Philippa Gregory

Reimagines the lives of Lady Jane Grey and her two sisters, who respectively endure imprisonment, a secret marriage, and marginalization under the eyes of the Tudor queens Mary and Elizabeth.

The Last Tudor

A #1 New York Times Bestselling AuthorAt seventeen, Lady Jane Grey was England's queen for nine days before Mary Tudor claimed the throne and had her executed. Jane's younger sister, Katherine, was locked in the Tower of London by queens Mary and Elizabeth to prevent her producing a Tudor son. But the last Grey sister, a beautiful dwarf disregarded by the court, keeps her family's secrets.

Lacy W

3.5 stars!

This will be a bit of a shorter review. It's not that I don't have anything to say, it's just that....well, I don't really have anything to say. 

The book itself is about the Grey ladies: Jane, Katherine and Mary. Each got a section of a book and their stories overlapped each other. Each had incredibly distinctive personalities. Each were flawed in their own way. I honestly couldn't choose a favorite. I liked and disliked them all pretty equally. 

Jane was okay. I had only read a couple other books about her,  Innocent Traitor and  My Lady Jane. Each portrayed Jane in very different ways. Innocent Traitor portrayed her as a quiet girl who was thrown into a terrible situation while My Lady Jane portrayed her as a girl who just wanted to be left alone with her books. The Last Tudor portrayed Jane as incredibly stuck up and rude but highly intelligent. I found that I didn't like her POV very much. She was rude and hateful, even though she often criticized those that were rude and hateful. 

 Katherine was portrayed as a girl completely different Jane. Katherine liked pretty things and pretty animals. She loved flirting with boys and wanted to be the prettiest person in the room. She just wanted to find a good husband and life the live of a wife and mother. I found her childish in the beginning but she began to grow on me as more and more situations arose. She was incredibly strong by the end of it all and I respected her. 

 Mary  was a dwarf and the most cunning and amazing of them all. I liked her POV a lot. She was crafty and knew how to play the court. I loved her tenacity and her strength to go on, even though everything seemed to be falling apart around her. She did not let her stature get in the way her desires. I would love to read a book just about her. 

Unfortunately, this will be the last of the Tudor books that Philippa Gregory will write. In the author's note, she said she would be starting another series. I will anxiously be awaiting that series. I am positive it will be just as good as this series, even though I have yet to finish it.

Sarah Ryan

Not my favourite of Gregory's books. I wasn't familiar with the Grey sisters so interesting to read something from their POV. But it was an endlessly sad book with few bright spots and Elizabeth is depicted as a fearful, cruel and vindictive monarch with little political skill.

Amanda Wells

At times frustrating, at others moving - the stories of the Tudors are always fascinating, even if morbidly. 

But I did love these insights into the three Grey sisters. How sad their lives were, and unlucky. 

I'd never really thought of Elizabeth in such a light as she's painted in this book - I've always thought of her in a heroic sense. Choosing to live her life so very differently to the majority of women around her. But through the eyes (even fictionalised) of those close to her, she seems a lot more human - even if that's through flaws.

I did find myself wanting the story to move on a little faster in places, but that's likely a result of all three sisters being confined to imprisonment for significant amounts of time. Or perhaps a result of my knowing the basics of the outcomes for at two of the sisters before reading, and thus being impatient to get there. 

Regardless, this was an enjoyable read. I'd recommend it if you've liked Gregory's books previously, or if you like historical fiction. It is certainly really well done and researched, as well as imagined in an authentic way when the official history leaves blanks.

shelby mosel

Astor Reinhardt

Elizabeth Clement

Vicki Grever

Amanda Valentin

Celia Street

'How long do I have?' I force a laugh. 'Not long,' he says very quietly. 'They have confirmed your sentence of death. You are to be beheaded tomorrow. We don't have long at all.' Jane Grey was Queen of England for nine days. Using her position as cousin to the deceased king, her father and his conspirators put her on the throne ahead of the king's half-sister Mary, who quickly mustered an army, claimed her crown and locked Jane in the Tower. When Jane refused to betray her Protestant faith, Mary sent her to the executioner's block. There Jane turned her father's greedy, failed grab for power into her own brave and tragic martyrdom. 'Learn you to die' is the advice that Jane gives in a letter to her younger sister Katherine, who has no intention of dying. She intends to enjoy her beauty and her youth and find love. But her lineage makes her a threat to the insecure and infertile Queen Mary and, when Mary dies, to her sister Queen Elizabeth, who will never allow Katherine to marry and produce a potential royal heir before she does. So when Katherine's secret marriage is revealed by her pregnancy, she too must go to the Tower. 'Farewell, my sister,' writes Katherine to the youngest Grey sister, Mary. A beautiful dwarf, disregarded by the court, Mary finds it easy to keep secrets, especially her own, while avoiding Elizabeth's suspicious glare. After watching her sisters defy the queen, Mary is aware of her own perilous position as a possible heir to the throne. But she is determined to command her own destiny and be the last Tudor to risk her life in matching wits with her ruthless and unforgiving cousin Elizabeth. Praise for Philippa Gregory: 'Meticulously researched and deeply entertaining, this story of betrayal and divided loyalties is Gregory on top form' Good Housekeeping 'Gregory has popularised Tudor history perhaps more than any other living fiction writer...all of her books feature strong, complex women, doing their best to improve their lives in worlds dominated by men' Sunday Times 'Engrossing' Sunday Express 'Popular historical fiction at its finest, immaculately researched and superbly told' The Times

Jo Templeton 

Sofia Diaz

Jordan H Bartlett

Lottie Moore

Chantale

The latest novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory features one of the most famous women in history, Lady Jane Grey, and her two sisters, each of whom dared to defy her queen. Jane Grey was queen of England for nine days. Her father and his allies crowned her instead of the dead king’s half-sister Mary Tudor, who quickly mustered an army, claimed her throne, and locked Jane in the Tower of London. When Jane refused to betray her Protestant faith, Mary sent her to the executioner’s block, where Jane transformed her father’s greedy power-grab into tragic martyrdom. “Learn you to die,” was the advice Jane wrote to her younger sister Katherine, who has no intention of dying. She intends to enjoy her beauty and her youth and fall in love. But she is heir to the insecure and infertile Queen Mary and then to her sister Queen Elizabeth, who will never allow Katherine to marry and produce a Tudor son. When Katherine’s pregnancy betrays her secret marriage, she faces imprisonment in the Tower, only yards from her sister’s scaffold. “Farewell, my sister,” writes Katherine to the youngest Grey sister, Mary. A beautiful dwarf, disregarded by the court, Mary keeps family secrets, especially her own, while avoiding Elizabeth’s suspicious glare. After seeing her sisters defy their queens, Mary is acutely aware of her own danger, but determined to command her own life. What will happen when the last Tudor defies her ruthless and unforgiving cousin Queen Elizabeth?

The Last Tudor

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