The Virgin's Lover

by Philippa Gregory

Paperback, 2005

Status

Available

Publication

Touchstone (2005), 464 pages

Description

A fictional portrait of the early years of the reign of Elizabeth I follows the young queen as she copes with intrigues aimed at placing Mary, Queen of Scots, on the British throne, and her passion for the traitorous Robert Dudley.

User reviews

LibraryThing member riofriotex
The Virgin's Lover is about Queen Elizabeth I. Gregory takes a real-life mystery and builds a story around it. The unknown in Elizabeth's life involves the puzzling death of Amy, the wife of Elizabeth's lover, Sir Robert Dudley. Gregory takes a stand on what really happened and builds her case in
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her stories, creating a believable argument with her use of period details as well as historical and biographical facts.

British actress Davina Porter did a great job narrating this abridged story, using various accents from Great Britain to distinguish the female characters. The men all sounded the same, but fortunately there are only two main male characters, Dudley and Sir William Cecil, Elizabeth's main adviser.

I really enjoyed this book, and plan to read more of Gregory's Tudor England series of historical fiction.
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LibraryThing member pdxwoman
There are plot spoilers, but if you know the history of Elizabeth and of Lord Dudley, you know the spoilers already...

The Virgin's Lover left me cold.
Philippa Gregory’s fictional tale of Lord Robert Dudley’s relationship with Elizabeth Tudor, The Virgin’s Lover, overlaps minimally with
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Gregory’s The Queen’s Fool. Hannah, the Fool, thankfully plays no active role in this lackluster book full of unlikeable characters.

And phenominally unlikeable they are! Lord Dudley continues to manipulate, plot, and lie his way toward Elizabeth’s bed and the throne of England. Does he actually love Elizabeth or is she another pawn in a long-line of Dudley family pawns? Most disgraceful is Dudley’s treatment of his wife, Amy, who does nothing but love him, dote on him, and pine for him.

Amy, though, was so unlikeable, I couldn’t muster and ounce of pity for her. Simpering, self-depreciating, too forgiving of her husband’s lusts for power and for Elizabeth, Amy Dudley is a two-dimensional caricature of a weak, childish woman too anxiety ridden to be considered devoted. I actually skipped ahead to see how many more pages of her I’d have to suffer through before she finally died.

The Virgin Queen, Elizabeth, is portrayed similarly here as in The Queen’s Fool. She is sickly, paranoid, so anxious she bites her nails and picks her cuticles until they bleed, and so unable to overcome her baser desires that she can not protect her own throne. After more than 20 years in and out of court, fighting to obtain the throne, you’d think she would have a minimal idea of how to sit on it. Instead, she requires the guidance of strong and guileful men in order to make and stick to the tiniest decision.

For most of the book, the only main character I found appealing was Sir William Cecil, Elizabeth’s Secretary of State. Cecil was intelligent, kind to the Queen despite how she exasperated him, and looked first to the good of England. In the last quarter of the book, though, he set in motion something unforgivable. Granted, his thoughts were always to keeping Elizabeth on the throne in order to protect England, but he went too far and lost all the respect Gregory had endowed him with.

The only likable character in the entire book was Amy’s companion, Lizzie Oddingsell, who was a true friend. She protected Amy from rumor and scandal, defended her reputation against gossips, fretted over her health, stood up to the head of her own house when he wanted Amy to leave, found Amy new accommodations when no one wanted her, and was honestly and heartily distressed at her death. Lizzie, though, was a minor character, hardly seen on 30 pages.

Lack of likable characters in not this book’s only fault. As was The Queen’s Fool, The Virgin’s Lover is repetitive. Page after page, Elizabeth changes her mind again and again; page after page, Amy longs desperately for the love of her husband; page after page, Elizabeth can’t live without Dudley; page after page, after page, after page. There are entire paragraphs of dialog that seem to be re-wordings of paragraphs that were re-wordings of yet other paragraphs.

More importantly, the writing style lacks depth and nuance. There is no rising and falling action with The Virgin’s Lover, no climax, and the end comes abruptly. I looked closely to see if pages had been torn out of my copy; they had not. I can’t say I was disappointed about it.

Two Stars: Read if DESPERATE
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LibraryThing member Cariola
Frankly, although I've enjoyed some of Gregory's Tudor novels, I could only stomach 2/3 of this one before I stopped reading it. It was little more than a bodice-ripper. Other readers have complained about the way she portrays Elizabeth, and I have to agree: she's depicted here as a slut and a
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wimp. The only thing more irritatingly wimpy in the book is Dudley's wife, Amy. I couldn't wait for her to get pushed down the stairs and break her wimpy little neck. I didn't get that far, but I know that, historically, she was either pushed or fell. After reading 2/3 of this book, I'd be willing to give her a shove myself.
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LibraryThing member sensitivemuse
First things first. I recommend you read The Queen's Fool before reading this one. It contains a bit background information and a bit of a foundation to carry you over to The Virgin's Lover. It's not necessary but it's nice to have that extra bit of info in the small moments where the book makes a
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reference to the past. Besides, The Queen's Fool was a good book so why would you not want to read it? :)

There's plenty of intrigue and double crossing in here, so if you're really into that this is the book for you. I love that stuff. I love seeing characters you don't like get the axe because they were too careless and got double crossed. It's just so satisfying. Which brings me to this other point.

I hate Robert Dudley.

Everything about him made me want to grind my teeth, made me want to jump into the book and punch him in the gonads, or made me want to run a lance into him. I just can't stand the guy. He oozes sliminess and his ambition is just way over the top it made you want to roll your eyes and slap him across the head with a sledgehammer. His arrogance made me want to scream. He was all right at first but once you saw past his true colors you just wanted to curl your lip in disgust at the guy. Either I need serious help, or Ms. Gregory just did a wonderful job at character development and creation here. :P I have never hated a character so much until I came across Robert Dudley.

Amy (Dudley's wife) made you want to cringe because she was everything you didn't want her to be. She was the epitome of submissive wife. There were moments where she finally grew a backbone (and you had to cheer for her during those times) but you just can't help but pity the poor woman. Of all the characters in the book I sympathized with Amy the most. It was just painful to see her pain and suffering and the way she fawned at Dudley made you want to pity her, but at the same time be quite disgusted with her. She admirable though. She put up with a lot of issues and crap for that time.

It's hard to decide how I feel about Elizabeth. She's whiny. She's NEEDY. She's clingy. She nearly made me want to jab something in my eye. However there were moments where I thought "Heeeey..she's not so stupid after all!" so it's very hard to see Elizabeth in a different view than what you usually see (usually as a very strong character who defied the Spanish Armada). So I thought it was difficult to like her in this novel. I was on the fence with her.

Overall, I thought it was a good read. There are romantic parts but not that explicit and quickly done and over with. So to me, they were tolerable. No battle scenes here which was unfortunate but wasn't really the main part of the subject anyway (this book rather focuses on Dudley and Elizabeth). The intrigue of court life was here as usual (all of Gregory's novels have it) so that was good to see. I just really enjoyed the character development and creation in this book.
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LibraryThing member TonyaSB
I have long been interested in the Tudors. Actually, one of my fascinations has been Jane Grey (not a Tudor but close enough). I saw Lady Jane when I was in high school and it has been one of my favorite movies since. I know an awful lot of useless things and one of them is the life of Jane Grey.
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She was a tragic figure. I read a wonderful book of historical fiction on her life about a year or so ago called Innocent Traitor, by Alison Weir.
Anyway, The Virgin's Lover is another book of historical fiction about the romance between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley (not coincidentally, the brother of Jane Grey's husband, their father was terribly ambitious). I really enjoyed this book. I was constantly on the edge of my seat as if I didn't already know what was going to happen! The only criticism I have is that I really didn't like Queen Elizabeth in this book. I've always thought of her as a strong woman who did not need to lean on men to rule. She was painted very differently in this book; fairly weak. Although, she stood up for herself in the end, throughout the book I kept thinking: "Why are you so weak and stupid?"
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LibraryThing member cindyloumn
I had a hard time getting into this book. Finally did. It's about Queen Elizabeth and Robert Dudley. Their romance and his wanting to be king. He was married, and it tells her story, Eliz's and Amy, his wife, who is killed towards the end of the book Ruining his reputation, as it's thought he
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killed her.
6/26/05
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LibraryThing member francescadefreitas
Even though I started reading this reluctantly, and regretted buying it;
Even thought I was almost entirely sure what would happen in the end;
Even though I didn't feel any compassion for any character until the final chapter;
Even though I haven't wanted to slap someone this much since reading
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Bridgit Jones's Diary;
I still could not put this down.
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LibraryThing member Trinity
I think it was a good book and well written. I think a very important thing to remember when reading this book is that it is fiction. The story is based on people who actually existed but veers off from there. Ms. Gregory did her research (check her sources in the back of the book) and formulated
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her own version of Elizabeth's life. I didnt like how weak and wishy washy Elizabeth was but the story was very interesting none the less. It pulled me in, I was rooting for Elizabeth and Dudley for part of the book and hating them the next. I even gasped out loud at the ending. Im looking forward to Ms. Gregory's new book.
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LibraryThing member littlebookworm
Written relatively well, but I so disagree with Gregory's interpretation of history that I couldn't enjoy it. I know that it is fiction, but it grated on me so much that I will be avoiding her books from now on. Her Elizabeth is weak, silly, and definitely not the beloved monarch that Elizabeth I
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actually was.
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LibraryThing member barraclough
I Just started it but so far I like it. In the style of the Queens' Fool.
LibraryThing member feralchicken
This is the story of the early years of Elizabeth I's reign, focussing on her relationships with her advisors, particularly the very ambitious Robert Dudley. It is told from the various viewpoints of the protagonists, exploring the motivations and emotions of all those involved.

This is a wonderful
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book. I found it completely gripping the whole way through. Usually I find it hard to empathise with characters I don't like and while these all had their flaws they were compelling and engaging; I wanted to know their stories.

What I found most interesting was this portrayal of Elizabeth; it depicts a young, malleable and at times, weak, woman. She relies heavily (far too much) on the men around her and has little confidence in her own strength. All I've ever learnt about her in history is how she ruled like a king, so it was intriguing to see her shed in a completely different light. I would love to read Gregory's take on the rest of Elizabeth's life, to learn how she developed as a woman and a monarch.
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LibraryThing member blondestranger
Enticing book that captures the youth of Queen Elizabeth Tudor and her coming of age struggle with learning how to be a "Woman-King". You don't have a strong sympathy or connection with Elizabeth until the end of the book. Also, even though history tells us she remains a "Virgin" Queen, you still
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kind of wish she could have her cake and eat it too.
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LibraryThing member TurboBookSnob
This is my least favorite of the Philippa Gregory novels, I think due in part to the fact that she does not really have a sympathetic main character. Robert Dudley is self-indulgent and vain, Elizabeth I is portrayed as weak and helpless without the support of her man, and Amy Dudley is Robert's
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lapdog, obedient to his whims for most of the novel.
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LibraryThing member girl4god
It's going slow but I'm hoping to get more into it as the story progresses as I LOVE her other books.
LibraryThing member greenefingers
i didn't enjoy this as much as i was hoping to! i guess there has to be so much conjecture about this subject that you know what you're reading is much more 'fictionalised' than her other books. Still a good read though.
LibraryThing member Lizziebee
I have read most of Philippa's other books and I found this one very hard to get into. Out of all the stories I liked Amy Dudleys the best.
LibraryThing member peaseblossom67
This is the first Philippa Gregory book that I've read, although I have seen the movie version of The Other Boleyn Girl.

I found the beginning slow going. Gregory dumps in historical information in an awkward manner; however, I soon became enthralled in the story and the small annoyances of writing
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craft no longer bothered me.

The story centers around Elizabeth's first few years on the throne and her relationship with Robert Dudley. It's interesting to compare this young Elizabeth with the seasoned Queen that she becomes.

If you are interested in the Tudors, I would definitely recommend this book.
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LibraryThing member amandacb
I adore Tudor England, and found this book tedious. Totally tedious. The plot plods, Elizabeth is under-developed (if you can imagine such a thing), and the language/style is awkward.
LibraryThing member willowwaw
This historical novel by Philippa Gregory was a nice continuation to the histories of the Tudor court. It was a nice book that was fun and enjoyable. It was interesting how this book only encompassed about three early years in Queen Elizabeth's court and the long chapters sometimes became tiring.
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None-the-less it was a worthwhile read and a great one to add to the series. I would recommend the series to others.
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LibraryThing member LaBibliophille
The Virgin’s Lover is another historical novel by the popular British writer Philippa Gregory. Gregory has very obviously done a tremendous amount of research on British history in general, and the Tudors in particular. The Virgin’s Lover tells the story of the early years of the reign of
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England’s Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth was only 25 when she ascended to the throne. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She succeeded her older half-sister Mary I, the daughter of King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. Mary died at the age of 45, leaving no heirs. For a time during Mary’s reign, Elizabeth had been imprisoned in the Tower of London. There were, of course, a number of other candidates with claims to the throne but, shortly before her death, Mary recognized Elizabeth as her heir. Elizabeth was crowned at Westminster Abbey on January 15, 1559.

Matters at the Court were not easy, particularly for a young and inexperienced Queen. Elizabeth relied heavily on her advisers, particularly William Cecil. These are the generally accepted facts. From this point on, Gregory takes the story into the realm of fiction. She presumes that Elizabeth falls in love with the married Robert Dudley (later named Earl of Leicester) and begins a passionate affair with him. This book follows the trajectory of their affair and its consequences.

Elizabeth, of course, never married (hence the sobriquet “Virgin Queen”) but, for much of her reign, she entertained various royal suitors. Most of these proposed matches were considered for political purposes. In The Virgin’s Lover, Elizabeth negotiated with emissaries from King Philip II of Spain (the widower of her late sister) as well as from the Hapsburg Archduke Charles of Austria.

This book doesn’t grab your attention like The Other Boleyn Girl. It took me a while to get into the story. For me the interest was more about life in sixteenth-century England. However, as more of the back story was revealed, and as the machinations of the Tudor court were depicted, I got more interested in the story. So, if you don’t care for this book at first, it is worth reading a bit further on.
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LibraryThing member bachaney
This was my first Philippa Gregory book. It was a very enjoyable read, and I especially liked how she integrated historical events into the narrative. If you enjoy Elizabethan era history and movies like "Shakespeare in Love" you will enjoy this book.
LibraryThing member jacketscoversread
Philippa Gregory is unable to reach the success of The Other Boleyn Girl with The Virgin’s Lover. While I still enjoyed the The Virgin’s Lover I was far from impressed because I know what Gregory is capable of producing.

The writing was still beautiful, as always, but the story line, though
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taken from history and elaborated upon, was lacking. This time the story was not told from one person’s perspective, but several. I think it gave the story less dimension because you found yourself unable to figure out who you wanted to root for and she usually has such engaging, sympathetic characters that you get attached to them almost immediately like Mary Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl.

The ending was a bit sudden, so much that I thought I had at least twenty more pages to go and next thing I know I’m reading that author’s note. And I’m still scratching my head over the ending.

The body of the novel was good. A little jumpy in the beginning but it begins to smooth itself out.
I loved seeing a different side of Elizabeth. We are usually presented with her as a tough-as-nails queen, unwavering and unyielding. Here she is shown as an outcast at first, ruthless in her rise to power, blinded by love/lust, and manipulative as she grows into her place as a queen.
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LibraryThing member qarae
As always, Philippa Gregory's writing is fabulous. What I typically love about her books is that she takes on a different perspective from what we've all learned in the history books (and Hollywood). However, the subject of Elizabeth and Dudely has been done so many times that I actually surprised
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that Philippa decided to do it as well.
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LibraryThing member susanpenter
I loved this book, it is my favourite of Gregory's Tudor series that I have read do far, I find the relationship between Elizabeth and Robert believable bearing in mind the Royal upbringing and the regular infatuations her father went through.
LibraryThing member lizobrabson
This is the first book by Gregory that I have read. It is an entertaining fictional version of Elizabeth I's romance with Robert Dudley. It is not a kind depiction of Elizabeth I and that alone made it interesting, as most literature about her shows her in a fairly positive light.

Awards

Audie Award (Finalist — Romance — 2005)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2004

Physical description

464 p.; 5.25 inches

ISBN

0743269268 / 9780743269261

Local notes

Fiction
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