I found Barbara Kyle’s The Queen’s Lady to be a bit hit & miss. On the positive side there were a lot of twist and turns to the story, which keeps you guessing what is going to happen next. The Tudor history is captivating in itself and this story just shows another viewpoint of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and the political and religious players of the time. On the negative side there was a loss of coherency to the story, as it seemed the author wanted to present all the differing religious views of the time, making the story unnecessarily complex. Some of the plot, particularly about the Münsterites and Anabaptists, was quite strange. There is so much going on the story its confusing and I think the chapter divisions would have benefited from an accompanying timeline and not just a specific title. If you would like to read a similar story (historical fiction, strong female protagonist and a minor study in religious views of the time) I would try Phillipa Gregory's The Queen's Fool. All this said I think I will read the sequel about Isabella Thornleigh. Note that this book was first published in 1994 as A Dangerous Temptation. The sequel featuring Isabella Thornleigh was previously published as A Dangerous Devotion and will be published in February 24, 2009 as The King’s Daughter. I think the timing of the books are suspect, riding on the wave of popularity of The Other Boleyn Girl current pop culture interest in The Tudors.
My Rating: 3.5
Chapters
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