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kastrel's review
4.0
I actually enjoyed this book a lot - many of the reviews were pretty damning, but this is a period of history that is completely new to me (Henry VI's reign, 1450s and 60s). I know a little of the earlier period from Shakespeare, and quite a lot of the later period from school and other historical fiction, films and TV set around Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. I read Katherine which is about John of Gaunt and his wife, and Seventh Son, which is about Richard III. But this was a complete blank to me. Philippa Gregory always does a good job of writing the stories of interesting women, set against a backdrop of historical events, with lots of attention to everyday detail. I didn't find the plot thin on the ground - there was a lot going on! And I loved the central love story between Jacquetta and Richard Woodville, and her many, many children. It gave the book a central family for me to root for, stopped it getting too bleak to be worth caring about.
kaispellmeier's review
4.0
“Any woman who dares to make her own destiny will always put herself in danger.”
This was my first Philippa Gregory novel, and my first historical novel this year. (Although I tried to read Outlander. But I put it aside after 200 pages because it was sexist.) I fully enjoyed this book and am super intrigued to continue this series. The British Royals and their history always sparked an interest in me and while this novel satisfied me 100%, it also made my hunger even bigger. Since my knowledge of British (or basically any) history is basically nonexistent, historical books always manage to captivate me. Since the events are real and Google knows everything it's a challenge not to look everything up right away.
Philippa Gregory's writing is fantastic, romantic and wise. There are so many beautiful quotes in this book. Since it's an adult, historical novel in English it took me a while longer to read than your typical YA story, but I still loved it lots.
I also love the portrayal of the main character and any other woman in this book. Yes, it's the 15th century and women had no rights whatsoever. But while keeping everything historically accurate, the author still managed to write a powerful, independent and intelligent woman. Jacquetta was aware that, as a woman between many power-hungry men, she needed to tread carefully, but she never lost her dignity. (Not like some other female main character, who jumped back in time, and let her husband hit her just to forgive him a second later. And that was supposedly 300 years after Jacquetta lived. Never again tell me historical accuracy needs women to be disrespected.)
The never-ending power game, the back and forth between running and ruling are somewhat tiring but that isn't Philippa Gregory's fault. These royals are incredibly stubborn and often too stupid to rule a country.
What frightens me is the sheer size of this series. I doubt that I will finish it in the next few years, but I will continue it for sure.
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This was my first Philippa Gregory novel, and my first historical novel this year. (Although I tried to read Outlander. But I put it aside after 200 pages because it was sexist.) I fully enjoyed this book and am super intrigued to continue this series. The British Royals and their history always sparked an interest in me and while this novel satisfied me 100%, it also made my hunger even bigger. Since my knowledge of British (or basically any) history is basically nonexistent, historical books always manage to captivate me. Since the events are real and Google knows everything it's a challenge not to look everything up right away.
Philippa Gregory's writing is fantastic, romantic and wise. There are so many beautiful quotes in this book. Since it's an adult, historical novel in English it took me a while longer to read than your typical YA story, but I still loved it lots.
I also love the portrayal of the main character and any other woman in this book. Yes, it's the 15th century and women had no rights whatsoever. But while keeping everything historically accurate, the author still managed to write a powerful, independent and intelligent woman. Jacquetta was aware that, as a woman between many power-hungry men, she needed to tread carefully, but she never lost her dignity. (Not like some other female main character, who jumped back in time, and let her husband hit her just to forgive him a second later. And that was supposedly 300 years after Jacquetta lived. Never again tell me historical accuracy needs women to be disrespected.)
The never-ending power game, the back and forth between running and ruling are somewhat tiring but that isn't Philippa Gregory's fault. These royals are incredibly stubborn and often too stupid to rule a country.
What frightens me is the sheer size of this series. I doubt that I will finish it in the next few years, but I will continue it for sure.
Find more of my books on Instagram
bookdragon's review
2.0
I'm pretty disappointed to be honest. I loved The White Queen and The Read Queen, I enjoyed The Kingmaker's Daughter, but this...look I'm not one of those fanatical historical purists that has conniptions because of inaccuracies. This is historical fiction after all, and no matter how seriously Phillipa Gregory pitches her historical research, I take it with a grain of salt. These books are for me primarily entertaining. The thing is, this one wasn't. I didn't particularly like any of the character, the plot was the same thing repeated over and over again, and honestly, the TV series looks better.
alcrodrigues's review
3.0
3.5
Good plot with terrible characters. Loved Lizzie and all her kids and basically every York (except Elizabeth Woodville). Hated & loathed everyone else.
Good plot with terrible characters. Loved Lizzie and all her kids and basically every York (except Elizabeth Woodville). Hated & loathed everyone else.
lazyowl's review
4.0
This book took a while for me to get into, but once I did I found it an interesting read, given that the book is based on Phillips Gregory's perception of historical events.
gabbyhm's review
3.0
Marriage for love, especially among noble families in the olden days, was a rare thing. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen. There were two love matches, in fact, that were influential in the English Wars of the Roses. In one, Queen Catherine, widow of King Henry V, married a Welsh commoner and her grandson from that union became King Henry VII. In the other, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, who had been married to King Henry V's brother briefly before his death, secretly married one of the knights of her deceased husband's household, Richard Woodville. This productive marriage (they had 14 children, including future Queen Consort Elizabeth) is explored in Philippa Gregory's third novel in her Cousin's War series, The Lady of the Rivers. As is relatively common with Gregory's historical fiction, this book isn't the first in the series, but does take place first in the timeline, so while it explores much of Jacquetta's life, it ends where the first book written (The White Queen) begins.
Gregory begins Jacquetta's story with a meeting between our heroine and Joan of Arc as pre-teens, while Joan is being held by Jacquetta's uncle. This is used to establish the plot device of Jacquetta's family's claim to be descended from water goddess Melusina, and set up Jacquetta's interest in fortune-telling, primarily through tarot cards. When Jacquetta grows up, she's married off to much-older John, the Duke of Bedford and brother to the King of England. Gregory paints this marriage as never consummated...the Duke is mostly interested in using Jacquetta to further his interest in alchemy and believes she must remain virginal to do so. They never develop much of a relationship, but she does develop a big old crush on her husband's chamberlain, a handsome young knight called Richard Woodville. When John dies, she and Richard wed...in secret, at first, because technically Jacquetta needs the Crown's permission to remarry and knows they'll never allow the match.
From there, Jacquetta and John join the English Court, under the rule of Henry VI and his high-spirited French bride, Margaret of Anjou. Jacquetta becomes Margaret's maid of honor and closest friend, and is by her side through most of the events of the early period of the Wars of the Roses...at least, when she's not having children, because she's basically constantly pregnant. She tries to protect the Lancastrian Royal Couple from themselves (pious, timid Henry lets powerful-minded nobles run him roughshod and drain the royal treasury, and his lack of marital attentions to his lively wife leads to an affair), only to mostly be unsuccessful. When her husband is captured in battle with the Yorks and has to swear to set down arms against them to be freed, Jacquetta is relieved to leave Court behind and settle down to life as country gentry...until, of course, her oldest daughter Elizabeth comes to the door hand-in-hand with Yorkist King Edward.
Since this book provides much of the backstory for The White Queen, I was afraid it would be just as immersed in the kind of silly mysticalism that's all over the previous book and made it so hard for me to enjoy it. Happily, though, there's much less of that in here, and it's integrated into the plot in a way that feels organic. My biggest issue with The Lady of the Rivers is that Jacquetta herself is a fairly passive character who mostly reacts to the events around her. Margaret of Anjou is the one who drives them, and I kind of wish she'd been the protagonist instead, because she seemed BONKERS in a delightfully dramatic kind of way.
Look, I like Philippa Gregory's books. I don't think they're super high quality, but they're enjoyable to read and as much as I like to be pretentious about my taste in novels, sometimes something that's fun and easy doesn't have to be more than that. But if you've read her work before, you know what you're getting into: high drama and questionable historical sourcing. Sometimes they're a little better, sometimes they're a little worse. This falls on the mid-point for me...it's fine. It's not amazing, it's not terrible. I liked reading it and I'd read it again if I do a read-through of the whole Plantagenet-Tudor cycle like I'm planning on one day. I'd recommend it if you like Gregory's work, but if historical fiction is not your thing, it's not unmissable by any means.
Gregory begins Jacquetta's story with a meeting between our heroine and Joan of Arc as pre-teens, while Joan is being held by Jacquetta's uncle. This is used to establish the plot device of Jacquetta's family's claim to be descended from water goddess Melusina, and set up Jacquetta's interest in fortune-telling, primarily through tarot cards. When Jacquetta grows up, she's married off to much-older John, the Duke of Bedford and brother to the King of England. Gregory paints this marriage as never consummated...the Duke is mostly interested in using Jacquetta to further his interest in alchemy and believes she must remain virginal to do so. They never develop much of a relationship, but she does develop a big old crush on her husband's chamberlain, a handsome young knight called Richard Woodville. When John dies, she and Richard wed...in secret, at first, because technically Jacquetta needs the Crown's permission to remarry and knows they'll never allow the match.
From there, Jacquetta and John join the English Court, under the rule of Henry VI and his high-spirited French bride, Margaret of Anjou. Jacquetta becomes Margaret's maid of honor and closest friend, and is by her side through most of the events of the early period of the Wars of the Roses...at least, when she's not having children, because she's basically constantly pregnant. She tries to protect the Lancastrian Royal Couple from themselves (pious, timid Henry lets powerful-minded nobles run him roughshod and drain the royal treasury, and his lack of marital attentions to his lively wife leads to an affair), only to mostly be unsuccessful. When her husband is captured in battle with the Yorks and has to swear to set down arms against them to be freed, Jacquetta is relieved to leave Court behind and settle down to life as country gentry...until, of course, her oldest daughter Elizabeth comes to the door hand-in-hand with Yorkist King Edward.
Since this book provides much of the backstory for The White Queen, I was afraid it would be just as immersed in the kind of silly mysticalism that's all over the previous book and made it so hard for me to enjoy it. Happily, though, there's much less of that in here, and it's integrated into the plot in a way that feels organic. My biggest issue with The Lady of the Rivers is that Jacquetta herself is a fairly passive character who mostly reacts to the events around her. Margaret of Anjou is the one who drives them, and I kind of wish she'd been the protagonist instead, because she seemed BONKERS in a delightfully dramatic kind of way.
Look, I like Philippa Gregory's books. I don't think they're super high quality, but they're enjoyable to read and as much as I like to be pretentious about my taste in novels, sometimes something that's fun and easy doesn't have to be more than that. But if you've read her work before, you know what you're getting into: high drama and questionable historical sourcing. Sometimes they're a little better, sometimes they're a little worse. This falls on the mid-point for me...it's fine. It's not amazing, it's not terrible. I liked reading it and I'd read it again if I do a read-through of the whole Plantagenet-Tudor cycle like I'm planning on one day. I'd recommend it if you like Gregory's work, but if historical fiction is not your thing, it's not unmissable by any means.
cannonsr's review
3.0
Making up dates because I didn't record my reading at the time.
I kept wanting to know what happened. Enough that I'll read other books in the series to find out.
I kept wanting to know what happened. Enough that I'll read other books in the series to find out.
nytephoenyx's review
5.0
Jacquetta's story is much more interesting than I anticipated....
The Lady Rivers is a character usually untouched by history, especially in a time that is so overshadowed by men and tyrants. Jacquetta is best known as the mother of Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England and wife to Edward, the first York King. Gregory's books are always fictional, but filled with a slew of facts and even the foresight and alchemy fit well - much better, I think, than Hannah's in [b:The Queen's Fool|252499|The Queen's Fool (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #12)|Philippa Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1399204116s/252499.jpg|1024199] of her Tudor line. Having read [b:The White Queen|5971165|The White Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #2)|Philippa Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439412993s/5971165.jpg|13560666] and [b:The Red Queen|7148256|The Red Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #3)|Philippa Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1281335912s/7148256.jpg|7413156], Jacquetta's story being a step away from the throne is a relief. In many ways, she reads like [b:The Other Boleyn Girl|37470|The Other Boleyn Girl (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #9)|Philippa Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355932638s/37470.jpg|3248536]'s Mary, who I also enjoyed. Jacquetta's personality and attitude is a breath of fresh air from all the power-hungry women that Gregory typically portrays.
Overall, this is a well-written tale about the rise and fall of power during the Cousin's War, with glimpses to the effects of battle on the kingdom and countyfolk alike. Gregory, as always, plays particular attention to the roles of women in this era. Gregory never disappoints. After [b:The Constant Princess|16181|The Constant Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #6)|Philippa Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355932704s/16181.jpg|1745738], this is my favorite of her works.
The Lady Rivers is a character usually untouched by history, especially in a time that is so overshadowed by men and tyrants. Jacquetta is best known as the mother of Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England and wife to Edward, the first York King. Gregory's books are always fictional, but filled with a slew of facts and even the foresight and alchemy fit well - much better, I think, than Hannah's in [b:The Queen's Fool|252499|The Queen's Fool (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #12)|Philippa Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1399204116s/252499.jpg|1024199] of her Tudor line. Having read [b:The White Queen|5971165|The White Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #2)|Philippa Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439412993s/5971165.jpg|13560666] and [b:The Red Queen|7148256|The Red Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #3)|Philippa Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1281335912s/7148256.jpg|7413156], Jacquetta's story being a step away from the throne is a relief. In many ways, she reads like [b:The Other Boleyn Girl|37470|The Other Boleyn Girl (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #9)|Philippa Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355932638s/37470.jpg|3248536]'s Mary, who I also enjoyed. Jacquetta's personality and attitude is a breath of fresh air from all the power-hungry women that Gregory typically portrays.
Overall, this is a well-written tale about the rise and fall of power during the Cousin's War, with glimpses to the effects of battle on the kingdom and countyfolk alike. Gregory, as always, plays particular attention to the roles of women in this era. Gregory never disappoints. After [b:The Constant Princess|16181|The Constant Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #6)|Philippa Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355932704s/16181.jpg|1745738], this is my favorite of her works.
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