Monday, February 15, 2010

Queen's Fool Audiobook

I usually have an audiobook going that I have downloaded onto my iPod.  The problem with this is that the only time I listen is on car trips, which I used to have a lot of, but not so much anymore.  I just finished The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory, which I think I started about 9 months ago.  I took such a long break at one point that I got confused about where I was, so I checked the book out of the library to help me get it sorted out.  I've started to try to remember to listen while I am doing housework, but  you know "The Housework Isn't Getting Done!"

I really liked the book.  It's sort of an epic tale, that I might not have stuck out if it wasn't in audiobook form.  I love historical fiction, and this takes place in the middle 1500s, with all the turmoil of wars between France and England, the shaky position of the monarchy and all the subterfuge about who gets the throne, and of course the burnings at the stake.  Seems you had to change your religious beliefs according to who the current monarch was in order to survive.  The story includes lots of infidelity among the court, which I suppose was true, and also contributed to making the successor to the throne somewhat questionable.

The main character in the story is Hannah, whose mother was burned at the stake in France because they were Jewish.  She and her father escaped to London to begin a new life as "Catholics."  Hannah, because she has the ability to "see" certain future events, ends up in service to Queen Mary.  Hannah eventually is betrothed and married, and the story is really of her life, but with much historical detail.

The reader speaks with an English accent, so every time I stopped listening, I was prone to talking with an accent!  It's part of her "Boleyn" series and I think there's 4 books in the series, this one isn't the first, but it didn't really matter.  I may put some others on my audiobook list.

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