The Wise Woman: A Novel (Historical Novels)

I loved her other books, so gave this a try...and now I want those hours back (yes, I held on to the bitter, confusing end). This reads like an author's experiment: what if I wrote a book where every character was awful without one redeeming quality, threw in some random horror elements, dashed in some hate!porn + plenty of rape, and had the heroine throw her head back, wildly laughing, until the readers feared/cheered the possibility of her neck snapping?That would be this book. Ann/Alys is a sociopath from the get-go and proud of it. And there's no explanation as to why. There's little to no reflection (which could have been interesting-is she mad at her assumingly abandoning parents? Mad at herself? At Hugo? The class system? Are the horror components real in the book's 'verse, or are they her delusions, or...IDEK). Not one character *stays* in character from beginning to end. The narrative disgust towards female bodies is disturbing, to say the least. Maybe this is just deep third person POV but it was relentless. And to make things a bit worse, frequent word-padding, describing things we already know, re-making the same point multiple times. Lurking in the shadows is the feeling there could have been more, there must have been some interesting backstory, some depths that could have been plumbed, but nope, we get this shallow hot mess.I wish I hadn't read this but at least I enjoyed the other series first. I can't imagine reading this first and ever picking up another book by this author.

What a shocker of a book. Many reviewers here had nothing kind to say about the story of Alys, an orphan girl left on the doorstep of wise woman Morach. Always seeking a better life, Alys goes from Morach to the Abbey and from the Abbey to the castle where she meets her fate.A long-time Gregory fan, I was not expecting THIS: a very unsettling, dark story with no redeeming characters - well, maybe Mother Hildebrande. When Alys succumbed for the first time to the temptation of her powers, I was so angry that I literally threw the book. But I picked it up again and found myself enmeshed in the tale.I'd like to talk to Gregory about "WiseWoman." I see it as a brave experiment on her part, a cautionary tale about the dangers of straying from ... goodness. She has ingeniously used an historical framework to tell Alys's story, showcasing the inequities, political intrigues, and superstitions of the era while wrenching the reader into an examination of his own beliefs.I would not want to read many books like this. But I am glad I read this one.

I’m a big fan of Philippe Gregory, having read most of her work.This was so excellent I would give it 6 stars! . I love how the character develops -survival her first instinct. Incredible character journey-following the church first then a man, letting her survival instincts take over when she runs from the burning abbey. We see how hard it was to be a penniless orphan in England.Through the whole book I knew those who burned the abbey would be avenged. I think this is her best book so far, at least on par with the White Queen.This was a wonderful book and I recommend it highly. Loved the ending.

HORRIBLE BOOK, and I am a big fan of the writer. The first few pages start well, but then rapidly goes down hill. None of the main characters have ANY redeeming value, and I was left deeply haunted and depressed by the ending, especially the torture description of the one good character in the book. Also, 99% of it was completely unbelievable with repugnant plotlines. I am still a fan of the writer, but this book was TERRIBLE. I actually threw it in the trash when I was done, and I LOVE books!!! I got the feeling Philippa Gregory either got "lost" half way through and just said "to heck with it!" and abandoned certain plots to make her deadline, or was just getting started as a writer. Either way, it is a book that COULD have been good, and turned out VERY, VERY bad...

I kinda like that I’m in the minority here but I love this book. It’s tied together wonderfully and the ending even made me shed a few tears. I can understand why one wouldn’t like it. I also love Wideacre, another novel by her that’s very different. Honestly not so much a fan of the Tudor stuff. I miss the raunchy, raw novels!

Written before the books that "made" Philippa Gregory, the early writing style is quite obvious. She has a habit of telling rather than showing, especially when the main character couldn't know, even with her magical powers. However, the world was accurately described and beautifully so, immersing you totally in the claustrophobic castle and unyielding moor. Did get a bit sick of the use of the word peaty though.In terms of the characters, they can lack real depth, especially Hugo who just seems like a Mills & Boom carbon copy. The main character, Alys, is entirely a victim of her own greed and treachery, and you find yourself lacking any empathy with her at all. One of her betrayals was entirely unexpected but not surprising and it did add a heartrending moment to the book.The ending however, falls flat on its face and seems like ms Gregory attempting to wrap up her book before she hit her word limit. It also cheats you slightly, as you don't get to see Alys succeed or get a deserving comeuppance. The twist that precipitates the ending can also be seen a mile off and was rather cliched.

Very disappointing - I'm a big fan of Phillipa Gregory and have lots of her books but found this unbelievable - e.g wax oozing out of woman and little wax dolls marching over the moors" and gratuitous - embarrassingly explicit sex scenes worthy of cheap men's magazines. It started off not too bad but then just got worse and worse.

I can't quite believe it, but about half way through I realised I really dislike this book. I have now given up as life is too short. I can't remember the last book that made me feel this way and usually I really enjoy PG books.

A genuinely interesting read. I have read some of.Philippa Gregory's other books and enjoyed them but this is not the same. I get the sense that she wrote this earlier before.she was.famous, and I can see some of.the themes.coming through in The White Queen and Lady of.the Rivers.This is.not for.everyone. If you're looking for genre historiclanfiction or.romance.with happy ending then this is not it. The Wise Woman is a thrilling and interesting read however. Like Game of.Thrones it departs.from an expected storyline so you don't know what's happening next. The sense of.place and.detail and actually the characters are better developed.than Gregory's better known books. Those are plus points, but. I'll warn you it is weird in places.In many ways the heroine good person turned.bad is more interesting than sample "struggling vs adversity".. this is quite thought provoking. What happens when.a.religiousnsystem everyone grew up with, and which governed.everything, is ripped.apart? Add that to a popular imagination which is alive withbwitchcraft, especially in the Pennines and you have the milieu for.The Wise Woman.As.for.the sex scenes, don't get excited. They are meant to gross u s out I think. They're certainly not titillating or erotic, which is a shame and perhaps a failure of nerve on Gregory's part. Witchcraft and sex I mean, come on. There were all kinds of possibilities to integrate this into the plot. She could have written some hot scenes but I feel she funked it.This is a good.read. not enough fiction books are.different or interesting. Give it a try, but don't expect run-of-the-mill.Please excuse typing on my kindle

I have read many of Philippa Gregory's books and loved every one of them but this is a very unpleasant theme and although as ever a page turner I cannot say that this is a pleasant book to read. I was glad to finish it. Also it was far too long and far too repetitive .