''The Queen's Fool'' by
Philippa Gregory
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 from the Roman ...
is a 2003
historical fiction
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...
novel. Set between 1548 and 1558, it is part of Philippa Gregory's Tudor series. The series includes ''
The Boleyn Inheritance''. The novel chronicles the changing fortunes of
Mary I of England
Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous ...
and her half-sister
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth''
* Princess Elizabeth ...
through the eyes of the fictional Hannah Green, a
Marrano
''Marranos'' is a term for Spanish and Portuguese Jews, as well as Navarrese jews, who converted to Christianity, either voluntarily or by Spanish or Portuguese royal coercion, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but who continued t ...
girl escaping to England from Spain where her mother was burned at the stake for being Jewish. Hannah is discovered by
Robert Dudley and
John Dee
John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, ...
and subsequently begged as a fool to
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
. She witnesses and becomes caught up the intrigues of the young king's court, and later those of his sisters. As Mary, Elizabeth, and Robert Dudley use Hannah to gather information on their rivals and further their own aims, the novel can plausibly present each side in the complex story. ''The Queen's Fool'' follows Hannah from ages fourteen to nineteen, and her
coming-of-age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
is interspersed among the historical narrative (see
Bildungsroman
In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...
). The book reached # 29 on the
''New York Times'' Best Seller list and had sold 165,000 copies within three weeks of its release.
It is a historically attested fact that a female jester was indeed active at the English royal court in the period covered by the book. Very little is known about her; the scarce sources mention her as "
Jane Foole
Jane Foole, also known as Jane The Foole, Jane, The Queen's Fool, "Jeanne le Fol" or "Jane Hir Fole" (fl. 1537–1558), was an English court fool (distinct from a jester). She was the fool of queens Catherine Parr and Mary I, and possibly also o ...
", but it is not sure if this was her real name or a nickname.
Plot summary
Nine-year-old Hannah Green sees
Thomas Seymour and
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth''
* Princess Elizabeth ...
flirting when she delivers books for her father. When asked why she seems surprised, she tells him she has seen a scaffold behind him. Seymour is executed within a year.
Hannah and her father run a book shop on Fleet Street. They fled Spain after Hannah's mother was burnt at the stake during the Inquisition Period. Lord Robert Dudley and
John Dee
John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, ...
, his tutor, visit the shop, where John realises Hannah has the Sight when she tells them the Angel
Uriel
Uriel , Auriel ( ''ʾŪrīʾēl'', " El/God is my Flame"; ''Oúriḗl''; ''Ouriēl''; ; Geʽez and Amharic: or ) or Oriel ( ''ʾÓrīʾēl'', "El/God is my Light") is the name of one of the archangels who is mentioned in Rabbinic tradition ...
was walking behind them. Her father denies it, calling Hannah a fool and claiming she is simple, but Robert and John insist on hiring Hannah as a holy fool to King (
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
). The king, learning about her gift, asks her what she sees of him. Hannah replies that she sees the gates of heaven opening for him. Amused by her answer, the king accepts her. Though unwilling at first, Hannah accepts her life at court, serving as the King's Fool and the Dudley family's vassal, performing tasks and errands as requested.
Robert sends her to spy on
Lady Mary, King Edward's heir. She joins Mary's household and shortly after learns of King Edward's death and final will naming his Protestant cousin,
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...
, his heir, declaring Mary and
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
illegitimate. Jane and her husband, the Duke of Northumberland's son,
Guilford Dudley
Lord Guildford Dudley (also spelt Guilford) ( – 12 February 1554) was an English nobleman who was married to Lady Jane Grey. She occupied the English throne from 10 July until 19 July 1553, having been declared the heir of King Edw ...
, are crowned, but the English declare for Mary, so she takes the crown nine days later with Hannah by her side. Queen Mary is crowned, making Hannah overjoyed for her mistress and heartbroken that Robert Dudley, for his hand at Northumberland's plot, is in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
.
The jester
Will Sommers
William Sommers (or Somers or Somer; died 15 June 1560) was the best-known Jester, court jester (believed to be a ‘natural fool’) of Henry VIII of England.
Early life
He was said to have been born in Shropshire, and came to the attention o ...
(an actual historical character) teaches Hannah how to be entertaining. Meanwhile, her betrothed, Daniel Carpenter, is annoyed that Hannah is in love with Robert while Hannah shares her doubts about getting married. She sets her worries aside when Mary's marriage to Prince Philip of Spain, an enthusiastic supporter of the Inquisition, will bring the Inquisition to England. Hannah's father, Daniel, and his family insist on leaving England for Calais, where they will marry immediately instead of their previous agreement to wait until Hannah's sixteenth birthday. Hannah realizes her desire for Daniel and, after Mary and Philip's marriage, they are about to leave. Still, when she sees Elizabeth heading for the Tower of London, she promises to join them in Calais when released from service. Hannah slips back into court life. She receives a letter from Daniel declaring his love, but she is unsure how she feels about him.
Over a year later, the Inquisition has spread to England, and Hannah is arrested for heresy and is taken for questioning. Luckily, the clerk is John Dee, who pretends not to know her and dismisses the charges against her as servants' gossip. She asks Daniel to come and collect her, no longer feeling safe, and he and her father collect her and sail to Calais. During the night, Hannah and Daniel declare their love for one another. In Calais, Hannah starts dressing and behaving like a lady and is instructed how to run a household by her mother-in-law. She and Daniel marry, and their families share a house. Hannah struggles to get along with Daniel's mother and sisters and, after an argument with her mother-in-law, learns Daniel had a son with another woman while she was gone. Furious, she confronts Daniel, who admits it and offers never to see the woman or his son if she forbids it. Hannah cannot forgive him and leaves Daniel. She and her father move out and start their own bookshop.
A few months later, Hannah's father dies and, as her husband, Daniel, inherits everything, he signs everything over to Hannah. She runs the printing shop, taking her father's nurse as a lodger, but flees when Calais falls to the French. Whilst escaping, she runs into Robert Dudley and the mother of her husband's son. She begs Hannah to take her baby just before being killed by a French soldier. Hannah and her stepson flee to England under the protection of Robert, his wife Amy, and friends of theirs. Visitors suspect Robert as the baby's father, treating Hannah accordingly until she tells them that the baby, named Daniel, is her husband's son. Robert is disappointed when Hannah refuses to be his mistress, realizing Daniel is the love of her life. She returns to court and is welcomed by Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth. Mary asks her to use her gift to see if Elizabeth will keep England in the true faith. Hannah tells her that Elizabeth won't, but she will be a better queen than a woman.
When the French ransoms the English prisoners, she returns to Calais to find her husband. He is released and promises to accept Hannah's son as his own until she tells him that baby Daniel is his illegitimate son. They reunite and live together as a Jewish family – Hannah realizes the importance of her religion.
Reception
''The Queen's Fool'' reached # 29 on the
''New York Times'' Best Seller list and had sold 165,000 copies within three weeks of its release.
''
AudioFile'' magazine called main characters Mary, Elizabeth and Hannah "fully three-dimensional and unforgettable", and praised the
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sch ...
recording's narrator
Bianca Amato.
References
External links
Review of ''The Queen's Fool'' at Large Print ReviewsReview of ''The Queen's Fool'' at The Best ReviewsThe Official Philippa Gregory Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queens Fool, The
2003 British novels
Novels set in Tudor England
Novels by Philippa Gregory
Novels set in the 1540s
Novels set in the 1550s
Cultural depictions of Edward VI
Cultural depictions of Lady Jane Grey
Cultural depictions of Mary I of England
Cultural depictions of Elizabeth I
Simon & Schuster books
HarperCollins books
Cultural depictions of Lord Guildford Dudley
Cultural depictions of Philip II of Spain