Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 544pgs
The Story
The haunting story of the mother of the Tudors, Elizabeth of York, wife to Henry VII.
Beautiful eldest daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville - the White Queen - the young princess Elizabeth faces a conflict of loyalties between the red rose and the white. Forced into marriage with Henry VII, she must reconcile her slowly growing love for him with her loyalty to the House of York, and choose between her mother's rebellion and her husband's tyranny. Then she has to meet the Pretender, whose claim denies the House of Tudor itself.
Beautiful eldest daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville - the White Queen - the young princess Elizabeth faces a conflict of loyalties between the red rose and the white. Forced into marriage with Henry VII, she must reconcile her slowly growing love for him with her loyalty to the House of York, and choose between her mother's rebellion and her husband's tyranny. Then she has to meet the Pretender, whose claim denies the House of Tudor itself.
The Review
A big thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia for sending me a review copy of this book!
A big thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia for sending me a review copy of this book!
Philippa Gregory, who happens to be one of my favourite authors, is very well-known to readers for being the Queen of Historical Fiction and I think they are right on that fact, especially when it comes to the new and fifth addition to her Cousins War series.
In the next installment of the series, THE WHITE PRINCESS introduces readers to a story told through the eyes of Elizabeth Woodville, a long and forgotten (and probably disliked by most people) York Queen of England. The book quickly opens up with Elizabeth who has a chance meeting with a young King Edward of York, not too long after his defeat of Lancaster King Henry. Newly widowed and in love, Elizabeth and the young King soon enter a scandalizing and secret affair, which leads them to marrying (and for love of course) but without the permission of the court's advisers which, at the time, was not necessarily a good thing - if at all for royalty. But when Elizabeth is presented as the King's wife and the new Queen, this is when the great and devious plotting begins and where one woman's journey becomes a long and a very insightful one, especially for the author's readers, new and old.
Compared to the other predecessors of the series, this fifth installment was such a breath of fresh air and it was probably my favourite book coming from Gregory thus far. It was that good. I honestly have no idea how this author does it really, but I know she does it so well no matter what book I read of hers. While most of the author's books are only of fiction and are depicted by her own amounts of research, but what I always love about a Philippa Gregory book is how well she writes her characters and her histories of where her stories take place. Every single part of those two elements have such a standout-ish factor about them and it just gets me even more invested with the storyline, and leaves me going whoa. Gosh, I just love it so much and with this book . . . well . . . I'm definitely impressed. Especially with how the author developed the relationship between Elizabeth and the King. Elizabeth more so had left such a great impact on me and while - at times - the story can be woeful, but amidst all the sex and the violence, Elizabeth's character was a very empowering one and I loved reading about her journey. It was quite brilliant indeed.
Overall, THE WHITE PRINCESS is a must read for all historical fans and it was such a gripping read too, and right from the beginning. Loved it!
The Rating
5/5 stars
I've loved this series so far and I'm really looking forward to reading this one. I read The Kingmaker's Daughter a couple weeks back and enjoyed that one, but from what you've written I think I'll enjoy this one even more.
ReplyDeleteDo you think you could read this without reading the prior ones? I've only read The Other Boleyn Girl by Gregory and I really liked it, although I doubt its historical accuracy - who cares if it's a good story. I'd like to read more by her.
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