The Red Queen

A Novel

By: Philippa Gregory

Narrated by: Bianca Amato

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Heiress to the red rose of Lancaster, Margaret Beaufort never surrenders her belief that her house is the true ruler of England and that she has a great destiny before her. Her ambitions are disappointed when her sainted cousin, Henry VI, fails to recognize her as a kindred spirit, and she is even more dismayed when he sinks into madness. Her mother mocks her plans, revealing that Margaret will always be burdened with the reputation of her father, one of the most famously incompetent English commanders in France. But worst of all for Margaret is when she discovers that her mother is sending her to a loveless marriage in remote Wales.

Listen to An interview with Bianca Amato, narrator of The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory.

©2010 Philippa Gregory Limited. All rights reserved. (P)2010 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Nobody does the Tudors better than Gregory ( The Other Boleyn Girl), so it should come as no surprise that her latest—the War of the Roses as seen through the eyes of Henry VII's mother —is confident, colorful, convincing, and full of conflict, betrayal, and political maneuvering....[L]ike Margaret Beaufort, Gregory puts her many imitators to shame by dint of unequalled energy, focus, and unwavering execution." ( Publishers Weekly)

The Red Queen

Very well done.

Both the story and narration are engaging and fun to listen to.

I definitely recommend this audible book.

Love It!!

I always adore Philippa Gregory's historical fiction novels. They're a delight to read (or listen) through, as long as you remember that they are, in fact, fiction. As always, another great read!!

The unpleasant queen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you are really into history, this is OK. But Margaret Beaufort is so nasty and self-centered that it is very hard to work up any sympathy for her. I was tempted often to root against the central character. kind of like the red queen in Alice in Wonderland, but not so amusing.

What other book might you compare The Red Queen to and why?

Of all the Phillipa Gregory books, this is my least favorite.

Did Bianca Amato do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Ms. Amato is a great narrator.

Slow to get into...

...but really grew to love this book. Margaret was a bit of a loon but one cannot fault her tenacity.

She would have made the field red with blood

I came into this book expecting a little more than I got. I felt Margaret Beaufort was basically one note throughout the whole book, it just got shriller and shriller and shriller.

She never really grows or changes through the book, she thinks she's better than everyone else, but she's just as bad, ruthless and as much a liar and deceiver as everyone else. And to be honest, she's a bit boring. While it's nice to know about the mother and grandmother of Henry VII and Henry VIII, when I heard there was to be a book about The Red Queen, I was thinking Margaret of Anjou, who would have made a very interesting book. Margaret is never truly queen, just a schemer behind the throne.

The ending is just weird. You go from a first person narration to, what...a third? I was never good at that in school, but it switches and it just seems weird. Like you were suddenly reading another book.

I greatly prefered The White Queen: A Novel (The Cousins' War) to this one. If it wasn't a part of a series, I'd almost say skip it.

However, I felt this book was better listened to than read. It took me forever to read the book, but only a few days to listen to it.

Great story, not-so-great narration

The story was very good but I really didn't like the narrator. I usually like female narrators better than men but in this version the narrator was very whiny. She may have done it on purpose because of the story but it really got on my nerves. It took a long time to get used to her.

Really enjoyed the different prospective on the same time period

The Red Queen is during the same exact time period as the White Queen (the book before) but from the prospective of a totally different house and side of the battle. I thought it was different enough to make it highly enjoyable and the main character although a very unhappy woman (who won’t be married of at 12 for her mother’s fortune) was a good villainous type that made me feel like I wanted to know what she was gonna plot next!

Well-written, but I HATE the "protagonist"

I listened to this book because it's a part of the story, do I felt I had to. line many other reviewers, I found Margaret to be a pain in the patootie. But her fictional personality felt true to her factual story, and it was interesting seeing another story from the same timeline as The White Queen, told from a different perspective.

Philippa Gregory is eating all my credits!!

The book was great, but Margaret Beaufort was not my favorite person. She’s an idiot and a snob. In my opinion she’s lucky things turned out as they did. I won’t get too far into my options on her, but there were several times where I rolled my eyes at her or thought “Uhg”. She would have been insufferable to be around.
On that note: the book itself was well written and I am totally sucked into this series! This is the third one I’ve listened to and I’m about to buy The White Princess. Philippa Gregory is eating all my credits!!

Great insight - challenging character

Entertaining and insightful perspective on the pre-Henry VIII story but unlikable heroine who fails to evoke mug sympathy. Look forward to reading about Elisabeth Woodville's marriage to Henry VII.