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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
The White Queen is not my first novel by Philippa Gregory, and I would also wager that it's not my favorite either. (Sorry - The Other Boleyn Girl is still my fave!) It's not Philippa Gregory's fault - in 1400s England, there are several Edwards, Richards, and Henrys strewn about the book, and somewhere in the middle it became a bit confusing. Plus, the research for the 1400s is less abundant than the later royal archives, so therefore the author has to plug in the gaps between coronations, marriages, births, etc. Plus the battles...soo many battles! It was called War of the Roses for a reason...
I love the story about how Elizabeth Woodville became Queen, but I had to 'google' why she was called The White Queen - even after finishing I didn't know. She is called The White Queen because the House of York's Symbol was a White Rose (as compared to the House of Lancaster's symbol of the Red Rose). There is a Starz miniseries based on this book and I watched the first few episodes streaming on Amazon Prime recently - VERY WELL DONE! Let's just say that Max Irons as King Edward is ROYALLYcute...
As of August 2016, Philippa Gregory lists her historical novels as one series: The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels. Like the name tells it, it is a series about the two British royal houses, the history being told through the female narrative. I have personally read more books about the Tudor dynasty, so it was interesting to read the earlier history about the Plantagenets.
I don't think any of this information would be considered spoiler alerts...but beware. I was looking up Elizabeth Woodville online and BAM - spoilers galore. (These books are all based on historical research, after all...) (argh)
If you decide to give read any of Philippa Gregory's novels, here is the reading chart with an author suggested list of how to move through them.
Happy Royal Reading!
www.howtoread.me/plantagenet-tudor-novels-reading-order-philippa-gregory/
I love the story about how Elizabeth Woodville became Queen, but I had to 'google' why she was called The White Queen - even after finishing I didn't know. She is called The White Queen because the House of York's Symbol was a White Rose (as compared to the House of Lancaster's symbol of the Red Rose). There is a Starz miniseries based on this book and I watched the first few episodes streaming on Amazon Prime recently - VERY WELL DONE! Let's just say that Max Irons as King Edward is ROYALLYcute...
As of August 2016, Philippa Gregory lists her historical novels as one series: The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels. Like the name tells it, it is a series about the two British royal houses, the history being told through the female narrative. I have personally read more books about the Tudor dynasty, so it was interesting to read the earlier history about the Plantagenets.
I don't think any of this information would be considered spoiler alerts...but beware. I was looking up Elizabeth Woodville online and BAM - spoilers galore. (These books are all based on historical research, after all...) (argh)
If you decide to give read any of Philippa Gregory's novels, here is the reading chart with an author suggested list of how to move through them.
Happy Royal Reading!
www.howtoread.me/plantagenet-tudor-novels-reading-order-philippa-gregory/
One of the best Gregory books I've read (or more accurately, tried to read) since the Other Boleyn Girl. This is a fascinating time period and she covers it well, although I'm more convinced by the History in Josephine Tey's Daughter of Time (which I went back and reread in the middle of this book -- it's a must read in my opinion).
DNF at page 84
Oh man, did I want to like this book. I really, really did. But I just could not get into it. The time jumps made no sense, even though they were spelled out; there were so many names and titles thrown at you that it was impossible to make sense of who was what or where; and, though this is a personal peeve, I could not stand that it was written in first person. Instead of cultivating a sense of intimacy it just fell flat.
It read like the most boring parts of Game of Thrones, I felt. I had to bargain with myself to get myself to even pick it up to try to forge through it, and it was a relief to put it down.
Oh man, did I want to like this book. I really, really did. But I just could not get into it. The time jumps made no sense, even though they were spelled out; there were so many names and titles thrown at you that it was impossible to make sense of who was what or where; and, though this is a personal peeve, I could not stand that it was written in first person. Instead of cultivating a sense of intimacy it just fell flat.
It read like the most boring parts of Game of Thrones, I felt. I had to bargain with myself to get myself to even pick it up to try to forge through it, and it was a relief to put it down.
Mi comentario:
http://queridobloc.blogspot.com.es/2013/06/la-reina-blanca-white-queen-philippa.html
http://queridobloc.blogspot.com.es/2013/06/la-reina-blanca-white-queen-philippa.html
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love historical fiction. Especially the one is written by Phillipa Gregory. This book follow the end of War of roses. Elizabeth is a common born who caught the King eyes. They married. It is also a story about the Princes in tower. The mystery surrounding their disappearance.
I love Elizabeth. She is ambitious, smart, independent and cunning. How her ambition to secure a power for her sons and daughters finally wears her off.
I love Phillipa romantic and poignant story telling.
I love Elizabeth. She is ambitious, smart, independent and cunning. How her ambition to secure a power for her sons and daughters finally wears her off.
I love Phillipa romantic and poignant story telling.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 stars. It has definitely helped solidify some of the details of the war of the roses that had started to drift out of my brain. Plus, it's fun catching Game of Thrones parallels because Stark and Lannister are based on York and Lancaster. I also enjoyed the whole witchcraft angle, but there were points when the book dragged a little and ultimately, I found most characters unlikeable. This is, perhaps, the point, but it doesn't make it any more fun to read.
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One word: HORRIBLE. Why are you writing this in first person? There are only a handful of novels that I would accept in first person and this is not one of them. The actual writing is quite poor. Colour me disappointed.
I'm definitely looking forward to reading the subsequent novels in this new Gregory series. It was a fun read. The one complaint I had was (and this is no fault of the author's, since the Wars of the Roses were an age unto themselves) sometimes huge chunks of time flew by in mere pages. But, it was worth it for the scenes created. I love her theory of Perkin (I've always favored that to the more grim theses of the Princes in the Tower) and I found myself genuinely drawn to Elizabeth the White Queen, despite her maddening ambitions. I doubt Gregory will ever be able to top The Other Boleyn Girl, or The Wise Woman, but this is definitely my third-favorite of hers (and I'm a huge fan.) I'm excited for volume ii!