Philippa Gregory

Author

Philippa Gregory is one of Britain's most successful and prolific historical novelists, an author whose vivid, dramatic fiction has brought Tudor and Plantagenet England to millions of readers and established her as the queen of historical fiction. Her novels have sold over fourteen million copies worldwide and been translated into... dozens of languages. Born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1954, Gregory grew up in Bristol and studied English Literature at the University of Sussex and earned a PhD in eighteenth-century literature from the University of Edinburgh. Her academic training in history and literature underpins the meticulous research that characterises her fiction. The Other Boleyn Girl (2001) was her breakthrough — a sweeping, intimate novel about Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne, and her relationship with Henry VIII. The novel became a massive international bestseller, was adapted into a major film starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, and single-handedly reignited popular interest in Tudor history. It launched the Plantagenet and Tudor novels, a vast series spanning English history from the Wars of the Roses through the Tudor period, including The White Queen, The Red Queen, The Lady of the Rivers, The Kingmaker's Daughter, and many more. The White Queen was adapted into a hugely successful BBC and Starz television series, further extending Gregory's reach. She has also written the Wideacre trilogy, the Tradescant novels, and contemporary fiction. Gregory's non-fiction work Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History (2023) was a feminist history of ordinary women in England, reflecting her lifelong commitment to recovering women's stories from the historical record. The audiobook editions of Gregory's novels are bestsellers in their own right, with narrators bringing her richly detailed historical worlds to compelling life. Her books and audiobooks are essential for anyone who loves historical fiction that makes the past feel vivid, urgent, and irresistibly dramatic. Read more Show less