Philippa Gregory

Ambition. Sorcery. Treason. How far will one woman dare to go?

Ambition. Sorcery. Treason. How will one woman dare to go? Eleanor Cobham arrived at court with nothing — her greatest hope was simply to marry well. But her ambition carried her further than any woman before her had dared. She wanted to rule her own destiny. To rule England itself. They say she summoned the devil himself to secure her fate. They say she plotted to murder a king. Now, it's time to finally hear her story. This is the tale of the woman they called witch. Who would have called herself queen.

INDIE BESTSELLER "An amazing read."--The Los Angeles Times The #1 New York Times bestselling historical novelist delivers her magnum opus--a landmark work of feminist nonfiction that radically redefines our understanding of the extraordinary roles ordinary women played throughout British history. Did you know that there are more penises than women in the Bayeux Tapestry? That the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 was started and propelled by women who were protesting a tax on women? Or that celebrated naturalist Charles Darwin believed not just that women were naturally inferior to men, but that they'd evolve to become ever more inferior? These are just a few of the startling findings you will learn from reading Philippa Gregory's Normal Women. In this ambitious and groundbreaking book, she tells the story of England over 900 years, for the very first time placing women--some fifty per cent of the population--center stage. Using research skills honed in her work as one of our foremost historical novelists, Gregory trawled through court records, newspapers, and journals to find: highwaywomen beggars murderers brides housewives pirates female husbands hermits The "normal women" you will meet in these pages went to war, plowed the fields, campaigned, wrote, and loved. They rode in jousts, flew Spitfires, issued their own currency, and built ships, corn mills and houses. They committed crimes or treason, worshipped many gods, cooked and nursed, invented things, and rioted. A lot. A landmark work of scholarship and storytelling, Normal Women chronicles centuries of social and cultural change--from 1066 to modern times--powered by the determination, persistence, and effectiveness of women. INCLUDES ILLUSTRATIONS THROUGHOUT AND A FULL-COLOR INSERT "An expansive, inclusive and elegantly woven nonfiction account of the lives of women in England from the Norman Conquest to the modern day. To describe it as merely a retelling is to undermine a core principle: This is a history of women in England, yes, but it is also a history of England, full stop. . . . At more than 500 pages, with extensive endnotes and a 30-page index, Normal Women is a behemoth you may be inclined to skim, until you realize you're actually luxuriating in every word."--The New York Times

She ?survives four queens. Will she fall to a tyrant? Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court. Where nothing is more powerful than a secret – or more deadly. As the Boleyns rise, Jane rises with them. But the king’s love is a fickle thing. And when the royal gaze turns elsewhere, Jane uses the only weapon she has: her voice. To survive in this dazzling, dangerous world she has mastered many masks: loving wife, devoted sister, and obedient spy. Now she must step out of the shadows. She might outlive her rivals. She might know the court’s darkest secrets. But power rests on the edge of a tyrant king’s sword. Where will it fall next? Philippa Gregory brings the Boleyn traitor into the light in an explosive story of one woman’s survival in the treacherous heart of the Tudor court. ‘Beautifully written, meticulously researched … utterly compelling and unputdownable’ SANTA MONTEFIORE A stunning tour de force: compelling, thrilling, mesmerising, completely engrossing’ BARBARA ERSKINE ‘An enthralling historical thriller and a mirror on contemporary politics … rich and compelling’ C J COOKE ‘A propulsive, emotional, thrill ride through the Tudor court’ LUCY CLARKE 'A thrilling story about ambition, power struggles … and dark side of the Tudor court' ADELE PARKS '[A] tense portrait of survival under a king whose love can mean death’ i paper 'As perilous as it is thrilling’ Mail on Sunday 'Gregory masterfully explores Jane’s guilt, ambition and survival […] you can feel the power, danger and allure of the Tudor dynasty on every page' Woman & Home ‘An immersive visit to the Court of Henry VIII with its magnificence and machinations, its pageantry and plotting' Saga 'Gregory’s research is impeccable, but she wears it lightly when transporting you to the Tudor court in all its pomp, glory [and] drama' High Life ‘Written with the world of modern politics in mind, where decisions and policy can spin on a whim, and bursting with […] intrigue, subterfuge, and authentic period detail’ Northern Echo 'Richly atmospheric, Gregory’s novel delivers a riveting portrait of Jane and drama of the cunning stakes involved in trying to survive Henry’s reign' Booklist ?Book 10 in the Tudor and Plantagenet Novels series

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Levelled for guided and independent reading, each book includes ideas to support reading. Teaching and assessment support and eBooks are also available. I bet you think of women in the “Olden Days” as princesses in towers, rather than super-strong sports women? Think again! Women were at the top of most sports until about the 1800s – when long dresses and tight corsets slowed them down. They were told sport would make them ill and suddenly everyone forgot that women of all ages had run, fought, ridden, and played all kinds of sport – it was just missing from the history books. Women were fast runners and skilled boxers. They were playing football, cricket, golf, tennis and hockey, riding horses and racing boats, Adapted from her best-selling, critically acclaimed series Normal Women, join multi-award-winning author Philippa Gregory as she tells the stories missing from the record. The truth is that MILLIONS of normal women have been doing extraordinary things FOR EVER, and one of them is succeeding in sport. Sapphire/Band 16 books offer longer reads to develop children's sustained engagement with texts and are more complex syntactically. Pages 54 and 55 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Levelled for guided and independent reading, each book includes ideas to support reading. Teaching and assessment support and eBooks are also available. I bet you think of women who made potions in the “Olden Days” as witches on broomsticks? Think again! They were the first doctors in British History but they have vanished from the history books This story begins almost one thousand years ago. Women have always been healers, experimenting with cures and working in medicine even when they were locked out of education, banned from their trade and blamed for the illnesses they were trying to heal. This book is about all of these women – the skilled women who were pushed out and the women who fought back. Adapted from her best-selling, critically acclaimed series Normal Women, join multi-award-winning author Philippa Gregory as she explores the long history of women’s competence in healing and medicine – from the Black Death and witchcraft trials to wartime work and Covid vaccines. Diamond/Band 17 books offer more complex, underlying themes to give opportunities for children to understand causes and points of view. Pages 54 and 55 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities. Normal women make history.

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Levelled for guided and independent reading, each book includes ideas to support reading. Teaching and assessment support and eBooks are also available. Learn all about rewilding and how nature fights back even when it appears to have been wiped out. Discover how farmland grows back into forest, deserted cities turn into wilderness, and life appears on volcanoes which erupt from the sea. Pearl/Band 18 books offer fluent readers a complex, substantial text with challenging themes to facilitate sustained comprehension, bridging the gap between a reading programme and longer chapter books. Text type: An information book Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities Bitten by a crocodile, charged by giant otters and chased up a tree by peccary wild boars in the Amazon, Simon Chapman is a self-confessed jungle addict. He has trekked through untouched rainforests around the world but also seen the damage that people have done to them. His inspiration for his book, Nature Fights Back, comes from seeing how wild nature hangs on and can go on to thrive even when seemingly devastated by fire, pollution or logging.

Lögnare. Vittne. Spion. Hennes hemligheter formade ett kungarike.Hovdamen Jane Parker håller sig i skuggorna i utkanten av Tudors hov, men inget undgår hennes blick. Hon ser allt, hon vet allt, hennes enda vapen är hennes röst och hon viskar det hon behöver för att överleva.Hon bär många masker – kärleksfull hustru, hängiven svägerska och lydig spion. Och bakom dessa masker döljer sig det skarpaste intellektet i hela England.Det sägs att hennes viskningar beseglade två drottningars öde. Man kallar henne förrädare. Men sanningen är värre än så …Boleyns förrädare är en banbrytande och explosiv berättelse om lojalitet, kärlek och svek i den dödliga dans som pågick vid Henrik VIII:s hov.***Philippa Gregory (f. 1954) är en brittisk författare och historiker och har bland annat skrivit den berömda romanen Den andra systern Boleyn, som också filmatiserats med Natalie Portman och Scarlett Johansson i rollerna.

Sister. Liar. Witness. Spy. Traitor? Her secrets shaped a kingdom . Her loyalty was deadly. Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court. Where nothing is more powerful than a secret. And power rests on the edge of a tyrant king's sword. She wears many masks - loving wife, devoted sister, and obedient spy. It's what a woman must do to survive. The only weapon she has is her voice. They say Jane's whispers sealed the fate of two queens. They called her a liar and a traitor. But the truth is far more dangerous... Philippa Gregory brings the Boleyn traitor out of the shadows in an explosive story of one woman's survival in the deadly dance of the Tudor Court.

Sister. Liar. Witness. Spy. Traitor? Her secrets shaped a kingdom?. Her loyalty was deadly. ? Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court. Where nothing is more powerful than a secret. And power rests on the edge of a tyrant king’s sword.? She wears many masks – loving wife, devoted sister, and obedient spy. It’s what a woman must do to survive. ? The only weapon she has is her voice.? They say Jane’s whispers sealed the fate of two queens. They called her a liar and a traitor. ? But the truth is far more dangerous… ? Philippa Gregory brings the Boleyn traitor out of the shadows in an explosive story of one woman’s survival in the deadly dance of the Tudor Court. Acclaim for Philippa Gregory: ‘Historical fiction at its finest, immaculately researched and superbly told’ The Times ‘Gregory has popularised Tudor history perhaps more than any other living fiction writer … All of her books feature strong, complex women, doing their best to improve their lives in worlds dominated by men’ Sunday Times 'Immaculate research, pacey narratives and a stubborn insistence that history is not only about men' Daily Mail 'Impressive and enjoyable' Antonia Fraser, New Statesman ‘Gregory has made an impressive career out of breathing passionate, independent life into the historical noblewomen whose personalities had previously lain flat on family trees’ Helen Brown, Telegraph?

#1 New York Times bestselling author and "queen of royal fiction" (USA Today) Philippa Gregory returns with a dazzling historical novel of ambition, betrayal, and survival in the court of Henry VIII.Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court, where secrets are currency, every choice is dangerous, and even the faintest whisper can seal the fate of queens.For Jane, survival demands playing every role required of her: a loving wife who conceals her doubts, a devoted sister to Anne Boleyn at the height of her power, and an obedient spy who carefully wields her words. But in a court ruled by ambition and a tyrant's sword, Jane must rely on her sharp wit and skillful maneuvering to outthink those around her, knowing that one wrong move could cost her everything.Philippa Gregory masterfully shines a spotlight on the untold story of Jane Boleyn, peeling back the myths to reveal a complex portrait of a woman who dared to survive at any cost. Perfect for fans of thrilling historical drama and readers captivated by the intrigue of the Tudor period, Boleyn Traitor is a must-read.

#1 New York Times bestselling author and "queen of royal fiction" (USA Today) Philippa Gregory returns with a dazzling historical novel of ambition, betrayal, and survival in the court of Henry VIII.Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court, where secrets are currency, every choice is dangerous, and even the faintest whisper can seal the fate of queens.For Jane, survival demands playing every role required of her: a loving wife who conceals her doubts, a devoted sister to Anne Boleyn at the height of her power, and an obedient spy who carefully wields her words. But in a court ruled by ambition and a tyrant's sword, Jane must rely on her sharp wit and skillful maneuvering to outthink those around her, knowing that one wrong move could cost her everything.Philippa Gregory masterfully shines a spotlight on the untold story of Jane Boleyn, peeling back the myths to reveal a complex portrait of a woman who dared to survive at any cost. Perfect for fans of thrilling historical drama and readers captivated by the intrigue of the Tudor period, Boleyn Traitor is a must-read.

The bestselling, critically acclaimed new women’s history book from Philippa Gregory for 2025 – adapted for teen and YA readers! Today, when we think of women of the past, we often think of the 1800s and 1900s – crinolines and stage coaches, bonnets and balls – a time when women were told they were naturally inferior to men, and must stay at home while men went out to work and have fun. HUGE MISTAKE! There is so much more to women’s history than bonnets and big dresses! Ordinary women have been doing extraordinary things FOR EVER – it just didn’t make the history books (written by men!). Join multi-award-winning author Philippa Gregory as she tells the story of ordinary English women, making history for 900 years. Meet farmers, highwaywomen, pirates, ‘female husbands’, slaves, soldiers, criminals, writers, inventors, rioters and more – protesting, working, playing, taking risks, getting rich (and getting even!). Their story is one of ingenuity, diversity, rebellion, survival – and sisterhood. Adapted by Philippa Gregory from her best-selling, critically acclaimed Normal Women. This edition for younger readers has simplified, age-tailored content, delivered in bitesize sections, and is illustrated throughout by award-winning printmaker Alexis Snell. PRAISE FOR NORMAL WOMEN (teen edition): ‘Impressively researched, by turns inspiring and chilling … brilliantly told’ – Cressida Cowell ‘This book is redemption for unsung female heroes. Prepare to feel aghast, proud and inspired’ – Geri Halliwell ‘Uplifting and empowering’ – Edwina Dunn, The Female Lead PRAISE FOR NORMAL WOMEN (main edition): A NEW STATESMEN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 ‘A lasting work of social history’ THE TIMES ‘A genuinely new history of our nation’ DAN JONES ‘This celebration of women is a triumph of popular history’ SPECTATOR 'Philippa Gregory uses all her bestseller skills to weave a narrative with pace' ANTONIA FRASER ‘You’ll lose count of the number of things you learn about women and their skewed place in history … the book reframes the past … an essential read’ INDEPENDENT, FIVE-STAR REVIEW

The bestselling, critically acclaimed new women’s history book from Philippa Gregory for 2025 – adapted for teen and YA readers! Today, when we think of women of the past, we often think of the 1800s and 1900s – crinolines and stage coaches, bonnets and balls – a time when women were told they were naturally inferior to men, and must stay at home while men went out to work and have fun. HUGE MISTAKE! There is so much more to women’s history than bonnets and big dresses! Ordinary women have been doing extraordinary things FOR EVER – it just didn’t make the history books (written by men!). Join multi-award-winning author Philippa Gregory as she tells the story of ordinary English women, making history for 900 years. Meet farmers, highwaywomen, pirates, ‘female husbands’, slaves, soldiers, criminals, writers, inventors, rioters and more – protesting, working, playing, taking risks, getting rich (and getting even!). Their story is one of ingenuity, diversity, rebellion, survival – and sisterhood. Adapted by Philippa Gregory from her best-selling, critically acclaimed Normal Women. This edition for younger readers has simplified, age-tailored content, delivered in bitesize sections, and is illustrated throughout by award-winning printmaker Alexis Snell. PRAISE FOR NORMAL WOMEN (teen edition): ‘Impressively researched, by turns inspiring and chilling … brilliantly told’ – Cressida Cowell ‘This book is redemption for unsung female heroes. Prepare to feel aghast, proud and inspired’ – Geri Halliwell ‘Uplifting and empowering’ – Edwina Dunn, The Female Lead PRAISE FOR NORMAL WOMEN (main edition): A NEW STATESMEN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 ‘A lasting work of social history’ THE TIMES ‘A genuinely new history of our nation’ DAN JONES ‘This celebration of women is a triumph of popular history’ SPECTATOR 'Philippa Gregory uses all her bestseller skills to weave a narrative with pace' ANTONIA FRASER ‘You’ll lose count of the number of things you learn about women and their skewed place in history … the book reframes the past … an essential read’ INDEPENDENT, FIVE-STAR REVIEW

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ?‘A lasting work of social history’ THE TIMES ‘A genuinely new history of our nation’ DAN JONES ‘This celebration of women is a triumph of popular history’ SPECTATOR FROM THE MULTI-MILLION BESTSELLING HISTORICAL NOVELIST COMES THE CULMINATION OF HER LIFE’S WORK Did you know that there are more penises than women in the Bayeux Tapestry?That the Peasant’s Revolt was started and propelled by women, protesting a tax on women?Or that celebrated naturalist Charles Darwin believed not just that women were naturally inferior to men but that they’d evolve to become ever more inferior? These are just a few of the startling findings you will learn from reading Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women. In this ambitious and ground-breaking book, she tells the story of our nation over 900 years, but for the very first time women – some fifty per cent of the population – are no longer invisible in this history of England, but are at its beating heart. Using research skills honed in her work as one of our foremost historical novelists, Gregory trawled through court records to find highway women, beggars and shepherdesses, through newspapers and diaries to find murderers and brides, housewives and pirates, female husbands and hermits. The ‘normal women’ you will meet in her pages went to war, ploughed the fields, campaigned, wrote, and loved. They rode in jousts, flew Spitfires, issued their own currency and built ships, corn mills and houses as part of their everyday lives They committed crimes, or treason, worshipped many gods, cooked and nursed, invented things and rioted. A lot. They built our society to be as diverse and varied as the women themselves. They are there in the archives – if you look – and they made our history. ‘You’ll lose count of the number of things you learn about women and their skewed place in history as you read Philippa Gregory’s stunning Normal Women … the book reframes the past … an essential read’ INDEPENDENT, FIVE-STAR REVIEW