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The Wise Woman (Paperback)

by Philippa Gregory (Author)
2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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The Wise Woman + A Respectable Trade + Fallen Skies
Price For All Three: £16.96

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  • This item: The Wise Woman by Philippa Gregory

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  • A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory

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Product details

  • Paperback: 640 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; paperback / softback edition (4 Feb 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0006514642
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006514640
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 27,226 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #5 in  Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Witchcraft

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Product Description

Review

Praise for 'The Wise Woman': 'Compulsively readable.' Andrea Newman, Sunday Express 'Gregory's principal feat in this elaborate novel is the irrefutable artistry with which she lends her prose a constant sense of history!Success results from the tense, almost shocking contrast between serious issues -- religious doctrine, political integrity, social dynamics -- and flights of erotic fancy.' Sunday Times


Product Description

This is the reissue of Philippa Gregory's disturbing novel of passion and betrayal in Tudor, England. This is a haunting story of a woman's desire in a time of turbulence. Alys joins the nunnery to escape hardship and poverty but finds herself thrown back into the outside world when Henry VIII's wreckers destroy her sanctuary. With nothing to support her but her looks, her magic and her own instinctive cunning, Alys has to tread a perilous path between the faith of her childhood and her own female power. When she falls in love with Hugo, the feudal lord and another woman's husband, she dips into witchcraft to defeat her rival and to win her lover, but finds - as her cynical old foster-mother had advised - that magic makes a poor servant but a dominant master. Since heresy against the new church means the stake, and witchcraft the rope, Alys's danger is mortal. A woman's powers are no longer safe to use!
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Customer Reviews

51 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (12)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (8)
1 star:
 (19)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.7 out of 5 stars (51 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly disappointing, 14 Feb 2005
I have read other Phillipa Gregory novels and really enjoyed them, especially The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool. Sadly this book was a real let down. The historical detail is interesting but the characters are dislikable and behave in a bizarre fashion most of the time. The main character, Alys and the male lead Hugo, frankly deserve each other as they are self obsessed and self destructive. The book is full of explicit sex scenes far more so than the other novels by this author which I have read. I was not shocked by this but felt they added little to the narrative and proved a poor compensation for unadequate character development.

I do like the work of Phillipa Gregory but would not recommend this particular novel. If you want a good story read The Other Boleyn Girl, The Respectable Trade or The Queen's Fool and give this one a miss.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book but not a historical novel, 19 Dec 2006
By J. Bell "jackiebell7" (North Yorkshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I have read many of Philippa Gregorys book, but they have all been historical novels, so i looked forward to reading this one as it isn't. I thought the book was great and didnt want to put it down. You start off feeling sorry for Alys, but i have to say by the middle I thought she was very conniving. The ending is quite abrupt, but i actually liked it, as Alys let her true feelings come out. I have only just read all the other reviews and am surprised that it has so many bad ones. It is not like 'The Other Boleyn Girl' or 'The Queens Fool', but not all her books can be like that. And I thought introducing the white magic/herbalism was great as they did do that then. I think the wax dolls and sexual encounters were just tricks of the mind and herb Alys used. I would recommend this book to people but dont expect a historical novel, as it isn't one. I loved it.
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A great mixture of historical fiction and witchcraft, 18 April 2003
This is such an interesting book as the back of the book doesn't give away all the themes, and it is nice to be surprised when you're reading. This is a historical fiction book, but doesn't have famous people in it like The Other Boleyn Girl. However, the events from that book affect the characters in this story in their marriages, religion, and deaths. As in The Other Boleyn Girl, the author uses modern language which I liked as it doesn't take away the meaning of their thoughts on "Ye and thou" etc. The use of witchcraft and Alys as a herbalist/healer is a central theme to the story, and is fascinating how blurred the roles are. She is wanted as a healer but if anything goes wrong, it's witchcraft. Knowing about drugs as we do now we can take our judgment on some of the instances. But the consequences of the wax dolls is quite surreal and frightening at times. The corruption of Alys after escaping the nunnery shows the desire and greed of the other characters and their influence on Alys is great. This is a very good read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Disturbingly dark - excellent!
I'm a huge fan of P.G. and I bought this book eagerly expecting it to be like her previous books, I was wrong. Read more
Published 1 month ago by A Reader

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!
I have just finished reading this book and have to say that I disagree entirely with the negative reviews. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Peaches813

4.0 out of 5 stars Alys - a human being!
If I'd reviewed this book shortly after I'd read it, it would have got 2 stars, as I had very mixed feelings about it!

But a bit of time and thought ... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Marie

1.0 out of 5 stars shouldn't ever have been published!
I have read and enjoyed several of Phillipa Gregory's books, in particular, The Other Boleyn Girl and Virgin Earth.
But this one really is dreadful! Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. Mcdowall

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wise Woman
This is such an exciting and fascinating even if at times frightening book, I could not put it down and felt I was really in the story. Read more
Published 4 months ago by L. Bleach

4.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing on different levels
This is the first Philippa Gregory novel I've read, and although I wouldn't class it as a great novel, it hasn't put me off the author and I shall read her other books. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Grace Ashton

1.0 out of 5 stars So disappointing
I have never written a review for Amazon before but I was so so disappointed with this book that I was prompted in to writing this. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Emily Jane Bronte

2.0 out of 5 stars Admittedly a 'page turner'
"The Wise Woman" is a far cry from some of Philippa's other, first rate historical novels, but indeed can hold one's interest. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Elizabeth G. Melillo

5.0 out of 5 stars What's with all the bad reviews?
I have read some Phillipa Gregory, and have enjoyed her books immensely.
This book was no different; I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it to be a gripping, hauntingly good... Read more
Published 8 months ago by S. Wood

1.0 out of 5 stars complete disaster
I loved The Other Boleyn girl by Philippa Gregory and was expecting a lot - but this book is complete and open pornography with totally undeveloped characters and limited... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Vera

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