In 2013, the ten-episode television series "The White Queen" was released. Most of those who enthusiastically followed his events did not even suspect that he was shot on the basis of three books of the famous British novelist Philippe Gregory. A woman, meanwhile, is the author of several dozen novels about the court life of England of the XVI-XVIII centuries. Her main heroines are most often courageous women, ready to challenge the whole world in the struggle for their ideals.
Gregory Philip: biography of the writer
Philippa was the second daughter of an East African airline employee, Arthur Gregory. The girl was born in January 1954 in the Kenyan city of Nairobi. However, later the whole family moved to English Bristol. It's funny, but while studying at school, the future writer was best given geography and English, while in history she did not have very good grades.
After graduating from high school, Philippe Gregory studied journalism in Cardiff, and after - English literature in Sussex. After working for several years in the Portsmouth News newspaper, and later on the BBC radio, she received her doctorate in 18th-century literature. and began to teach at well-known British universities.
Beginning of a writing career
With the writing of fairy tales for children, Gregory Philip began her literary work. Books of this period are stories about pirates, a small hand dragon and a trilogy about the adventures of Princess Florizella. However, the first âadultâ novel âVidekrâ, which she wrote when she turned 33, brought real popularity to her. In the wake of success in the next three years, she published two more books, which are a continuation of this work: âThe Blessed Childâ and âMeridonâ.
Her next famous work was a novel about the love of a British aristocrat for a black slave - âA Worthy Craftâ. In the same year, she published three more stories by Gregory Philip: âThe Witchâ, âIdeally Trueâ and âAlice Hartley's Happinessâ. The second half of the nineties was a rather fruitful stage in the writer's work (dilogy âLand of Joyâ, novels âLittle Houseâ and âCollapsed Heavenâ), but she did not succeed in repeating the success of âVidekraâ in these years.
But the beginning of the two thousandths marked a new and very successful period in the career of Philippa Gregory. In 2001, the writer publishes her most famous work - âAnother of the Boleyn familyâ. This is a novel about the fate of the second wife of the English king Henry XVIII - Anna and her sister Mary. For this book, its author was awarded the Romantic Novelists' Association award. And the American literary magazine AudioFile called Philip "the queen of a British historical novel." It was with the book âAnother One of the Boleyn Clanâ that a series of works by the writer entitled âThe Tudorsâ began.
Gregory Philip: The Tudor Court Books
At the moment, in this series there are eight novels that have already been released, and one preparing for publication in 2017. At the center of each work of the cycle is one or more women who have played an important role in the history of Great Britain. They all have different characters and goals. However, everyone wants to find their own happiness and prosperity for their children. In these works, he introduces readers to the heroines who played an important role in the history of the United Kingdom, but undeservedly forgotten by descendants, Gregory Philip.
Books (the sequence of their release does not correspond to the chronological order in which the events described in them took place) writers talk about the fate of the wives, lovers and daughters of Henry XVIII. In order not to get confused in the chronology of events, the novels of the Tudors series are worth reading in this order: The Eternal Princess (2005), Three Sisters - Three Queens (2016), Another Another of the Boleyn Family (2001), Inheritance Boleyn clan â(2006),â Taming the Queen â(2015),â Royal Cracker â(2003),â Queen's Lover â(2004) andâ The Other Queen â(2008).
The Cousins' War Series
Since books about the Tudors were very popular with readers, in 2009, Gregory Philippe decided to write a new novel about the first English queen, who was crowned separately from her husband, Elizabeth Woodville. Philippe's new work was called The White Queen. It marked the beginning of the Cousins ââWar series. The events of this series covered the period from the beginning of the reign of Edward IV until the ascension to the throne of his grandson Henry XVIII. Thus, the âCousin Warâ is a kind of background to the âTudorsâ. Because of this, in 2016 both cycles were combined into a common series of The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels.
At the moment, she has written six novels of the Cousins ââWar series by Gregory Philip. Books (the chronology of their release almost coincides with the historical sequence of the events described) in this series should begin to be read from the third novel, âThe Mistress of the Rivers Houseâ (2011). Next is the âWhite Queenâ (2009) and the books following it in order: âThe Scarlet Queenâ (2010), âDaughter of the King-Makerâ (2012), âThe White Princessâ (2013) and âThe Royal Curseâ (2014).
Other books of the writer
In addition to historical works, Philippe Gregory is also the author of the fantastic trilogy "Order of Darkness." It includes books: The Foundling (2012), The Bringing Storm (2013), The Gold of Fools (2014). Unfortunately, these works have not reached the level of popularity of The Tudors and Cousin Wars.
Filippa novels by Philippe Gregory
Films were shot based on the plot of some of the writer's books. So, in 1998, based on the âWorthy Craftâ, they shot the eponymous multi-part television movie. "Another of the Boleyn Clan" was filmed twice. In 2003, the BBC made a television movie of the same name with Natasha McElhon in the lead role, and in 2008 the film with the same name was released, where Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman played the main roles. In 2010, on the basis of the novel "Little House" was shot a television series with the same name. In the summer of 2013, the British series âThe White Queenâ was released, and in 2017 they promise to remove its sequel, entitled âThe White Princessâ.
Philip Gregory is not only one of the most successful writers in the world, but also a worthy person. In addition to writing books, she actively participates in charity, and in her free time she is engaged in gardening and horse riding. The writer is often mistakenly considered a relative of the British novelist Suzanne Gregory. Philippe, meanwhile, writes under her real name, while âSuzanne Gregoryâ is the pseudonym of a Cambridge teacher Elizabeth Grave. Despite the fact that Filippe is more than 60 years old, she has not slowed down and continues to delight readers with exciting new novels every year.