A review by jillblumenthal
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

4.0

This is the first book in a series about the mainly ignored women involved in the Wars of the Roses. After doing some research papers on this period in high school, I thought I was pretty familiar with the history, but even I had trouble keeping track of all the people, their connections, and their shifting alliances! But I enjoyed learning about Elizabeth Woodville, who had been very negatively portrayed in everything I'd ever read. She was definitely an ambitious woman. I am sorry that Philippa Gregory ended the book when she did -- I would have liked to have seen her reaction to Henry Tudor's victory, her daughter's marriage to him, and what happened to her and the remainder of her daughters, who pretty much disappear into history. I also am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, since it focuses on Margaret Beaufort, who Elizabeth Woodville interacted with a lot and definitely saw as a rival and sometimes even enemy. It was interesting to see how Gregory handled the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower.

p. 28 - "You were not born in an untroubled time. You will live your life in a country divided. You will have to make your way through blood, and you will know loss....Nothing in the world matters more than life. You have a long road to walk and a lot of lessons to learn if you don't know that." Elizabeth Woodville's mother