The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

Touchstone, 2011, 432 pages

I found this historical novel to be as well-written and entertaining as The Other Boleyn Girl and The Other Queen (both by the same author). It’s a darker story, but Gregory does a credible job of developing her central character, Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII.  Margaret’s slow transition from innocent child bride to conniving, ruthless middle-aged woman seemed, to this reader, entirely believable. Gregory paints such a sympathetic portrait of her as a child that I didn’t mind what she became as life hardened her. It seems an understandable reaction to the constraints placed upon her by the times -- no freedom to choose and allowed to decide virtually nothing, despite being nobility and a rich heiress as well.

Historical fiction by its nature has to assign thoughts and feelings to real people whose true thoughts and feelings cannot be known. Some dislike that, but I love seeing famous figures made human. Richard III is depicted here as a good and capable man beset by conspiracy on all sides. Meanwhile Gregory has Margaret ordering the death of the princes in the tower. Interesting juxtaposition.

This author has been criticized for historical inaccuracies, but I personally don’t care about that. When I want facts, I’ll read history. I read fiction because I love being carried along by a good story with believable characters. This book fit my needs admirably on that score. I know I’ll read more of Philippa Gregory.

Wikipedia article on Margaret Beaufort

The St. Albans Hoard

Yet another ancient coin hoard has come to light. Last month, a patient guy with a metal detector discovered the largest hoard of Roman coins ever found in the United Kingdom. Gold, that is. Oro. Au.

Coin World, Nov. 12, 2012

According to this article, during the Roman occupation of Britain, coins were sometimes buried as a religious sacrifice to the gods. Some say objects were thrown into the Thames for the same reason. "The coins were scattered across a wide area... evidence suggests that the hoard was disturbed in the past few hundred years by quarrying activity or plowing."

Get the whole story:
Roman Ancients in Hoard Hidden About 1,600 Years
Coin World, Nov. 12, 2012