Customer Reviews
Brilliant but not as good as the others - By: A. Lalor, 24 Jul 2008 
I only discovered Philippa Gregory a month ago & I am already a big fan. Having read 'The Other Boleyan Girl' & 'The Queen's Fool' & thoroughly enjoyed them I was quite excited to read 'The Virgin's Lover' & I am pleased to say that although not as good as it's predessesors it is still a very worthwhile read.
Previous reviewers have summarised the story so I won't repeat what's already been said but let me just state that this book is excellently written & definitely deserves to be on the bestseller list.
Perhaps other reviews have been a bit mixed about this book. I think this is because this book is bound to suffer from comparisions to it's predessors. Arguably it isn't as addictive but it is still good although at times it is a bit slow-paced especiallly Cecil's parts, which seemed like more of a history lesson than a historical novel. It is at best brilliant, at worst mediocre. I don't think this has anything to do with the author's ability to write but more that she chose a relatively short time period (two years in fact)so there's an absence of material to write about. However on a seriously critical note the ending is somewhat abrupt & unexpected leaving the reader feeling agitated & wondering why the final part of the story is rushed by so hastily. It is mainly for this reason that I give this novel 4* instead of 5.
The only reason I can give for the mixed reviews is that perhaps people don't like the way Gregory changed her style with this novel. In her previous books she writes in the first person a technique that I myself felt worked incredibly well helping to draw us straight into the action & reallly making us empathise with the character. However in this book the author writes from the point of view of four characters: Elizabeth, Robert, Amy & Cecil. This approach works well in that it does show us the bigger picture & gives us a more objective view of events but on the other hand it suffers in that it lacks the personal style we have come to associate with Gregory's books. That was the only slightly debatable problem with this novel & is more of a personal preference than a serious fault. Perhaps four characters was a bit too adventurous. Three would have been sufficient.
What I liked about this book in particular is that the characters appear very human & are therefore easier to relate to. What also is very interesting is that it is very difficult to discern from reading what side Gregory was on. The characters are in many ways not very likable; whether this was Gregory's intention or not remains ambiguous. Despite Gregory's attempts to portray Amy as a pious, strong woman desperately clinging to her faith & her straying husband during a time of great political & religious upheaval I still couldn't help but find her a weak, whining & abovealll irritating character. I always sighed with agitation when I came to reading Amy's parts. Undoubtedly she is critical to the story but I felt there wasn't enough story to keep one interested especiallly when you compare her with the glamour of court. I liked the portrayal of Elizabeth. Too many history books depict Elizabeth as this fierce woman. It was refreshing to see a more human & vulnerable side to her although I found her inability to perform her role as Queen without the presence of Robert rather irritating as the story progressed. As for Robert: well what can I say? Of alll the characters Robert is the best progressed from The Queen's Fool. In fact he was probably my favourite character in the book. He had great presence (some very good one-liners might I add & the romance scenes are excellently executed) & even towards the end when his true intentions are revealed one cannot help but feel sorry for him. I think that's what made this book truly great: characters that irritate & annoy you but yet you wanted them to happy.
Overalll I would highly recommend this novel though it is advised to read 'The Other Boleyan Girl' & 'The Queen's Fool' beforehand as it does put the story into perspective.
Dissapointed - By: S. Leeves, 03 May 2008 
Having read a few of pg's books i was expecting this to be in the same league as The other boleyn girl & boleyn inheritance ect.. but sadly it wasn't, i found i was bored half way through & couldn't wait to finish it!
Un-coventional Elizabeth makes me sad... - By: Lilly Flora, 11 Sep 2007 I would like to say that I love Phillipa Gregory's books. I reallly do. She's a fantastic writer & researcher. But the way she portrayed Elizabeth in this novel was immensely disappointing to me. I thought her portrayal in The Queens Fool was leading to a good, non-conventional portrayal of Elizabeth. And then I read this book.
The Elizabeth in the Virgin's Lover is not alll that smart. She is not self-sufficient. There is nothing in her character to suggest that she could rule a country on her own when the world was run by men. She is a weak, desperate woman who can't do anything if Robin Dudley isn't with her every minute of the day.
And Robin! Why does he have to be so power hungry? There is very little inkling in his character that he loves Elizabeth deeply, or even reallly cares about her beyond sex! All he cares about is being King!
Realisticallly I know that Robin must have had some aspirations to be king, but as a hopeless romantic I'd desperately wanted this novel to a more supportive version of the famous Elizabeth/Dudley romance. Instead it just made me feel sad & hopeless that their much celebrated relationship was anything more than a political ploy by an overly ambitious man.
I guess I just didn't like the characters alll that much.
Mmm...very boring - By: Conor Byrne, 03 Sep 2007 
Compared to the brilliant "Other Boleyn Girl" & "Boleyn Inheritance", this reallly was a waste of time reading. Elizabeth is depicted as a common-born slut, & I found myself despising Robert Dudley for being a stupid-minded idiot. You feel sympathy for poor Amy Robsart, but find yourself hating Elizabeth. Compared to her brilliant mother Anne Boleyn, she just doesnt fit the bill. Not very good at alll.
Disappointing, flat and stale - By: Roman Clodia, 10 Jun 2007 I loved The Other Boleyn Girl, trudged through The Queen's Fool, but almost didn't complete this - the characterisations are alll flat & predictable, & Elizabeth, especiallly, is a travesty. None of it ever came to life, the dialogue was wooden & unrealistic & the plot completely predictable. The fact that this is a known era seems to have stultified Gregory's imagination. If I want to read 'history' I'll do that - if I pick up a novel then I want something creative, imaginative & enthrallling, & this fails on alll counts.
