The Last Tudor

By: Philippa Gregory

Narrated by: Bianca Amato

Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

Jane Grey was queen of England for nine days. Her father and his allies crowned her instead of the dead king's half sister, Mary Tudor, who quickly mustered an army, claimed her throne, and locked Jane in the Tower of London. When Jane refused to betray her Protestant faith, Mary sent her to the executioner's block, where Jane transformed her father's greedy power grab into tragic martyrdom.

"Learn you to die," was the advice Jane wrote to her younger sister Katherine, who has no intention of dying. She intends to enjoy her beauty and her youth and fall in love. But she is heir to the insecure and infertile Queen Mary and then to her half sister, Queen Elizabeth, who will never allow Katherine to marry and produce a Tudor son. When Katherine's pregnancy betrays her secret marriage, she faces imprisonment in the Tower, only yards from her sister's scaffold.

"Farewell, my sister," writes Katherine to the youngest Grey sister, Mary. A beautiful dwarf, disregarded by the court, Mary keeps family secrets, especially her own, while avoiding Elizabeth's suspicious glare. After seeing her sisters defy their queens, Mary is acutely aware of her own danger but determined to command her own life. What will happen when the last Tudor defies the ruthless and unforgiving Queen Elizabeth?

©2017 Philippa Gregory (P)2017 Simon & Schuster Audio

Maybe I'm Easily Impressed...

After reading the lukewarm review of an Audible customer that has studied the Tudors at one of the UK's finest Universities I didn't write a review. I had to wonder why I was so completely entertained by this book! I literally couldn't put it down and went straight through the whole story on 1.5x speed. I think possibly that sometimes my ignorance is a good thing because I enjoyed this novel so much that I downloaded several other books by this author which I have also enjoyed immensely. I decided to write on behalf of the lesser scholars and those entertained as easily as I am.

Rather than picking up on any annoying traits, I thought this book was a wonderfully intimate look at Queen Elizabeth and the Tudor women and their intense devotion to a lifestyle and a position they believed was divinely inspired. It became very understandable to me how important the fight to reign became. Pushed by supporters and the belief that it was their God-given right as well as destiny to sit upon the throne, the pursuit to do so became a life or death struggle that could change in an hour. It reminded me of life in a beehive where there can be only one Queen or splitting and disloyalty destroys the hive. The mercurial cruelty of Queen Elizabeth to her family was wild...the format for the Evil Queen. So much has been written about the Kings that a look at female royalty in history was impressive and enlightening.

I am no student of the Tudors, (I did watch the entire Showtime series The Tudors and have read everything by Hillary Mantel ; ) so I decided I'm either easily impressed or new enough to the writing of Phillippa Gregory that I couldn't compare her books and rank them. In it's genre, this is one of my favorite books.

24 of 26 people found this review helpful

Rename it 'Three Thick Tudors'!

Disappointed? Yes. I have waited months and months for this book. To say that I am a fan of Philippa Gregory is a total understatement. Not only have I studied the Tudors in depth at one of the UK's finest Universities but I have adored every word that Ms. Gregory has penned. However this book, The Last Tudor, was a travesty I listened to every word hoping that it would get better. It did not.

It is a study of the last three Tudor sisters opening with one of my favorite ladies of history Lady Jane Grey. In this book Jane is a whiney little ignoramus. In fact she seems totally clueless. Her arrogance is a complete surprise as everything that I have read about her emphasizes her humility. I know that this is historical fiction but this is going beyond dramatic license.

After Lady Jane is promptly 'dispatched' by Queen Elizabeth I we move onto her younger sister Katherine who seems to be so darn stupid that she answers most questions with the word 'WHAT?" I lost count at how many times this stupid woman said 'WHAT?".

Lastly we move onto Mary the youngest, and yet another member of the 'I don't have a clue Tudor club'! I was grinding my teeth listening to this character. Most frustrating part was that we learn that her husband dies. This is supposed to be the 'great passion'. So we have listened to their courtship (OH Gosh so painful) and their subsequent suffering through separation due to the ever jealous Queen Elizabeth I. Then he 'dies' as reported by some doctor. How does he die? Personally I think that he read this book and then jumped off a cliff because it was maudlin and so very non Philippa Gregory.

The only redeeming feature was another fine performance by Bianca Amato.

Although I really did not like this book I cannot wait to see what Ms. Gregory comes up with next as I am and will always be a fan.

26 of 30 people found this review helpful

Best Tudor Book Yet by Phillippa Gregory

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. There was no unnecessary gratuitous sex scenes, which I find completely ridiculous for a historical novel. I read these books for the story, not the titillation. As always, it was read beautifully by Bianca Amato. Very well done. I'm sorry it's over!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

The Last Tutor

The story about the Gray sisters was interesting to a point. A lot of the narration detailed Elizabeth I's cruel treatment of Catherine and Mary Gray, which was entirely possible, but historically questionable. While I have thoroughly enjoyed Gregory's other novels this was not my favorite. However, it was not a bad read.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Very Disappointed

What about Bianca Amato’s performance did you like?

I had no problem with her performance.

Any additional comments?

I have read or bought the audible version of all of Ms Gregory's book and was really looking forward to the release of this one. I kept hoping it would get better but it did not.There was no depth to this book. It was repetitive to the point that it got boring. It seemed that perhaps there was not enough substance to carry a novel and their stories would have been better suited to a short story. I really wanted to love this book and often would re listen to a chapter thinking I must have missed something.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Unknown, fascinating tidbits of the Tudor history

What did you love best about The Last Tudor?

I learned another point of view, the Greys, which I had not known before.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Last Tudor?

One of Mary's scenes when she shows her spunk. She was a little powerhouse. I also had not heard the other side of Elizabeth I reign, from the POV of someone she disliked or feared. Very interesting and made me think.

Which character – as performed by Bianca Amato – was your favorite?

Mary.

Any additional comments?

Well-written as always by the talented Philippa Gregory. I am sad to hear this is the last of the Tudor series. But I'm sure whatever she picks up next will be entertaining as well.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great story of three sisters

A very interesting, turbulent and tragic story of the fate of three sisters that bare the Tudor legacy.
Wonderfully narrated and told by each sister in Form of three individual chapters.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Excellent!!

Another great novel by Philippa Gregory! It was a bit slow to start but did not disappoint. The narrator was captivating. This is a must read!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Love this combination of author and narrator

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

Yes, the combination of the author and narrator are magical

Would you be willing to try another book from Philippa Gregory? Why or why not?

Of course. I have listened to all of her books

Which scene was your favorite?

I like the part about the youngest Tudor. She seemed like the strongest and the smartest.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

3 Sisters, 1 Book, Priceless Listen

a great book to get lost in. One of my favorite authors. I was hesitant at first to listen to this because of the 3 different stories but a different style voice was used for each so you felt like you were getting 3 different people. It is heartbreaking but a great alternative view of Queen Katherine

1 of 1 people found this review helpful