and very enjoyable by the pool! Probably a 3.5 for me rather than a full 4

I'll admit I'm a sucker for the tudors in the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by squinty mcconkers
pathetic
All main characters of this book can be described simply as pathetic:

Amy comes across as a boring half wit, caught in an emotional loop between worshipping dudley but... Read more
Published 6 months ago by nat
Brilliant
I love this book! It started off a love and obsession first with Philippa Gregory books, especially the Tudor saga and then other Tudor books; both fiction and fact. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Typical Virgoan
cant wait to read it
i have all the books in this serise and am really looking forward to reading this one if its out like the others then wow
Published 15 months ago by Kazen
An interesting read
I approached this book with caution because I had met the main characters (Dudley, Amy and Elizabeth)in previous books and knew I would find it impossible to sympathise with any of... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Shouna Falconer
Not worth the bother
Having read all the other Tudor novels by Phillipa Gregory, I was excited to read this book. I had read the poor reviews here, but i still wanted to give it a chance. Read more
Published 19 months ago by S. Coleman
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