Book cover for The Queen's Fool: A Novel by Philippa Gregory

The Queen's Fool

A Novel

2008 Released
512 Pages
12-13 Hours
Hardback Unavailable
Atria BooksISBN 9781416593973

#1 New York Times bestselling author and “queen of royal fiction” (USA TODAY) Philippa Gregory weaves a spellbinding tale of a young woman with the ability to see the future in an era when destiny was anything but clear.

Winter, 1553. Pursued by the Inquisition, Hannah Green, a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl, is forced to flee with her father from their home in Spain. But Hannah is no ordinary refugee; she has the gift of “Sight,” the ability to foresee the future, priceless in the troubled times of the Tudor court. Hannah is adopted by the glamorous Robert Dudley, the charismatic son of King Edward’s protector, who brings her to court as a “holy fool” for Queen Mary and, ultimately, Queen Elizabeth. Hired as a fool but working as a spy; promised in wedlock but in love with her master; endangered by the laws against heresy, treason, and witchcraft, Hannah must choose between the safe life of a commoner and the dangerous intrigues of the royal family that are inextricably bound up with her own yearnings and desires.

Teeming with vibrant period detail and peopled by characters seamlessly woven into the sweeping tapestry of history, The Queen’s Fool is a rich and emotionally resonant gem from a masterful storyteller.

Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory is a historian and novelist renowned for combining rich research with powerful storytelling. Through her writing, she reveals the women history tried to forget – and whose stories are more relevant today than ever. Her novels have sold millions of copies worldwide and been adapted for stage, television and film.

In 2023 she published her critically acclaimed non-fiction book Normal Women, a new social history of women in England for 900 years. It has also been adapted as a podcast, teen edition and children's edition. In 2026, Boleyn Traitor won Fiction Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.

Philippa Gregory was awarded a CBE for services to literature and charity in 2021.

www.philippagregory.com

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