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The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #2
The White Queen
Brother turns on brother. The throne of England is at stake. The deadly Wars of the Roses have begun...
Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition, secretly marries the newly crowned boy king. While she rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become the central figures in a famous unsolved mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the lost princes in the Tower of London.
They ruled England before the Tudors, and now internationally bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings the Plantagenets to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women.
Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition, secretly marries the newly crowned boy king. While she rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become the central figures in a famous unsolved mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the lost princes in the Tower of London.
They ruled England before the Tudors, and now internationally bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings the Plantagenets to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women.
415 pages, Hardcover
First published August 18, 2009
About the author
Philippa Gregory
115 books34.3k followersPhilippa Gregory is one of the world’s foremost historical novelists. She wrote her first ever novel, Wideacre, when she was completing her PhD in eighteenth-century literature and it sold worldwide, heralding a new era for historical fiction.
Her flair for blending history and imagination developed into a signature style and Philippa went on to write many bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen.
Now a recognised authority on women’s history, Philippa graduated from the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she is a Regent and was made Alumna of the Year in 2009. She holds honorary degrees from Teesside University and the University of Sussex. She is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff and an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck University of London.
Philippa is a member of the Society of Authors and in 2016, was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award by the Historical Writers’ Association. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Nielsen for achieving significant lifetime sales across her entire book output.
She welcomes visitors to her site www.PhilippaGregory.com.
Philippa's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/PhilippaGregoryOfficial
Her flair for blending history and imagination developed into a signature style and Philippa went on to write many bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen.
Now a recognised authority on women’s history, Philippa graduated from the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she is a Regent and was made Alumna of the Year in 2009. She holds honorary degrees from Teesside University and the University of Sussex. She is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff and an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck University of London.
Philippa is a member of the Society of Authors and in 2016, was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award by the Historical Writers’ Association. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Nielsen for achieving significant lifetime sales across her entire book output.
She welcomes visitors to her site www.PhilippaGregory.com.
Philippa's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/PhilippaGregoryOfficial
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 7,906 reviews
March 5, 2010
Alright, I honestly did not like this novel. I can't believe this woman has written more than 10 books? I've been trying to conjure up excuses to give Gregory some credit but this novel just wasn't my style. Mainly because all it really is, is a detailed historical timeline with a little embellishment here and there; its bland soup. Her writing style in the beginning of the book was abominable. The first 10 pages were all I, I, I, and then He, He, He. What I'm trying to say is that there was no sentence variation, making the story very annoying to read after about five minutes. She improves on this towards the middle of the book but not immensely; her writing style is still pretty "feeling-less".
I also did not like the plot, now this I cannot blame on Gregory as she can not be held responsible for the irritating nature of the Old Regime. There are some take-away lessons from this story about power and "government" but after a while, the atrocities that men and women committed just to gain power became a little redundant and even annoying. Its like okay how many times are going to fight for someone else's throne? It just seemed like all these people had to do before the advent of television was go to war and try and become King of so and so. I would HATE to have lived in that era or to be a Queen or a Princess and be caught up in the endless web of greed. I hold all these views thanks to Gregory's perspective.It would be great to read something about this era written from the perspective of a common man.
Gregory really had something going with the witch side plot line. Magic always adds intrigue to a predictable story. But this was a very minute part of the novel. Most of the novel was just this happened and then that happened and then we were happy (summary) and then we went to war. The war details were great! This is why I'm even giving the novel two stars. There was a lot of detail there and you really could see the battles happening. The personal relationships were colorless though so unless you need to learn about the House of York for history class, I wouldn't waste my time with this book.
I also did not like the plot, now this I cannot blame on Gregory as she can not be held responsible for the irritating nature of the Old Regime. There are some take-away lessons from this story about power and "government" but after a while, the atrocities that men and women committed just to gain power became a little redundant and even annoying. Its like okay how many times are going to fight for someone else's throne? It just seemed like all these people had to do before the advent of television was go to war and try and become King of so and so. I would HATE to have lived in that era or to be a Queen or a Princess and be caught up in the endless web of greed. I hold all these views thanks to Gregory's perspective.It would be great to read something about this era written from the perspective of a common man.
Gregory really had something going with the witch side plot line. Magic always adds intrigue to a predictable story. But this was a very minute part of the novel. Most of the novel was just this happened and then that happened and then we were happy (summary) and then we went to war. The war details were great! This is why I'm even giving the novel two stars. There was a lot of detail there and you really could see the battles happening. The personal relationships were colorless though so unless you need to learn about the House of York for history class, I wouldn't waste my time with this book.
February 17, 2010
Considering that I've now read six of her books, it pains me to say that I might be getting over Phillipa Gregory. Most of the reviews for The White Queen were good, and I expected to like it. But for the most part, it was just...meh.
So, plot summary: we've moved back in time from the Sexy Sexy Tudors to the Sexy Sexy Plantagenets, but unfortunately these people do a lot less fucking and a lot more plotting. Also witchcraft, which was weird.
Reasons I Did Not Particularly Love This Book:
-The main character, Elizabeth Woodville, apparently came from a family that actually claimed to be descended from the water goddess Melusina. Okay, I can stand by that, but then Gregory takes it a step further (several steps, actually) and decides that not only do Elizabeth and her mother regularly perform spells that actually work, but they both have the Sight. Capital S. Gregory's pulled this trick before, with the vision-having character in The Queen's Fool, but it wasn't a major plot point there, and ultimately didn't influence the story that much. The supernatural element in this one borders on the ridiculous - Elizabeth whistles in a storm to stop Henry Tudor from invading London. I am not making this up, but Gregory is.
-This is a prequel, so there's lots of foreshadowing to what's going to happen in the next books. And it's very, very blatant foreshadowing. Characters are always saying things like, "Henry Tudor will never be king, none of the Tudors will" and "I trust Richard with my life, he's a great brother" and I can just see Philippa Gregory winking from behind the page, singing "I know what's gonna happen, I know what's gonna happen!" SO DO I, PHILIPPA.
-Elizabeth Woodville is traditionally vilified, which seems like a good enough reason to write a book from her perspective, but even when she's telling the story she can't hide the fact that she's kind of...evil. She manipulates people to serve her own agenda, is ruthless in securing the throne for her children even after Richard takes over and her kids just want to go home, and she also holds very creepy grudges against anyone who killed a member of her family. Her dad and one of her brothers gets killed in battle, and from then on every single time she mentions the men responsible she's like, "I'm going to kill them. They are dead men. I'm going to kill them so hard with magic and then I will make necklaces out of their spines and dance naked on their graves." Tone it down, woman!
-Every single man is named either Edward, Richard, George, or Henry. A family tree is provided at the beginning of the book, but since it stops at Edward IV and his brothers, it's no help at all when it comes to tracking Elizabeth's ten million siblings and children.
Maybe I'm moving beyond Philippa Gregory. This makes me sad, mostly because it means I need to find a new series of trashy guilty-pleasure books to read.
So, plot summary: we've moved back in time from the Sexy Sexy Tudors to the Sexy Sexy Plantagenets, but unfortunately these people do a lot less fucking and a lot more plotting. Also witchcraft, which was weird.
Reasons I Did Not Particularly Love This Book:
-The main character, Elizabeth Woodville, apparently came from a family that actually claimed to be descended from the water goddess Melusina. Okay, I can stand by that, but then Gregory takes it a step further (several steps, actually) and decides that not only do Elizabeth and her mother regularly perform spells that actually work, but they both have the Sight. Capital S. Gregory's pulled this trick before, with the vision-having character in The Queen's Fool, but it wasn't a major plot point there, and ultimately didn't influence the story that much. The supernatural element in this one borders on the ridiculous - Elizabeth whistles in a storm to stop Henry Tudor from invading London. I am not making this up, but Gregory is.
-This is a prequel, so there's lots of foreshadowing to what's going to happen in the next books. And it's very, very blatant foreshadowing. Characters are always saying things like, "Henry Tudor will never be king, none of the Tudors will" and "I trust Richard with my life, he's a great brother" and I can just see Philippa Gregory winking from behind the page, singing "I know what's gonna happen, I know what's gonna happen!" SO DO I, PHILIPPA.
-Elizabeth Woodville is traditionally vilified, which seems like a good enough reason to write a book from her perspective, but even when she's telling the story she can't hide the fact that she's kind of...evil. She manipulates people to serve her own agenda, is ruthless in securing the throne for her children even after Richard takes over and her kids just want to go home, and she also holds very creepy grudges against anyone who killed a member of her family. Her dad and one of her brothers gets killed in battle, and from then on every single time she mentions the men responsible she's like, "I'm going to kill them. They are dead men. I'm going to kill them so hard with magic and then I will make necklaces out of their spines and dance naked on their graves." Tone it down, woman!
-Every single man is named either Edward, Richard, George, or Henry. A family tree is provided at the beginning of the book, but since it stops at Edward IV and his brothers, it's no help at all when it comes to tracking Elizabeth's ten million siblings and children.
Maybe I'm moving beyond Philippa Gregory. This makes me sad, mostly because it means I need to find a new series of trashy guilty-pleasure books to read.
March 14, 2016
This was my first Philippa Gregory novel, and it was such an excellent introduction to the author and genre. It actually inspired me to read more historical fiction by a variety of writers. I like Gregory’s style because the history, and intensity, is not sacrificed by the romance in the plot. Indeed, the romance is a mere element of the story, and not the story itself. So, now, many years later, I’m glad I picked this book up. I like Gregory's Elizabeth; she has such sharp claws.
A woman who knows what she wants
Philippa is a master at getting into the mind of these historical figures; she takes the events and narrates them from the perspective of how the said character may have perceived them. Elizabeth Woodville is many things; she is a courageous woman and a loyal wife; she is ambitious and deadly; she is strong and ruthless. To some she is even considered a witch but, firstly, and undeniably, she is a concerned mother. This worriment over the fate of her children is exactly what makes her queen of England; her concern drives her to seek protection under the banner of York.
"To save my son, I would plot with the devil himself."
Her first husband has died fighting for the red rose: he has died under the banner of Lancaster. So, Elizabeth is widowed and in need of protection. Her family are seen as traitors by the new Yorkist regime; they are enemies of the crown. So, what better way than to appear as if by random out of the woods, like a fairy-tale princess, to gain the King’s heart? Elizabeth seduced the King, and he was more than happy to oblige her, but she was clever enough to gain some surety before giving herself fully to him; thus, she joins the house of York in a very well written opening to this book.
Elizabeth’s story
The marriage of Elizabeth and Edward IV began with passion and heat; it ended with political upheaval. I love the way Elizabeth has been written; it is such a way that suggests that her actions could be driven by a mother’s natural instinct to protect her children, and then at the same time suggests that she is merely plotting for her own power lust. I, personally, think it was a little bit of both. She feared Richard, but she also wanted to remain queen. This was quite a pivotal moment for history because if the two had reconciled, then perhaps together they could have saved the white rose of York. English history and society would be remarkably different.
But, that would never have happened. Both factions of the house of York wanted the power and wanted to be rulers of England. Elizabeth ensured her own security by keeping one of her boys out of Richard’s, supposedly, dirty hands. This young York boy appears later in the The White Princess as Perkin Warbeck. Indeed, Gregory leaves herself room for later scandal, lies and pure intrigue. I love this series, and I love the way she has written her characters. It’s an interpretation that, historically, could be true and accurate. But, at the same time, she never points any fingers. She shows us how things have happened, but at the same time doesn’t directly say who was responsible; she suggests just enough that every character has equal blame. I’m, of course, referring to the murders of the princes in the tower. In this, I feel that Gregory is completely impartial.
The Cousin's War Series
1. The White Queen- A strong four stars
2. The Red Queen- A fair three stars
3. The Lady of the Rivers- A Margretless two stars
A woman who knows what she wants
Philippa is a master at getting into the mind of these historical figures; she takes the events and narrates them from the perspective of how the said character may have perceived them. Elizabeth Woodville is many things; she is a courageous woman and a loyal wife; she is ambitious and deadly; she is strong and ruthless. To some she is even considered a witch but, firstly, and undeniably, she is a concerned mother. This worriment over the fate of her children is exactly what makes her queen of England; her concern drives her to seek protection under the banner of York.
"To save my son, I would plot with the devil himself."
Her first husband has died fighting for the red rose: he has died under the banner of Lancaster. So, Elizabeth is widowed and in need of protection. Her family are seen as traitors by the new Yorkist regime; they are enemies of the crown. So, what better way than to appear as if by random out of the woods, like a fairy-tale princess, to gain the King’s heart? Elizabeth seduced the King, and he was more than happy to oblige her, but she was clever enough to gain some surety before giving herself fully to him; thus, she joins the house of York in a very well written opening to this book.
Elizabeth’s story
The marriage of Elizabeth and Edward IV began with passion and heat; it ended with political upheaval. I love the way Elizabeth has been written; it is such a way that suggests that her actions could be driven by a mother’s natural instinct to protect her children, and then at the same time suggests that she is merely plotting for her own power lust. I, personally, think it was a little bit of both. She feared Richard, but she also wanted to remain queen. This was quite a pivotal moment for history because if the two had reconciled, then perhaps together they could have saved the white rose of York. English history and society would be remarkably different.
But, that would never have happened. Both factions of the house of York wanted the power and wanted to be rulers of England. Elizabeth ensured her own security by keeping one of her boys out of Richard’s, supposedly, dirty hands. This young York boy appears later in the The White Princess as Perkin Warbeck. Indeed, Gregory leaves herself room for later scandal, lies and pure intrigue. I love this series, and I love the way she has written her characters. It’s an interpretation that, historically, could be true and accurate. But, at the same time, she never points any fingers. She shows us how things have happened, but at the same time doesn’t directly say who was responsible; she suggests just enough that every character has equal blame. I’m, of course, referring to the murders of the princes in the tower. In this, I feel that Gregory is completely impartial.
The Cousin's War Series
1. The White Queen- A strong four stars
2. The Red Queen- A fair three stars
3. The Lady of the Rivers- A Margretless two stars
September 1, 2017
Excellent follow up. And I do love this family. Good storytelling - especially with the connections to the first book and the subsequent ones. You see the other side of the story which is a sign of a good storyteller. Nice one, Ms. Gregory. Plus there's the secret of the two princes locked in the tower. Did Richard do it? The language is beautiful. I just love reading these re-creations, imagining the beauty and the glow of the language, the scenes and the words. If you love history, and you're OK with some fiction interspersed, you've got a winner here.
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
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January 12, 2022“If there is love enough, then nothing - not nature, not even death itself - can come between two who love each other.”
The White Queen is the sequel to The Lady of the Rivers and they both had their strengths and weaknesses. They each tell the story of a powerful woman in a kingdom ruled by men. These women fight for their lives, their loves and their children - out of a sense of survival as well as out of ambition and a hunger for power.
Even though their stories are intriguing and impressive, I often struggled to find the motivation to keep reading. This has nothing to do with Gregory's talent as a writer and everything with the tiring wars and battles that divided the country and resulted in me losing interest in the story. But it's historical fiction; these battles and fights, these long rides through the country and on the sea really happened and it wouldn't make any sense if they didn't show up in this book. But what I'm interested in is life at court, the schemes and games they played, the legends and stories that may or may not be true.
Something else that slowed down my reading was the fact that I knew the outcome. I knew people would die, plots wouldn't work out, wishes would stay unfulfilled. No matter how much I rooted for the main character to succeed, history taught me better.
In a nutshell: a fascinating read about a remarkable figure who managed to become the most powerful woman in the country, even though all the odds were stacked against her.
Find more of my books on Instagram
The White Queen is the sequel to The Lady of the Rivers and they both had their strengths and weaknesses. They each tell the story of a powerful woman in a kingdom ruled by men. These women fight for their lives, their loves and their children - out of a sense of survival as well as out of ambition and a hunger for power.
Even though their stories are intriguing and impressive, I often struggled to find the motivation to keep reading. This has nothing to do with Gregory's talent as a writer and everything with the tiring wars and battles that divided the country and resulted in me losing interest in the story. But it's historical fiction; these battles and fights, these long rides through the country and on the sea really happened and it wouldn't make any sense if they didn't show up in this book. But what I'm interested in is life at court, the schemes and games they played, the legends and stories that may or may not be true.
Something else that slowed down my reading was the fact that I knew the outcome. I knew people would die, plots wouldn't work out, wishes would stay unfulfilled. No matter how much I rooted for the main character to succeed, history taught me better.
In a nutshell: a fascinating read about a remarkable figure who managed to become the most powerful woman in the country, even though all the odds were stacked against her.
Find more of my books on Instagram
November 17, 2020
The White Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #2), Philippa Gregory
The White Queen is a 2009 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, the first of her series The Cousins' War. The story of Elizabeth Woodville, queen consort of King Edward IV of England.
Young widow Lady Elizabeth Grey puts herself in the path of King Edward IV to seek his assistance in reclaiming her late husband's estate for her sons, but it is love at first sight for both of them.
They marry in secret, which later puts Edward, Elizabeth and Elizabeth's entire family at odds with Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, who had helped place Edward on the throne expecting to control the young king. Masterminded by Elizabeth's mother Jacquetta, an experienced courtier formerly allied with the ousted queen Margaret of Anjou, Edward and Elizabeth secure strategic marriages and positions for Elizabeth's siblings and other relatives to bolster Edward's power and alliances against Warwick.
Edward and Elizabeth have three daughters, and Warwick rebels, attempting to put Edward's malleable younger brother George, Duke of Clarence on the throne instead. Edward foils their plan and reconciles with Warwick and George to consolidate his power, but not before Warwick executes Elizabeth's father, Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers and brother, John Woodville. Elizabeth vows revenge. ...
تاریخ خوانش نسخه اصلی روز شانزدهم ماه آگوست سال 2017میلادی
عنوان: ملکه سفید کتاب دوم از سری تودور و پلانتاژنه؛ نویسنده فلیپا گرگوری؛
الیزابت وودویل (1437میلادی – هشتم ماه ژوئن سال 1492میلادی) از سال 1464میلادی تا زمان درگذشت «ادوارد چهارم» در سال 1483میلادی، همسر ایشان و ملکه ی انگلستان بودند؛ در زمان تولد او، خانواده اش رتبه ی بالایی در میان اشرافزادگان انگلیسی نداشتند؛ همسر نخست وی «جان گری»، از حامیان خاندان «لنکستر» بود، که در سال 1461میلادی در جنگ کشته شد.؛ «الیزابت» از آن ازدواج دو پسر داشت؛ «ادوارد چهارم» همسر دوم او بود، و این ازدواج باعث صعود خانواده ی «الیزابت»، در میان اشرافزادگان شد، و این امر باعث ایجاد دشمنی با این خانواده، در میان سایر اشراف گردید.؛ «الیزابت» پس از درگذشت «ادوارد چهارم»، و حتی پس از برکناری پسرش «ادوارد پنجم» از سلطنت، توسط «ریچارد سوم»، همچنان بر سیاست انگلستان تاثیرگذار ماندند، به نحوی که در به سلطنت رسیدن «هنری هفتم»، در سال 1485میلادی نقش مهمی ایفا کردند؛ اما پس از به سلطنت رسیدن «هنری هفتم»، به تدریج جایگاه خود را به مادر «هنری» واگذار کرد، و از دربار فاصله گرفت؛ «الیزابت» از ازدواج با «ادوارد چهارم» صاحب ده فرزند شدند؛ یکی از فرزندان «الیزابت یورک» بود، که با «هنری هفتم» ازدواج کرد، و مادر «هنری هشتم» بود؛ به این ترتیب همگی پادشاهان انگلستان، از «هنری هشتم» به بعد، و همچنین همه ی پادشاهان «اسکاتلند»، از «جیمز پنجم» به بعد، از نوادگان «الیزابت وودویل» هستند.؛ پس از به سلطنت رسیدن «هنری هفتم»، و در سال 1487میلادی، «الیزابت» از دربار فاصله گرفت، و باقی عمر خود را در یک صومعه سپری کرد؛ مشخص نیست که این کناره گیری به خواست خود او بوده، یا تحت فشار «هنری هفتم» انجام شده است.؛ «الیزابت» در روز هشتم ماه ژوئن سال 1492میلادی درگذشت، و در روز دوازدهم ماه ژوئن همان سال در کنار همسرش در «قلعه ویندسور» به خاک سپرده شد
تاریخ 26/08/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
The White Queen is a 2009 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, the first of her series The Cousins' War. The story of Elizabeth Woodville, queen consort of King Edward IV of England.
Young widow Lady Elizabeth Grey puts herself in the path of King Edward IV to seek his assistance in reclaiming her late husband's estate for her sons, but it is love at first sight for both of them.
They marry in secret, which later puts Edward, Elizabeth and Elizabeth's entire family at odds with Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, who had helped place Edward on the throne expecting to control the young king. Masterminded by Elizabeth's mother Jacquetta, an experienced courtier formerly allied with the ousted queen Margaret of Anjou, Edward and Elizabeth secure strategic marriages and positions for Elizabeth's siblings and other relatives to bolster Edward's power and alliances against Warwick.
Edward and Elizabeth have three daughters, and Warwick rebels, attempting to put Edward's malleable younger brother George, Duke of Clarence on the throne instead. Edward foils their plan and reconciles with Warwick and George to consolidate his power, but not before Warwick executes Elizabeth's father, Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers and brother, John Woodville. Elizabeth vows revenge. ...
تاریخ خوانش نسخه اصلی روز شانزدهم ماه آگوست سال 2017میلادی
عنوان: ملکه سفید کتاب دوم از سری تودور و پلانتاژنه؛ نویسنده فلیپا گرگوری؛
الیزابت وودویل (1437میلادی – هشتم ماه ژوئن سال 1492میلادی) از سال 1464میلادی تا زمان درگذشت «ادوارد چهارم» در سال 1483میلادی، همسر ایشان و ملکه ی انگلستان بودند؛ در زمان تولد او، خانواده اش رتبه ی بالایی در میان اشرافزادگان انگلیسی نداشتند؛ همسر نخست وی «جان گری»، از حامیان خاندان «لنکستر» بود، که در سال 1461میلادی در جنگ کشته شد.؛ «الیزابت» از آن ازدواج دو پسر داشت؛ «ادوارد چهارم» همسر دوم او بود، و این ازدواج باعث صعود خانواده ی «الیزابت»، در میان اشرافزادگان شد، و این امر باعث ایجاد دشمنی با این خانواده، در میان سایر اشراف گردید.؛ «الیزابت» پس از درگذشت «ادوارد چهارم»، و حتی پس از برکناری پسرش «ادوارد پنجم» از سلطنت، توسط «ریچارد سوم»، همچنان بر سیاست انگلستان تاثیرگذار ماندند، به نحوی که در به سلطنت رسیدن «هنری هفتم»، در سال 1485میلادی نقش مهمی ایفا کردند؛ اما پس از به سلطنت رسیدن «هنری هفتم»، به تدریج جایگاه خود را به مادر «هنری» واگذار کرد، و از دربار فاصله گرفت؛ «الیزابت» از ازدواج با «ادوارد چهارم» صاحب ده فرزند شدند؛ یکی از فرزندان «الیزابت یورک» بود، که با «هنری هفتم» ازدواج کرد، و مادر «هنری هشتم» بود؛ به این ترتیب همگی پادشاهان انگلستان، از «هنری هشتم» به بعد، و همچنین همه ی پادشاهان «اسکاتلند»، از «جیمز پنجم» به بعد، از نوادگان «الیزابت وودویل» هستند.؛ پس از به سلطنت رسیدن «هنری هفتم»، و در سال 1487میلادی، «الیزابت» از دربار فاصله گرفت، و باقی عمر خود را در یک صومعه سپری کرد؛ مشخص نیست که این کناره گیری به خواست خود او بوده، یا تحت فشار «هنری هفتم» انجام شده است.؛ «الیزابت» در روز هشتم ماه ژوئن سال 1492میلادی درگذشت، و در روز دوازدهم ماه ژوئن همان سال در کنار همسرش در «قلعه ویندسور» به خاک سپرده شد
تاریخ 26/08/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
June 5, 2009
Philippa Gregory’s latest historical fiction release is, to put it mildly, absolutely amazing. I think this is one of her better books--on par with The Other Boleyn Girl. The scope of The White Queen is just as if not more epic, in terms of literary drama, than the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn at the hand of King Henry VIII. It focuses on The War of the Roses, a bloody war of politics and rival family members pitted against each other as the Yorks and Lancasters fought to become the next ruling family of England.
I didn’t know much about this time in England’s history except that the Tudors, as part of the House of Lancaster, are the winners and the symbol of Henry VII’s unification of the two houses is the Tudor Rose. Of course, since it’s a war of cousins, as soon as I began reading, I had a hard time keeping track of this huge family and found a really handy family tree on Wikipedia made specifically for following the lineage and contributing royals to this war. Even with that, it’s hard to keep track of three generations of names like Richard, Edward, and George. But I think I did fine.
The White Queen is told through the voice of Elizabeth Woodville, a widow of the House of Lancaster with two sons left fatherless from the war with the Yorks. She finds herself in the middle of her mother’s plotting and is soon exerting her ambitions on the upstart York King Edward IV. Gregory imagines theirs being a true romance, despite Edward’s kingly indulgence of other women--she manages to make Edward and Elizabeth’s relationship seem much deeper than political ambition. They are married in secret--an act which eventually comes back to haunt them and puts their positions in danger. Rumors and scandals spread by rivals--even Edward’s own brother--threaten to overturn Elizabeth’s good luck and the safety of her large family of heirs.
Among the accusations is a cry of witchcraft at the hand of her mother, Jacquetta, who believes herself to be a descendant of Melusina, the mythic influence of The Little Mermaid fairy tale. Wielding strange beliefs in the power of her little spells and enchantments, the inclusion of this in the text adds an elusive and magical femininity to The White Queen and like Philippa Gregory’s other books, both confirms and denies age old questions of the wickedness once believed to be punishable only by drowning or burning. It’s just as easy to believe in the childhood mysteries and superstitions drawn out into her burgeoning womanhood as it is to think Elizabeth’s successes and failures are the result of her and her mother’s ambitious and well thought out machinations.
If I read correctly, there are also references to stories of Cinderella and real-life influences for the myth of Robin Hood. Belief in fairy tales or not, they add an ambiance and counter the surprisingly bloody and graphic battle scenes Gregory writes with the confidence of a writer who’s been doing it her whole life. I’ve read eight of her books--in none of them do I remember ever reading the specifics on combat. That she does venture bravely into that arena emphasizes the extend of the war fueled by the political ambitions of the York and Lancaster families. If she hadn’t, I don’t think I would have understood the gravity, the severity, or the consequence of the war as much. I’m grateful and impressed--Gregory has definitely gone up a notch in my book. She reenforces her existing mastery of writing scandal, intrigue, romance, and the political maneuvering and flirtations of the court. But she also shows off skills I never knew she had; the darker side of Gregory’s writing is just as inviting as it is graphic.
I think it’s this addition to the book and the almost magical realism of the Rivers family and the storms they wield that make this a really spectacular first part in a trilogy (The Cousins War) that will include two other titles: The Red Queen and The White Princess. Of course, Philippa Gregory’s mastery over English history and phenomenal research makes for spell-binding historical fictions when combined with her superb storytelling and attention to the type of detail that adds veracity and momentum to every one of her books.
It helps that she wrote about such a tumultuous and dramatic time in English history--ripe for literary exploration. With the way she approaches her subjects and writes, I think Philippa Gregory could make almost any period in history sound scrumptious. That being said, the mysterious disappearance of the Princes in the Tower was an event way outside of my bubble of knowledge--I admit, I cheated and Googled the phrase to learn what about their fate has become so profound. After reading the book, I’m tickled to learn that Gregory has intertwined their fictitious fate with that of Henry VIII in The Other Boleyn Girl who blames Anne Boleyn for his impotence and her inability to produce a healthy heir. I had to laugh as I read the curses of Elizabeth and her daughter. After all, Henry VIII, if Elizabeth’s magic is to be believed, has the right to place the blame on his troubles elsewhere--he’s just blamed the wrong woman is all!
In any event, I completely recommend this book to fans of historical fiction and anyone interested in reading a riveting story of love, jealousy, and vengeance. And I absolutely recommend this to Philippa Gregory fans. She’s reinvented herself in this one, I think and proves she can use fairy tales, romance, and gore in the same book and make it all completely plausible. I can’t say enough how much I loved this book. You should go pre-order it right now. Right now.
I didn’t know much about this time in England’s history except that the Tudors, as part of the House of Lancaster, are the winners and the symbol of Henry VII’s unification of the two houses is the Tudor Rose. Of course, since it’s a war of cousins, as soon as I began reading, I had a hard time keeping track of this huge family and found a really handy family tree on Wikipedia made specifically for following the lineage and contributing royals to this war. Even with that, it’s hard to keep track of three generations of names like Richard, Edward, and George. But I think I did fine.
The White Queen is told through the voice of Elizabeth Woodville, a widow of the House of Lancaster with two sons left fatherless from the war with the Yorks. She finds herself in the middle of her mother’s plotting and is soon exerting her ambitions on the upstart York King Edward IV. Gregory imagines theirs being a true romance, despite Edward’s kingly indulgence of other women--she manages to make Edward and Elizabeth’s relationship seem much deeper than political ambition. They are married in secret--an act which eventually comes back to haunt them and puts their positions in danger. Rumors and scandals spread by rivals--even Edward’s own brother--threaten to overturn Elizabeth’s good luck and the safety of her large family of heirs.
Among the accusations is a cry of witchcraft at the hand of her mother, Jacquetta, who believes herself to be a descendant of Melusina, the mythic influence of The Little Mermaid fairy tale. Wielding strange beliefs in the power of her little spells and enchantments, the inclusion of this in the text adds an elusive and magical femininity to The White Queen and like Philippa Gregory’s other books, both confirms and denies age old questions of the wickedness once believed to be punishable only by drowning or burning. It’s just as easy to believe in the childhood mysteries and superstitions drawn out into her burgeoning womanhood as it is to think Elizabeth’s successes and failures are the result of her and her mother’s ambitious and well thought out machinations.
If I read correctly, there are also references to stories of Cinderella and real-life influences for the myth of Robin Hood. Belief in fairy tales or not, they add an ambiance and counter the surprisingly bloody and graphic battle scenes Gregory writes with the confidence of a writer who’s been doing it her whole life. I’ve read eight of her books--in none of them do I remember ever reading the specifics on combat. That she does venture bravely into that arena emphasizes the extend of the war fueled by the political ambitions of the York and Lancaster families. If she hadn’t, I don’t think I would have understood the gravity, the severity, or the consequence of the war as much. I’m grateful and impressed--Gregory has definitely gone up a notch in my book. She reenforces her existing mastery of writing scandal, intrigue, romance, and the political maneuvering and flirtations of the court. But she also shows off skills I never knew she had; the darker side of Gregory’s writing is just as inviting as it is graphic.
I think it’s this addition to the book and the almost magical realism of the Rivers family and the storms they wield that make this a really spectacular first part in a trilogy (The Cousins War) that will include two other titles: The Red Queen and The White Princess. Of course, Philippa Gregory’s mastery over English history and phenomenal research makes for spell-binding historical fictions when combined with her superb storytelling and attention to the type of detail that adds veracity and momentum to every one of her books.
It helps that she wrote about such a tumultuous and dramatic time in English history--ripe for literary exploration. With the way she approaches her subjects and writes, I think Philippa Gregory could make almost any period in history sound scrumptious. That being said, the mysterious disappearance of the Princes in the Tower was an event way outside of my bubble of knowledge--I admit, I cheated and Googled the phrase to learn what about their fate has become so profound. After reading the book, I’m tickled to learn that Gregory has intertwined their fictitious fate with that of Henry VIII in The Other Boleyn Girl who blames Anne Boleyn for his impotence and her inability to produce a healthy heir. I had to laugh as I read the curses of Elizabeth and her daughter. After all, Henry VIII, if Elizabeth’s magic is to be believed, has the right to place the blame on his troubles elsewhere--he’s just blamed the wrong woman is all!
In any event, I completely recommend this book to fans of historical fiction and anyone interested in reading a riveting story of love, jealousy, and vengeance. And I absolutely recommend this to Philippa Gregory fans. She’s reinvented herself in this one, I think and proves she can use fairy tales, romance, and gore in the same book and make it all completely plausible. I can’t say enough how much I loved this book. You should go pre-order it right now. Right now.
October 8, 2009
Here is a thought that has probably never occurred to anyone while reading a Philippa Gregory novel: You know what this book needs? More politics!
Gregory is best known for her fictionalized tales about the lives of the Kings and Queens of England, most famously The Other Boleyn Girl. This is a genre I like to call Historical Harlequin, whereby there may be some actual fact but it is mostly sappy, glorified romance in what was probably just a time period more miserable than the 90’s. She turns fat homicidal maniacs into heartthrobs (i.e., Henry VIII) and sad female pawns into beautiful heroines (i.e, every woman in her novels. Has anyone seen 16th century portraits? No one was beautiful. They were all marrying their cousins.). Gregory usually does this with remarkable skill, and her compelling, provocative novels always end up on the bestseller list. They are a tasty guilty pleasure, kind of like Twilight’s older, brainier cousin.
Her newest novel, The White Queen, appeared to no one’s surprise on the bestseller list almost immediately. The surprise is in how terribly boring this one is. Gregory has abandoned the Tudor dynasty and gone back in time to the Plantagenets, a seemingly psychotic clan who should have been easy to write exciting literature about. Two families, the Lancasters and the Yorks, struggled for the throne for generations. The ruthless, brother-on-brother violence and endless battling is now known as The War of the Roses, since supporters wore colored roses to represent their favorite team, so to speak. Prior to reading this novel, I just thought The War of the Roses was an 80’s movie starring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. So at least I learned something and it wasn’t a total waste of time.
The story follows Elizabeth Woodville. She begins the book as a poor young widow and mother of two whose husband died in battle against the Yorks. Then, for inexplicable and icky reasons, she falls in love with the victor King Edward, who is essentially responsible for her husband’s death. No matter. They marry in secret, and after an interminable number of pages, she eventually is declared Queen. This makes her happy for reasons completely unclear to anyone sane, especially considering that the chief pastime of royals in this time period was to cut off one another’s heads.
As usual, Gregory navigates a hefty chunk of time and history (in this case, 20 years) in relatively little space. The problem is that she misjudges the things that her audience might actually be interested in. The Other Boleyn Girl, her best and most famous novel, did not bother the reader with the details of Henry’s political life beyond how it affected his love life. The White Queen reads, at times, like a Eurpoean History textbook. It is crammed with names, dates, and battles. Hello? Girls read your books, Philippa. Give us some love scenes. The steamier, the better. But when she’s not writing like a stuffy historian, she’s writing sentiments that belong in ‘N Sync songs: “He will never understand what happened that day between a young man and a young woman. There was magic: and the name of it was love.” Yikes.
It’s next to impossible to keep track of who anyone is. Everyone is named Richard, Edward, and Elizabeth. Elizabeth names her own daughter Elizabeth, and both her
husband and son are named Edward. She has two sons named Richard. That’s just lazy. The king’s brothers are Richard and George, and Elizabeth has sons named—you guessed it—Richard and George. And it’s not just her family. It seems that there were only ten names total to choose from in the 16th century, and Gregory introduces us to about 700 characters all with the same ten names. It’s like watching The Hills, where everyone is equally blonde and equally stupid and you have no idea what’s happening or why.
There is one bright spot. Women are always getting their heads chopped off in Gregory’s books because they’re accused of being witches—an accusation that rings ridiculous in modern ears. In this book, Gregory decides to make the Queen actually guilty of witchcraft, not just accused of it. She and her mother have “powers”—they cast spells, call up storms, tell the future, etc. This choice, according to the Author’s Note at the end, stems from actual historical record that the Queen believed herself to be descended from a water goddess. Weird, yes. Boring, no.
The rest is par for the course. The men all come across as paranoid, power-hungry finger-pointers and philanderers, while the women are all strong, smart, beautiful, and blameless. There is a word for woman-hating: misogyny. Whatever the word is for man-hating, I think Philippa Gregory is guilty of it. Poor guys. Apparently not a single nice one existed in all of England for the better part of 200 years. The only good ones get killed off in battle or in unjust head-removal procedures. She may need to work out some of these issues in therapy.
The White Queen is billed as “the first in a series” of books about the Plantagenets, and the ending, indeed, has a Lord of the Rings lack of finality to it that is more than a little frustrating. It’s hard not to hope that she gets her head chopped off in the next one so we can start fresh.
For some far better Historical Harlequin reads, I recommend the following:
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (but you’ve read that already. Everyone has.)
The Last Wife of Henry VIII by Carolly Erickson (Do not waste your time on the Marie Antoinette book by this same author. Terrible.)
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (Biblical Harlequin—finally!)
If you like this article, click here to read more. Also select “subscribe to email” to receive free email updates when I post a new review.
Read more reviews at:
http://www.examiner.com/x-22593-India...
Gregory is best known for her fictionalized tales about the lives of the Kings and Queens of England, most famously The Other Boleyn Girl. This is a genre I like to call Historical Harlequin, whereby there may be some actual fact but it is mostly sappy, glorified romance in what was probably just a time period more miserable than the 90’s. She turns fat homicidal maniacs into heartthrobs (i.e., Henry VIII) and sad female pawns into beautiful heroines (i.e, every woman in her novels. Has anyone seen 16th century portraits? No one was beautiful. They were all marrying their cousins.). Gregory usually does this with remarkable skill, and her compelling, provocative novels always end up on the bestseller list. They are a tasty guilty pleasure, kind of like Twilight’s older, brainier cousin.
Her newest novel, The White Queen, appeared to no one’s surprise on the bestseller list almost immediately. The surprise is in how terribly boring this one is. Gregory has abandoned the Tudor dynasty and gone back in time to the Plantagenets, a seemingly psychotic clan who should have been easy to write exciting literature about. Two families, the Lancasters and the Yorks, struggled for the throne for generations. The ruthless, brother-on-brother violence and endless battling is now known as The War of the Roses, since supporters wore colored roses to represent their favorite team, so to speak. Prior to reading this novel, I just thought The War of the Roses was an 80’s movie starring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. So at least I learned something and it wasn’t a total waste of time.
The story follows Elizabeth Woodville. She begins the book as a poor young widow and mother of two whose husband died in battle against the Yorks. Then, for inexplicable and icky reasons, she falls in love with the victor King Edward, who is essentially responsible for her husband’s death. No matter. They marry in secret, and after an interminable number of pages, she eventually is declared Queen. This makes her happy for reasons completely unclear to anyone sane, especially considering that the chief pastime of royals in this time period was to cut off one another’s heads.
As usual, Gregory navigates a hefty chunk of time and history (in this case, 20 years) in relatively little space. The problem is that she misjudges the things that her audience might actually be interested in. The Other Boleyn Girl, her best and most famous novel, did not bother the reader with the details of Henry’s political life beyond how it affected his love life. The White Queen reads, at times, like a Eurpoean History textbook. It is crammed with names, dates, and battles. Hello? Girls read your books, Philippa. Give us some love scenes. The steamier, the better. But when she’s not writing like a stuffy historian, she’s writing sentiments that belong in ‘N Sync songs: “He will never understand what happened that day between a young man and a young woman. There was magic: and the name of it was love.” Yikes.
It’s next to impossible to keep track of who anyone is. Everyone is named Richard, Edward, and Elizabeth. Elizabeth names her own daughter Elizabeth, and both her
husband and son are named Edward. She has two sons named Richard. That’s just lazy. The king’s brothers are Richard and George, and Elizabeth has sons named—you guessed it—Richard and George. And it’s not just her family. It seems that there were only ten names total to choose from in the 16th century, and Gregory introduces us to about 700 characters all with the same ten names. It’s like watching The Hills, where everyone is equally blonde and equally stupid and you have no idea what’s happening or why.
There is one bright spot. Women are always getting their heads chopped off in Gregory’s books because they’re accused of being witches—an accusation that rings ridiculous in modern ears. In this book, Gregory decides to make the Queen actually guilty of witchcraft, not just accused of it. She and her mother have “powers”—they cast spells, call up storms, tell the future, etc. This choice, according to the Author’s Note at the end, stems from actual historical record that the Queen believed herself to be descended from a water goddess. Weird, yes. Boring, no.
The rest is par for the course. The men all come across as paranoid, power-hungry finger-pointers and philanderers, while the women are all strong, smart, beautiful, and blameless. There is a word for woman-hating: misogyny. Whatever the word is for man-hating, I think Philippa Gregory is guilty of it. Poor guys. Apparently not a single nice one existed in all of England for the better part of 200 years. The only good ones get killed off in battle or in unjust head-removal procedures. She may need to work out some of these issues in therapy.
The White Queen is billed as “the first in a series” of books about the Plantagenets, and the ending, indeed, has a Lord of the Rings lack of finality to it that is more than a little frustrating. It’s hard not to hope that she gets her head chopped off in the next one so we can start fresh.
For some far better Historical Harlequin reads, I recommend the following:
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (but you’ve read that already. Everyone has.)
The Last Wife of Henry VIII by Carolly Erickson (Do not waste your time on the Marie Antoinette book by this same author. Terrible.)
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (Biblical Harlequin—finally!)
If you like this article, click here to read more. Also select “subscribe to email” to receive free email updates when I post a new review.
Read more reviews at:
http://www.examiner.com/x-22593-India...
February 21, 2022
Three brothers usurp the mad King Henry to place King Edward on the throne. Elizabeth Woodville captures King Edward York's heart and becomes Queen of England. Unfortunately, the House of York is bloody. King York remains in constant battle to hold his crown. Even from his own brothers. When the king dies, his heirs are in danger. Queen Elizabeth has to find a way to survive and keep her children alive.
Gregory knows how to write excellent historical fiction. She can transport you back in time and put you in the Queen's court. You can easily fall in love or hate the people she writes about. The whole series is a must-read.
Gregory knows how to write excellent historical fiction. She can transport you back in time and put you in the Queen's court. You can easily fall in love or hate the people she writes about. The whole series is a must-read.
July 26, 2013
2013 update: It's been three years since I wrote this review. Just read the book again and my opinion remains the same.
-----
I have a confession to make: I’ve been known to read trashy books. Now, this isn’t something that I like to shout from the rooftops, but if you spent your days reading Chaucer, you would unwind with something less cerebral too. I’ve done the romance novel thing, but the formula becomes grating after a while. So, my most turned to brainless literature is mediocre historical fiction.
I don’t think Philippa Gregory stared out as a mediocre artist. Her break-out novel, The Other Boleyn Girl , was pretty gripping and presented a side of that worn out Tudor saga that I hadn’t heard before. Unfortunately, her work has started to go down a long, dull hill. She’s now turning her attention to the final years of the Plantagenet reign over English with The White Queen .
The White Queen follows the rise of Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner widow, who captures the eye of the young King Edward IV and rises to be the queen of the penultimate reign of a Plantagenet monarch. This period of time has been much discussed by artists and historians as an era of greed and blood. Many a historian has portrayed Edward IV’s queen as the head of a family of grasping bloodsuckers who wormed their way into the highest positions in the kingdom, much like the Boleyns a few generations later. Shakespeare even dedicated his pen to a play based on the period: Richard III . There’s an incredible amount to tell and so many points of view to take in.
Unfortunately, Gregory decides to take the least believable route. Inspired by the whispers of witchcraft that surrounded the Woodville family (which was supposedly descended from a water goddess), Gregory portrays Elizabeth Woodville, her mother, and daughter Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth, wife of Henry VII) as practitioners of wizardry. What made Edward fall for Elizabeth? A ring tied to a string. What made a boat carrying important dignitaries toss violently over the sea? A storm called up by witches’ breath. What withers Richard III’s sword arm and cripples his health? A curse and a locket. Really, Philippa, really?
I think her choice in plot devices shows an author taking the easy way out. Elizabeth Woodville, whether you liked her or not, was a force to be reckoned with. She defied an ordained king by claiming sanctuary for herself and her children in a basement. She suffered through accusations that her husband had been a bastard, sired by a lowly English bowman. She climbed to the highest position in the land and hung there through some of the greatest storms in English royal history. And Gregory credits it to witchcraft? Ugh.
Seriously, if you find this era interesting, pick up Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne in Splendour , a hefty novel that relies on history and the strength of the characters. Gregory would indeed need witchcraft to reach her standard of work. Sadly, I’m probably going to end up reading Gregory’s next book, which will be a depiction of the same events, just from the point of view of Margaret Beaufort, mother to Henry Tudor. I will grit my teeth in irritation, then maybe through my Kindle in the trash, but I will read it shamefaced. Why am I so weak?!
-----
I have a confession to make: I’ve been known to read trashy books. Now, this isn’t something that I like to shout from the rooftops, but if you spent your days reading Chaucer, you would unwind with something less cerebral too. I’ve done the romance novel thing, but the formula becomes grating after a while. So, my most turned to brainless literature is mediocre historical fiction.
I don’t think Philippa Gregory stared out as a mediocre artist. Her break-out novel, The Other Boleyn Girl , was pretty gripping and presented a side of that worn out Tudor saga that I hadn’t heard before. Unfortunately, her work has started to go down a long, dull hill. She’s now turning her attention to the final years of the Plantagenet reign over English with The White Queen .
The White Queen follows the rise of Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner widow, who captures the eye of the young King Edward IV and rises to be the queen of the penultimate reign of a Plantagenet monarch. This period of time has been much discussed by artists and historians as an era of greed and blood. Many a historian has portrayed Edward IV’s queen as the head of a family of grasping bloodsuckers who wormed their way into the highest positions in the kingdom, much like the Boleyns a few generations later. Shakespeare even dedicated his pen to a play based on the period: Richard III . There’s an incredible amount to tell and so many points of view to take in.
Unfortunately, Gregory decides to take the least believable route. Inspired by the whispers of witchcraft that surrounded the Woodville family (which was supposedly descended from a water goddess), Gregory portrays Elizabeth Woodville, her mother, and daughter Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth, wife of Henry VII) as practitioners of wizardry. What made Edward fall for Elizabeth? A ring tied to a string. What made a boat carrying important dignitaries toss violently over the sea? A storm called up by witches’ breath. What withers Richard III’s sword arm and cripples his health? A curse and a locket. Really, Philippa, really?
I think her choice in plot devices shows an author taking the easy way out. Elizabeth Woodville, whether you liked her or not, was a force to be reckoned with. She defied an ordained king by claiming sanctuary for herself and her children in a basement. She suffered through accusations that her husband had been a bastard, sired by a lowly English bowman. She climbed to the highest position in the land and hung there through some of the greatest storms in English royal history. And Gregory credits it to witchcraft? Ugh.
Seriously, if you find this era interesting, pick up Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne in Splendour , a hefty novel that relies on history and the strength of the characters. Gregory would indeed need witchcraft to reach her standard of work. Sadly, I’m probably going to end up reading Gregory’s next book, which will be a depiction of the same events, just from the point of view of Margaret Beaufort, mother to Henry Tudor. I will grit my teeth in irritation, then maybe through my Kindle in the trash, but I will read it shamefaced. Why am I so weak?!
August 26, 2020
Elizabeth Woodville was the Queen of Edward IV, the mother of the murdered princes in the tower, and the grandmother of Henry VIII. She played a larger role in the period of the War of the Roses then she is often credited with, and her portrayals in the books have usually been less than sympathetic. This novel covers her story over a span 0f 21 years from the time she is wood by the debonair Edward IV in the midst of the bloody War of the Roses until the eve of the Battle of Bosworth in which Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor and killed.
She gives a more sympathetic portrayal of Elizabeth Woodville than she does of her subject in The Other Boleyn Girl (Anne Boleyn) and her books about Queen Elizabeth. I love novels about English medieval and Tudor history and was quite excited to find this She portrays her characters in a multidimensional fashion in the novel which I liked.
Her portrait of Elizabeth is of a strong, ambitious and determined woman who although she can be ruthless and conniving , greatly cares for her children, and can show generosity of spirit. Perhaps it is close to the real character of Elizabeth Woodville. The saga of the Rivers family is an interesting one as many of the characters she covers in this novel appear in Shakespeare's Richard III.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester is portrayed as ruthless and cruel, extremely self-serving and cunning, not the saintly figure of Sharon Penman's The Sunne in Splendour, yet he is absolved of blame by Gregory for the deaths of the princes.
Interesting aspects of this novel include Elizabeth's witchcraft- she curses Richard III so that his arm withers and he weakens and alludes to the scene in Richard III where he flounders at the battlefield of Bosworth before his death, desperate for a horse. She curses whoever had ordered the death of her son, Edward V, and the facts that would unfold point to the perpetrator being Henry VII, who as Elizabeth Woodville incanted would lose his firstborn son in youth and his grandson (Prince Arthur brother of Henry VIII and Henry VIII's only son Edward VI).
Her sorcery is a central part of the novel and much is made of her reputed descent through her mother, Jaquetta of Burgundy from the feminine spirit of sacred springs and rivers, Melusina. The book includes a figure of the time I have always much liked, Edward's beautiful mistress (and mistress of many others)Jane Shore, who is referred to by Elizabeth as 'the Shore Whore'but eventually Elizabeth after gaining much help from Mistress Shore, is unable to not like her. As Elizabeth exclaims after her cruel penance by King Richard: 'Harlot or Angel: God bless her".
she puts forward in her novel the story that her youngest son Richard of York, the other prince was smuggles to safety and replace by Elizabeth Woodville with a peasant boy who died in the tower together with Prince Edward.
Also shown here is the fascinating and romantic character of Elizabeth Woodville's daughter Elizabeth of York, mother of Henry VIII. A compelling blend of romance and history, Gregory has done her research well and gives a more than satisfactory coverage of The Wars of the Roses and the waxing and waning fortunes of the Yorks and Lancasters as well as Elizabeth's family, the Rivers. I found it a complete page turner.
She gives a more sympathetic portrayal of Elizabeth Woodville than she does of her subject in The Other Boleyn Girl (Anne Boleyn) and her books about Queen Elizabeth. I love novels about English medieval and Tudor history and was quite excited to find this She portrays her characters in a multidimensional fashion in the novel which I liked.
Her portrait of Elizabeth is of a strong, ambitious and determined woman who although she can be ruthless and conniving , greatly cares for her children, and can show generosity of spirit. Perhaps it is close to the real character of Elizabeth Woodville. The saga of the Rivers family is an interesting one as many of the characters she covers in this novel appear in Shakespeare's Richard III.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester is portrayed as ruthless and cruel, extremely self-serving and cunning, not the saintly figure of Sharon Penman's The Sunne in Splendour, yet he is absolved of blame by Gregory for the deaths of the princes.
Interesting aspects of this novel include Elizabeth's witchcraft- she curses Richard III so that his arm withers and he weakens and alludes to the scene in Richard III where he flounders at the battlefield of Bosworth before his death, desperate for a horse. She curses whoever had ordered the death of her son, Edward V, and the facts that would unfold point to the perpetrator being Henry VII, who as Elizabeth Woodville incanted would lose his firstborn son in youth and his grandson (Prince Arthur brother of Henry VIII and Henry VIII's only son Edward VI).
Her sorcery is a central part of the novel and much is made of her reputed descent through her mother, Jaquetta of Burgundy from the feminine spirit of sacred springs and rivers, Melusina. The book includes a figure of the time I have always much liked, Edward's beautiful mistress (and mistress of many others)Jane Shore, who is referred to by Elizabeth as 'the Shore Whore'but eventually Elizabeth after gaining much help from Mistress Shore, is unable to not like her. As Elizabeth exclaims after her cruel penance by King Richard: 'Harlot or Angel: God bless her".
she puts forward in her novel the story that her youngest son Richard of York, the other prince was smuggles to safety and replace by Elizabeth Woodville with a peasant boy who died in the tower together with Prince Edward.
Also shown here is the fascinating and romantic character of Elizabeth Woodville's daughter Elizabeth of York, mother of Henry VIII. A compelling blend of romance and history, Gregory has done her research well and gives a more than satisfactory coverage of The Wars of the Roses and the waxing and waning fortunes of the Yorks and Lancasters as well as Elizabeth's family, the Rivers. I found it a complete page turner.
February 24, 2011
Before I even began reading the novel, I noticed one or two problems. Though small, they're worth noting. Gregory includes a royal family tree at the front of the book, to demonstrate the Houses of York and Lancaster, but according to this tree Edmund Tudor was married to King Henry VI at some point. I've got to say I burst out laughing at this. I understand that it's a genuine mistake, but seriously? Didn't Philippa Gregory or an editor or someone catch this before the book went to press? Putting a family tree in the beginning of a book is kind of an important deal to get right - you put it in so that your readers could understand the character relationships in your book, so you want to make sure that the tree is accurate!
Getting into the book, at first it didn't seem that bad. The writing style felt somewhat different initially, and I reasonably enjoyed the imagined scenes of how Edward and Elizabeth came together. It was a bit fairytale romance, but I could look past that, and the stuff with the reeling in of the ring I could dismiss as superstitious custom. However, Philippa Gregory is quickly up to her old tricks again. Jacquetta's comeback to Edward's mother? Please. Talk about simplistic dialogue. What was up until that point a continuous coherent plot begins to jump about as necessity dictates; from September 1464 we jump to May 1465, then to Summer 1468 which is a chapter only lasting a little more than three pages, then suddenly from that we've jumped way ahead to Summer 1469. At one point we even jump ahead FIVE YEARS from 1478 to 1483! All the romance suddenly feels sucked out from Elizabeth and Edward's relationship and all they do is have the same old discussion about Edward having to ride off and leave her to put down another rebellion... My issue here is not the history (because Edward did have several rebellions to contend with), but Gregory skipping ahead in this manner, providing us only with a few short pages before skipping ahead again. I understand perfectly that there are fewer sources on what these people were doing than there were on the Tudors, but shouldn't a good writer be plausibly filling in the gaps and developing their characters rather than rushing ahead to get to the next big event? This writing feels hasty and rushed, and no wonder it feels like all Edward talks about is riding off to the next rebellion: Gregory is just covering the same ground over and over and cutting out huge chunks of what is happening in between.
Gregory sure does like her repetition too - we are endlessly told of how Elizabeth and her mother Jacquetta are, according to legend, descended from the mythical water goddess or spirit Melusina, and Elizabeth brings up that annoying dark locket more times than I've had hot dinners. As an example of the kind of interminable repetition; "These are gowns as good as I wore when I was queen. 'Good God, Elizabeth,' I say. 'Where do you get your gowns from? This is as fine as anything I had when I was Queen of England.' " The sheer anachronisms of the words Gregory puts into the mouths of her characters is hilarious. At one point Jacquetta calls George "an utter numpty". I had to stop reading in order to roar with laughter at that point. The word "numpty" didn't even enter the dictionary until 2001 and began life as a slang word in the 20th century. I even read at one point a character say "Oh my God!" I'm pretty sure that in the 15th century, what with the character who says it being a staunch Catholic and all, this would be considered blasphemy.
It's not just an anachronistic word here or there either. Sometimes the actual quality of the English that Gregory writes is below average. Take this example: "Perhaps to save all the family who named themselves Rivers in order to honour the water-goddess who was the founder of their family". This is horribly clunky and inelegant English. A more correct writing of that sentence would be; "Perhaps to save all the family who named themselves Rivers in order to honour the water-goddess who was their founder". An editor should have picked up on this kind of poor phrasing, and for that matter you would hope that the author themselves would write with enough quality and skill not to produce ugly, clunky sentences like that. Another really annoying linguistic feature in this book is that whenever Elizabeth refers to her sons by her first marriage, she calls them "my boy, Richard Grey" and "my son, Thomas Grey". Granted, Elizabeth had two sons named Richard, so I can understand why one might need to distinguish between them in writing, but why does she need to call Thomas by his full name? Elizabeth only had one son named Thomas. It's obvious that Philippa Gregory uses this clumsy phrasing of their full names because she thinks her readers are stupid and won't understand what's going on or who she's talking about, even if the situation and names have been explained several times at the start of the book. It's denigrating. There are other grammatical errors throughout the text, and at one point Elizabeth Woodville talks to her own daughter and refers to "your uncle, Thomas" - you'd think what with all the repetition of "my son, Thomas Grey" Gregory could get it straight that Thomas would be the half-brother of Princess Elizabeth, not her uncle.
Written in first person perspective from Elizabeth Woodville's point of view, and in the present tense, it becomes apparent about a third of the way into the book that Gregory has actually painted herself into a corner by doing this. Whenever events in the rebellions occur outside of Elizabeth's knowledge, she has no real way of writing it. This is the danger of writing first person instead of third person for a story which you know is going to have more scope than one person's experiences. One way she gets round this is through messengers, which felt acceptable and certainly the most plausible method, but she is forced to use that device so often that it quickly becomes repetitive. Another way she does it is by pandering to this mythologising of Elizabeth and Jacquetta, and having them dream it as part of their powers of witchcraft. The third and most annoying way is that she sometimes resorts to switching out to third person just to write battle scenes that Elizabeth was absent from. This switching over into third person, when the majority of the book is in first person, is immensely jarring, and reading those scenes it quickly becomes apparent how Gregory is awkwardly trying to find a way out of her fix.
I also didn't like the inclusion of genuine magical powers on the part of Jacquetta and Elizabeth Woodville in the novel. Instead of bringing to life the flesh and blood, flawed and subtle personalities of real people from history, it just turns them into glossed over fairytale figures. It's sensationalism - just like her inclusion of completely disproven slander about Anne Boleyn in "The Other Boleyn Girl" - there was no reason for its inclusion, it was just an attempt to make the story more salacious. Making Elizabeth and Jacquetta genuine witches in this novel does the real women no favours whatsoever, it merely panders to the kind of scandals that they had to suffer being gossiped about them. A few final words must be said about the novel's ending. It ends rather abruptly, however the princes in the Tower incident forms the climax of the tale. Clearly the curse is meant to be ironic, but the irony is thick and heavy, almost as if Gregory were nudging me repeatedly and winking at me and saying "Do you get it? Do you get it yet? Do you see what I've done there? Because we all know how THAT turns out, don't we?" Unfortunately what Philippa Gregory thinks is subtle foreshadowing in her novels is about as subtle as a ten foot neon sign. Also what she does is not really foreshadowing - it's hindsight. For once I'd like to see a character in a Philippa Gregory novel make a prediction or curse that does not happen later in history.
Overall, the book feels rushed and hasty with big chunks missing from the story, further marred by lack of thorough research (Nonsuch Palace, word and phrase anachronisms, the accusation of Edward's illegitimacy) and where research is done it is often altered even when it doesn't make sense in the plot to do so. The romance between Edward and Elizabeth starts off as fairytale sap and then quickly sputters out into a string of repetitive goodbyes. The text is blighted by poor English, grammatical errors, and internal mistakes such as Thomas Grey suddenly being called Princess Elizabeth's uncle instead of her half-brother and the family tree showing Edmund Tudor married to Henry VI. The interpretation of Jacquetta and Elizabeth and their family as witches does the real women no favours, painting them as fairy story characters and not real people, and turns the plot into a silly series of deus ex machinae whenever Elizabeth is in a tight spot, thus eliminating most of the sense of risk, danger and tension from the story. It's clear that Philippa Gregory has no understanding of either the times she is writing about or the real people who lived through them. She makes a bad choice by writing the book in present tense from the first person perspective of Elizabeth Woodville, and she struggles to get around this restriction when she has to convey events that were outside Elizabeth's experience. Ultimately "The White Queen" is far too narrow and personal in scope to convey the complexities and subtleties of historical events, reduced down to a popularity contest of personal relationships, with the wider picture woefully forgotten. Sharon Penman's The Sunne in Splendour is still the gold standard for the retelling of the reigns of Edward IV and Richard III, and "The White Queen" falls well short. Anyone wanting to read about this period in history should avoid this book, as there are so many better options out there.
July 13, 2017
After reading The Other Boleyn Girl - I loved Philippa Gregory, and would pick up virtually anything she'd written.
I watched the BBC adaption of The White Queen which I thoroughly enjoyed, so went for the book series. All four that I've read (The Lady of the Rivers, The White Queen, The Red Queen and The Kingmaker's Daughter) so far have an incredible focus on the powerful women during the Tudor Court and the War of the Roses. I knew very little about this time period but Gregory makes it easy to grasp and to dive straight into this riveting and dangerous era - where everyone is out for themselves, and the battle for the throne rivals that of GOT!
I am now on the hunt for the rest of the series!
I watched the BBC adaption of The White Queen which I thoroughly enjoyed, so went for the book series. All four that I've read (The Lady of the Rivers, The White Queen, The Red Queen and The Kingmaker's Daughter) so far have an incredible focus on the powerful women during the Tudor Court and the War of the Roses. I knew very little about this time period but Gregory makes it easy to grasp and to dive straight into this riveting and dangerous era - where everyone is out for themselves, and the battle for the throne rivals that of GOT!
I am now on the hunt for the rest of the series!
November 22, 2018
4,5 Sterne
Hat mir sogar noch besser gefallen als "Die Mutter der Königin", an welches dieses Buch direkt anschließt. Die Charaktere waren größtenteils auch schon aus dem ersten Buch bekannt, also macht es durchaus Sinn die Bücher in der richtigen Reihenfolge zu lesen, auch wenn die Bücher in sich relativ abgeschlossen sind von der Handlung/Zeitepoche.
Die abgehandelte Zeitspanne ist wieder recht groß, man erlebt quasi das ganze Leben der Protagonisten mit. Dabei entsteht ein gutes Tempo in der Geschichte und es wird nie langweilig. Für mich ist das ganze eh immer spannend, da ich mich in der englischen Geschichte null Komma gar nicht auskenne 🙈😅
Trotzdem merkt man, dass Philippa Gregory super gut für ihre Bücher recherchiert und das ganze dann nett verpackt für den Leser.
Das einzige Manko an diesem Buch für mich waren ziemlich viele Wiederholungen von gewissen Phrasen und Geschehnissen 🤷🏼♀️
Hat mir sogar noch besser gefallen als "Die Mutter der Königin", an welches dieses Buch direkt anschließt. Die Charaktere waren größtenteils auch schon aus dem ersten Buch bekannt, also macht es durchaus Sinn die Bücher in der richtigen Reihenfolge zu lesen, auch wenn die Bücher in sich relativ abgeschlossen sind von der Handlung/Zeitepoche.
Die abgehandelte Zeitspanne ist wieder recht groß, man erlebt quasi das ganze Leben der Protagonisten mit. Dabei entsteht ein gutes Tempo in der Geschichte und es wird nie langweilig. Für mich ist das ganze eh immer spannend, da ich mich in der englischen Geschichte null Komma gar nicht auskenne 🙈😅
Trotzdem merkt man, dass Philippa Gregory super gut für ihre Bücher recherchiert und das ganze dann nett verpackt für den Leser.
Das einzige Manko an diesem Buch für mich waren ziemlich viele Wiederholungen von gewissen Phrasen und Geschehnissen 🤷🏼♀️
June 10, 2017
The White Queen is the fictional story of the life of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of King Edward IV. Philippa Gregory does her usual fine job of bringing her characters to life and making it enjoyable to read. I don't know how accurate her stories are, or any other writer in this genre for that matter. I was introduced to royal historical fiction by Norah Lofts and have also read Alison Weir and Jean Plaidy, among others. In this book Gregory focuses on the Plantagenet's and The Cousins War period, also known as The Wars of the Roses, which preceded the Tudor Period. It's interesting reading about these royals, at least for me. Readers who like this category will probably like this book.
On a side note, the mini-series on cable television did a good job of following the book. A good production.
On a side note, the mini-series on cable television did a good job of following the book. A good production.
September 2, 2017
Philippa Gregory ist und bleibt für mich einfach die beste Autorin, wenn es um historische Romane geht! Man markt, wie gut das Buch recherchiert ist und dank ihrer wundervollen Schreib- und Erzählweise zu einem unvergesslichen Roman wird. Hätte ich ihre Bücher bereits in der Schulzeit gelesen, hätte ich wahrscheinlich nur Einser in Geschichte geschrieben! Ganz klare Leseempfehlung!!!
Es handelt sich hierbei um die siebenteilige "Rosenkriege" Serie von Philippa Gregory. Die Bücher springen jeweils in der Zeit oder spielen teilweise gleichzeitig aus der Sicht eines anderen Hauses! Nicht verwirren lassen!
Es handelt sich hierbei um die siebenteilige "Rosenkriege" Serie von Philippa Gregory. Die Bücher springen jeweils in der Zeit oder spielen teilweise gleichzeitig aus der Sicht eines anderen Hauses! Nicht verwirren lassen!
February 3, 2022
"Si eu voi avea grija ca, in ochii tai, sa fiu intotdeauna cea mai frumoasa femeie."
Philippa Gregory este una dintre cele mai celebre scriitoare britanice contemporane, iar pasiunea ei pentru istorie si literatura a indemnat-o sa scrie romane precum "The other Boleyn girl" - care a fost si ecranizat, "The virgin's lover", "The Boleyn inheritance" sau "The other queen".
Prezentul roman este prima carte din seria dedicata dinastiei Plantagenetilor urmarind Razboiul celor 2 roze. De-a lungul romanului se contureaza si biografia reginei Elizabeth Woodwille, destinul celei mai frumoase femei din Regat, care ajunge dintr-o vaduva saraca regina Angliei.
Rivalitatea dintre roza rosie -casa de Lancaster si roza alba - casa de York sau razboiul dintre Henry al VI-lea si Edward al IV-lea este superb redat si m-am bucurat foarte mult ca autoarea a ales sa redea fidel istoria in locul unei telenovele romantice. Sunt urmarite asadar faptele istorice, uneltirile politice, tradarile si aliantele precum si conturarea unor personaje cheie.
Ca sa intelegem mai bine toata aceasta lupta lunga pentru tron avem inserata la inceputul cartii o harta si un arbore genealogic al descendentilor celor doua case, ce pot fi utile cititorului.
Romanul debuteaza cu primavara anului 1464 cand Elizabeth Woodwille din casa Lancaster, o vaduva saraca cu doi copii, fiica baronului Rivers si a ducesei de Burgundia iese in calea regelui Edward al IV-lea si il seduce pentru a-si redobandi pamanturile. Atat ea cat si mama ei sunt deosebit de frumoase dar si vrajitoare, fiind considerate descendentele zeitei-sirena Melusina.
Folosindu-se de o vraja, Elizabeth ajunge sa incheie o casatorie secreta cu regele care o va recunoaste ulterior in fata Curtii ca fiind sotia sa. Ea isi va face nenumarati dusmani, precum Richard Neville, contele de Warwick sau ceilalti doi frati ai lui Edward, George si Richard. Dupa moartea regelui insa, va trebui sa se lupte cu un dusman ascuns si anume o regina rosie. Restul (victoria sau esecul) e istorie.
In cea de-a doua parte a seriei, intitulata "Regina rosie", vom avea ocazia sa aflam povestea din viziunea Margaretei Beaufort, a carei ambitie va intemeia casa Tudor.
Mi-a placut foarte mult de vraja pe care o folosesc cele doua femei pentru a-l seduce pe Edward, pe care am numit-o 'magia cu frasinul' si care consta in urmatoarele: mama Elizabethei infasoara un fir lung in jurul trunchiului gros al unui frasin, al carui capat se afla in rau. In fiecare zi Elizabeth desfasoara din fir 30 de cm, pana cand acesta iese din rau aducandu-i un inel in forma de coroana. Tocmai atunci vine si Edward catre ea sa o ceara de sotie. Asadar e de incercat, functioneaza negresit. :)
Despre regina alba se afirma ca era foarte frumoasa, insa, daca privim coperta, s-ar putea sa nu fim chiar atat de entuziasmati ca cei de pe vremea ei.
Nu mi-a placut faptul ca, desi intre cei doi protagonisti exista o iubire mare, autentica, Edward o inseala nu doar cu toata Curtea, nu doar cu toata Londra, ci cu toate femeile din Regat. Si ma tem ca nu este o exagerare prea mare. Iar ea pare sa fie de acord cu acest comportament doar pentru ca e regele si poate sa faca ce pofteste.
In incheiere am selectat mai multe citate care sunt pline de farmec si intelepciune, asa cum a fost insasi Elizabeth, regina alba:
"Sunt norocos in razboi, asa cum sunt norocos in dragoste. N-am pierdut niciodata, nici intr-un joc, nici in celalalt." (Edward al IV-lea)
"N-ar trebui sa fim dezbinati, tabara York impotriva taberei Lancaster: ar trebui sa fim toti englezi. Nimic nu imbolnaveste mai mult o tara ca lupta in sanul poporului ei."
"... niciun barbat nu va pleca vreodata de langa mine cu convingerea ca nu se va intoarce."
"Nimic pe lume nu are importanta mai mare decat viata. Ai de strabatut cale lunga si de invatat o multime de lectii daca nu stii lucrul asta."
"Jumatate din regat ne uraste, insa am avut grija sa fim atat de puternici incat nu-mi pasa."
"Ca sa-mi pastrez puterea, trebuie sa daruiesc cu urcioare alese cu grija si asezate cu grija la intervale potrivite. Trebuie sa-i multumesc pe toti dar pe niciunul prea mult."
"De propria-mi reputatie imi pasa mai putin: mama m-a invatat ca femeia puternica va atrage mereu asupra-i calomnii."
"Edward traieste ca si cum ziua de maine n-ar exista, Richard - ca si cum nici n-ar vrea ca ziua de maine sa existe, iar George - ca si cum cineva ar trebui sa i-o dea pe degeaba."
Philippa Gregory este una dintre cele mai celebre scriitoare britanice contemporane, iar pasiunea ei pentru istorie si literatura a indemnat-o sa scrie romane precum "The other Boleyn girl" - care a fost si ecranizat, "The virgin's lover", "The Boleyn inheritance" sau "The other queen".
Prezentul roman este prima carte din seria dedicata dinastiei Plantagenetilor urmarind Razboiul celor 2 roze. De-a lungul romanului se contureaza si biografia reginei Elizabeth Woodwille, destinul celei mai frumoase femei din Regat, care ajunge dintr-o vaduva saraca regina Angliei.
Rivalitatea dintre roza rosie -casa de Lancaster si roza alba - casa de York sau razboiul dintre Henry al VI-lea si Edward al IV-lea este superb redat si m-am bucurat foarte mult ca autoarea a ales sa redea fidel istoria in locul unei telenovele romantice. Sunt urmarite asadar faptele istorice, uneltirile politice, tradarile si aliantele precum si conturarea unor personaje cheie.
Ca sa intelegem mai bine toata aceasta lupta lunga pentru tron avem inserata la inceputul cartii o harta si un arbore genealogic al descendentilor celor doua case, ce pot fi utile cititorului.
Romanul debuteaza cu primavara anului 1464 cand Elizabeth Woodwille din casa Lancaster, o vaduva saraca cu doi copii, fiica baronului Rivers si a ducesei de Burgundia iese in calea regelui Edward al IV-lea si il seduce pentru a-si redobandi pamanturile. Atat ea cat si mama ei sunt deosebit de frumoase dar si vrajitoare, fiind considerate descendentele zeitei-sirena Melusina.
Folosindu-se de o vraja, Elizabeth ajunge sa incheie o casatorie secreta cu regele care o va recunoaste ulterior in fata Curtii ca fiind sotia sa. Ea isi va face nenumarati dusmani, precum Richard Neville, contele de Warwick sau ceilalti doi frati ai lui Edward, George si Richard. Dupa moartea regelui insa, va trebui sa se lupte cu un dusman ascuns si anume o regina rosie. Restul (victoria sau esecul) e istorie.
In cea de-a doua parte a seriei, intitulata "Regina rosie", vom avea ocazia sa aflam povestea din viziunea Margaretei Beaufort, a carei ambitie va intemeia casa Tudor.
Mi-a placut foarte mult de vraja pe care o folosesc cele doua femei pentru a-l seduce pe Edward, pe care am numit-o 'magia cu frasinul' si care consta in urmatoarele: mama Elizabethei infasoara un fir lung in jurul trunchiului gros al unui frasin, al carui capat se afla in rau. In fiecare zi Elizabeth desfasoara din fir 30 de cm, pana cand acesta iese din rau aducandu-i un inel in forma de coroana. Tocmai atunci vine si Edward catre ea sa o ceara de sotie. Asadar e de incercat, functioneaza negresit. :)
Despre regina alba se afirma ca era foarte frumoasa, insa, daca privim coperta, s-ar putea sa nu fim chiar atat de entuziasmati ca cei de pe vremea ei.
Nu mi-a placut faptul ca, desi intre cei doi protagonisti exista o iubire mare, autentica, Edward o inseala nu doar cu toata Curtea, nu doar cu toata Londra, ci cu toate femeile din Regat. Si ma tem ca nu este o exagerare prea mare. Iar ea pare sa fie de acord cu acest comportament doar pentru ca e regele si poate sa faca ce pofteste.
In incheiere am selectat mai multe citate care sunt pline de farmec si intelepciune, asa cum a fost insasi Elizabeth, regina alba:
"Sunt norocos in razboi, asa cum sunt norocos in dragoste. N-am pierdut niciodata, nici intr-un joc, nici in celalalt." (Edward al IV-lea)
"N-ar trebui sa fim dezbinati, tabara York impotriva taberei Lancaster: ar trebui sa fim toti englezi. Nimic nu imbolnaveste mai mult o tara ca lupta in sanul poporului ei."
"... niciun barbat nu va pleca vreodata de langa mine cu convingerea ca nu se va intoarce."
"Nimic pe lume nu are importanta mai mare decat viata. Ai de strabatut cale lunga si de invatat o multime de lectii daca nu stii lucrul asta."
"Jumatate din regat ne uraste, insa am avut grija sa fim atat de puternici incat nu-mi pasa."
"Ca sa-mi pastrez puterea, trebuie sa daruiesc cu urcioare alese cu grija si asezate cu grija la intervale potrivite. Trebuie sa-i multumesc pe toti dar pe niciunul prea mult."
"De propria-mi reputatie imi pasa mai putin: mama m-a invatat ca femeia puternica va atrage mereu asupra-i calomnii."
"Edward traieste ca si cum ziua de maine n-ar exista, Richard - ca si cum nici n-ar vrea ca ziua de maine sa existe, iar George - ca si cum cineva ar trebui sa i-o dea pe degeaba."
December 29, 2009
Not what I was hoping for. The book jacket is better than this book. I finished it, but barely. The story went on and on and on- drama and drama and drama. Gregory's other books were interesting and hard to put down. This story was lacking the same intensity. The main character's voice was weak and a bit whiny. The first 100 pages were about how much she loved her husband, the king- how much she wanted him, how great the sex was and then what she gave to her family once she was queen. Too trivial- no depth or meat to this story. Really- stick to the book jacket- huge disappointment!!
January 19, 2019
I really enjoyed The White Queen, it had been a while since I read a book from this period. No one does it like Ms. Gregory!
Very interesting cousins against cousins tales of love, treachery, death, battle won and lost. The ruthlessness of the royalty to stay in power and the individual prices they pay, death of their family, children, themselves. As always the characters are well described and Elizabeth is drawn in great depth. The author makes the characters seem real and the settings are vividly drawn.
There is enough history to help us understand the period and enough fiction to keep me turning the pages.
I loved it. I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves historical fiction.
**All time favorite**
Very interesting cousins against cousins tales of love, treachery, death, battle won and lost. The ruthlessness of the royalty to stay in power and the individual prices they pay, death of their family, children, themselves. As always the characters are well described and Elizabeth is drawn in great depth. The author makes the characters seem real and the settings are vividly drawn.
There is enough history to help us understand the period and enough fiction to keep me turning the pages.
I loved it. I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves historical fiction.
**All time favorite**
April 23, 2018
This is my first book I've read from this author,I've read Elizabeth freemantle books which are really good,who also writes historical books.well what a fantastic read looking forward to the next book.the red Queen in which I watched the programme not so long ago wanted me to read this authors books as it was so good.its was a well written easy to read it's great to get more facts.highly recommend.
November 28, 2017
Finally done and it is midnight! So OVERALL I ended up liking book. Some things got overally repetitive and confusing (like does everyone have to be named Richard, Edward, and George?) but I liked learning about this mysterious period, like the lost Princes in the tower, and learn about an interesting woman, Elizabeth Woodville. It was an uneasy murdering period among families for the Crown. So I would recommend and now want to read the Red Queen. I'm a sucker for historical fiction.
September 7, 2009
After showcasing as many Tudor royals as any one reader can comfortably stomach, Philippa Gregory strives to show us another English Royal family as equally interesting. The White Queen launches her War of the Roses trilogy, and focuses on Elizabeth Woodville. Gregory’s Woodville falls instantly in love with the King, and she ascends the throne at a dangerous time of civil war. An incredibly cut throat period in which each claimant to the throne has a much right as the next, and the alliances of the Great Families of England are always shifting. We soon learn that no one, especially your own family can be trusted in noble England. Elizabeth and Edward’s union makes instant enemies, and the entirety of their marriage will be spent on defending the throne.
In my opinion, while this novel is good, it is not as good as either Boleyn book chiefly because I felt that I understood those characters. In The White Queen, Elizabeth is painted as complacent and dutiful wife during the first half of the novel, and ambitious shrew during the second. Towards the end it becomes a Woodville on the throne at any cost which may have been historically accurate, but it didn’t fit with Elizabeth’s established persona up until then. Elizabeth also believes she is the descendent from a water goddess from a fairy tale which Gregory interrupts literally, and that tale is interspersed with Elizabeth’s tale although they don’t quite connect. The tenses also shift from Elizabeth’s first person to assumedly Elizabeth’s first person describing battle details as they happen which doesn’t make sense and is jarring.
However, the book is still one of Gregory’s best. As always the story is instantly gripping. You are immediately immersed in the Woodville family, and their struggles to advance their family while ensuring security for Edward’s reign. Gregory does a great job of fleshing out a family that has been villanized by history, and presenting their side of the story. And even those who know the inevitable outcome will be surprised by Gregory’s take. Gregory doesn’t attempt to pander for sympathy to Elizabeth’s plight and instead gives us as even a portrayal of Elizabeth as the historical records afford. And Elizabeth’s relationship to her own daughter (also Elizabeth) is easily my favorite element of the novel, this relationship is almost portrayed as Elizabeth wrestling with her own conscience which is not only brilliant but expertly builds interest for the next two books in the series.
Gregory’s books are one of my guiltiest and most anticipated literary pleasures. This book was no exception. Gregory fans and first time readers who enjoy the genre will want to puck it up immediately and will count down the days until her next book in the series, The Red Queen. Moderate fans may want to wait for the paperback.
In my opinion, while this novel is good, it is not as good as either Boleyn book chiefly because I felt that I understood those characters. In The White Queen, Elizabeth is painted as complacent and dutiful wife during the first half of the novel, and ambitious shrew during the second. Towards the end it becomes a Woodville on the throne at any cost which may have been historically accurate, but it didn’t fit with Elizabeth’s established persona up until then. Elizabeth also believes she is the descendent from a water goddess from a fairy tale which Gregory interrupts literally, and that tale is interspersed with Elizabeth’s tale although they don’t quite connect. The tenses also shift from Elizabeth’s first person to assumedly Elizabeth’s first person describing battle details as they happen which doesn’t make sense and is jarring.
However, the book is still one of Gregory’s best. As always the story is instantly gripping. You are immediately immersed in the Woodville family, and their struggles to advance their family while ensuring security for Edward’s reign. Gregory does a great job of fleshing out a family that has been villanized by history, and presenting their side of the story. And even those who know the inevitable outcome will be surprised by Gregory’s take. Gregory doesn’t attempt to pander for sympathy to Elizabeth’s plight and instead gives us as even a portrayal of Elizabeth as the historical records afford. And Elizabeth’s relationship to her own daughter (also Elizabeth) is easily my favorite element of the novel, this relationship is almost portrayed as Elizabeth wrestling with her own conscience which is not only brilliant but expertly builds interest for the next two books in the series.
Gregory’s books are one of my guiltiest and most anticipated literary pleasures. This book was no exception. Gregory fans and first time readers who enjoy the genre will want to puck it up immediately and will count down the days until her next book in the series, The Red Queen. Moderate fans may want to wait for the paperback.
February 17, 2020
Gregory is a historian, first. Her Ph.D. from Edinburgh University informs her approach to her fascination with 15th and 16th century Britain. This book is a prelude to many of her novels on Tudor England. It concerns the twenty years beginning in 1464 when the country was still roiled by the War of the Roses, the battle between Plantagenet cousins, York and Lancaster, for England’s throne.
For this novel, Gregory chooses to parallel the folktale of the water “goddess”, Melusina, with the life of Elizabeth, who becomes (as a “commoner”) the Queen of England to Edward IV. For someone who is “a stickler” for historical accuracy, it is a delicate balance.
“When the goddess Melusina fell in love with the knight he promised her that she would be free to be herself if she would only be his wife. They settled it that she would be his wife and walk on feet but once a month, she might go to her own chamber, fill a great bath with water, and, for one night only, be her fishy self…For he loved her and he understood that a woman cannot always live as a man. He understood that she could not always think as he thought, walk as he walked, breath the air that he took in. She would always be a different being than him...He understood that she needed her time alone… They had children together, and they grew in health and beauty; he grew more prosperous and their castle was famous for its wealth and grace…”
Of course, Gregory is tipping her hand, because the parable of the knight and the goddess doesn’t end well. She tells us that early on, though Melusina’s story is stretched out, we also learn that Elizabeth believes that, on her mother’s side she is a descendant of Melusina. Others consider both Elizabeth and her mother to resort to “witchcraft” on occasion and they may have the gift of “foresight” and the ability to put a curse on others.
Does all of this matter? Only a little for me, maybe more for other readers. For me, the strength of the book is the perspective of Elizabeth on her family, their ambitions and their fears. In this time of turbulence everybody was only a step away from exile or death. Edward failed in his attempts to unify the crown (and it was left to the Tudors to try). Elizabeth tried to embed her family deep into the nobility of England but that also came up short. By taking us through this “personal account,” Gregory achieves a level of intimacy that normal historical accounts lack.
Postscript: One of the best examples is an exchange between Elizabeth and her first child by King Edward.
"If you surrendered now, we might get my brothers back."
"That would be for me to go right back to where I came from.."
"Were you not happy at Grafton with your mother and father, and with the husband who gave you Richard and Thomas?" she asks quickly, so quickly that I do not prepare my answer carefully.
"Yes," I say unguardedly."Yes, I was."
"That is all I want for myself," she says. "All I want for my sisters. And yet you insist on making us heirs to your misery. I want to be heir to the days before you were queen. I don't want the throne: I want to marry a man whom I love, and love him freely..."
"Then you would deny everything that makes you a Plantagenet, a princess of York. You might as well be Jemma the maid if you don't desire to be great than you are, if you don't see your chances and take them."
"...I would rather be Jemma the maid than you...Jemma can go home to her own bed at night. Jemma can refuse to work. Jemma can run away and serve another master. But you are locked to the throne of England and you have enslaved us too."
For this novel, Gregory chooses to parallel the folktale of the water “goddess”, Melusina, with the life of Elizabeth, who becomes (as a “commoner”) the Queen of England to Edward IV. For someone who is “a stickler” for historical accuracy, it is a delicate balance.
“When the goddess Melusina fell in love with the knight he promised her that she would be free to be herself if she would only be his wife. They settled it that she would be his wife and walk on feet but once a month, she might go to her own chamber, fill a great bath with water, and, for one night only, be her fishy self…For he loved her and he understood that a woman cannot always live as a man. He understood that she could not always think as he thought, walk as he walked, breath the air that he took in. She would always be a different being than him...He understood that she needed her time alone… They had children together, and they grew in health and beauty; he grew more prosperous and their castle was famous for its wealth and grace…”
Of course, Gregory is tipping her hand, because the parable of the knight and the goddess doesn’t end well. She tells us that early on, though Melusina’s story is stretched out, we also learn that Elizabeth believes that, on her mother’s side she is a descendant of Melusina. Others consider both Elizabeth and her mother to resort to “witchcraft” on occasion and they may have the gift of “foresight” and the ability to put a curse on others.
Does all of this matter? Only a little for me, maybe more for other readers. For me, the strength of the book is the perspective of Elizabeth on her family, their ambitions and their fears. In this time of turbulence everybody was only a step away from exile or death. Edward failed in his attempts to unify the crown (and it was left to the Tudors to try). Elizabeth tried to embed her family deep into the nobility of England but that also came up short. By taking us through this “personal account,” Gregory achieves a level of intimacy that normal historical accounts lack.
Postscript: One of the best examples is an exchange between Elizabeth and her first child by King Edward.
"If you surrendered now, we might get my brothers back."
"That would be for me to go right back to where I came from.."
"Were you not happy at Grafton with your mother and father, and with the husband who gave you Richard and Thomas?" she asks quickly, so quickly that I do not prepare my answer carefully.
"Yes," I say unguardedly."Yes, I was."
"That is all I want for myself," she says. "All I want for my sisters. And yet you insist on making us heirs to your misery. I want to be heir to the days before you were queen. I don't want the throne: I want to marry a man whom I love, and love him freely..."
"Then you would deny everything that makes you a Plantagenet, a princess of York. You might as well be Jemma the maid if you don't desire to be great than you are, if you don't see your chances and take them."
"...I would rather be Jemma the maid than you...Jemma can go home to her own bed at night. Jemma can refuse to work. Jemma can run away and serve another master. But you are locked to the throne of England and you have enslaved us too."
November 21, 2018
I'm honestly worried for the other half-billion novels written by Philippa Gregory.
This novel is only slightly less dull than the (chronological) first, The Lady of the Rivers. Once again it just spans too long a period, meaning that there's not a lot of attachment to what's happening. There are a lot of battles, a ton of births and deaths, and keeping track of claims to the throne is about as easy as keeping track of Australia's Prime Minister.
Our protagonist, Elizabeth - the titular White Queen - is an unlikable queen and makes absolutely horrid decisions. I can appreciate that this is true historical happenings, but I think she was a poor choice for narrator. Did not like her one bit.
Also really wasn't feeling the whole witchcraft angle. Don't call it 'historical fiction' if you're going to include curses and supernatural happenings. That's pure fantasy. It wasn't even used cleverly. Entirely disappointing.
There's also such a depressing lack of court drama. I feel like this would have been better if it dealt with a shorter time period, and we were allowed to grow attachments to characters. We don't really get to know a lot about the people, or what life is actually like for them. There's just the vague tellings of who is fighting whom, and who marries whom, and what the political ramifications are. All this drama and action and it was just totally BORING.
I'm really fascinated by this period of history but this and the previous book have really taken some of the interest away for me. The French court was clearly much more happening.
Not sure when I'll get to the next book in the series but its unlikely to be any time soon. I might have to find some other authors who have delved into this history. I definitely don't understand how this series is so popular when it's so dull.
This novel is only slightly less dull than the (chronological) first, The Lady of the Rivers. Once again it just spans too long a period, meaning that there's not a lot of attachment to what's happening. There are a lot of battles, a ton of births and deaths, and keeping track of claims to the throne is about as easy as keeping track of Australia's Prime Minister.
Our protagonist, Elizabeth - the titular White Queen - is an unlikable queen and makes absolutely horrid decisions. I can appreciate that this is true historical happenings, but I think she was a poor choice for narrator. Did not like her one bit.
Also really wasn't feeling the whole witchcraft angle. Don't call it 'historical fiction' if you're going to include curses and supernatural happenings. That's pure fantasy. It wasn't even used cleverly. Entirely disappointing.
There's also such a depressing lack of court drama. I feel like this would have been better if it dealt with a shorter time period, and we were allowed to grow attachments to characters. We don't really get to know a lot about the people, or what life is actually like for them. There's just the vague tellings of who is fighting whom, and who marries whom, and what the political ramifications are. All this drama and action and it was just totally BORING.
I'm really fascinated by this period of history but this and the previous book have really taken some of the interest away for me. The French court was clearly much more happening.
Not sure when I'll get to the next book in the series but its unlikely to be any time soon. I might have to find some other authors who have delved into this history. I definitely don't understand how this series is so popular when it's so dull.
August 23, 2009
The White Queen is the first in a new series Gregory is writing based upon the Plantagenets and the Wars of the Roses - or The Cousins War as she calls it. The book begins as a widowed Elizabeth Woodville waits on the side of the road with her two young sons to plea for her dower lands from Edward IV. Several years younger, Edward is captivated and must have her - but Elizabeth holds out for a wedding ring and gets it. Elizabeth is crowned queen and immediately goes about getting the best positions and marriages for her relatives, which earns the enmity of just about everyone else. The story continues as Edward battles with Margaret of Anjou and the deposed Henry VI, as well as his treacherous brother Clarence and Warwick, The Kingmaker, and finally culminates at the death of Edward IV (that's known history, no spoilers here), and his brother Richard ascends the throne. That's really about all I want to tell you about the plot. If you're familiar with the period you know the basics and if you're not it's way too complicated to try and put it all into a review.
I found the writing overly repetitive to the point that I felt like I was being clubbed over the head. Whether it be the first chapters where she keeps referring to twenty-two year old battled hardened Edward as a "boy" (counted it at least six times on one page), to the locket with the names written in blood, as well as the ever present and over bearing references to her ancestor Melusine - I got the point the first time. Outside of the first few chapters at the beginning of their relationship I didn't pick up much chemistry between Edward and Elizabeth - they should have sizzled right off of the pages and instead they fizzled. But worst of all was the magic and spells cast by Elizabeth and her mother, whether you buy it or not I found the casual way everyone in the book treated it more than just a tad bit unbelievable. It’s just another day in the park and I’ll whistle up another storm to thwart my enemies. I think with all the people who hated her someone would have had her tried as a witch.
One last minor nitpick and thanks to Robin and Susan who spotted this – one of Elizabeth’s palaces is Nonesuch (or Nonsuch). Google that and you’ll find that it was built by Henry VIII. Oops. I am recommending this one only for die-hard Gregory fans, you’re better off reading Penman’s fabulous Sunne in Splendour. If you’re not sure get it from the library first. Glad I did.
I found the writing overly repetitive to the point that I felt like I was being clubbed over the head. Whether it be the first chapters where she keeps referring to twenty-two year old battled hardened Edward as a "boy" (counted it at least six times on one page), to the locket with the names written in blood, as well as the ever present and over bearing references to her ancestor Melusine - I got the point the first time. Outside of the first few chapters at the beginning of their relationship I didn't pick up much chemistry between Edward and Elizabeth - they should have sizzled right off of the pages and instead they fizzled. But worst of all was the magic and spells cast by Elizabeth and her mother, whether you buy it or not I found the casual way everyone in the book treated it more than just a tad bit unbelievable. It’s just another day in the park and I’ll whistle up another storm to thwart my enemies. I think with all the people who hated her someone would have had her tried as a witch.
One last minor nitpick and thanks to Robin and Susan who spotted this – one of Elizabeth’s palaces is Nonesuch (or Nonsuch). Google that and you’ll find that it was built by Henry VIII. Oops. I am recommending this one only for die-hard Gregory fans, you’re better off reading Penman’s fabulous Sunne in Splendour. If you’re not sure get it from the library first. Glad I did.
July 19, 2018
2.5 stars
Let me start by saying its not the author’s fault that every second person in the book is either called Edward or Richard but it made the listening experience a bit confusing at times.
In the past few years I have come around to her Tudor series by listening rather than reading them and they were all without fail very entertaining and educational.
But this one did not grip me until the last 1/4 when the story focused on the mystery of the missing princes in the Tower of London.
There was a lot that felt repetitive. Elizabeth gets pregnant, hopefully a son, Edward goes to battle for his crown. Then Elizabeth gets pregnant again, hopefully a son, and Edwards goes to battle for his crown again…… rinse and repeat.
I found Elizabeth Woodville quite bland and her diary style narrative made it difficult to paint a proper picture of the characters.
The facts of history is something the author could do nothing about, her job is to colour in the gaps and in this case the colours she chose were just too dull for my liking even with the bit of magic thrown in.
Let me start by saying its not the author’s fault that every second person in the book is either called Edward or Richard but it made the listening experience a bit confusing at times.
In the past few years I have come around to her Tudor series by listening rather than reading them and they were all without fail very entertaining and educational.
But this one did not grip me until the last 1/4 when the story focused on the mystery of the missing princes in the Tower of London.
There was a lot that felt repetitive. Elizabeth gets pregnant, hopefully a son, Edward goes to battle for his crown. Then Elizabeth gets pregnant again, hopefully a son, and Edwards goes to battle for his crown again…… rinse and repeat.
I found Elizabeth Woodville quite bland and her diary style narrative made it difficult to paint a proper picture of the characters.
The facts of history is something the author could do nothing about, her job is to colour in the gaps and in this case the colours she chose were just too dull for my liking even with the bit of magic thrown in.
April 26, 2017
My first Philippa Gregory novel, and I was swept away by her well-researched details and plot. I've always been fascinated by the War of the Roses, and to step into Queen Elizabeth's shoes was a delight. She's such a strong character, and watching her quest for power via manipulations and an indomitable will was mesmerizing. I loved it. However, I tried reading "The White Princess" and couldn't relate to that main character at all; she seemed much weaker IMO. So I'm hesitant to continue this particular series. But I'll definitely read more of Gregory's work. She's amazing!
Note: There's a sprinkle of magic throughout this story (so subtle, it's almost more magical realism), which I loved, being a sucker for fantasy, but it might not appeal to historical fiction purists.
Note: There's a sprinkle of magic throughout this story (so subtle, it's almost more magical realism), which I loved, being a sucker for fantasy, but it might not appeal to historical fiction purists.
September 13, 2016
This *still* doesn't impress, sadly.
Elizabeth Woodville's story is extraordinary, rising from humble origins to queen and mother of ten royal children, two of them the famous princes in the Tower. The way the story was handled in this novel, however, didn't do a lot for me.
Firstly, there was the Melusina/witchcraft *thing*. Magic explained everything; how Elizabeth captured the king, why the battlefields were misty in 1471, how Elizabeth conceived a son- and Richard's withered arm. (Oh yes, she went there.)
Then there's the narrative itself, which was rather simple and very repetitive. People's names and titles were constantly repeated; Anthony was always "my brother Anthony", Elizabeth's sons from her first marriage are always referred to as "my Grey sons" or "my sons Richard and/or Thomas Grey", Clarence was always "George, Duke of Clarence", even in speech- its as if Gregory is afraid her readers are so stupid they will forget who people are. There were also instances of historical inaccuracy, which irked a bit (Elizabeth, at one point, visits Nonsuch palace!) but I am able to shrug these off in this case, as they didn't appear to deliberately malign any historical figure.
In addition to this, there is too much telling and not enough showing. Towards the end of the book when Elizabeth is in sanctuary for the second time, we are *told* that Elizabeth and Margaret Beaufort have become allies while Margaret served as one of Elizabeth's ladies, and she helpfully sends Elizabeth a note giving her clues about the way the political wind is blowing; however not one single scene between the two ladies is written down for us while their relationship is developing, the two share no private moments, no conversation. There are huge time jumps in the narrative, which seem to me to be a bit of a cop out of giving us a more personal look into the life of Elizabeth during peacetime; we jump from one 'exciting scenario' to another, and even then a lot of the time the scenes fail to come to life. I didn't feel as though I got an insight into Elizabeth's relationships, her marriage or her queenship, which is a shame really. This book could have been a lot better.
Elizabeth Woodville's story is extraordinary, rising from humble origins to queen and mother of ten royal children, two of them the famous princes in the Tower. The way the story was handled in this novel, however, didn't do a lot for me.
Firstly, there was the Melusina/witchcraft *thing*. Magic explained everything; how Elizabeth captured the king, why the battlefields were misty in 1471, how Elizabeth conceived a son- and Richard's withered arm. (Oh yes, she went there.)
Then there's the narrative itself, which was rather simple and very repetitive. People's names and titles were constantly repeated; Anthony was always "my brother Anthony", Elizabeth's sons from her first marriage are always referred to as "my Grey sons" or "my sons Richard and/or Thomas Grey", Clarence was always "George, Duke of Clarence", even in speech- its as if Gregory is afraid her readers are so stupid they will forget who people are. There were also instances of historical inaccuracy, which irked a bit (Elizabeth, at one point, visits Nonsuch palace!) but I am able to shrug these off in this case, as they didn't appear to deliberately malign any historical figure.
In addition to this, there is too much telling and not enough showing. Towards the end of the book when Elizabeth is in sanctuary for the second time, we are *told* that Elizabeth and Margaret Beaufort have become allies while Margaret served as one of Elizabeth's ladies, and she helpfully sends Elizabeth a note giving her clues about the way the political wind is blowing; however not one single scene between the two ladies is written down for us while their relationship is developing, the two share no private moments, no conversation. There are huge time jumps in the narrative, which seem to me to be a bit of a cop out of giving us a more personal look into the life of Elizabeth during peacetime; we jump from one 'exciting scenario' to another, and even then a lot of the time the scenes fail to come to life. I didn't feel as though I got an insight into Elizabeth's relationships, her marriage or her queenship, which is a shame really. This book could have been a lot better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2010
I have to start out this review with a disclaimer. This is a wonderful piece of historical fiction. The author, Philippa Gregory took facts and obscure history to weave an exciting tapestry of power, greed, and betrayal set against the backdrop of the late medieval British court in the late 1400's.
Our heroine Elizabeth Woodville, comes from mostly humble origins with a uniqueness of her own. Her mother's Burgundy family are descendants of a water goddess, Melusina. Wishing, tricks and witchcraft do make recurring appearances in this book. Elizabeth starts out begging the new King, Edward IV for her deceased husband's land as an inheritance for her two sons. After this initial meeting, Elizabeth wins the heart of the new young King and they secretly marry. Edward is from the House of York that took the throne by force through war from King Henry of the House of Lancaster.
Throughout this book, King Edward has to constantly fight to keep his throne from the former King Henry and his plotting wife, Margret de Anjou. This is the first book of a War of the Roses trilogy. This war is also called the Cousin's war where cousins fight against cousins depending on loyalties and physical location in the kingdom. It also eventually turns into a brother's war, brothers fighting against brothers. King Edward not only has to constantly defend his throne and royal line, but he has to do so against his brothers George (who dies a traitor's death) and Richard (who betrays his loyalty to his brother and king) after his trusted adviser, the Kingmaker, Warwick decides to take his power and elevate himself or his family towards the throne once he no longer has control over what Edward does. Edward starts listening to his wife's advice.
I think a central theme in this book is women of incredible strength. It seems back then (a time period where enlightenment was just starting) in order to survive you had to have faith and a strong constitution to make it through life during a time when women were only valued for the heirs that they left. Women were seen as a commodity, and only worth the grave or a nunnery if they could not produce sons. Which was an incredible feat back then to survive childbirth, let alone have multiple children or even multiple sons. Elizabeth Woodville is with child almost every year to secure her husband's line and the Plantagenet rule. (Plantagenet rule was before Tudor rule, the Tudor royal line was established once the throne was fought and won). Being a strong woman was even more necessary to plan and plot to keep your family in power if you were Queen of England.
One way Elizabeth did this was through wishing, sometimes ill wishing, magic tricks, and the like taught by her mother. Sometimes it seemed like Elizabeth did not believe in this, but it gave her courage to do so. Other times in this novel, her wishing did help turn the tide in her family's favor, but always came back to her to ruin whatever goal she and her family were trying to achieve. Her family was never really safe from the curses and prayers she offered. Her mother and herself were accused of witchcraft at one point in the book.
After King Edward dies, we see Edward's sons, the Prince and soon to be King Edward and his brother Prince Richard in danger of their lives from their uncle (Edward IV youngest brother) who swore to be an adviser and protector until Prince Edward could rightfully rule by himself, now this uncle is a claimant as King himself. More battles are fought, new men rise to power, such as Henry Tudor and a Howard (Ann Boleyn's ancestor)set their sights from winning the throne for the young king, to then plotting for the throne themselves. Unfortunately the young king is lost, and presumed dead. His brother is put into safe hiding. The loss of Prince Edward is heart wrenching. The reader never knows for sure if he is alive or will be found. Elizabeth believes for the longest time that he cannot be dead, despite various rumors circulating the kingdom. Then she finally accepts that this must be so, that her oldest son will never be able to claim what is rightfully his. The end of the book closes with the return of Prince Richard to Elizabeth.
True to British court at this time and Gregory's writing we are caught up in an onslaught of constant plotting and intrigue. This really drives the book forward, without it, the novel would have dragged on, which it unfortunately does in some parts. I liked the paranormal aspect of Elizabeth, but felt at some parts I was reading two different books at the same time, the different aspects didn't always connect neatly. This being said, I rate this book a solid 3.5 stars out of 5 and recommend this book to any Gregory fan or someone looking for a solid British historical fiction to try. I am interested in checking out the next book in the series, The Red Queen, which is released August 19, 2010.
Our heroine Elizabeth Woodville, comes from mostly humble origins with a uniqueness of her own. Her mother's Burgundy family are descendants of a water goddess, Melusina. Wishing, tricks and witchcraft do make recurring appearances in this book. Elizabeth starts out begging the new King, Edward IV for her deceased husband's land as an inheritance for her two sons. After this initial meeting, Elizabeth wins the heart of the new young King and they secretly marry. Edward is from the House of York that took the throne by force through war from King Henry of the House of Lancaster.
Throughout this book, King Edward has to constantly fight to keep his throne from the former King Henry and his plotting wife, Margret de Anjou. This is the first book of a War of the Roses trilogy. This war is also called the Cousin's war where cousins fight against cousins depending on loyalties and physical location in the kingdom. It also eventually turns into a brother's war, brothers fighting against brothers. King Edward not only has to constantly defend his throne and royal line, but he has to do so against his brothers George (who dies a traitor's death) and Richard (who betrays his loyalty to his brother and king) after his trusted adviser, the Kingmaker, Warwick decides to take his power and elevate himself or his family towards the throne once he no longer has control over what Edward does. Edward starts listening to his wife's advice.
I think a central theme in this book is women of incredible strength. It seems back then (a time period where enlightenment was just starting) in order to survive you had to have faith and a strong constitution to make it through life during a time when women were only valued for the heirs that they left. Women were seen as a commodity, and only worth the grave or a nunnery if they could not produce sons. Which was an incredible feat back then to survive childbirth, let alone have multiple children or even multiple sons. Elizabeth Woodville is with child almost every year to secure her husband's line and the Plantagenet rule. (Plantagenet rule was before Tudor rule, the Tudor royal line was established once the throne was fought and won). Being a strong woman was even more necessary to plan and plot to keep your family in power if you were Queen of England.
One way Elizabeth did this was through wishing, sometimes ill wishing, magic tricks, and the like taught by her mother. Sometimes it seemed like Elizabeth did not believe in this, but it gave her courage to do so. Other times in this novel, her wishing did help turn the tide in her family's favor, but always came back to her to ruin whatever goal she and her family were trying to achieve. Her family was never really safe from the curses and prayers she offered. Her mother and herself were accused of witchcraft at one point in the book.
After King Edward dies, we see Edward's sons, the Prince and soon to be King Edward and his brother Prince Richard in danger of their lives from their uncle (Edward IV youngest brother) who swore to be an adviser and protector until Prince Edward could rightfully rule by himself, now this uncle is a claimant as King himself. More battles are fought, new men rise to power, such as Henry Tudor and a Howard (Ann Boleyn's ancestor)set their sights from winning the throne for the young king, to then plotting for the throne themselves. Unfortunately the young king is lost, and presumed dead. His brother is put into safe hiding. The loss of Prince Edward is heart wrenching. The reader never knows for sure if he is alive or will be found. Elizabeth believes for the longest time that he cannot be dead, despite various rumors circulating the kingdom. Then she finally accepts that this must be so, that her oldest son will never be able to claim what is rightfully his. The end of the book closes with the return of Prince Richard to Elizabeth.
True to British court at this time and Gregory's writing we are caught up in an onslaught of constant plotting and intrigue. This really drives the book forward, without it, the novel would have dragged on, which it unfortunately does in some parts. I liked the paranormal aspect of Elizabeth, but felt at some parts I was reading two different books at the same time, the different aspects didn't always connect neatly. This being said, I rate this book a solid 3.5 stars out of 5 and recommend this book to any Gregory fan or someone looking for a solid British historical fiction to try. I am interested in checking out the next book in the series, The Red Queen, which is released August 19, 2010.
May 20, 2023
3.75 ✰s
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