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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Review - Not one of my favourite Conn Iggulden books. I actually preferred the previous two - [b:Stormbird|17830079|Stormbird (Wars of the Roses, #1)|Conn Iggulden|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385271736s/17830079.jpg|24944890] and [b:Wars of the Roses: Trinity|22468475|Wars of the Roses Trinity (Wars of the Roses, #2)|Conn Iggulden|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429823235s/22468475.jpg|41908196]. I didn't think that Edward IV came across very well - from the historical record, he was a strong king, older and wiser than his years when he came to the throne, but here he comes across as a stroppy teenager. Nevertheless, the descriptions of the areas and people are very vibrant and really make you feel like you're there.
Genre/s - Historical / Drama
Characters - Henry VI / Margaret of Anjou / Edward of Lancaster / Edward IV / John Neville / Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick / Elizabeth Woodville / George Neville / Richard III / George, Duke of Clarence
Setting - York & London (England) & Paris (France)
Series - Wars of the Roses #3
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 17/20
Genre/s - Historical / Drama
Characters - Henry VI / Margaret of Anjou / Edward of Lancaster / Edward IV / John Neville / Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick / Elizabeth Woodville / George Neville / Richard III / George, Duke of Clarence
Setting - York & London (England) & Paris (France)
Series - Wars of the Roses #3
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 17/20
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Blood, Antisemitism, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, Classism
This was an interesting book, particularly because it's mostly through the eyes of Warwick. I had seen The White Queen based on Philippa Gregory's book and this one paints a completely different picture. Here it's Elizabeth Woodville who's the nasty one, not Warwick and his gang. It will be interesting to read the final book and to see how Iggulden handles Richard the third.
I thought this was the best of the Wars of the Roses series so far. There was much more story to this one outside of the battle sequences, which I preferred. Can't wait to start the next one...
Bloodline, the third volume of the Wars of the Roses series by Conn Iggulden.
I’ve ran out of superlatives to describe this series.
At the end of Trinity, Queen Margaret and her army caught Richard of York and his army by surprise. The deaths of Richard of York and Earl of Salisbury may have tasted like a victory for Queen Margaret, but it was to be short-lived as the sons of both York and Salisbury are unleashed. In Bloodline, revenge will be served, the best of friends will fallout. One’s loyalty will change.
After the battle of Wakefield in Trinity, Queen Margaret, King Henry VI and their supporters head back to London. At least, they tried to. They were refused entry into London. The bizarre Scots in the army raised concerns among the Londoners.
With uncertainties growing, Edward (son of York) and Richard (son of Earl of Salisbury) take advantage of the situation, resulting in Edward being crowned as Edward IV, the King of England. News of the coronation spread fast, and Queen Margaret and her army go into yet another bloodbath with the Yorkists.
I’ve ran out of superlatives to describe this series.
At the end of Trinity, Queen Margaret and her army caught Richard of York and his army by surprise. The deaths of Richard of York and Earl of Salisbury may have tasted like a victory for Queen Margaret, but it was to be short-lived as the sons of both York and Salisbury are unleashed. In Bloodline, revenge will be served, the best of friends will fallout. One’s loyalty will change.
After the battle of Wakefield in Trinity, Queen Margaret, King Henry VI and their supporters head back to London. At least, they tried to. They were refused entry into London. The bizarre Scots in the army raised concerns among the Londoners.
With uncertainties growing, Edward (son of York) and Richard (son of Earl of Salisbury) take advantage of the situation, resulting in Edward being crowned as Edward IV, the King of England. News of the coronation spread fast, and Queen Margaret and her army go into yet another bloodbath with the Yorkists.
I only seem to have complaints about this series, so let's get on with it...
- Conn doesn't seem to realize that laird basically means "landlord" and trots it out like a noble title at every turn. If this (fictional) Andrew Douglas has a title, that should be used, not "laird".
- Several times in this book and a few in the last, Conn says that Queen Margaret has been making eyes at the Duke of Somerset.
WRONG SOMERSET!
Margaret was reputed to a have thing for Edmund Beaufort, his father.
In fact, Conn mentioned once or twice about Margaret having eyes for Edmund and then he magically changes it to Henry.
No?
- My fear that he'd introduce Elizabeth Woodville as an ice queen who actually practiced Witchcraft was unfounded.
He brought her in as a dirty country bumpkin instead.
WHAT?!
Her father had been promoted to Baron by Henry VI, her mother was the Dowager Duchess of Bedford, and she married the eldest son of another baron. How on Goddess's green earth does that make her a bumpkin?!
OH! And then he has the gall to return the dog he stole just so he can make-out with her in the front yard of THE HOME SHE SHARES WITH HER HUSBAND!
WTF?! Do you not think the servants would tattle that she'd been cheating? Or do you hope that they will, so Sir John would divorce her and you can put the two of them together?
Too bad THERE'S NO HISTORICAL EVIDENCE saying Elizabeth and Edward knew each other before they met that day on the road when she was a widow!
And then he glosses over the whole meeting on the road/wedding bit. Sheesh.
More to come as I find it.
- Conn doesn't seem to realize that laird basically means "landlord" and trots it out like a noble title at every turn. If this (fictional) Andrew Douglas has a title, that should be used, not "laird".
Spoiler
- Several times in this book and a few in the last, Conn says that Queen Margaret has been making eyes at the Duke of Somerset.
WRONG SOMERSET!
Margaret was reputed to a have thing for Edmund Beaufort, his father.
In fact, Conn mentioned once or twice about Margaret having eyes for Edmund and then he magically changes it to Henry.
No?
- My fear that he'd introduce Elizabeth Woodville as an ice queen who actually practiced Witchcraft was unfounded.
He brought her in as a dirty country bumpkin instead.
WHAT?!
Her father had been promoted to Baron by Henry VI, her mother was the Dowager Duchess of Bedford, and she married the eldest son of another baron. How on Goddess's green earth does that make her a bumpkin?!
OH! And then he has the gall to return the dog he stole just so he can make-out with her in the front yard of THE HOME SHE SHARES WITH HER HUSBAND!
WTF?! Do you not think the servants would tattle that she'd been cheating? Or do you hope that they will, so Sir John would divorce her and you can put the two of them together?
Too bad THERE'S NO HISTORICAL EVIDENCE saying Elizabeth and Edward knew each other before they met that day on the road when she was a widow!
And then he glosses over the whole meeting on the road/wedding bit. Sheesh.
More to come as I find it.
If you enjoy historical fiction this series is a must.
The final book in Iggulden's Wars of the Roses trilogy lived up to extremely high expectations for me. The first two books I already thought were awesome, drawing you into the story with effortless ease in a charming, engaging way which left you wanting more and more. Well, book 3 surpassed even those epics and I can give no higher praise.
The stroryline is exciting and compelling, the characters meaty, diverse and rich, the writing impeccable, the battle scenes glorious.... Truly one of my favourite series of all time.
I admit to being jealous of Conn Iggulden. I wish I had his talent, his vision, his artistry... Well done son !
The final book in Iggulden's Wars of the Roses trilogy lived up to extremely high expectations for me. The first two books I already thought were awesome, drawing you into the story with effortless ease in a charming, engaging way which left you wanting more and more. Well, book 3 surpassed even those epics and I can give no higher praise.
The stroryline is exciting and compelling, the characters meaty, diverse and rich, the writing impeccable, the battle scenes glorious.... Truly one of my favourite series of all time.
I admit to being jealous of Conn Iggulden. I wish I had his talent, his vision, his artistry... Well done son !
Really loved this one. It was action packed, engaging and a page turner. I couldn’t put the book down. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't like this installment.
The sexist treatment of Elizabeth Woodville is gross.
It's also historically inaccurate.
Elizabeth Woodville grew up at Court. Her mother, The Duchess of Bedford was a leading lady in Queen Margaret of Anjou's Court. Queen Margaret was related to Jacquetta, perhaps only by marriage but that was sufficient in that time period for strong kinship ties. As a result Jacquetta's children were able to make fairly decent marriages based on the status of their mother and their ability to leverage the family's closeness to the Queen. This is before Edward IV is King, just under Henry VI & Margaret of Anjou.
The Woodville's weren't simple country squires at all. Lord Rivers was already a Baron under Henry VI.
The research by the author is poor and likely biased.
While it's true that Elizabeth Woodville's father was simply a Baron and the 1st Baron Rivers to boot, her mother was not. Her mom was Jacquetta of Luxembourg a part of the French Royal family. Jacquetta comes to England as a teenage bride to John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford who was the Uncle of King Henry VI and highly placed at Court in England. Jacquetta keeps her Royal title as The Duchess of Bedford during her marriage with Richard Woodville.
Jacquetta's connections to Luxembourg via the Duke of Burgundy are why Edward IV makes deals with Burgundy over the King of France. At this time dealing with the Duke of Burgundy is probably a stronger position that dealing directly with the King of France who is already protecting and housing Queen Margaret and her son, Edward the former Prince of Wales. With that in mind it's easy to see why Edward IV chose to make deals with Burgundy instead. It doesn't excuse him embarrassing Warwick but would bolster my belief that Warwick was trying to control Edward IV.
This is a very complicated time in politics and the author chooses to totally omit the French Civil War taking place at this time and instead just pretend that Edward IV made poor choices while chasing his penis. There's strategy at play here and the French Civil War would need make this story much more complicated but also much more historically accurate.
Edward IV was never faithful to Elizabeth so it's doubtful that sex with her was why he made the choices he made.
In fact there's little evidence that Edward IV was influenced by Elizabeth Woodville in regards to her family. Weakening The Neville family's hold over Edward IV and Court made sense and was most likely why Edward IV promoted The Woodville's like he did.
Also Iggulden's research is faulty as fuck because Anthony Woodville had already made a good marriage and become Lord Scales BEFORE Elizabeth became Queen. Anthony Woodville was also highly educated, extremely religious and well respected across Western Europe. He had traveled to multiple Royal European Courts and even spent time in Rome. He was highly educated and deeply respected in his time.
This series mostly focuses on battles and it's mostly very slow because of this.
The sexist treatment of Elizabeth Woodville is gross.
It's also historically inaccurate.
Elizabeth Woodville grew up at Court. Her mother, The Duchess of Bedford was a leading lady in Queen Margaret of Anjou's Court. Queen Margaret was related to Jacquetta, perhaps only by marriage but that was sufficient in that time period for strong kinship ties. As a result Jacquetta's children were able to make fairly decent marriages based on the status of their mother and their ability to leverage the family's closeness to the Queen. This is before Edward IV is King, just under Henry VI & Margaret of Anjou.
The Woodville's weren't simple country squires at all. Lord Rivers was already a Baron under Henry VI.
The research by the author is poor and likely biased.
While it's true that Elizabeth Woodville's father was simply a Baron and the 1st Baron Rivers to boot, her mother was not. Her mom was Jacquetta of Luxembourg a part of the French Royal family. Jacquetta comes to England as a teenage bride to John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford who was the Uncle of King Henry VI and highly placed at Court in England. Jacquetta keeps her Royal title as The Duchess of Bedford during her marriage with Richard Woodville.
Jacquetta's connections to Luxembourg via the Duke of Burgundy are why Edward IV makes deals with Burgundy over the King of France. At this time dealing with the Duke of Burgundy is probably a stronger position that dealing directly with the King of France who is already protecting and housing Queen Margaret and her son, Edward the former Prince of Wales. With that in mind it's easy to see why Edward IV chose to make deals with Burgundy instead. It doesn't excuse him embarrassing Warwick but would bolster my belief that Warwick was trying to control Edward IV.
This is a very complicated time in politics and the author chooses to totally omit the French Civil War taking place at this time and instead just pretend that Edward IV made poor choices while chasing his penis. There's strategy at play here and the French Civil War would need make this story much more complicated but also much more historically accurate.
Edward IV was never faithful to Elizabeth so it's doubtful that sex with her was why he made the choices he made.
In fact there's little evidence that Edward IV was influenced by Elizabeth Woodville in regards to her family. Weakening The Neville family's hold over Edward IV and Court made sense and was most likely why Edward IV promoted The Woodville's like he did.
Also Iggulden's research is faulty as fuck because Anthony Woodville had already made a good marriage and become Lord Scales BEFORE Elizabeth became Queen. Anthony Woodville was also highly educated, extremely religious and well respected across Western Europe. He had traveled to multiple Royal European Courts and even spent time in Rome. He was highly educated and deeply respected in his time.
This series mostly focuses on battles and it's mostly very slow because of this.