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  • The Virgin's Lover

  • The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, Book 3
  • Written by: Philippa Gregory
  • Narrated by: Perdita Weeks
  • Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (23 ratings)

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The Virgin's Lover

Written by: Philippa Gregory
Narrated by: Perdita Weeks
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Publisher's Summary

From number-one New York Times best-selling author and “queen of royal fiction” (USA Today) comes a riveting and scandalous love triangle between a young woman on the brink of greatness, a young man whose ambition far exceeds his means, and the wife who cannot forgive them.

In the autumn of 1558, church bells across England ring out the joyous news that Elizabeth I is the new queen, yet one woman hears the tidings with utter dread. She is Amy Dudley, wife of Sir Robert, and she knows Elizabeth’s ambitious leap to the throne will draw her husband back to the center of the glamorous Tudor court, where he was born to be.

Elizabeth’s excited triumph is short-lived. She has inherited a bankrupt country where treason is rampant and foreign war a certainty. Her faithful advisors warn her that she will survive only if she marries a strong prince to govern the rebellious country, but the one man Elizabeth desires is her childhood friend, the ambitious Robert Dudley. As the young couple falls back in love, a question hangs in the air: Can he really set aside his wife and marry the queen? When Amy is found dead, Elizabeth and Dudley are suddenly plunged into a struggle for survival.

©2004 Philippa Gregory Limited (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

What listeners say about The Virgin's Lover

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  • Deb
  • 2022-11-15

Excellent Story

Philippa Gregory never disappoints, she is a fabulous story teller with so much wonderful history, it’s entertaining and a learning experience reading or listening to her audiobooks! Thank you for a huge fan

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This is fiction after all!

I devoured this book. it is based on known facts, but does not hold itself out to be a non fiction. Remember that in your reviews.

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Not one likable portrayal

Elizabeth is portrayed as a passive- aggressive airhead who depended entirely on male advisors for guidance. If that’s the case I doubt she would have ruled as long and successfully as she did. Amy Dudley is characterized as a simpering ‘maiden in distress’, and Robert Dudley as the ultimate puppet master with a degree of power that seems somewhat exaggerated. I wonder if Elizabeth was truly as gullible as this characterization would lead one to believe? I found it hard listening to page after page of stereotypical female indecision and helplessness. Surely, Elizabeth was stronger than her portrayal in this novel?

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Phillipa Gregory at her best

I am very fond of historical fiction and Gregory is one of my favourite authors. I felt this book is among her best as the story is told with an alternative explanation of events. It also expresses the point of view of a person history treats as a minor figure.

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  • Ronald P Carzoli Jr
  • 2019-07-03

Not my favorite

I am a big fan of Philippe Gregory‘s work. However, I enjoy the historical fiction and this was more of a love story with less history in it.

6 people found this helpful

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  • m.nguyen
  • 2020-06-15

Why doesn’t Bianca Amata narrate all of the books?

I like this narrators voice, but she basically whispered half of it so you could not hear unless you turned it up. So when the dialog was being read, it was too loud. And when the other text was read, it was barely audible.

5 people found this helpful

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  • M. T. Thomas
  • 2020-05-28

Great Story, Poor Audio Quality

As usual, Philippa Gregory tells a great tale, but I almost returned the book because of the audio. in order to convey drama, the reader lowered her voice to the point where she was at times inaudible. I will avoid this reader but never this author.

5 people found this helpful

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  • SN
  • 2020-06-17

Distracting narrator

The narrator is extremely distracting and detracts from the story. She’s so quiet with non-dialogue that you frequently miss what she’s saying. Her inflections are also odd and don’t always match what’s going on.

4 people found this helpful

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  • Catherine S.
  • 2020-07-31

Disappointed

I usually love Philippa Gregory's books. This one, not so much. Needed more interaction between the queen and her supposed lover. Also not sure if it was written like this, but you're listening to a discussion between Elizabeth and someone and without any pause the next sentence is a conversation in a totally different scene, different characters. Constantly rewinding to figure out what happened and try and figure out who is now speaking. Almost finished and still waiting for the climax or a wow chapter.

2 people found this helpful

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  • Elizabeth
  • 2020-06-23

Not the best

Too much sex. I like historical novels without the sex. Queen Elizabeth is depicted as being a simpering, petty and foolish girl. I did not like that representation of her.

1 person found this helpful

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  • lanelle blailock
  • 2019-06-21

Loved

Philippe Gregory always has good books. Love to listen to any of them. She just gets better with each one.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Ramona Bagley
  • 2019-06-13

really good

I really enjoy Learning history this way. I know there is some literary license but close enough

1 person found this helpful

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  • David O
  • 2023-02-21

Great story line

Great narration. Story lie starts fast and gets better and better. I highly recommend it

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  • L. Adams
  • 2023-02-14

Another medical book that humanizes the past

I don’t think it’s Phillips Gregory’s fault— but with the exception of Lord Cecil, all of these characters are irritating