Philippa Gregory
Encyclopedia
Philippa Gregory is an English
novel
ist.
. When she was two years old, her family moved to England. She was a "rebel" at school, but managed to attend the University of Sussex
. She worked in BBC
radio for two years before attending the University of Edinburgh
, where she earned her doctorate in 18th-century literature
. Gregory has taught at the University of Durham, University of Teesside
, and the Open University
, and was made a Fellow of Kingston University
in 1994.
and the 16th century. Reading a number of novels set in the 17th century led her to write the bestselling Lacey trilogy — Wideacre
, which is a story about the love of land and incest, The Favoured Child and Meridon. This was followed by The Wise Woman. A Respectable Trade, a novel of slave trade in England, set in 18th-century Bristol
, was adapted by Gregory for a four-part drama series for BBC television. Gregory's script was nominated for a BAFTA, won an award from the Committee for Racial Equality, and the film was shown worldwide.
Two novels about a gardening family are set during the English Civil War
: Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth, while she has in addition written contemporary fiction - Perfectly Correct, Mrs Hartley And The Growth Centre, The Little House and Zelda's Cut. She has also written for children.
Some of her novels have won awards and have been adapted into television dramas. The most successful of her novels has been The Other Boleyn Girl
, which was published in 2002 and adapted for BBC television in 2003 with Natascha McElhone
, Jodhi May
and Jared Harris
. In the year of its publication, The Other Boleyn Girl also won the Parker Romantic Novel of the Year and it has subsequently spawned sequels — The Queen's Fool
, The Virgin's Lover
, The Constant Princess
, The Boleyn Inheritance
, and The Other Queen
. Miramax bought the film rights to The Other Boleyn Girl and produced a film of the same name starring Scarlett Johansson
as Mary Boleyn and co-starring Natalie Portman
as Anne Boleyn, Eric Bana
as Henry Tudor, Juno Temple
as Jane Parker, and Kristin Scott Thomas
as Elizabeth Boleyn. It was filmed in England and generally released in February 2008.
Philippa Gregory had also begun to publish a series of books about the Plantagenets the ruling houses that preceded the Tudors, and the Cousin’s War. Her first book The White Queen, published in 2009, centers on the life of Elizabeth Woodville the wife of Edward IV. The Red Queen, published in 2010, is about Margret Beaufort the mother of Henry VII and grandmother to Henry VIII. Books to come may include the lives of Elizabeth of York or Jacquetta Woodville both of which are in the works.
, viewed by Protestants as a martyr and by feminists as an icon, as a villain and contained errors. .
for BBC Radio 4
and the Tudor expert for Channel 4
's Time Team
. She won the 29 December 2008 edition of Celebrity Mastermind
on BBC1, taking Elizabeth Woodville
as her specialist subject.
, and their baby daughter. They were divorced before the book was published.
Following the success of Wideacre and the publication of The Favoured Child, she moved south to near Midhurst, West Sussex, where the Wideacre trilogy was set. Here she married her second husband Paul Carter, with whom she has a son. She divorced for a second time and married Anthony Mason, who she had first met during her time in Hartlepool.
Philippa Gregory now lives on a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) farm in the North York Moors national park, with her husband, children and stepchildren (six in all). Her interests include riding, walking, skiing, and gardening.
. Gardens for The Gambia was established in 1993 when Philippa Gregory was in The Gambia, researching for her book "A Respectable Trade".
Since then the charity has dug almost 200 low technology, low budget and therefore easily maintained wells, which are on-stream and providing water to irrigate school and community gardens to provide meals for the poorest children and harvest a cash crop to buy school equipment, seeds and tools.
In addition to wells, the charity has piloted a successful bee-keeping scheme, funded feeding programmes and educational workshops in Batik and Pottery and is working with some larger donors to install mechanical boreholes in some remote areas of the country where the water table is not accessible by digging alone.
On her website, Philippa Gregory says she does not write her Tudor series books in order. Read chronologically:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist.
Early life and academic career
Philippa Gregory was born in KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. When she was two years old, her family moved to England. She was a "rebel" at school, but managed to attend the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
. She worked in BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio for two years before attending the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, where she earned her doctorate in 18th-century literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
. Gregory has taught at the University of Durham, University of Teesside
University of Teesside
Teesside University is a university in Middlesbrough, England. It has a student body of 29,285 students as of the 2009/10 academic year. It recorded rises in applications of 25.1 per cent and 23.5 per cent for degree courses beginning in 2010, the highest such percentage increases of the five...
, and the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
, and was made a Fellow of Kingston University
Kingston University
Kingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....
in 1994.
Writing
She has written novels set in several different historical periods, though primarily the Tudor periodTudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
and the 16th century. Reading a number of novels set in the 17th century led her to write the bestselling Lacey trilogy — Wideacre
Wideacre
Wideacre is a novel written by Philippa Gregory. This novel is her debut and the first in the Wideacre Trilogy that includes, The Favored Child and Meridon.-Plot summary:...
, which is a story about the love of land and incest, The Favoured Child and Meridon. This was followed by The Wise Woman. A Respectable Trade, a novel of slave trade in England, set in 18th-century Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, was adapted by Gregory for a four-part drama series for BBC television. Gregory's script was nominated for a BAFTA, won an award from the Committee for Racial Equality, and the film was shown worldwide.
Two novels about a gardening family are set during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
: Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth, while she has in addition written contemporary fiction - Perfectly Correct, Mrs Hartley And The Growth Centre, The Little House and Zelda's Cut. She has also written for children.
Some of her novels have won awards and have been adapted into television dramas. The most successful of her novels has been The Other Boleyn Girl
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Other Boleyn Girl is a historical fiction novel written by British author Philippa Gregory, loosely based on the life of 16th-century aristocrat Mary Boleyn. Reviews were mixed; some said it was a brilliantly claustrophobic look at palace life in Tudor England, while others have consistently...
, which was published in 2002 and adapted for BBC television in 2003 with Natascha McElhone
Natascha McElhone
Natascha McElhone is an English actress of stage, screen and television, best known for her roles in Ronin, The Truman Show and Solaris. McElhone also plays a leading role in the Showtime series Californication....
, Jodhi May
Jodhi May
Jodhi May is an English actress.-Early life:Born in Camden Town, London, May first acted at the age of 12 in 1988's A World Apart. The role earned her a Best Actress award at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, shared with her co-stars Barbara Hershey and Linda Mvusi...
and Jared Harris
Jared Harris
Jared Francis Harris is a British character actor, well known for playing the obnoxious Mac McGrath in the Adam Sandler film Mr. Deeds, and for his portrayal of Lane Pryce on the AMC series Mad Men.- Personal life :...
. In the year of its publication, The Other Boleyn Girl also won the Parker Romantic Novel of the Year and it has subsequently spawned sequels — The Queen's Fool
The Queen's Fool
The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory is a 2004 historical fiction novel. Set between 1548 and 1558, it is part of Philippa Gregory's Tudor series. The series includes The Boleyn Inheritance...
, The Virgin's Lover
The Virgin's Lover
The Virgin's Lover is a historical novel written by British author Philippa Gregory. It belongs to her series of Tudor novels, including The Constant Princess, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Boleyn Inheritance, and The Queen's Fool....
, The Constant Princess
The Constant Princess
The Constant Princess is a historical novel by Philippa Gregory, published in 2005. The novel depicts a fictionalized version of the life of Catherine of Aragon.-Plot summary:Childhood:The book starts at Alhambra Palace, when Catalina is five years old...
, The Boleyn Inheritance
The Boleyn Inheritance
The Boleyn Inheritance is a novel by British author Philippa Gregory which was first published in 2006. It is a direct sequel to her previous novel The Other Boleyn Girl, and one of the additions to her six-part series on the Tudor royals...
, and The Other Queen
The Other Queen
The Other Queen is a novel by British author Philippa Gregory, released in the United Kingdom in September 2008 and the United States in October 2008. It was released in Australia in June 2008. It covers the period of Mary, Queen of Scots' long imprisonment in England...
. Miramax bought the film rights to The Other Boleyn Girl and produced a film of the same name starring Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
as Mary Boleyn and co-starring Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
as Anne Boleyn, Eric Bana
Eric Bana
Eric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
as Henry Tudor, Juno Temple
Juno Temple
-Early life:Juno Temple was born in London, and is the daughter of producer Amanda Pirie and film director Julien Temple. She grew up in Somerset, England and attended Enmore Primary School, Bedales School, and King's College, Taunton...
as Jane Parker, and Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....
as Elizabeth Boleyn. It was filmed in England and generally released in February 2008.
Philippa Gregory had also begun to publish a series of books about the Plantagenets the ruling houses that preceded the Tudors, and the Cousin’s War. Her first book The White Queen, published in 2009, centers on the life of Elizabeth Woodville the wife of Edward IV. The Red Queen, published in 2010, is about Margret Beaufort the mother of Henry VII and grandmother to Henry VIII. Books to come may include the lives of Elizabeth of York or Jacquetta Woodville both of which are in the works.
Controversy
Some of Gregory's writing has faced controversy due to lack of historical accuracy, particularly those set in the Tudor Age. Critical reviewers have stated that they would not have minded so much had she not claimed complete accuracy. In particular her highly successful novel The Other Boleyn Girl portrayed Henry VIII's second wife Anne BoleynAnne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
, viewed by Protestants as a martyr and by feminists as an icon, as a villain and contained errors. .
Media
She is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers, with short stories, features and reviews. She is also a frequent broadcaster and a regular contestant on Round Britain QuizRound Britain Quiz
Round Britain Quiz is a panel game that has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 since 1947, making it the oldest quiz still broadcast on British radio...
for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
and the Tudor expert for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's Time Team
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
. She won the 29 December 2008 edition of Celebrity Mastermind
Celebrity Mastermind
Celebrity Mastermind is a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. The show is a spin-off of the long running quiz show Mastermind, with the exception that all the contestants are celebrities. As with the main show, John Humphrys is the host and question-master...
on BBC1, taking Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
as her specialist subject.
Private life
Gregory wrote her first novel Wideacre while completing a PhD in 17th-century literature and living in a cottage on the Pennine Way with first husband Peter Chislett, editor of the Hartlepool MailHartlepool Mail
The Hartlepool Mail is a newspaper serving Hartlepool and the surrounding area. It has an average daily circulation of 14,198.The paper was founded in Hartlepool in 1877 as The Northern Daily Mail and continued to be printed in the town until August 2006, when the printing staff were told they...
, and their baby daughter. They were divorced before the book was published.
Following the success of Wideacre and the publication of The Favoured Child, she moved south to near Midhurst, West Sussex, where the Wideacre trilogy was set. Here she married her second husband Paul Carter, with whom she has a son. She divorced for a second time and married Anthony Mason, who she had first met during her time in Hartlepool.
Philippa Gregory now lives on a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) farm in the North York Moors national park, with her husband, children and stepchildren (six in all). Her interests include riding, walking, skiing, and gardening.
Charity work
Philippa Gregory also runs a small charity building wells in school gardens in The GambiaThe Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....
. Gardens for The Gambia was established in 1993 when Philippa Gregory was in The Gambia, researching for her book "A Respectable Trade".
Since then the charity has dug almost 200 low technology, low budget and therefore easily maintained wells, which are on-stream and providing water to irrigate school and community gardens to provide meals for the poorest children and harvest a cash crop to buy school equipment, seeds and tools.
In addition to wells, the charity has piloted a successful bee-keeping scheme, funded feeding programmes and educational workshops in Batik and Pottery and is working with some larger donors to install mechanical boreholes in some remote areas of the country where the water table is not accessible by digging alone.
The Tudor series
- The Other Boleyn GirlThe Other Boleyn GirlThe Other Boleyn Girl is a historical fiction novel written by British author Philippa Gregory, loosely based on the life of 16th-century aristocrat Mary Boleyn. Reviews were mixed; some said it was a brilliantly claustrophobic look at palace life in Tudor England, while others have consistently...
(2001) - The Queen's FoolThe Queen's FoolThe Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory is a 2004 historical fiction novel. Set between 1548 and 1558, it is part of Philippa Gregory's Tudor series. The series includes The Boleyn Inheritance...
(2003) - The Virgin's LoverThe Virgin's LoverThe Virgin's Lover is a historical novel written by British author Philippa Gregory. It belongs to her series of Tudor novels, including The Constant Princess, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Boleyn Inheritance, and The Queen's Fool....
(2004) - The Constant PrincessThe Constant PrincessThe Constant Princess is a historical novel by Philippa Gregory, published in 2005. The novel depicts a fictionalized version of the life of Catherine of Aragon.-Plot summary:Childhood:The book starts at Alhambra Palace, when Catalina is five years old...
(2005) - The Boleyn InheritanceThe Boleyn InheritanceThe Boleyn Inheritance is a novel by British author Philippa Gregory which was first published in 2006. It is a direct sequel to her previous novel The Other Boleyn Girl, and one of the additions to her six-part series on the Tudor royals...
(2006) - The Other QueenThe Other QueenThe Other Queen is a novel by British author Philippa Gregory, released in the United Kingdom in September 2008 and the United States in October 2008. It was released in Australia in June 2008. It covers the period of Mary, Queen of Scots' long imprisonment in England...
(2008)
On her website, Philippa Gregory says she does not write her Tudor series books in order. Read chronologically:
- The Constant Princess (Katherine of Aragon)
- The Other Boleyn Girl (MaryMary BoleynMary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...
and Anne BoleynAnne BoleynAnne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
) - The Wise Woman (A young girl forced out of her nunnery and into the real world during the reformation during Anne Boleyn's time of being queen)
- The Boleyn Inheritance (Jane Boleyn, Anne of ClevesAnne of ClevesAnne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
and Katherine Howard) - The Queen's Fool (A young Jewish girl's story of her service in the court of Edward VIEdward VI of EnglandEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
, Mary IMary I of EnglandMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and Elizabeth I) - The Virgin’s Lover (Elizabeth I, Robert DudleyRobert Dudley, 1st Earl of LeicesterRobert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
and Amy RobsartAmy RobsartAmy Dudley was the first wife of Lord Robert Dudley, favourite of Elizabeth I of England. She is primarily known for her death by falling down a flight of stairs, the circumstances of which have often been regarded as suspicious...
) - The Other Queen (Mary, Queen of Scots, George TalbotGeorge Talbot, 6th Earl of ShrewsburyGeorge Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal was a 16th century English statesman.-Life:...
and Bess of HardwickBess of HardwickElizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (c. 1521 – 13 February 1608, known as Bess of Hardwick, was the daughter of John Hardwick, of Derbyshire and Elizabeth Leeke, daughter of Thomas Leeke and Margaret Fox...
)
The Cousins' War
- The White Queen (2009) - The story of Elizabeth WoodvilleElizabeth WoodvilleElizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
, the queen consort of King Edward IV of EnglandEdward IV of EnglandEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
and mother of the Princes in the Tower. - The Red Queen (2010) - The story of Lady Margaret Beaufort and her quest to place her son Henry TudorHenry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
on the English throne. - The Lady of the Rivers (October 2011) - The story of Jacquetta of LuxembourgJacquetta of LuxembourgJacquetta of Luxembourg was the elder daughter of Peter I, Count of St Pol, Conversano and Brienne and his wife Margaret de Baux...
, the mother of Elizabeth Woodville. - The Kingmaker's Daughters (TBA) - The story of both Anne NevilleAnne NevilleLady Anne Neville was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III. She held the latter title for less than two years, from 26 June 1483 until her death in March 1485...
wife to Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales and second to Richard III of EnglandRichard III of EnglandRichard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
and Isabel Neville wife of George Duke of Clarence daughter's of the Kingmaker Richard Neville, 16th Earl of WarwickRichard Neville, 16th Earl of WarwickRichard Neville KG, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury and 8th and 5th Baron Montacute , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander... - The White Princess (TBA) - The story of Elizabeth of YorkElizabeth of YorkElizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England....
, daughter of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV. Wife of Henry VIIHenry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
and mother of Henry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
.
Non-series works
- A Respectable Trade (1992)
- The Wise Woman (1992)
- Fallen Skies (1994)
- The Little House (1998)
- Zelda's Cut (2001)
- Perfectly Correct (1992)
- Mrs. Hartley and the Growth Centre (1992) (This book was later republished with the new title "Alice Hartley's Happiness")
Children's works
- A Pirate Story
- Diggory and the Boa Conductor
- The Little Pet Dragon
- Princess Florizella
- Princess Florizella and the Giant
- Princess Florizella and the Wolves