Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory

THE COMPELLING NOVEL FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER PHILIPPA GREGORY 'There is only one bond that I trust: between a woman and her sisters. We never take our eyes off each other. In love and in rivalry, we always think of each other.' When Katherine of Aragon is brought to the Tudor court as a young bride, the oldest princess, Margaret, takes her measure. With one look, each knows the other for a rival, an ally, a pawn, destined – with Margaret’s younger sister Mary – to a sisterhood unique in all the world. The three sisters will become the queens of England, Scotland and France. United by family loyalties and affections, the three queens find themselves set against each other. Katherine commands an army against Margaret and kills her husband James IV of Scotland. But Margaret’s boy becomes heir to the Tudor throne when Katherine loses her son. Mary steals the widowed Margaret’s proposed husband, but when Mary is widowed it is her secret marriage for love that is the envy of the others. As they experience betrayals, dangers, loss and passion, the three sisters find that the only constant in their perilous lives is their special bond, more powerful than any man, even a king. Praise for Philippa Gregory: ‘Meticulously researched and deeply entertaining, this story of betrayal and divided loyalties is Gregory on top form’ Good Housekeeping ‘Gregory has popularised Tudor history perhaps more than any other living fiction writer…all of her books feature strong, complex women, doing their best to improve their lives in worlds dominated by men’ Sunday Times ‘Engrossing’ Sunday Express ‘Popular historical fiction at its finest, immaculately researched and superbly told’ The Times

Three girls, two countries, one purpose. Bring countries closer together, and build allies. Three sisters, three queens, but only one will come out on top.

Margaret Tudor is sent to Scotland, to be its queen, and to bring a peace to England and Scotland that will hopefully endure.
During her time there, she learns that her sisters, Queen Katherine of England and Dowager Queen Mary of France, are united, and most of the time, she feels as though they are against her. Katherine is responsible for the army that kills Margaret's husband and the bitterness inside her begins to build. As the years move forward, the bitterness comes and goes, but she never forgets that they are sisters, they are queens, and therefore, they must try and remain united. Through the trials that her second husband puts her through, and the rise and fall of her fortunes, Margaret never forgets her place or who she is. She is determined to remain on top and hold on to power no matter what she has to do.

The rise and fall of these three women is told mainly through Margaret, who is rather petty and very shallow when it comes to her outlook on life. A pampered upbringing and very sheltered existance does not prepare her for what she will face when she reaches Scotland and the many trials that she will endure there. I loved and hated this book. I felt that it was rather unfair to all three ladies at some points, but then it would turn and redeem itself. It was a rather interesting read and did not take me long to get through, although I had to set it down and walk away for a bit when I had enough of the attitude that Margaret held throughout the book.