Book of the Week: Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory

Why we love it: Philippa Gregory encapsulates the strength, beauty and determination behind the women in the Tudor Court in a mesmerising historical fiction that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster.

It is 1501 – Katherine of Aragon is brought to the Tudor court as a young bride. Margaret, a Tudor princess with the pride of a king, immediately measures her up. With one look, each girl knows the other for a rival, an ally and a pawn. Caught in the crossfire is Mary, Margaret’s youngest sister, who grows to love Katherine as her own blood. They will become the queens of England, Scotland and France, who, united by family loyalties and affections, find themselves set against each other. As sisters, they share an everlasting bond. As queens, they break each other’s hearts.

Separated by their duty, the sisters correspond with each other through letters, allowing us to learn of the triumphs and failures each woman encounters. Soon Katherine and Margaret find their countries at war, leading to Katherine killing Margaret’s husband and leaving her power on the cusp of ruin. The only small hope Margaret has is Katherine’s inability to produce an heir. To keep her son’s position as successor, Margaret organises to marry the King of France but is soon betrayed as Mary steals her proposed husband…

Three Sisters, Three Queens, keeps tensions high as we watch the political and emotional battle to maintain power and status. Philippa Gregory shows the real struggles these women faced in an era of betrayal, war, love and rivalry. Exceptionally written, the book allows us to feel disgusted with each sister in their treatment for one another while also playing with our sympathies. Despite being biased from Margaret’s perspective, we feel deeply for Katherine as she loses her husband to Anne Boleyn and Mary whose innocence resonates in comparison to Katherine and Margaret’s bitter rivalry.

Three Sisters, Three Queens is a thrilling new Tudor Court book you will not be able to put down once you fall in love with these three women.

Philippa Gregory was an established historian and writer when she discovered her interest in the Tudor period and wrote the internationally bestselling novel The Other Boleyn Girl. Titled as ‘the queen of British historical fiction’, her Cousins’ War novels are the basis for the critically acclaimed Starz miniseries The White Queen. She graduated from the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she is a Regent. She holds an honorary degree from Teesside University, and is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff. Gregory lives with her family on a small farm in Yorkshire.

To read an extract, click here! To buy a copy of Three Sisters, Three Queens, click here!