 First US edition | |
| Author | Philippa Gregory |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Bianca Amato |
| Language | English |
| Series | Tudor Series |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Touchstone (US) HarperCollins (UK) |
Publication date | 2003 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 512 |
| ISBN | 0-7432-6982-9 (hardcover edition) |
| Preceded by | The Boleyn Inheritance |
| Followed by | The Virgin's Lover |
The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory is a 2003 historical fiction novel. Set between 1548 and 1558, it is part of Philippa Gregory's Tudor series. The series includes The Boleyn Inheritance. The novel chronicles the changing fortunes of Mary I of England and her half-sister Elizabeth through the eyes of the fictional Hannah Green, a Marrano girl escaping to England from Spain where her mother was burned at the stake for being Jewish. Hannah is discovered by Robert Dudley and John Dee and subsequently begged as a fool to Edward VI. She witnesses and becomes caught up the intrigues of the young king's court, and later those of his sisters. As Mary, Elizabeth, and Robert Dudley use Hannah to gather information on their rivals and further their own aims, the novel can plausibly present each side in the complex story. The Queen's Fool follows Hannah from ages fourteen to nineteen, and her coming-of-age is interspersed among the historical narrative (see Bildungsroman). The book reached # 29 on the New York Times Best Seller list and had sold 165,000 copies within three weeks of its release.[1]
It is a historically attested fact that a female jester was indeed active at the English royal court in the period covered by the book. Very little is known about her; the scarce sources mention her as "Jane Foole", but it is not sure if this was her real name or a nickname.
- ^ Natalie, Danford (1 March 2004). "Paperback Tradeoff". Publishers Weekly. pp. 20–21.