Watch the Lady

A Novel

By: Elizabeth Fremantle

Narrated by: Georgina Sutton, Roy McMillan

From “a brilliant new player in the court of royal fiction” (People), comes the mesmerizing story of Lady Penelope Devereux—the daring young beauty in the Tudor court, who inspired Sir Philip Sidney’s famous sonnets even while she plotted against Queen Elizabeth.

Penelope Devereux arrives at Queen Elizabeth’s court where she and her brother, the Earl of Essex, are drawn into the aging Queen’s favor. Young and naïve, Penelope, though promised elsewhere, falls in love with Philip Sidney who pours his heartbreak into the now classic sonnet series Astrophil and Stella. But Penelope is soon married off to a man who loathes her. Never fainthearted, she chooses her moment and strikes a deal with her husband: after she gives birth to two sons, she will be free to live as she chooses, with whom she chooses. But she is to discover that the course of true love is never smooth.

Meanwhile Robert Cecil, ever loyal to Elizabeth, has his eye on Penelope and her brother. Although it seems the Earl of Essex can do no wrong in the eyes of the Queen, as his influence grows, so his enemies gather. Penelope must draw on all her political savvy to save her brother from his own ballooning ambition and Cecil’s trap, while daring to plan for an event it is treason even to think about.

Unfolding over the course of two decades and told from the perspectives of Penelope and her greatest enemy, the devious politician Cecil, Watch the Lady chronicles the last gasps of Elizabeth’s reign, and the deadly scramble for power in a dying dynasty.

Meh

I am usually a fan of Elizabeth Fremantle's books but I just couldn't connect with this one.

another fantastic work

In an audio book, most important to me is the narrator. I alwayssample a book, if I don't like the voice, I can't buy the book. PERIOD. Usually I prefer a woman s voice but this book has both man and woman's voice and they were both very pleasing.

Great Story

This is a great story and done in great narrating style. I especially enjoyed that there were two different narrators to illustrate different points of view.

It was Ok

I think this is an interesting character and a true departure from most Tudor era characters. The book seemed to be a little too repetitive though and I think it would have been better told from various viewpoints. Just my opinion.
The reader often lulled me into a trance and I had to repeat the book SEVERAL times. Might just my attention span!!!

HORIBLE NARRATION!!!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

No one.

Would you ever listen to anything by Elizabeth Fremantle again?

Perhaps with a different narrator than Sutton.

What didn’t you like about Georgina Sutton and Roy McMillan ’s performance?

Georgina Sutton sounds as if she is a 90 year old smoker.

What character would you cut from Watch the Lady?

Couldn't get far enough to be able to answer this question.

Any additional comments?

Wasted a credit. I honestly attempted to become acclimated to her grandma voice but could not. She perhaps might be a good choice for a children's book.