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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
The story of Elizabeth Woodville who became known as The White Queen during The War of the Roses. Very enjoyable and highly recommended if you enjoy historical novels.
Elizabeth is not a very likable character but a very intriguing story.
For the most part, I liked this story. I had a few issues, though, so let’s get through them first.
The story is told in the first person, from Elizabeth’s point of view. This isn’t too bad but Gregory breaks it a few times, mostly for battle scenes. It was a bit jarring to realize I was reading something Elizabeth did not see. And I wasn’t going to hand wave it using her “magic.” (More on that later). Only one battle made sense because it happened outside the palace gates. The others, not so much.
Onto the magic…I wasn’t a fan. I know there were legends that Elizabeth’s mother was a witch, so there’s some historical background. But it still feels…weak. And it cheapens the romance a bit. Does Edward really love her? Or is he just bewitched? Then again, I never felt Elizabeth was in love with Edward. Perhaps at first, she felt something closer to lust for him. Then she fell in love with the power and did everything to keep it, not out of love for her husband or her family.
Of course, I did not particularly care for Elizabeth, which is one of the reasons why the rating is low. And it wasn’t because she is ambitious. I just got annoyed with her as most of her problems are her own doing. She is too stubborn, unable to compromise, and has no sense of diplomacy or playing nice with her enemies. Elizabeth just ploughs through, not caring who gets hurt in the process until it starts affecting her family—namely her sons. Then she starts playing sides to see who will suit her the best. It seems neither will do so.
Onto the romance…It’s more focused in the beginning, when Elizabeth and Edward first meet. Then it peters out. Of course, Edward is away a lot, fighting to keep his throne. So I didn’t feel the romance between the two later on. It seemed to me that Elizabeth had lust and infatuation for Edward but then fell in love with her power as queen. Once I stopped seeing it as a romance, it was much more enjoyable.
I also loved her daughter Elizabeth, especially once the girl started to rebel against her mother a bit. It seemed that Elizabeth had more sense.
Gregory has a good grasp of description and action scenes, which are usually hard to write well. I did like how she wove the legend of Melusina into the main narrative. It added more to the story, in my opinion.
The story is told in the first person, from Elizabeth’s point of view. This isn’t too bad but Gregory breaks it a few times, mostly for battle scenes. It was a bit jarring to realize I was reading something Elizabeth did not see. And I wasn’t going to hand wave it using her “magic.” (More on that later). Only one battle made sense because it happened outside the palace gates. The others, not so much.
Onto the magic…I wasn’t a fan. I know there were legends that Elizabeth’s mother was a witch, so there’s some historical background. But it still feels…weak. And it cheapens the romance a bit. Does Edward really love her? Or is he just bewitched? Then again, I never felt Elizabeth was in love with Edward. Perhaps at first, she felt something closer to lust for him. Then she fell in love with the power and did everything to keep it, not out of love for her husband or her family.
Of course, I did not particularly care for Elizabeth, which is one of the reasons why the rating is low. And it wasn’t because she is ambitious. I just got annoyed with her as most of her problems are her own doing. She is too stubborn, unable to compromise, and has no sense of diplomacy or playing nice with her enemies. Elizabeth just ploughs through, not caring who gets hurt in the process until it starts affecting her family—namely her sons. Then she starts playing sides to see who will suit her the best. It seems neither will do so.
Onto the romance…It’s more focused in the beginning, when Elizabeth and Edward first meet. Then it peters out. Of course, Edward is away a lot, fighting to keep his throne. So I didn’t feel the romance between the two later on. It seemed to me that Elizabeth had lust and infatuation for Edward but then fell in love with her power as queen. Once I stopped seeing it as a romance, it was much more enjoyable.
I also loved her daughter Elizabeth, especially once the girl started to rebel against her mother a bit. It seemed that Elizabeth had more sense.
Gregory has a good grasp of description and action scenes, which are usually hard to write well. I did like how she wove the legend of Melusina into the main narrative. It added more to the story, in my opinion.
This was my first Philippa Gregory book. As I have mentioned before, I was never one that was big on history, but saw this in the library and thought I'd give it a try, and I'm glad I did.
I did a bit of background reading into the history behind the fiction after, showing how much my interest was sparked. The story is the first in a new series on the Plantaganets, and is told from the point of view of Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner who ends up marrying the future King of England, and her constant struggle to keep her family in power.
I'll definitely be giving Gregory's other books a try after this one!
I did a bit of background reading into the history behind the fiction after, showing how much my interest was sparked. The story is the first in a new series on the Plantaganets, and is told from the point of view of Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner who ends up marrying the future King of England, and her constant struggle to keep her family in power.
I'll definitely be giving Gregory's other books a try after this one!
Not a masterpiece of English literature but I'm on a War of the Roses kick and it scratches that itch
It took longer for me to get into this story than it did for some of her other books. I always love how she goes out of her way to explain what parts of her stories are fiction versus historical fact.
It was an okay book, just not my sort of book. I don't think I am going to carry on with the series
This book proves one should not judge a book by its cover. Engrossing, medieval political intrigue. Would recommend.
This book was awful.
Philippa Gregory desperately needs an editor. Her motto seems to be "why not convey an idea in one sentence, when I can do it in three?" Whole paragraphs read as though she was being paid by the word, which would be tolerable, but she doesn't seem to review or fact-check anything. Her writing is as loosely organized as her perception of such abstract topics as history and the difference between truth and fiction.
I know that Gregory wanted to add a supernatural element to the story of the Plantagenets, which apparently manifested in a complete breakdown of the time-space continuum. At one point, she says that Elizabeth manages to have 3 children in a single year (none of her pregnancies are multiples) and that her daughter is 4, when she has been queen only a year and was not pregnant at her coronation. The next chapter -- which takes place a year later -- Elizabeth has only two daughters, the eldest of whom is only a little over a year old. The entire 432-page book is like this -- she even contradicts herself in her author's note, saying that this book is mostly fiction, yet it is largely factual. WHICH IS IT, PIPS?
Really, I'm irritated because the War of the Roses is a fascinating period in history, often overlooked in favour of the flashier Tudor era. I desperately wanted a fun historical novel about the Plantagenets. They deserve so much better than this drivel.
Philippa Gregory desperately needs an editor. Her motto seems to be "why not convey an idea in one sentence, when I can do it in three?" Whole paragraphs read as though she was being paid by the word, which would be tolerable, but she doesn't seem to review or fact-check anything. Her writing is as loosely organized as her perception of such abstract topics as history and the difference between truth and fiction.
I know that Gregory wanted to add a supernatural element to the story of the Plantagenets, which apparently manifested in a complete breakdown of the time-space continuum. At one point, she says that Elizabeth manages to have 3 children in a single year (none of her pregnancies are multiples) and that her daughter is 4, when she has been queen only a year and was not pregnant at her coronation. The next chapter -- which takes place a year later -- Elizabeth has only two daughters, the eldest of whom is only a little over a year old. The entire 432-page book is like this -- she even contradicts herself in her author's note, saying that this book is mostly fiction, yet it is largely factual. WHICH IS IT, PIPS?
Really, I'm irritated because the War of the Roses is a fascinating period in history, often overlooked in favour of the flashier Tudor era. I desperately wanted a fun historical novel about the Plantagenets. They deserve so much better than this drivel.
My first Philippa Gregory book! I loved this and I'm super excited to watch the BBC series based on it to see how it compares. I also want to check out the other books in the Cousin's War series. I really enjoyed Gregory's writing style, and regardless of how historically accurate this book was it was still compelling and intriguing and engaging nonetheless.