The Wise Woman: A Novel (Historical Novels)

This book is in the author's Tudor series; however, it steps further into the mystical that I was expecting. It is well written, but if you are looking for another Tudor book like The Other Boleyn Girl you might be disappointed.

This is a facinating tale told from the point of view of a seemingly minor character. The ins and outs of her involvement as she touches the lives of a family of gentry vividly display the sway of superstition and fear in medeival life.

This book was not what I expected... but in a good way. In my opinion, it's more of a horror/supernatural book than anything else. Gregory does a good job of making you love and hate the main character.

i don't want porn going on in my brain. this was one of her worst books. i didn't even finish it. it was very graphic & sexual. i couldn't take it. my husband even read some of it & said, lets get rid of this book. disappointed.

Good book. I like historic fiction and this is the way I get my history "fix". I admire the research that goes into these books, something I never would have the patience for. Philippa does a great job!

I didn't enjoy this book as I have other Philippa Gregory books. It had a good and interesting story line but I felt that it became a bit repetitive at times. I also felt like the ending was flat, I was expecting more. I did enjoy reading it.

A story about an interesting time period. If you like history you will enjoy this. I felt it was an exciting read. and I shared it with others. I keep all copies of her books because she is a fantastic author.

I had a difficult time putting the book down. It was very addicting due to the twists and turns of the plot. It has sex, murder, and betrayal. Was the Wise Woman a witch or merely an herbalist? You will have to read to find out. I found the ending to be a surprise. You will love it.

I bought mine from the store for my Kindle. NICE! The Wise Woman: A Novel

A story about an interesting time period. If you like history you will enjoy this. I felt it was an exciting read. and I shared it with others. I keep all copies of her books because she is a fantastic author.

I had a difficult time putting the book down. It was very addicting due to the twists and turns of the plot. It has sex, murder, and betrayal. Was the Wise Woman a witch or merely an herbalist? You will have to read to find out. I found the ending to be a surprise. You will love it.

I bought mine from the store for my Kindle. NICE! The Wise Woman: A Novel

It was an okay story- it got very lengthy in parts with too much information/details. I would say for this book, the price needs to be lowered a LOT because the price doesnt match the quality of the book.

One of my favorite books. I love the author. I have read almost all of her books. This one is one of the best. This is something you could re-read several times. Keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times. Never a dull moment. Highly recommend.

this book had a really great story. The main character is a girl named Alys. Later in the book there are times you will hate her but she redeems herself in the end. Its a bit different than Philippa's other books because most of the action isnt happening @ court & the King is hardly ever mentioned. It was still a great pageturner.

Philippa Gregory spins a good tale and the Wise Woman captures your imagination for the time when Henry VIII was persecuting the papists and the witch hunts were on. This story drags just a little and really has little to do with the court and mostly about a family who is jockeying for power. Very entertaining.

I have ordered many "used" books and this was by far in the worst condition. It was formerly a soft cover library book. It had lots of external wear but the pages inside were fine and that's what really counts in such a suspenseful novel.

Let me first say, I have read everything Phillipa Gregory has written, and have loved nearly everything she has written. This book, however, left me feeling like I needed a shower. This book was like a car wreck I couldn't look away from, and was the first book of hers I did not pass on to a friend. I really, really, disliked this book, and I can't really see where the author was going with it. Very disappointed.

I really didn't care for this book. If this is the first Philippa Gregory book you've read, please don't be put off because it's nothing like her other great works.

That said, I did realize this book was a departure. Even its edgeness didn't put me off, I was expecting some spells and witchcraft.

What put me off was believing in the main character's motivation. I couldn't get around the idea that a girl who had no knowledge of her hertitage and who was first raised in terrible poverty and then taken in with great love at a nunnery could end up being such a deceitful grasping liar. It didn't jive. Even later when Alys' madness becomes evident her desires for position and power weren't well enough grounded with a good reason for me to believe it.

Yes, the book was a page turner. I wanted to know what was going to happen. But half way through the book, as other reviewers noted, the book takes a dark turn--which I wasn't expecting--and Alys character becomes progressively less likeable from that point on. Then, as another reviewer pointed out, we cease to care what happened to her. Even a dark character can have some likeable part about them but I believe Alys fails to hold the reader to root for her whether she's good or bad.

Her redemption at the end is even barely believeable from a character who flip flops her loyalties one minute to the next.

There wasn't a lot of historical info on the Tudors but there were interesting descriptions of castle life, clothing, and meal time traditions that were nicely blended into the story.

This book was okay, but at the half way point I read it quickly and skipped pages just to finish.

My copy of "The Wise Woman" is in the trash, covered with coffee grounds as it should be. I'm too embarrassed to put it in the "garage sale box" and unwilling to foist it upon some other unsuspecting victim. Where to begin... The English Reformation is the setting of this "historical fiction," but except for a few mentions of codpieces and stomachers, there is very little history involved, and what there is, appears in a suspiciously incorrect timeline of events. But that is only a minor problem compared to the dearth of unlikable characters who lie and scheme their way toward goals that change with every page. Find one character that you find interesting or care about. I'll wait....None! And not to "nit pick" but Alys arrives at the castle, bald, dirty and covered with lice, but put her in a pox-ridden whore's red gown and she's suddenly the belle of the ball! The lord of the castle literally says "she looks hot." I know, a minor detail, compared to the repetitive, stilted dialogue and plot which were probably written off and on over a period of years, it is that disjointed. Speaking of years, how did Alys' hair grow so fast? One minute she's bald, and ten months later she has long flowing hair. According to the abbess, the abbey burned down "ten months ago," so wow, that is some fast-growing hair! OK, I know I'm rambling, just like the Wise Woman that I am. So skip this book, and read "A Respectable Trade" which had genuine editors who were awake and cared about us silly readers, unlike the editors of "The Wise Woman" who must have been off in one of Alys' last dreams, which, by the way, was the worst ending ever!

I don't often write reviews, but after reading this book I felt I had to. I picked this up yesterday for $1 at a flea market and plowed through it in about a day and a half. I just finished it 5 minutes ago. And oh, how I wish I hadn't. I wasted my $1.

This is without a doubt one of the worst books I have ever read, in my personal opinion. I am very picky with my books, despite a passion for reading, and thought I would be safe with Gregory. Her novels aren't exactly known for their historical accuracy, but in general I like her writing style. The main problem I had with The Wise Woman was NOT the writing style, exactly, but the story and characters.

I don't require a main character I can fully identify with. As a lifetime lover of fantasy novels, I can tell you bluntly that I never - and still don't - identify with most female heroines in fantasy novels (or historical fiction). I was a homely child that grew up into a relatively unattractive young woman, and the heroines of these novels were generally beautiful princesses pursuing some handsome prince. We didn't have much in common, and that was never a deal breaker for me.

I also don't need or WANT a perfect main character. Perfection does not exist in the real world and I prefer my characters to have flaws. But the main character in The Wise Woman is not flawed - she's pretty much evil. She's disgusting, vile, and 100% unlikable. She worships the devil, creates some disgusting "voodoo" wax dolls, is greedy, selfish, cowardly, immoral, cunning, deceitful, cruel, weak, twisted...the list goes on and on. She's not an anti-heroine. She's pretty much a villain, and not only did I not feel any sympathy for her, but I also wanted her to die. Painfully. The pathetic scene at the end which I'm guessing was somehow meant to redeem her did not change my feelings. It did not negate or lessen the horrible acts she performed in the rest of the book, and fell flat on its face for me.

This book left a vile taste in my mouth. When I finished it I just crinkled up my nose and announced, "that was awful" to my empty house. The sex scenes were often bizarre, the whole story line with the dolls was creepy and gross, and the plot was just weak and dark in a way that I really didn't like, and I'm a fan of dark fantasy, dark humor, even mildly dark characters... I normally LIKE dark! But this was a kind of dark that again, just tasted wrong. It felt borderline perverted, and now that I think on it I actually feel like I just finished reading some trashy occult romance novel.

Some people may like this book, and I'm not trying to say that's wrong, or that you absolutely shouldn't read it. It's simply my personal opinion that the book is not good and isn't worth a read.

I've read almost all of Gregory's book about the royals (including The Queen's Fool) but none of her other work. I have to say, I hope her other series isn't as disappointing as this one was. The main character was scattered all over the place: she's good, she's bad, she accepts her power, she shuns it: make up your mind, already! You're supposed to be The Wise Woman. It says so on the cover.

Maybe that's the deliberate irony coming into play? (gag cough). Uh, no. Unfortunately, this scattered persona contagion spreads to just about every main character in the book. For example, the Young Lord: he loves her, he doesn't love her, he's sincere, he's a cad. Oh, pick one already.

The plot wanders about listlessly with the occasional softcore bodice-ripping page or two to pique your interest before finally flinging itself on the merciful suttee of a conclusion. But I suspect once you close the back cover, you'll feel this was (2, 4, 6?) hours of your life you'll wish you could get back again - to read one of her much-better written historical novels instead.

Normally I am a big Philippa Gregory fan; I love her work. But The Wise Woman left me disappointed and disturbed.

This is what I think of as a historical dystopia. It has all the characteristics: everyone--and I mean everyone--is nasty and mean. Society is cruel and sadistic to everyone, especially women. There is no love or kindness. Every parent is abusive. Every child is ungrateful. Every marriage is bad and abusive. Every sexual act is perverted. It is always winter. It is, in other words, really flat and boring.

I think what Gregory was trying to do was show how a patriarchal, caste-based system like that in 16th century England destroys people, both men and women. But it comes across as a cross between a feverish witch-finder hissing stories about liaisons with the devil and a 21st century person sniggering and saying, "Boy, weren't people awful back then?" I mean, no one--not the heroine, not her mother, not the young lord, not the old lord, not the wife or even Alys' old boyfriend--had any redeeming characteristics. I couldn't really get involved with the story because I frankly didn't give a damn about anyone. They were all so disgusting you just wanted to kill them yourself.

The parts about witchcraft might have been good--if Gregory hadn't, as I said, taken the tone of a witch-finder. All the spells and magic scenes were creepy, but so cliched that you half expected Alys to start dancing naked with demons under the full moon. Gregory also doesn't play up the medicinal side of 16th century craft either: the beneficial role that wise women played in society as doctors and midwives. The magic also didn't feel real: it was like Gregory was trying to shove magic into a historical fiction without it really being magic because that's not very historical (?!). And why didn't these people start suspecting witchcraft earlier? Especially when the lady gives birth to a wax baby and somehow Alys gets away with it? Get real: a 21st century doctor would start suspecting witchcraft if that happened, never mind a 16th century noblewoman.

It was sort of interesting reading about the relationship between Alys and Morach. Gregory successfully gave the impression that, if society had been nicer to these two women, they would have been nicer people themselves. You certainly understood why they would want a better life. Their occasional flashes of kindness--Alys defending a fellow lady-in-waiting from the churchman, Morach befriending Lady Catherine--are all the more interesting for being rare. But there's not enough of this side of their characters. Mostly they're two unspeakably hateful women, and you start praying that someone will please burn them at the stake.

So, all in all, I was disappointed and surprised. This is not up to Gregory's usual standard.

to (re-)write this review. My initial one was while I was still in shock about how dreadful of a read it was. As a huge fan of Gregory and someone who was able to look over the historical inaccuracies of her previous books and enjoy them for their captivating personalities, it broke my heart to find no connection to anyone in this book. Our main character is Alys, a selfish and cruel girl who does not hesitate to betray everyone who she 'loves' for her own benefit. Are we supposed to sympathize with her? Try to understand how difficult her life must have been? I kept on reading just on the off-chance that she would develop into someone more tolerable or we would be presented with some kind of redeeming excuse for her behavior. But nope, that never came.

Then there's her struggle with God and the Devil, Good and Evil, whatever you wish to call it. It's just...nonsensical, really. She goes from being a nun to creating wax dolls with big private parts. Someone gives birth to a wax baby and instead of being shocking or dark it was bizarre and almost comical. I mean, really? While Gregory is known for stretching the truth, this is just taking it way too far.

I could truly go on and on about the time I wasted on this book. Other reviewers have expressed concerns with the more ranchy sex scenes, but that wasn't so much the issue to me as the fact that I really didn't CARE who Alys was having sex with. Ultimately I was left with disgust for her and amazement that someone who wrote beautiful works such as The Queen's Fool and (my first of her books) The Virgin's Lover could write something as...mediocre as this. If you had the misfortune of choosing this book as your first Gregory novel to read, I am pleading with you to give her another chance as this miserable excuse for a story does not illustrate the depth of her talents at all.

UGH!

All I can do looking back at this book is laugh. What the heck did I just read?!! This is by far the most bizarre and badly written book by Gregory I have read yet. The only reason I finished it all the way through was because I had unfortunately purchased the book, and felt I needed to get my $15 worth. HA!

First of all...this book was strange, as I mentioned before. She casts spells on people with these little wax dolls that have private parts. The wax dolls come alive and chase after people. A woman even gives birth to a wax baby because of the spell that was put on her. ha...I am still laughing at this book...bear with me.

Second, Alys has this constant struggle between "God" and the "devil". And without giving away too much of the book...this struggle was poorly put together. The only time you see that she really wants to stick on God's side...is in the beginning. Then its satan, satan, satan. Then the ending??? I can't say it here, but if you read the book you know what I mean.

Third, I really never expected Gregory to write a cheap, trashy, romance novel. This comes pretty darned close. There are some very ILLICIT and DESCRIPTIVE sex scenes in this book. Holy moly...I felt like I needed to take a shower after this book...it was so dirty. And the scenes really were totally unnecessary to the plot of the book. A simple "and they lay in the bed together" would have been fine. Really. There's even a threesome. Not joking.

So for comic relief...this was a good read. You will, however, feel you wasted a good chunk of a couple days when you are done. I love Gregory's novels...and I was SO dissapointed in her for this one. What a let down. But thanks for the good laugh Philippa! (The only reason this book got two stars and not one, was because it still was somewhat well written. Though the editor must have been drunk, because they say one thing on one page, and then say the exact same thing on the next. Like Lady Catherine's "face lines" coming back after the birth. Umm...how many times do we need to say that in one chapter? Must be four...because that's how many I counted!) And I guess you can't hate the creativity. haha...oh man.

When I was a young girl my mother always told me to 'be careful what you wish for'. Too bad Alys, the young girl around whom this story centers, didn't heed that admonishment when her mentor/mother Morach made it. At an early age Alys came to live with Morach, an old wise woman who lives alone in a remote cottage out on the moors. Morach trains the young Alys in the healing arts of an herbalist. When Alys falls in love though it is the young man's parents who literally offer Alys to the local nunnery.

Still a child, Alys takes one look at the luxurious life of the nuns (as compared to her own life living in Morach's hovel), and is happy to join them. She is fostered by Mother Hildebrande who treats her like a daughter. Shortly after Alys has taken her vows, the nunnery is raided and torched by Lord Hugo acting under the orders of King Henry VIII. Fleeing for her life in the dead of night, Alys realizes that her fellow sisters have all burned in their beds and that she is the only survivor. She finds her way back to Morach's filthy hovel and is taken back in. In no time at all she is back to being Morach's apprentice although she tries to keep to her vows as best she can.

When the old lord of the area, Lord Hugo's father, becomes sick he sends for the wise woman from the moors - not Morach, but Alys. She goes unwillingly but in time she wins the heart of the old lord and continues on at the castle to work as his clerk since she can read and write.

From this point on it becomes the familiar love triangle - Alys falls in love with Lord Hugo (who burned down the nunnery). Hugo is married however to a seemingly barren woman who has produced no heirs and he is prone to taking his pleasures everywhere else. Alys wants no part of him since she is trying to maintain the vows she has taken. In due time though she succumbs to Lord Hugo's charms and falls completely in love. When she finds that he thinks of her only as a pleasant diversion she brings in Morach. Morach warns her that in order to turn Hugo towards her it will take more than Alys may want to give up. In short, black magic or a pact with the devil. But Alys has her sights set on being the lady of the castle and nothing short of marriage to Hugo will please her. So she turns her back on everything holy and uses everything at her disposal to secure her future. But is she truly secure?

After getting pregnant with Hugo's child Alys believes that she is Hugo's chosen lady, especially since his wife suffers an ugly and unspeakable miscarriage. The tale concludes with a twist that is unexpected and brilliant. To say more would be anticlimatic.

Note: There are some explicit scenes not for the faint of heart.

This is the first Philippa Gregory novel I've read, and although I wouldn't class it as a great novel, it hasn't put me off the author and I shall read her other books.

I agree with many of the less favaourable reviews here, in that some of the witchcraft content - particularly the wax dolls - verge on the completely ridiculous, and I do think that this element of the plot could have been written with more subtlety, which I think would have made it darker and more suspenseful. I too was disappointed by the ending, which was abrupt, and seemed totally out of character for Alys considering how she had changed during her time at the castle.

What kept me reading, though, and what has made me give this book 3 stars, is the disturbing attitudes towards women that were presented, and how these influenced Alys and contributed to her downward spiral. The notion that some women are fit to be a 'lady' and others can only be regarded as 'whores' is something that sadly lingers to this very day. I could understand how Alys who, as an innocent but skillful 16 year old, considered herself to be as good as anyone else, might feel betrayed, and ultimately be corrupted, by the prevailing belief that she was a whore to be used in any way, and at just about any man's whim. I found myself thinking about this aspect of the book long after I had finished reading, and it bothered me far more than the sex.

This is, by far, Philippa Gregory's best novel - bar none! It is so far removed from her typical historical novel that if it had been published under a pseudonym, those rating this book less than five stars would have loved it. That may be their problem as this exciting novel explores themes not typically part of Gregory's usual book.

It is a love story, a supernatural horror story, and a psychological study rolled into one. Yes, it deals with witchcraft. More conservative readers may be outraged at the way it goes right to the edge in mixing religion with that subject, but it is an integral part of the story and is critical to plot and character development.

The book is compelling beyond belief. I started reading and couldn't put it down; in fact, my spouse had to cook his own dinner so I didn't have to be interrupted. Yes, the book is that good.

If you read Philippa Gregory's novels of 'Merry Olde England' and expect more of the same, this isn't the book for you. If you want an outstanding novel with well drawn characters and a plot that charges along, then pick up this book. You won't regret it.

Like most of the other reviewers here, I'm a big Philippa Gregory fan, and I was really excited to read this reissue of The Wise Woman, thinking it would be as wonderfully transporting as The Other Boleyn Girl and The Constant Princess. Again, she successfully infuses every page with the uncertainty of the period immediately following the establishing of the Church of England and the accusations of witchcraft that spring up as a result, and in that way, and that way alone, is the book a pleasure to read. Everything else about it made me want to throw it down. Alys, our protagonist (for lack of a better word), is completely unlikeable! I didn't feel for a second that she was honestly driven to commit any of the horrible acts she did, regardless of the fact that Gregory gave us the reasons. And though it is the world of fiction, the historian in me refuses to accept the synonymous use of "wise woman" and "witch." Could wise women also be practitioners of the dark arts? I guess. But when I wrote a paper on witchcraft in college, every author I read made a clear distinction between the two (wise woman being a healer/midwife), and I couldn't get that out of my head.

The Wise Woman is the story of Alys, a teenage girl in the time of King Henry VIII. Like many women of that time period, Alys recognized that life could be hard unless she used her cunning to gain power and greater positions throughout her life. Therefore, the novel tracks her through her rise from common to a companion of the Lords at the castle in the town. However, Alys betrays many people on her way up and turns to witchcraft in order to get what she wants. Will she gain the perfect life she so desires or will the witchcraft take her over instead? She is playing a risky game.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as Gregory's later novels, such as the Other Boleyn Girl and the Constant Princess, but still found it entertaining and interesting. Alys is not always a likeable character but the reader needs to consider the limited opportunities for women at the time and the fact that she is only 16! I never completely made my mind up about how I feel about her, even after finishing the novel, but it gives you things to think about! If you want a glimpse inside the life of other people besides the royals of the Tudor time period, I recommend you give this book a try!

I love the Tudor stories from Philippa Gregory and the stories that take place during the War of the Roses as well. But, I found a very basic flaw in this particular story. Alys, an orphan abandoned to a witchy woman of the moors, finally finds solace and comfort within a nunnery. She is cared for and educated and finds familial love within the convent walls. Then, the nunnery is put alight and everything and everyone within is burned, except for Alys who escapes. She mourns the death of her religious sisters and most of all of the Abbess who was mentor, guardian, and mother to her. Then, after a few twists and turns, Alys falls deeply in love with the man who set the convent on fire. Yes, the same guy who ordered the place burnt... albeit during a drunken treasure hunt... and who therefore caused the death of innocent women and Alys' only true family, she falls for him. The destruction of the convent is not enough, no, he is a cad, selfish, abusive, etc., but she still pines for him and eventually takes to the dark arts to have him. What?????? Definitely a strange turn of events. I kept reading and I guess we are supposed to be enthralled by the changing personalities, but I found Alys' love of Hugo pretty improbable.

The review by hill6911AW said it best and most succinctly, but I'll throw in my two farthings' worth just the same.

It's a good thing I borrowed this book from a friend rather than laid down good coin for it. A first-time Gregory reader, I picked this novel from her extensive P.G. collection because of the title; perhaps, even, because of the cover art.

The author starts off well enough, setting the stage with some historical detail (references to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, a passing nod to period dress, food and customs). For about two pages, I actually cared about what happens to the downtrodden heroine. But after that and for the rest of the book, I wanted to plucketh out mine eyes. And yet I kept reading, hoping beyond hope that things would get better.

Technically, the writing fails on several levels, but the main ones are monotonous sentence structure and repetitive wording (Do you really have to use the same noun five times in the same paragraph? Can you say 'synonym'?). Oh, yes, and making the same point two or three times in the same paragraph. Oh, and did I mention the author uses the same words with undue frequency? Oh, I almost forgot: she takes thrice as long to say what she need only mention once.

One wonders where the editors went. Out for a coffee? Or for a run ... screaming in the opposite direction?

There is not a single likeable character in this book, and nothing of import actually happens except perhaps the characters each get nastier and more disagreeable at every turn of the page. Who wants to slog through a plotless story when there's no one you want to root for?

And the more pages one turns, the more over-the-top the story becomes. The author does set down a semi-believable premise at first (poor girl in 16th Century rural England climbs the social and economical ladder via a serendipitous, if not calculated, liaison) but then asks us to suspend all disbelief with off-the-wall, distastefully ugly scenes. Spoiler Alert! Wax voodoo dolls coming to life and chasing our heroine down the road! Wax 'baby' oozing from a barren womb! Loveless, brutal sex with wife! Loveless, brutal sex with mistress! Bizarre, drug-induced, hallucinatory sex! Icky husband-wife-mistress menage a trois that isn't even sexy, or fun! A 'hero' that isn't remotely heroic or attractive! A self-serving, single-mindedly manipulative 'heroine' who coldly murders anyone barring her way to the top! What a mess.

I wish I didn't have to actually assign a star to this review. Forsooth, but if anything deserveth to be burned at the stake, verily 'tis this novel!

"The Wise Woman" is a far cry from some of Philippa's other, first rate historical novels, but indeed can hold one's interest. I found myself eager for the next chapter to see what Alys' turning point or fate would become. Unfortunately, there was no resolution - and Alys is not a 'wise woman' by any standard.

Whether this was intentional or not, the book's over-riding theme was how a desire for power, with ample doses of envy and avarice, leads to overwhelming hatred. Alys is a sympathetic figure at first - a teenager, used to the life of an abbey where she was safe, contented, and under the wise guidance of a superior whom we shall see is highly learned, loving, and of impeccable ideals. One can see Alys' fear and confusion, in an era where the life for which she was bred has become treason. Mordach, the 'wise woman' whose path is very different from that of the abbess, yet who is compassionate, dedicated, and loving in her own way, has been the closest equivalent Alys had to a mother before she entered the abbey - and one can equally sympathise (at first) with Alys' repugnance at returning to Mordach's cottage in desperation, though she initially intends to keep her vows and return to monastic life.

However, sympathy for Alys cannot last long. Without providing spoilers, I shall comment that her scheming, overwhelming jealousy, and eventual evil which rejoices in others' grave misfortune (even murder) seems demonic as the plot progresses.

There are many sexual references - degrading and manipulative rather than in any way romantic or affectionate. The only two characters who are indeed wise, poles apart though their approaches are, remain Mother Hildebrande and Mordach, and Alys is the cause of their destruction. Every other character is a power hungry, deceitful sort, and there is no sense of any humanity in most. Though there are references to the Tudor era which are basically valid, the changes in religious approaches actually have little to do with the novel's action, save by indirect reference. Indeed, Alys initially is a nun who is exiled because of an attack on her monastery - but the attacker is so scheming and wicked in himself, and her downfall so totally evil, that Henry VIII seems nearly amiable by contrast. The few historical references are forced. Indeed, the clergyman who sends both witches and heretics to their deaths is one of few sympathetic characters, with the slightest integrity, in the entire novel.

Though this is not a 'fantasy novel,' there are several outcomes of witchcraft which Alys practises which are utterly ridiculous (and which figure hugely in the plot development.) Since the rest of the book's content is presented as natural happenings, the entire 'wax doll' theme is so utterly fantastic as to be more laughable than ominous. Alys goes from understandable to wicked to both evil and mad - and the reader will discover that the symbolism of wax candles becomes so bizarre and dominant that it in no way fits in with the otherwise credible, if upsetting, plot.

It is an enjoyable book if one is looking for a few hours' entertainment, and it vaguely captures elements of the period. Nonetheless, readers will be highly disappointed if they expect anything like what Philippa produced in some later novels of the period.

I didn't really enjoy _The Wise Woman_, and I think that's mostly because I hated the protagonist, Alys, so, so much. Her first act within these pages is one of selfishness and cowardice. I chalked it up to the harrowing circumstances, and hoped she would be more sympathetic in the rest of the story. No such luck.

It might have been fun anyway, if I could have reveled in rooting against Alys, but I can't stand the other characters either. The whole novel is an endless, joyless parade of nasty people doing nasty things to each other. It got dull rather quickly.

The best part was the ending, which dovetailed with the beginning in such a way that I wondered whether I was meant to think that Alys had never escaped the first situation at all and that most of the novel was a fantasy she dreamed up as her fate closed in. I think I'm probably overthinking it, though.

Typically I really enjoy Philippa Gregory's work. However, there have been a few exceptions and this is one of them. If you enjoyed her Wideacre trilogy you will probably like this book. However, if you disliked that trilogy you will dislike this book as there are many similarities in the characters and in the depravity involved in both. The so-called heroine would be more aptly labelled the villain in both narratives and with just cause. This novel was not about the redemptive power of love or the temptations that face a young woman feeling desire for the first time or even about hard choices when faced with the need for survival. It was about a selfish girl who is never fulfilled or satisfied by her own quest for power and dominance. She has no redemptive qualities and even from the beginning I did not connect to her at all. Also, aside from the disturbing characters in this story, the horror-like aspects (clay dolls coming to life) were nearly comical and so ill-conceived. It felt like a Hollywood B-movie horror, with dolls coming to life with Psycho-inspired music dominating the background. This is no nuance or depth of character, no sincere struggle between doing what you know you should and self-preservation/temptation. Alys throws out a few pithy comments about God abandoning her but it is never convincing and all too obvious that she was always just looking for the easy road in life, caring for nobody but herself. In the end I felt no pity for her, no empathy. And though the ending was abrupt, it was my favorite part of the whole book.

Ok so first of all, let me start by saying all the characters are dispicable. They were all just purely evil. With that being said, I enjoyed this book immensely. It was dark and twisted and I actually loved the supernatural element. All the characters cretens though they may be, were all well written in their own right and I think Philippa Gregory did an excellent job of making them come alive. The pace of the book is excellent. I tend to dread that part of the book where the story becomes uneventful and tedious, but that isn't present in this book.
If you like Philippa Gregory, and you're also a fan of macabre and horror, you will enjoy this book.

I should preface this by saying that I absolutely love historical fiction, and - for that genre - Philippa Gregory is my favorite author....WHEN that historical fiction is based on actual historical figures or events. Gregory does a beautiful job of opening the reader's mind to the what-ifs of the history lesson that you didn't learn in high school or college, and for that reason she's a fantastic author of historical fiction.

Unless the characters are entirely a product of her imagination and not at all based on historical people or events. And then you might as well skip it.

Such is the case with "The Wise Woman." This book was a complete waste of time. I read another reviewer compare it to a Stephen King novel, and I really think that reviewer hit the nail right on the head. If you enjoy Stephen King and you're not looking for historical fiction, you might like this book. If not, skip it entirely and look toward her much better books like "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "The Constant Princess."

Bizarre, unrealistic, demonic and creepy are the only adjectives I can come up with to describe this book. I will certainly be more discerning in my future Philippa Gregory selections, as this isn't the first time I've been burned. I could say the same about the "Wideacre" series which was like watching a train wreck. You know you should look away, but you just can't help yourself and so you keep reading, only to wish you'd looked away when you had the chance.

I have read several of Gregory's historical fiction of the Tudor era and thought I would enjoy this one as much as the others. Not so. This book was a tremendous disappointment and I had to force myself not to abandon it. I enjoy a book in which I am captivated or at least sympathetic to one or more of the characters, but I felt nothing for any character in this book. I was reminded of daytime television soap operas where a character can change his or her character at the drop of a hat if a new storyline twist is needed for the sake of ratings. The author seemed to use this element with every major personality in the book. Even worse yet, fiction became pure ridiculous fantasy. I was very disappointed that Gregory resorted to "actual" witchcraft (hocus pocus) as with the wax moppets that came to life and a woman delivering a wax baby. I lost sympathy with Alys early in the book when she suddenly turned into a greedy conniving "witch" rather than a young frightened girl. Woman of power? Wise woman? Not in my opinion. I lost count of the people she murdered because of her own selfishness...including her unborn child.

Philippa Gregory is a storyteller, no doubt about that. I've enjoyed several of her other books (White Queen, Red Queen, Earthly Joys, Virgin Earth, The Other Boleyn Girl) but this one doesn't live up to those standards. The main character, Alys, is intriguing but the conflict between her faith and her sins doesn't come across well. She seems to much prefer her sins with her faith only a vague nagging now and then. I didn't care for the ending, either, as it was abrupt and "didn't-see-that-coming-at-all" type of thing. It didn't fit the character as there was virtually no connection between Alys and Hildebrand at the end. I would not recommend this book to anyone. I'm rather sorry I bought it.

This is a brilliant dark story of a young girl and her quest to live like a queen. She wants the prize of 'lady of the house' and will stop at nothing to get it. She uses her power to reach for her dreams, only to realise that the prize wasn't hers. She is a false woman, and slowly becomes entrapped in her own lies.
Despite the bleakness of the story and the wickedness of Alys, I still liked her! She felt she was destined for an important role, and went out to claim it. She sought love and didn't know what to do with it when she had it. As l was approaching the last few pages of the story I was wondering how on earth it could end, I was so looking forward to the birth of her child etc.
I am currently making my way through all of Philippa Gregory's books. Her novels, both historical and comtemporay are always so vivid and the endings never fail to be anything but thought provoking. Keep writing, because l will certainly keep reading!

I thought I had read every Philippa Gregory book out there except one ('A Respectable Trade'), so I was surprised to come across this novel at the book store and see how long ago it was written. The style is definitely earlier Gregory (story told from one point of view, dark characters, somewhat deviant sexual exploits) but is well-written and fast-paced in typical Gregory fashion. The author often likes to weave aspects of the dark Old Magick into her stories (think Wideacre trilogy, 'The Queen's Fool' and 'The White Queen'), and this book is no different. Some may find the mystical elements a bit weird, but I thought the author did a good job of integrating them into a mostly straight historical fiction plotline. I gave the book four stars because I did find it a good read, but even so 'The Wise Woman' was not one of my favorites.

To very quickly sum up the novel, the story is set in Tudor England, but unlike many of Gregory's other books, Henry VIII's exploits happen on the periphery of the plot rather than in the center. We learn of Anne Boleyn and her tragic fate through letters and gossip rather than actually being present at court. The main character, Alys, is a 16-year old girl whose survival instinct is stronger than anything else: honesty, loyalty, honor or even a basic sense of morality, and her deep desire to be Lady of the castle often drives her to act in ways that are more destructive than helpful. Alys is knowledgeable about herbs and the healing arts, so when the local lord becomes ill she is basically kidnapped to take care of him. The lord then discovers that she can read and write and drafts her to become his clerk. Alys also has enough skill with magic to exert minor control over her life and that of those immediately around her, and she recklessly invokes her powers in an attempt to raise herself in the social hierarchy. Alys, a typical teenager, is unfortunately too impulsive and naive to thoughtfully weigh the consequences of her actions, so when she falls in love with the lord's handsome, married son her immaturity leads her to dabble in black magic in an attempt to win his love in return. Chaos ensues. I wasn't sure how the novel would end and will confess I was surprised, but while some might think it a sad ending, I found it redemptive. Unlike many of Gregory's other novels, I put this book down pleased with the way she chose to finish the story.

If asked, I would absolutely recommend this novel to a friend; however, I would do so with a word of warning that the author does tend to explore the dark side of humanity. If one is hoping for a lighthearted read or is squeamish about explicit sexuality, choose a different author and certainly bypass this book. Philippa Gregory's imagination is not for the faint of heart.

While this book is not like her other historical fictions, it is still one of the best books I have read in a long time. I loved it so much I bought one for my Mom, Aunt and best friend, all of them also loved it. This book is a little twisted, but in a very real way. You can completely relate with the main character as she makes one bad decision after another that leads her down a trail of witchcraft, seduction, betrayal and deciept... The historical information is there but more importantly and more outstanding is the fantastic tale that is woven from the day a little girl takes her first steps alone all the way to the final leap as she realizes what is truely important... I don't understand why those other two reviews were so bad. If you like Anne Rice or Wilbur Smith's writing you'll love this. All the great story writing of both without the overly boring descriptives that can drag on in Rice's work or the lack there of in Smith's.

I've read other of her books but this one was definitely disappointing. After about 200 pages I read the end. Glad I did. if I had read the rest of the book and then got to the conclusion I would have been really upset. One of the worse endings I've read in years. Would never recommend this book.

Not my favorite. I found the main character to be too changeable. She's bad. She wants to be good. She might be good. She's horrible. Most of the way through she seems to have a goal in mind and willing to do anything to reach it. Where did the ending come from. She knows her plan won't work, so she suddenly becomes something totally different. Too hard to pin her down.

I have read almost all of this author's novels. She starts off strong in all her written works but many seem to lose the energy as they near the end. It is as if the author has become bored with the story line and just wants to end it and perhaps move on to the next novel. Like other reviewers have said, the main character was all over the place. I try to finish any book I start hoping that the story will get better. This one never did.

This book is not only intoxicating and bewitching but also vulgar and even nauseating. The book is extremely dark. Its hard to put down this book because you constantly want to know what happens next. Its easy to forget that the main character is a 16 year old child. The sexual scenes are hard and dark and leave you with a lump in your throat. The authors writing is beautiful. Her descriptions are vivid. Its a wonderful book that draws you into its spell and leaves you in awe.This story has no soft egdes, as much as you don't want to leave this story, you also feel glad when its done. Read it, experience it, be bewitched by it. I definantly recommend this story to the not faint at heart and those who like a story with teeth.

I've read other of her books but this one was definitely disappointing. After about 200 pages I read the end. Glad I did. if I had read the rest of the book and then got to the conclusion I would have been really upset. One of the worse endings I've read in years. Would never recommend this book.

Not my favorite. I found the main character to be too changeable. She's bad. She wants to be good. She might be good. She's horrible. Most of the way through she seems to have a goal in mind and willing to do anything to reach it. Where did the ending come from. She knows her plan won't work, so she suddenly becomes something totally different. Too hard to pin her down.

I have read almost all of this author's novels. She starts off strong in all her written works but many seem to lose the energy as they near the end. It is as if the author has become bored with the story line and just wants to end it and perhaps move on to the next novel. Like other reviewers have said, the main character was all over the place. I try to finish any book I start hoping that the story will get better. This one never did.

This book is not only intoxicating and bewitching but also vulgar and even nauseating. The book is extremely dark. Its hard to put down this book because you constantly want to know what happens next. Its easy to forget that the main character is a 16 year old child. The sexual scenes are hard and dark and leave you with a lump in your throat. The authors writing is beautiful. Her descriptions are vivid. Its a wonderful book that draws you into its spell and leaves you in awe.This story has no soft egdes, as much as you don't want to leave this story, you also feel glad when its done. Read it, experience it, be bewitched by it. I definantly recommend this story to the not faint at heart and those who like a story with teeth.

I am a big fan of the author and have almost every book she has written. And as I like to read books over and over again I never give them away. I was so disappointed in this one that I sold it in a garage sale as a protest as to how bad it was. The characters were not belivable, their was no sympathy or understanding for the main character and dark is not the word I would use (as I am also a Stephen King fan). It was just awful.

The book is so unlike any of her Boleyn books - too unrealistic to believe even a fraction of it could happen, althoug the story of a main character repeats the fate of Anne Boleyn, save for difference in how they died. There are obvious similarities between this book and The Other Boleyn Girl book, but writing here is choppy, very little on history and heavy on erotica writing, not that there is anything wrong with it, but the book just does not flow......

So this is the first Philppa Gregory I'm reading, and I don't mind if the next one is only half as good as The Wise Woman. It's disappointing to see so many negative reviews of this book because I found it to be original and riveting.

The Wise Woman is Alys, a refugee nun straight from the sack of her peaceful, wealthy abbey in 16th-century England. Alys has no idea of the repurcussions of her escape, as she darts from one bad situation to another, using and abusing right and left to save her own vulnerable skin, in a terrible time period full of easy loss and finger-pointing. Will Alys ever find the life of comfort, love and happiness she left behind at the nunnery? If she doesn't, what is left but to fall from grace, and finally, to become what is most feared?

I loved Alys' decent with all her plotting and scheming. Alys becomes unstoppable, cold, calculating and cruel-- to a point. I found that she was a fully human character with dimensions, although her choices are clearly not the best. I can't complain about the pacing of the book either - just as unstoppable as Alys. Intermixed in the threads of foreboding terror and grotesque images, the magical realism (for lack of better term) that brings dolls to life and turns babies into, well, something gross was as unexpected as the surprise ending, and it was all I could do to put the book down. So, historical fiction fans, do judge a book by its gorgeous cover, and don't pass on this one.

This is, quite simply, a very poorly written book. I could overlook her heavy leaning on some of the most obnoxious historical fiction tropes -- extensive descriptions of what women were wearing; superficial depictions of "castle life" versus "peasant life;" one dimensional secondary characters whose characterization rely largely on the reader supplying his or her own stereotypes of what a lady-in-waiting is like, what a soldier is like, what a servant boy is like, what a farmer is like, etc -- if the plot was better constructed, but it wasn't. As many people have noted, the main character is absolutely dreadful and so is her main love interest; by halfway through, I could not have cared less if they ended up together or not. But worse was the construction of the story: Gregory seems to have been aiming to tell the story of a woman who is struggling for security and social power at all cost, and that ends up being her downfall. Trite, yes, but a story that could be quite compelling if told well. The problem is that it is told very poorly -- it's as though every plot point in the story is deus ex machina. The main character needs to come across as powerful? Have her use magic. Want to show how limited she really is? Have the magic backfire. Want to create a sense of moral dilemma? Have an important character die. Things are getting slow and you need another sense of moral dilemma? Oh great -- another character can die! Need to build tension? Have those magic dolls trotting around in the background, ready to show up for who-knows-what purpose. Want the reader's heartstrings pulled? Have the love interest from the very beginning of the book show up for no reason, and then disappear after one scene. I mean, these are some Writing 101-level problems. What is such a shame is that there are themes latent in the book -- the religious and social upheavals during Henry VIII's reign, the precariousness of people of all social station during this period, the powerlessness of women, the purpose and nature of religious fielty, the relationship between a woman and her mother-figures, the use of torture to uncover "truth" -- that are so rich for development (Hillary Mantell has mined some of them brilliantly, and to Gregory's misfortune I couldn't stop comparing this book to Wolf Hall as I was reading it), but Gregory just leaves them as set-pieces for the incredibly boring sexual politics of the two main characters.

And finally (since I'm already on a roll with the complaining!) the major plot point on the book hinges on the main character's idiocy. SPOILER: Fairly early on, the main character for some reason decides it would be a great idea if she could see to it that her love interest (a lord) gets his wife pregnant. The wife gets pregnant and then the main character realizes, "oh crap! he isn't going to leave his wife now that she's pregnant!" And then the next couple hundred pages are essentially the main character trying to figure out how to undo the effects of her brilliant (/sarcasm) plan. I mean...that's not a compelling story; a plot cannot be woven out of one character having really bad judgment and then bumbling around for 300 more pages.

So, in sum, don't bother with this book. There are many, many, many better historical fictions out there.

I've read a lot of PG's books including the wideacre series and the tudor series and now this one. I thought all those books were awesome. I thought Wise Woman was just ok in that it was an entertaining story. I'm disappointed in how it ended, I thought it came to an abrupt end and there were a lot of unanswered questions.
This was an ok story, entertaining, quick read nothing more. Don't waste the money buying this one...get it from the library.

This book has a lot more mystical elements than the other books that Gregory has written. I did not get as "wrapped up" in the character as I have in some of her other books, but it is engaging none the less. There are surprised elements, and the ending is unexpected. I like this book for the fact that when you are done you are not quite sure what your opinion of Alys is. Was she really as bad as her actions portrayed her? It's worth the read.

I have read several of Philippa Gregory's books and loved them. This book was a struggle to finish, I lost interest, I was grossed out by the whole wax figure thing and I never identified with this selfish, shallow character. I love her books because she champions strong women living in difficult times, but Alyce although she started out well got boring, predictable, and wierd. Instead read Lady of the Rivers, excellent read.

I am an avid Philippa Gregory fan - particularly of her historical novels about the Tudors et al. However, this book was so very different to the type of story that I have come to expect from Ms. Gregory. The Wise Woman was surely a foray into the darkness that a human soul can find when faced with the extreme adversities that Alys's character faced. Can a human being become so conniving and manipulative in order to survive? There were times when I actually cringed at her duplicity for the love of another human and for 'protection.' Having read the Wideacre trilogy as well, which also involved the darker recesses of womankind (incest and the like), I do believe that one musthave a strong stomach to read these books.

Reading this book was like being trapped in a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. Like many other reviewers here, I am a Gregory fan and have read her other works, some of them more than once, with great pleasure. I was so disappointed by this one. I can only echo the other reviewers who say the main character is not likeable as she tries to undermine the marriage of the lord so she can take the lady's place. Alys even attempts murder, betrays those who love and help her - she is monstrous. There wasn't a single sympathetic, likeable character in the whole book. I read to the end just because I had invested so much time in the story already, I wanted to see what would happen - specifically, without revealing too much, with the dolls - to see if Gregory could save the work and make it worth my while. It failed me utterly.

I imagine the author would say Alys is so awful in order to create an opportunity for redemption. But by the end you care so little for her that you don't want to see her redeemed. You want to see her get what she deserves. She is evil, scheming, and heartless, betraying everyone, everything, and every impulse of basic human decency. I was so relieved when this book was finally over. If I could have given it zero stars, I would have.

Also regarding the sex scenes, of which there are plenty, they left me pretty cold. It was like this was an excuse for women's porn, i.e. the kind you find in a cheap romance novel - which no matter how amateur the writer, I personally find is usually more titillating than this was. I hope you won't waste your time or money with this poison book.

The other reviews for this book were so good, but I was really disappointed. I love her other Tudor books, and this one didn't even come close. I never felt any emotional connection with the characters, or even between the characters. Then again it is difficult to feel any sympathy or attachment to a cruel and self-destructive character, like the main character, Alys. The story wasn't nearly as fleshed out as say, The Other Boleyn Girl. I would not recommend this book.

I have read and reread Wise Woman many times. It was not my first Phillipa book, but it is my all time 2nd favorite of hers (A Respectable Trade is my #1). I love the characters; why should the main character always have the best of intentions? This is a tale of survival. Heroine Alys and Morach do what they must to exist in a world ruled by rich men. I love every bit of this story and it haunts me with it's unrepentant passion.

When I received my Kindle as a Christmas present 3 years ago Wise Woman was the first I bought, even though I own it in paperback. I have lent this book out and it has not been given back (2x's!) I will keep buying it because I think the story is so rich and thought provoking.

I wish Phillippa would write more stories of this nature!!

This was the first Philippa Gregory novel I read (found it at the grocery store in 1992), and definitely the best of them all. Alys is a deeply flawed - but utterly believable - character. The depths to which she will go to achieve her desires is staggering, but when one thinks of the place of women in Tudor society, understandable at times. Dark, disturbing, brilliant and more, you won't be disappointed.

I, like many of the reviewers, have loved Philippa Gregory's past novels. I have read The Other Boleyn Girl twice and am a big fan of historical fiction. This book was unfortunately very difficult for me to enjoy. Alys lost my sympathy somewhere along the way, and when you can't root for your "protagonist" anymore, you know something has gone a bit wrong. I wasn't even able to finish this book all the way. I began to skip around and eventually just read the ending because I lost interest.

Let me just say that I am an avid reader and pretty much always finish a book I'm reading. When I am unable to do so, it means the book must be pretty bad. I just didn't really care what happened to the characters anymore. I am hoping that her next book is better than this unfortunate installment.

The only other Gregory book I have read was Respectable Trade, which I enjoyed and thought was well written. I chose Wise Woman because of the subject matter, it sounded intriguing. The writing was awful. I mean, the story is supposed to take place in England in the time of Henry VIII. Did they really use expressions like "he was hot for the wench?" It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad. I think Philippa Gregory must be one of the more highly overrated writers in the "historical" genre, not really serious. I couldn't finish this book. You know, life is too short. Still looking for a good "Wise Woman" book, though.

I bought this book at the airport to pass time, then saw the back and forth reviews and was intrigued enough to finish and make my own opinion. I would give this a middle rating because, while it's well written and flows well, the story is a bit disturbing. It's very spooky and definitely is not a typical happy romance. It's a realistic view of how women were treated, except for the magic components which are either interesting, fanstastical, or just plain silly. The relationships were disturbing and Alys' life is very complex. Definitely makes you think about life and love. Imagine if Alys had been in today's world? Her life would have been VERY different and she may have been a very successful story, although still perhaps a "tortured" soul.

I, as many others, am a HUGE gregory fan..I have read most of everything she has written, Wise Woman being one of the last. I have to admit, this wasnt my favorite book. Some of the scenes, espc the witchcraft and sex, were espc disturbing for me..similar to the incest theme and madness in Wideacre.

I did however like the underlying message this book and many of Gregory's books protray..that of the non exsistent value of women from this time in history.

I will put this book next to Wideacre on my bookshelf, prob not one Id read again.

Even more so than Wideacre, this book was disturbing. I agree that Alys is not a likable character, even thought she kind of redeems herself (in my eyes) at the end. The sex scenes and witchcraft is so twisted that it gave me the heebie-jeebies. However, I think it was necessary to create the plot, and make Alys' story unfold into one of desperation and regret. Gregory does a good job in making this crazy story work and showing us inside the character's minds.

I first read all of Gregory's other Tudor novels, and I didn't think I would enjoy this one as much because I did not recognize any of the characters when reading the summary. But this book ended up being one of my favorites, I did not want it to end! Philippa Gregory's books are all amazing. But among the best I think are The Boleyn Inheritance, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool, Wise Woman, and The Virgin's Lover. And Virgin Earth! I love them all...if you are considering reading one of Gregory's books, you won't be disappointed. I was hesitant with buying a few of her books after reading some of the reviews on here, but I have read most of her novels (still working on the 18th and 19th centuries) and I was NEVER disappointed.

Hello :)
My choice of four stars is based on the way Ms Gregory interwove the characters into a time period which I am very interested in.

The background melded a time of religious change, in England, and the effects within the country. Landed Gentry and, indeed,all the way down to the Commoners, Man and Woman, whom it affected.

My love of History novels which combine fact and fiction, is evident in the numbers of Ms Gregory's books I have purchased. In paperback and downloaded on my I-Pad.

Yet, I am dissatisfied with one aspect of this tale.

The main character, Alys/Sister Ann, grabbed and hooked me from the onset. I am happy that Alys still found enough Love in her heart, and by staying by Abbess Hildebrand and so asking for forgiveness, redeemed herself a little !!
However, as the novel ended there, I find this deeply disappointing. I feel sure I'm not the only avid reader who feels short changed. A chapter on the after effects for Old Hugo, young Hugo and the Priest, Stephen (who stated that Alys was no witch since she passed her ordeal and also didn't drown) would, perhaps, have rounded the finish of the book.

My childhood friend, whom I have known for 48 years (I am 60 yrs old), was reading the same novel 'The Lady Of The Rivers' at the same time as me. I live in Australia and she lives in Holland.

I so highly recommend Ms Gregory's books. One doesn't even have to have a love affair with History to immerse oneself in these books. Thank You Ms Gregory for all the wonderful hours I have spent and will spend, reading and losing myself in your stories.

Kind regards
Mrs. Asa Heagney-Arundell

Let me start by saying that I'm actually quite a fan of Philippa Gregory, and was quite excited when I found this out-of-print book in my local library. And by the end, how happy I was that I'd not spent a penny on it. This is, quite possibly, one of the worst books I've ever read. The protagonist is a selfish, vain, hateful girl who -- I would assume -- the reader is supposed to sympathize with. Everything she does -- every horrible, malicious thing -- is purely for her own pleasure, and to advance her own status. Never once does she think of anybody else as anything other than a stepping stone, and abuses everybody she comes in contact with and then cries out to the universe for pity on her.
I seriously only read this book to the end in the hope that when I got there, I'd get to see the protagonist die a horrible death.

I am generally a fan of Philippa Gregory and have enjoyed reading her historical fiction as great vacation escape novels. However, The Wise Woman left me wondering if it was, indeed, written by the same author. In addition to having an extremely contrived plot, a totally anticipated ending and some fairly twisted horror, this book had no redeeming characters. There was not one character in this entire novel I was rooting for and there were several times I toyed with simply closing the book and walking away out of total apathy for the outcome. I continued to the end simply to make sure my earlier assessment wasn't incorrect. But, having finished this total miss on Gregory's part, I have to say this time the author was unwise and so was I to spend time reading it! Perhaps the fact that it was an earlier effort had something to do with the undeveloped characters who all turned out to be despicable folks. By the end, who cared what happened?

I love philippa gregory's books and bought this one to tide me over until the white princess is released. It was okay for the first third, bad for the second third, and terrible for the last. Thoroughly uninteresting characters, a love interest I want to kick in the groin, and her sacrifice at the end makes no sense at all. I don't see how anyone could give it more than two stars. A terrible piece of work that should be avoided by true fans.

Reading the book's description made me aware that there would be references to magic and witchcraft but the storyline involved unbelievably stupid story lines including walking wax dolls. I finished the book as I kept believing would get better; I couldn't believe that the author that produced The White Queen could have written The Wise Woman. Walk away from this book.

I would not recommend, and I have read the Philippa Gregory Henry the VIII series, to the point I could not wait until they were published.
I was angry when I finished this book because I made myself read it despite the idiotic twists and turns. I cannot believe Philippa Gregory herself wrote this book. She had to have had someone else write it. It is awful. No one with an ounce of talent, and this includes Ms. Gregory, had anything to do with this book.

This well written, compelling story completely drew me in. The intricate weave of history with richly imaginative narrative provided me with a captivating read. Yet my personal hopes for the book as a student myself of the history of western women in medicine were dismayed. The story is not an honorable or even accurate portrayal of the women who served as primary health care providers in their communities for untold generations as healers, counselors, midwives, herbalists - those commonly referred to as wise women. It does, however, accurately capture a period of time where womens power was grotesquely feared and became associated with a widespread notion of evil - no doubt at times even by women themselves who were left only with vestiges of the old ways. One wonders if the author herself sadly confuses womens ancient power with negative manipulation as its basis rather than life-affirming, nurturing, and directed strength. Although a wonderfully told story, it is not at all about a woman of wisdom, but about a foolish girl with a dangerous little bit of knowledge making fantastical trouble for herself and others. While highly entertaining, it does not deserve the title.

I have read many of Philippa Gregory's books and enjoyed them all, until this one. While I realize none of the other novels are clean, I was surprised at how dirty this book was. This is nothing but erotica, and the writing was terrible. The characters kept having the same conversations over and over. Not much here but sex.

I couldn't put this book down. I know it's one of her first books, but it's the reason why I started reading this author. I wish she would go back to this type of writing. The story was very good and held your attention. If you are a true Gregory fan, you want to read this book!

As with many previous reviewers, I also am a fan of Gregory's work. This particular title caught my attention because I am a modern day Wiccan (a genuine Witch and Wise Woman). As such, I was utterly intrigued by the idea of Gregory taking up Wise Women in historical context.

While the reality of the setting - both time and place - are striking, I was amazed at Gregory's trivialization of her own work by turning the protagonist's "witchcraft" into nothing more than a Hollywood-style "magic and horror" show. All of Gregory's efforts to be true to the era were sadly washed out by the lack of any care or concern for what Wise Women were - and are today. Instead of focusing on the talent of these herbalist, mid-wife women (among their many talents), Gregory once again makes Witchcraft nothing better than a side-show with Hollywood horror style.

I was disappointed. While not looking for Gregory to support my Spirituality nor to vindicate those persecuted in the past, it certainly would have been nice to have her historical research delve into not only the conditions of the people at that time, but also to be as real about Wise Women as she is in all other areas of her research and writing.

I fell in love with Alys at the beginning of the book. About halfway through though, I realized i started to hate her. I love the book, the way all the characters are written and the depth of Alys' feelings and emotions. I love her, I hate her..... The book is amazing!

grotesque disturbing...I actually had to sleep w/ my lights on because I was scared....this book is more like the wideacre trilogy vs. her other books--there are some "disturbing" scenes in the book-but that is ok--makes for the "read the whole book in one sitting" expereince. I really enjoyed this book-i am always very dissapointed to finish a PG book becasue I really get swept up in her novels!

OK, I really love her books, but this one really was early on in her career. It starts out well enough with the main character, Elys, being an escapee of a nunnary that was ransacked. She escapes and does not aid her mentor and adopted mother which then haunts Elys. So, she goes back to her old "mother" who is a wise woman, healer etc. and begins to dally in the dark arts. Elys gets to go to the big castle to aide the ailing master ((not the king of England)) but the big land keeper of that area. She gains importance in the castle and then takes to his son and more dark arts follow.

Gregory really is a master storyteller and I do love her work, but I didn't love all of this book. I mean, when Alys' wax figures become real and when an important character has a wax miscarraige, due to her dark arts, I find this the Steve King part of the book and completely rediculous.

This book reminds me most of Wideacre and The King's Fool, but with an really odd, rather science fiction kind of twist.

That said, I did like the ending, which I won't reveal, and I do recommend you check out the book and read it, but skim the wax doll parts as I think all of that just detracts from the book. I wish she could rewrite and edit all that out, and she'd have a smashing book.

Had I read the one star reviews before I read this mess of a "book", I could have avoided it. I agree with everything here; not a character you like, a totally unsatisfying ending, although, if you make it to the end, you won't care. Even the sex was weird and blah. The worst book I have read in years. AWFUL.

I absolutely adored The Other Boleyn Girl, and I finished The Constant Princess in a few very looong nights. Perhaps it was foolish of me to assume that this book would be as amazing as the others, but when I was finished I was angry that I had devoted so much time to a novel that was not only slow, it had terrible resolution. Really, there's not much to recommend about this novel. If you are just picking up a Philippa Gregory book for the first time, do yourself a favor and start with the Boleyn Girl, not this one!

Having read many Phillipa Gregory books, I decided to give The Wise Woman a try - I am so sorry I did. It was just plain gross. It is full of witchcraft, weird graphic descriptions, and gratuitous sex. Come on, Phillipa Gregory, you are much better than this.

I have never read a book that I wouldn't, at least, put on the bookshelf at my beach home for someone to enjoy... even books that I did not enjoy. This is the first exception and it is possibly be the worst book I've ever read.

I am a huge Philippa Gregory fan, having read most of what she has written. This book is uninteresting, has unsympathetic characters and is really poorly written. I did finish it by skimming through the last 150 pages because I assumed that Gregory would redeem herself somehow. She didn't.

Read any other Gregory book, but skip this one!

I held off reading this book for a long time due to the negative reviews. Boy, were they wrong!! I loved this book it is one of the best I've ever read. I couldn't put it down. I snatched time whenever I could to read it. I will never go by the reviews again because in this case I feel they were very wrong. If the story interests you then read it you won't be disappointed. I just hate that I waited so long to read it. One of the best books I've ever read and I've read ALOT of books!!!!!

I love this book. I have to admit, after reading some of the reviews for this book before buying it, I was alittle worried I would not like it. I do not like books that are too out there and just too unbelievable. Gregory does a wonderful job in this book of making the story interesting and creepy without going way over the top. The only bad thing I can say about this book is that I did not like the way it ended. I was upset by the fact that Alyss took not only her own life but the life of her baby. Overall, however, this book is definiately worth the read.

This was the first Philippa Gregory novel I read, and it remains my favorite. It is dark, haunting, a little strange and creepy; gothic. The ending is unusual and disturbing. I started it at the beginning of a transatlantic flight, and I read the entire book throughout the course of the flight. I was completely lost in the story, and the flight was over before I knew it.

Goodness me there are a lot of sheep out there that want boring perfect heroines. I guess thats why tripe liti 50 Shades of Grey gets so popular.

This is one of PG's bests books - a dark grown up fairy tale - if only there more of them!

Having already read The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool, The Virgin's Lover and Earthly Joys, I hardly thought this one would compare. How wrong I was! I was so captivated by Alys', the main character's, plight. I was at first outraged and then empathetic of her decisions, remembering she was a mere immature seventeen year-old. How can anyone fault her - given the medieval times this story would have taken place. I was captivated by the politics, religion (which were both one and the same), witchcraft, and especially the sexuality, which was quite descriptive (dare I say Hot?)

The end of the story was the biggest surprise of all. So tender and moving were the last pages, I re-read them and teared up both times. I immediately wrote this review, my first ever.

A good read, but not an excellent one. I much preferred Gregory's novels of historical fiction, and I read them all. Her lead character, Alys, is a mixed bag, even given the surprise ending. I can only give a moderate, rather than hot, recommendation of this book.

This is a very dark historical fiction book. I wasn't expecting it but it was very good. At times you forget this is not a grown woman and just a young girl not even eighteen. She has to go through and see so much, it makes me wonder what i would do in the same situation. Good read.

What a disappointment! I am a big fan of Gregory's work and have read most of her other books. This one, however, delved into the occult in a sickening way. Unlike "The White Queen," which makes the supernatural a beautiful, mystical background, this one left me disgusted and shocked. I threw it away.

I loved this book.....Philippa Gregory is one of my favorite authors, I admit. But, she has the ability to get me so engrossed in her books that I get very sad when they end!! If you like books about witchcraft and love, honor, deceit, this book is for you.

I love Greggory's books. This one, however, had a slow beginning, a captivating middle, and a horrid resolution. I still cannot believe the ending - but, if you're looking for something out of the ordinary, this is it. Just don't expect to enjoy it.

I yield to no one my admiration for Philippa Gregory, but I suggest fans pass on this one. What an ugly book, full of yucko sex and unattractive people. If you want soft porn, there are better books. And that's what this one is.

After reading several of Gregory's other novels, The Wise Woman was disappointing. It is dark and not as artfully crafted. Reading it was like watching a 1 star film...you keep hoping it will get better, but it doesn't, and you feel like you've wasted your time.

I have enjoyed Gregory's novels of the Tudor era & expected this to be the same. How disappointing! It's like medieval porn. I could not even finish it. I would never recommend this book to anyone. I'd like to removed from my Kindle as I don't even want to own it.