The Queen's Sorrow - Suzannah Dunn

This novel tells the story of Rafael, an acclaimed sundial maker from Spain who travels to England in the entourage of Prince Philip following his marriage to Mary Tudor, the new Queen. He becomes the Queen's occasional confidante and obtains an insight into her loss of control as her new marriage deteriorates under the lack of affection that is shown to her and her inability to produce a male heir. Rafael's disorientation at his new and supposedly temporary arrangements is heightened by the anarchy that he sees on the streets of London and the terrible price many people are paying for their supposed 'heresy'. Compounding this is his grief for the family that he has ...  Read the complete review

*** Plot Overview *** When Prince Philip of Spain marries the English monarch Queen Mary Tudor, he brings with him a huge entourage. This includes Rafael, who he commissions to make a special sundial for his new wife. The main plot is about Rafael's time in England. I learnt a little about his trade as he visits the garden were the Prince's present is to be placed, as Rafael needs to know the direction of the sun before he can accurately measure time with a new creation. He tells us that English sundials are usually simpler to those found in Spain at this time. He comes to the conclusion that there has not been so much interest in them in ...  Read the complete review

Being a big fan of Phillipa Gregory's Tudor based novels I was looking forward to reading The Queen's Sorrow, based in the time of Mary Tudor. My mom had bought this for me when she saw it on special offer in Sainsbury's for around £3 and knowing my love of all things Tudor she indulged me (bless her!). I have to say though that while I did enjoy this book to some extent I had a couple of real issues with it which I will outline here and for me it does not even compare with Gregory's works which truly are centred round the Tudor court and are brilliantly written. Plot ----- The story follows Spanish sundial designer (!) Rafael who is ...  Read the complete review