Philippa Gregory (born 9 January 1954) is an English historical novelist who has been publishing since 1987. The best known of her works is '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2001), which in 2002 won the

Romantic Novel of the Year Award The Romantic Novel of the Year Award is an award for romance novels since 1960, presented by Romantic Novelists' Association, and since 2003, the novellas, also won the Love Story of the Year (now RoNA Rose Award). In 2018, awards were given to ...

from the Romantic Novelists' Association and has been adapted into two films. '' AudioFile'' magazine has called Gregory "the queen of British historical fiction".

Early life and education

Philippa Gregory was born on 9 January 1954 in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

, at that time serving as capital city of the

Colony and Protectorate of Kenya The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in ...

(modern-day Republic of Kenya), the second daughter of Elaine (Wedd) and Arthur Percy Gregory, a radio operator and navigator for East African Airways. When she was two years old, her family moved to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, England.Philippa Gregory walk at BBC Bristol
Retrieved 6 June 2013. She was a "rebel" at Colston's Girls' SchoolPhilippa Gregory at Chroniclelive
Retrieved 6 June 2013. where she obtained a B grade in English and two E grades in History and Geography at

A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

. She then went to journalism college in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

and spent a year as an apprentice with the '' Portsmouth News'' before she managed to gain a place on an English literature degree course at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

, where she switched to a history course. In 1982, she received a B.A. degree in history from Sussex University.Philippa Gregory ''The Guardian Education'' interview
Retrieved 6 June 2013. She worked for BBC radio for two years before attending

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

, where she obtained a Ph.D. degree in 18th-century literature in 1985 for her thesis entitled "The popular fiction of eighteenth-century commercial circulating libraries". Gregory has taught at the

University of Durham , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

, University of Teesside, and the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

, and was made a Fellow of Kingston University in 1994.

Career

Writing

She has written novels set in several different historical periods, though primarily the

Tudor period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began wit ...

and the 16th century. Reading a number of novels set in the 17th century led her to write the best-selling Lacey trilogy '' Wideacre'', which is a story about the love of land and

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity ( marriage or stepfamily), ado ...

, ''The Favoured Child'' and ''Meridon''. This was followed by ''The Wise Woman''. ''A Respectable Trade'', a novel of the slave trade in England, set in 18th-century

, was adapted by Gregory for a four-part drama series for BBC television. Gregory's script was nominated for a BAFTA, won an award from the Committee for Racial Equality, and the film was shown worldwide. Two novels about a gardening family are set during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

: ''Earthly Joys'' and ''Virgin Earth'', while she has in addition written contemporary fiction – ''Perfectly Correct'', ''Mrs Hartley and the Growth Centre'', ''The Little House'' and ''Zelda's Cut''. She has also written for children. Some of her novels have won awards and have been adapted into television dramas. The most successful of her novels has been '' The Other Boleyn Girl,'' published in 2001 and adapted for BBC television in 2003 with Natascha McElhone, Jodhi May and Jared Harris. In the year of its publication, ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' also won the Romantic Novel of the Year and it has subsequently spawned sequels – '' The Queen's Fool,'' '' The Virgin's Lover,'' ''

The Constant Princess ''The Constant Princess'' is a historical fiction novel by Philippa Gregory, published in 2005. The novel depicts a highly fictionalized version of the life of Catherine of Aragon and her rise to power in England. Plot summary Catalina of Arag ...

,'' '' The Boleyn Inheritance,'' and ''

The Other Queen ''The Other Queen'' is a 2008 historical novel by British author Philippa Gregory which chronicles the long imprisonment in England of Mary, Queen of Scots. The story is told from three points of view: Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots; Elizabeth Talb ...

''.

Miramax Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a lea ...

bought the film rights to ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' and released a film of the same name in February 2008. Gregory has also published a series of books about the Plantagenets, the ruling houses that preceded the Tudors, and the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

. Her first book '' The White Queen'', published in 2009, centres on the life of

Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile;Although spelling of the family name is usually modernised to "Woodville", it was spelt "Wydeville" in contemporary publications by Caxton, but her tomb at St. George's Chapel, Wind ...

the wife of

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in Englan ...

. '' The Red Queen'', published in 2010, is about Margaret Beaufort the mother of Henry VII and grandmother to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. ''

The Lady of the Rivers ''The Lady of the Rivers'' is a 2011 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, part of her series '' The Cousins' War''. The story is narrated by Jacquetta of Luxembourg, mother of Elizabeth Woodville, and covers the reign of the Lancastrian King He ...

'' (2011), is the life of

Jacquetta of Luxembourg Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Dowager Duchess of Bedford and Countess Rivers (1415 or 1416 – 30 May 1472) was a prominent, though often overlooked, figure in the Wars of the Roses. Through her short-lived first marriage to the Duke of Bedford, bro ...

, mother of Elizabeth Woodville. '' The Kingmaker's Daughter'', published in 2012, is about

Anne Neville Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III. She was the younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker"). Before her marriage to Ri ...

, the wife of

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

, and '' The White Princess'' (2013) centres on the life of Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII and the mother of Henry VIII. The latest work is the 2017 novel '' The Last Tudor''. The 2013

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

television series '' The White Queen'' is a 10-part adaptation of Gregory's novels ''The White Queen'', ''The Red Queen'' and ''The Kingmaker's Daughter'' (2012). In 2013, Helen Brown of ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' wrote that "Gregory has made an impressive career out of breathing passionate, independent life into the historical noblewomen whose personalities had previously lain flat on family trees, remembered only as diplomatic currency and brood mares." She added, "Gregory’s historical fiction has always been entertainingly speculative (those tempted to sneer should note that she’s never claimed otherwise) and comes with lashings of romantic licence." In 2011 she contributed a short story "Why Holly Berries are as Red as Roses" to an anthology supporting

the Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972. The Woodland T ...

. The anthology, ''Why Willows Weep'' has so far helped The Woodland Trust plant approximately 50,000 trees. Gregory was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to literature and to charity in the UK and the Gambia.

Criticism

Gregory has said that her "commitment to historical accuracy" is a hallmark of her writing. This is disputed by historians. Historian David Starkey, appearing alongside Gregory in a documentary about

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key f ...

, described her work as "good Mills and Boon", adding that: "We really should stop taking historical novelists seriously as historians. The idea that they have authority is ludicrous."

Susan Bordo Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

criticised Gregory's claims to historical accuracy as "self-deceptive and self-promoting chutzpah", and notes that it is not so much the many inaccuracies in her work as "Gregory's insistence on her meticulous adherence to history that most aggravates the scholars." In her novel '' The Other Boleyn Girl'', her portrayal of Henry VIII's second wife

drew criticism.RO The novel depicts Anne as cold and ruthless, as well as strongly implying that the accusations that she committed adultery and incest with her brother were true, despite it being widely accepted that she was innocent of the charges. Novelist Robin Maxwell refused on principle to write a blurb for this book, describing its characterisation of Anne as "vicious, unsupportable".

Media

She is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers, with short stories, features and reviews. She is also a frequent broadcaster and a regular contestant on '' Round Britain Quiz'' for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

and the Tudor expert for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

's ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...

''. She won the 29 December 2008 edition of '' Celebrity Mastermind'' on BBC1, taking Elizabeth Woodville as her specialist subject.

Philanthropy

Gregory runs a small charity building wells in school gardens in

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

. Gardens for The Gambia was established in 1993 when Gregory was in The Gambia, researching for her book ''A Respectable Trade''. Since then the charity has dug almost 200 low technology, low budget and therefore easily maintained wells, which are on-stream and providing water to irrigate school and community gardens to provide meals for the poorest children and harvest a cash crop to buy school equipment, seeds and tools. In addition to wells, the charity has piloted a successful bee-keeping scheme, funded feeding programmes and educational workshops in batik and pottery and is working with larger donors to install mechanical boreholes in some remote areas of the country where the water table is not accessible by digging alone. Philippa Gregory is a patron of The UK Chagos Support Association, which supports the Chagos islanders in their legal disputes with the British government. The people of Chagos were relocated by the British government when the archipelago in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

was cleared in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for an important U.S. airbase. Gregory often speaks about the Chagossians' situation and lobbies the government to take action.

Personal life

Gregory wrote her first novel ''Wideacre'' while completing her doctorate and lived during that time in a cottage on the Pennine Way with her first husband Peter Chislett, editor of the '' Hartlepool Mail'', and their baby daughter, Victoria. They divorced before the book was published. Following the success of ''Wideacre'' and the publication of ''The Favoured Child'', she moved south to near Midhurst, West Sussex, where the ''Wideacre'' trilogy was set. Here Gregory married Paul Carter, her second husband, with whom she has a son, named Adam. She divorced for a second time. After the break-up of her second marriage, she met and married Anthony Mason, whom she had first met during her time in

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County D ...

. Gregory now lives on a farm in the

North York Moors National Park North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north' ...

, with her husband, children and stepchildren (six in all). Her interests include riding, walking, skiing, and gardening.

Works

Novels

;The ''Wideacre'' trilogy: # '' Wideacre'' (1987) # ''The Favoured Child'' (1989) # '' Meridon'' (1990) ;''Tradescant'' series: # ''Earthly Joys'' (1998) # ''Virgin Earth'' (1999) ;''The Plantagenet and Tudor novels'': Previously separated as the ''Tudor Court'' and ''Cousins' War'' series, as of August 2016 Gregory lists these novels as one series, ''The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels''. # '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2001) # '' The Queen's Fool'' (2003) # '' The Virgin's Lover'' (2004) # ''

'' (2005) # '' The Boleyn Inheritance'' (2006) # ''

'' (2008) # '' The White Queen '' (2009) # '' The Red Queen'' (2010) # ''

'' (2011) # '' The Kingmaker's Daughter'' (2012) # '' The White Princess'' (2013) # ''

The King's Curse ''The King's Curse'' is a 2014 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, part of her series '' The Cousins' War''. A direct sequel to '' The White Princess'', it follows the adult life of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, the daughter of George P ...

'' (2014) # '' The Taming of the Queen'' (2015) # '' Three Sisters, Three Queens'' (2016) # '' The Last Tudor'' (2017) Gregory has suggested a "reading order" for the series, based on the real-world chronology of historical figures and events. # ''The Lady of the Rivers'' (

) # ''The White Queen'' (

) # ''The Red Queen'' ( Margaret Beaufort) # ''The Kingmaker's Daughter'' (

; featuring her sister Isabel) # ''The White Princess'' ( Elizabeth of York) # ''The Constant Princess'' ( Katherine of Aragon) # ''The King's Curse'' (

Margaret Pole Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury (14 August 1473 – 27 May 1541), also called Margaret Pole, as a result of her marriage to Sir Richard Pole, was the only surviving daughter of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, a brother of ...

) # ''Three Sisters, Three Queens'' ( Margaret Tudor, featuring Mary Tudor and Katherine of Aragon) # ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' ( Mary and

) # ''The Boleyn Inheritance'' ( Jane Boleyn,

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of ...

and

Katherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the se ...

) # ''The Taming of the Queen'' ( Kateryn Parr) # ''The Queen's Fool'' (A young Jewish girl's story of her service in the courts of Edward VI, Mary I and

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

) # ''The Last Tudor'' (

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * Jane (1915 film), ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * Jane (2016 film), ''Jane'' (20 ...

, Katherine and Mary Grey) # ''The Virgin's Lover'' (

, Robert Dudley and

Amy Robsart Amy, Lady Dudley (née Robsart; 7 June 1532 – 8 September 1560) was the first wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, favourite of Elizabeth I of England. She is primarily known for her death by falling down a flight of stairs, the ...

) # ''The Other Queen'' (

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, George Talbot and

Bess of Hardwick Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury ( Hardwick; c. 1527 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series of well-made ...

) ;''The Order of Darkness'' series: # ''Changeling'' (2012) # ''Stormbringers'' (2013) # ''Fools' Gold'' (2014) # ''Dark Tracks'' (2018) ;''Fairmile'' series: # ''Tidelands'' (2019) # ''Dark Tides'' (2020) # Dawnlands (2022) ;Stand-alones: * ''Mrs. Hartley and the Growth Centre'', or ''Alice Hartley's Happiness'' (1992) * ''The Wise Woman'' (1992) *: A young girl forced out of her nunnery and into the real world during the reformation during Anne Boleyn's time of being queen. * ''Fallen Skies'' (1994) * '' A Respectable Trade'' (1995) * ''Perfectly Correct'' (1996) * ''

The Little House ''The Little House'' is a 1942 children's picture book written and illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1943. Inspiration Author Virginia Le ...

'' (1998) * ''Zelda's Cut'' (2000)

Short stories

Collections: * ''Bread and Chocolate'' (2000)

Children's books

''Princess Florizella'' series (picture books): # ''Princess Florizella'' (1988) # ''Florizella and the Wolves'' (1991) # ''Florizella and the Giant'' (1992) Stand-alones: * ''Diggory and the Boa Conductor'' (1996), picture book * ''The Little Pet Dragon'' (1997), picture book * ''A Pirate Story'' (1999), picture book

Non-fiction

* '' The Women of the Cousins' War: The Duchess, the Queen and the King's Mother'' (2011), with David Baldwin and Michael Jones, history

Adaptations

* ''A Respectable Trade'' (1998), drama directed by

Suri Krishnamma Suri Krishnamma (born 10 May 1961) is a British film director and writer best known for feature films '' A Man of No Importance'', ''New Year's Day'' and '' Dark Tourist'' and television dramas ''A Respectable Trade'' and ''The Cazalets''. He ...

, based on novel '' A Respectable Trade'' * '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2003), telefilm directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, based on novel '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' * '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008), film directed by Justin Chadwick, based on novel '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' * ''The Little House'' (2010), miniseries directed by Jamie Payne, based on novel ''

'' * '' The White Queen'' (2013), drama directed by Colin Teague, James Kent and Jamie Payne, based on novels '' The White Queen'', '' The Red Queen'' and '' The Kingmaker's Daughter'' * '' The White Princess'' (2017), miniseries directed by Jamie Payne and Alex Kalymnios, based on novel '' The White Princess'' * '' The Spanish Princess'' (2019-2020), series directed by Birgitte Stærmose, Daina Reid, Lisa Clarke, Stephen Woolfenden, Chanya Button and Rebecca Gatward, based on novels ''

'' and ''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Philippa 1954 births Living people Academics of Teesside University Academics of Durham University Academics of the Open University Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Sussex English historical novelists English women novelists People educated at Montpelier High School, Bristol Writers from Bristol Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Writers of historical romances RoNA Award winners British republicans 20th-century English novelists 21st-century British novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers Women romantic fiction writers Women historical novelists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire