Gregory rewrites Princess Florizella for her grandchildren

Philippa Gregory has rewritten Princess Florizella for her grandchildren, with a special edition to be published next month. 

Originally published as Princess Florizella (Puffin) and written by historical novelist Gregory for her own daughter in 1989, The Princess Rules has been reimagined in this new edition, to be published by HarperCollins Children's Books, for her grandchildren. 

For readers aged five to eight, The Princess Rules, will publish in a highly illustrated gift-sized hardback edition illustrated by picture book artist Chris Chatterton, set for publication on 31st October 2019.

"Set in a classic fairytale world, The Princess Rules tells the story of Princess Florizella, who is no ordinary princess," reads the synopsis. "She absolutely won’t be rescued by a handsome prince or dress the way anyone tells her to dress – and insists, instead, on going off on all sorts of amazing adventures."

Gregory said: “It’s been a joy to rewrite this book. The character of Princess Florizella remains the same: funny, quirky and original. But now, twenty years on, I’m much clearer that she’s up against something worse than a bad fairy at a christening – the ‘rules’ that try to persuade bright multi-talented children into stereotype notes. Florizella and her BFF Prince Bennet find their own paths around giants, wolves and (of course) dragons.”

Bestselling author Gregory is published by both HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster. Works that have been adapted for television and film include A Respectable Trade, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen’s Fool. She’s sold 6.1 million books for £40.2m, through Nielsen with her bestseller The Other Boleyn Girl, at 426,350 copies sold for its 2002 mass market paperback.