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A review by lisa_setepenre
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
2.0
I've long been taught that unless you can really make it work, to avoid writing present tense in long pieces at all times. In The White Queen, it's not bad, but Gregory doesn't really sell it. Maybe it's just that I've had that lesson drummed into me.
I had issues with the plotting. One chapter, Elizabeth Woodville and Edward had just married, the next, there's mention of their girls. When did that happen? The novel moves away from the first person perspective to third person to show scenes, usually battle scenes, that Elizabeth wouldn't have witnessed. It's jarring and clumsy, particularly with Elizabeth's occasional interjections. I also found the battle scenes to be lacking in substance.
I founding the ending very sudden, like what you'd expect from a huge book and lopped into three sections and published as a trilogy without any editing. I'm not at all familiar with the history of the War of the Roses so I felt as though I'd been left out of something.
The Melusina story was interesting, but I felt as though it would've worked better as a prologue rather than being interwoven into the narrative. The references to Melusina were repetitious, but nowhere near as annoying as Elizabeth's overly dramatic mentions of that dark locket, ugh.
I picked up this book because the blurb made it sound like Elizabeth Woodville was an incredibly strong woman, and I'd love to see more of that. Except, I couldn't really warm to Elizabeth. Every "please don't go off to war and leave me" exchange set my teeth on edge. Yes, I understand being reluctant to see your husband ride off to war, but he's not going off for something trivial, he's fighting to defend his throne.
The magic in the novel was all right. I like the subtle edge, but it's almost too subtle.
The White Queen is an easy but middling read.
I had issues with the plotting. One chapter, Elizabeth Woodville and Edward had just married, the next, there's mention of their girls. When did that happen? The novel moves away from the first person perspective to third person to show scenes, usually battle scenes, that Elizabeth wouldn't have witnessed. It's jarring and clumsy, particularly with Elizabeth's occasional interjections. I also found the battle scenes to be lacking in substance.
I founding the ending very sudden, like what you'd expect from a huge book and lopped into three sections and published as a trilogy without any editing. I'm not at all familiar with the history of the War of the Roses so I felt as though I'd been left out of something.
The Melusina story was interesting, but I felt as though it would've worked better as a prologue rather than being interwoven into the narrative. The references to Melusina were repetitious, but nowhere near as annoying as Elizabeth's overly dramatic mentions of that dark locket, ugh.
I picked up this book because the blurb made it sound like Elizabeth Woodville was an incredibly strong woman, and I'd love to see more of that. Except, I couldn't really warm to Elizabeth. Every "please don't go off to war and leave me" exchange set my teeth on edge. Yes, I understand being reluctant to see your husband ride off to war, but he's not going off for something trivial, he's fighting to defend his throne.
The magic in the novel was all right. I like the subtle edge, but it's almost too subtle.
Spoiler
Especially when it mostly involves reeling in threads that your mother has thrown into water.The White Queen is an easy but middling read.