Last week's blog was a bit lengthy, but this week I'm reading something much lighter. I picked up a brand, new hardbound copy of The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory because I'm shamefully obsessed with her historical fiction novels. I've read them all, so of course I had to go and blow $20 on a copy of her brand-new book. 

It's of course not nearly as good as The Other Boleyn girl (no, I never saw the movie), but that one had something extra to it. I'm convinced that any story about Anne Boleyn will turn out moderately good, and since Ms. Gregory is a pretty good writer, hers was really quite good. Something about the feverish rise and deadly fall of a character is monstrously appealing. 

This time around, the story is about Mary Stuart (also known as Mary Queen of Scots) and she's never really interested me very much. Some people find the idea of a queen of three countries yet without a throne fascinating, but I've always felt that it's pretty boring. This book alternates between the perspectives of Mary, and the couple who are keeping her in their house while she's exiled in England. Philippa Gregory is obviously going to spend the whole book building pathos for the young queen so that her death seems very tragic. A love story is slowly being constructed aswell between her and George. Bess is, meanwhile, aware of the beauty and vivaciousness of this royal and not too happy to see her husband slowly become taken with her. The problem right now in this story, is that there is no conflict. I really want a catastrophe to happen to spice things up a bit... That and the chapters narrated by Bess Talbot are terribly boring...