That 'reading, thinking, creating' process

 

“I like to do the research of history and the creativity of writing fiction. I am creating this thing which I think is twice as difficult as writing either history or fiction.” – Philippa Gregory
 

Born in Kenya on this date in 1954, Gregory is best known for her award-winning novels (and cinematic pieces) The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen.   After “mostly” growing up in England, she studied (and earned degrees) in 18^th century literature.  But her primary writing focus has been on the 16^th century and the Tudors.  The prolific Gregory has penned 51 novels, half-a-dozen children’s books, 3 nonfiction books, 9 adaptations for stage and screen, and many short stories, essays and reviews.  Her latest novel, published in 2025, is Boleyn Traitor.

 

Gregory said she sometimes feels that her genre choice isn't highly regarded, but she likes writing it and has drawn a devoted following.  She also is a regular on the BBC where she actually started her writing career as a journalist.  But it is in historical fiction in which she has immersed herself.

 

“I love reading and I love thinking,” she said.  “The reason that I love my books so much is that in order to write them I have to read and to think for years at a time about the same period of time.”