Philippa Gregory

'Margaret, I have to tell you. There was a curse.' Elizabeth, my cousin, puts her hand in mine and I can feel her tremble. 'What curse?' 'It was that whoever took my brothers from the Tower, whoever put my brothers to death should die for it.' From the Number One bestselling author of THE WHITE QUEEN comes the riveting story of Margaret Pole, cousin of Elizabeth of York, and her unique view of Henry VIII's terrifying rise to power in Tudor England. As an heir to the Plantagenets, Margaret is seen by the King's mother (THE RED QUEEN) as a powerful threat to the Tudor claim to the throne. She is buried in marriage to a Tudor supporter - Sir Richard Pole, governor of Wales - and becomes guardian to Arthur, the young Prince of Wales, and his beautiful bride, Katherine of Aragon. But Margaret's destiny, as cousin to the queen (THE WHITE PRINCESS), is not for a life in the shadows. Tragedy throws her into poverty and only a royal death restores her to her place at young Henry VIII's court where she becomes chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine. There she watches the dominance of the Spanish queen over her husband and her tragic decline. Amid the rapid deterioration of the Tudor court, Margaret must choose whether her allegiance is to the increasingly tyrannical Henry VIII or to her beloved queen. Caught between the old and the new, Margaret must find her own way, concealing deep within her the knowledge that an old curse cast upon all the Tudors is slowly coming true...

The King's Curse

Married to loyal Lancaster supporter Sir Richard Pole to minimize her claim to the throne of Henry VII, Margaret becomes an advisor to newlyweds Prince Arthur and Katherine of Aragon before witnessing the rapid ascent of Henry VIII. By the best-selling author of The White Princess. 200,000 first printing.

Lacy W

Let me first start off by saying that I really enjoyed this book. It was nice to get a view of court from the outside. Even though there were parts that were inside of court (like where Margaret was serving Queen Katherine), most of the book was from outside court (where Margaret was at home or serving Princess Mary). It helped me to gain a different perspective of what being exiled from court was like. 

This book is first person point of view, which I really liked. First person POV helps the reader to gain insight on the character's feelings and innermost thoughts. We follow Margaret Pole. She is a Plantagenet. From what I can gather from this book, the Plantagents ruled before the Tudors took the throne from them. So all Plantagents had to hide, were executed or be married into Tudor blood so they will be safe. 

This is what happened to Margaret. She was basically in line to rule before the Tudors came. She was raised as princess. In the beginning she was married to a low level knight. That is quite a downgrade. As the blurb says she becomes the chief lady in waiting for Katherine of Aragon, the first of King Henry VIII's wives. What follows is a tale of how the beloved boy king becomes a paranoid old man, a court where no one can trust anyone and the Plantagenets attempting to rise and set everything back to the way it was. 

As I previously stated, I enjoyed this book. I have yet to dislike a Philippa Gregory book. What prevented me from giving this book a full 5 stars, like the rest of the them, is there was just so much filler. The book didn't have chapters, it had dates and places. Some of them would only be a paragraph long while others could be 4 pages. It depended on what happened during that season. I felt that this book could have been at least 200 pages shorter if there wasn't so much filler. Some of the "mini chapters" (for lack of better words) would be about Margaret running her manor and doing menial tasks like paperwork. Did that really need to be in there? 

But overall, I really liked the book. I got to know who Katherine of Aragon really was, what the commoners thought of the infamous Anne Boleyn, how they reacted to Jane Seymour and their thoughts on their country being torn apart by a man who threw tantrums if he didn't get what he wanted. 

 Like all historical fiction books, I do not know how much of it is true but for those that doubt everything, there is a handy reference section where Philippa Gregory has every single one of her sources that she used to write this book.

For use in schools and libraries only. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author behind the acclaimed Starz series The White Queen comes the story of lady-in-waiting Margaret Pole and her unique view of King Henry VIII's stratospheric rise to power in Tudor England. As an heir to the Plantagenets, Margaret is seen by the King's mother, the Red Queen, as a rival to the Tudor claim to the throne. She is buried in marriage to a Tudor supporter-Sir Richard Pole, governor of Wales-and becomes guardian to Arthur, the young Prince of Wales, and his beautiful bride, Katherine of Aragon. But Margaret's destiny, as cousin to the White Princess, is not for a life in the shadows. Tragedy throws her into poverty, yet a royal death restores her to her place at young Henry VIII's court where she becomes chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine. There she watches the dominance of the Spanish queen over her husband and her tragic decline. Amid the rapid deterioration of the Tudor court, Margaret must choose whether her allegiance is to the increasingly tyrannical Henry VIII or to her beloved queen. Caught between the old and the new, Margaret must find her own way, concealing her knowledge that an old curse cast upon all the Tudors is slowly coming true.

Elizabeth Clement

I'm a big fan of Philippa Gregory. As usual, this book was written very well and the plot always moved along. My only complaint is that this one just dragged on a bit. But it was a great read, and definitely recommended for fans of this genre.

Sarah Ryan

Very much enjoyed this. It covers a well known part of Tudor history from an atypical point of view. The main character is Margaret Pole, who lived to see Henry VIII grow up, become king and marry numerous wives. Well written. One of Gregory's better books I think - I say this having thoroughly enjoyed a number of them.

Chantale

I was lucky enough to receive an advance reader copy of The King's Curse. 

I loved the entire series and I love this book just as much as all the others. This is the 6th and final book in the Cousin's War series and it is very well written and I was hooked from the very beginning. This book is at about 608 pages so it is a long book and took me some time to read but I enjoyed it very much. Only bad thing is that it is the last book in the series :( 

This is the only series by Philippa Gregory that I have read so far but I have most of her books in my very long to buy list because I love her writing style. 

If you are a fan of historical fiction I highly recommend this book and actually I recommend this entire series. 

I give The King's Curse 5 out of 5

I was lucky enough to receive an advance reader copy of The King's Curse. 

I loved the entire series and I love this book just as much as all the others. It is very well written and I was hooked from the very beginning. This book is at about 608 pages so it is a long book and took me some time to read but I enjoyed it very much. Only bad thing is that it is the last book in the series :( 

This is the only series by Philippa Gregory that I have read so far but I have most of her books in my very long to buy list because I love her writing style. 

If you are a fan of historical fiction I highly recommend this book and actually I recommend this entire series.

Roos Kuijper 

3,5 star

I think Margaret de la Pole is a fascinating person but I am not sure if I like the way Gregory portrayed her. Still this book was interesting to read.

Megan During

shelby mosel

Astor Reinhardt

Harry L

Rebeka Alvie

Ley Stanton

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author behind the Starz original series The White Queen comes the story of lady-in-waiting Margaret Pole and her unique view of King Henry VIII's stratospheric rise to power in Tudor England. Regarded as yet another threat to the volatile King Henry VII's claim to the throne, Margaret Pole, cousin to Elizabeth of York (known as the White Princess) and daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, is married off to a steady and kind Lancaster supporter--Sir Richard Pole. For his loyalty, Sir Richard is entrusted with the governorship of Wales, but Margaret's contented daily life is changed forever with the arrival of Arthur, the young Prince of Wales, and his beautiful bride, Katherine of Aragon. Margaret soon becomes a trusted advisor and friend to the honeymooning couple, hiding her own royal connections in service to the Tudors. After the sudden death of Prince Arthur, Katherine leaves for London a widow, and fulfills her deathbed promise to her husband by marrying his brother, Henry VIII. Margaret's world is turned upside down by the surprising summons to court, where she becomes the chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine. But this charmed life of the wealthiest and "holiest" woman in England lasts only until the rise of Anne Boleyn, and the dramatic deterioration of the Tudor court. Margaret has to choose whether her allegiance is to the increasingly tyrannical king, or to her beloved queen; to the religion she loves or the theology which serves the new masters. Caught between the old world and the new, Margaret Pole has to find her own way as she carries the knowledge of an old curse on all the Tudors"--

Maria Banning

Kathy Rodger 

Carina Marshall

Amanda Valentin

Celia Street

The riveting story of Margaret Pole, daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, and was one of the few surviving members of the Plantagenet dynasty after the Wars of the Roses. Plantagenet, once carried proudly by Margaret like a crown upon her head, is now, at the end of the 15th century, the most dangerous name in England...

The King's Curse

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