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shadon 's review for:
The White Queen
by Philippa Gregory
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The tragedy of Melusina, whatever language tells it, whatever tune it sings, is that a man will always promise more than he can do to a woman he cannot understand.
I almost gave up on this. I love medieval history, especially English medieval history. The House of Plantagenet is one of my favorite royal dynasties, I can recite all of their monarchs and heirs off the top of my head (from William of Normandie to Henry VIII). That House with the so-called "devil's blood" is endlessly fascinating to me.
And the Wars of the Roses? I could talk about that period for hours without getting tired. I am a certified Plantagenet enthusiast. I live for all of it. I've known about these novels for a long time, I've watched the television shows they are based on but I was in no rush to pick them up. They truthfully did not seem like they would be for me.
And my goodness, the first 150 pages were determined to prove my hesitance right. That was a rough ride. Nothing was happening or too much was happening, and all the while, I felt absolutely nothing for anyone at all. I didn't care about the characters or what happened to them, I was never given a reason to. They were just there. I liked them because I knew the history surrounding them, but the story itself did not give me much cause to care. It felt like a flat and bland retelling, rather than a cohesive narrative. "Here is Elizabeth's rise to power, and here are all the important players in the story who each have one significant moment so you remember them later, and then we move on."
It was as though the author was determined to jump from point A to point B, following a fixed schedule, without caring about how we got there. "Elizabeth did this, and then this happened. And here is what she felt about it. Now moving on." Because of how far this story stretches (takes place for well over 18 years), and how much time passes, it feels like it was hindered by having to arrive somewhere before it truly earned it. Queen Elizabeth had 3 daughters and it took over 100 pages for us to learn either of their names. Elizabeth's father and brother both died and I just rolled my eyes because it did not elicit a single emotion from me. Why should I care? They didn't do anything. They hardly even spoke. And I felt like we were supposed to be sad or angry, but it only aggravated me, because I should have felt something.
I think her sins were ones of love, not of malice. And in these hard days, perhaps that it what matters the most.
The first half was carried by my enthusiasm and love of the period and by the setting. I cannot deny that I loved seeing it all on paper, and it did a good job of immersing me in late medieval England. I felt like I was there, without being hit over the head with ancient slang and clothing and routines. It was just enough to lock me in without driving me mad. And reading about these famed historical figures was genuinely a joy. If you love something (i.e., medieval history) then often you will enjoy it regardless of the way it presents itself.
The book does eventually pick up (or I just got used to the mediocrity or fully embraced the blandness) and I found myself having fun. At some point, it just clicked and I was all in. I even laughed aloud a few times, and some moments genuinely made me sad. Because I know what happens, it does a great job of portraying the inevitability of events that are to come, and how the characters are marching toward a fate they cannot avoid. I cannot deny that the very last chapter with Elizabeth and Richard, where she thinks Henry Tudor will lose and the House of York will rise again did not make me unbearably sad. She has no idea what's coming and how misplaced her hope is. You just want to warn her but nothing can be done. It has all already happened.
It excels particularly with the family dynamics, and the ambition that has been plaguing England since the war began (Kings are killed and no one blinks an eye, absolute insanity). The Yorks, the Lancasters, and the Woodvilles were so different in their thirst for power but all equally as entertaining. Elizabeth and her mother, Elizabeth and her daughter, Elizabeth and her sons - all of them are fairly fleshed out. Elizabeth Woodville carried this book on her back, it is indeed her story but I did quite like being inside her head and watching her rise to power before falling again. She could be a tad insufferable and unbelievably rude and callous but she was quite fun. I liked the magical additions because they were incredibly silly but just added a little bit of randomness.
It's a fool who fears nothing. And a brave man is one who knows fear and rides out and faces it.
The story might have suffered from having her not be there for most of the major events but it somehow didn't. Most of the big stuff happens around her, in the hands of the bigger players and without her knowledge. She almost always learns information secondhand, through a messenger or a letter, but because this is ultimately her story, it only immerses you further and allows you to feel the scope of her emotions. That being said, I already knew what was going to happen so that may have helped my tolerance.
My final complaint would be that there were too many characters and such little focus placed on most of them. About 60% of them are kind just there to play their historical role and then they die. Because of the quickness of the events, you never truly get a feel for what they were like and who they were. They only serve one purpose. Elizabeth's many siblings (except Anthony) just jump in and out of the story to give her advice, and then the many Dukes and Counts of England are there, scheming. Outside of perhaps six characters, all of them are bland and immemorable. They have their purpose (to match what they did historically) and they are gone. Their personalities are told to us, rather than being portrayed, but I suppose with such a wide cast of characters, that was ultimately inevitable. I still wish we could have spent more time with most of them.
So unexpectedly this wasn't all awful and I'm glad I stuck it out. It's not entirely accurate but I was never expecting it to be, as long as it followed the general rules and truths of the period (But I'm choosing to believe that Richard Duke of York really did escape, for my sanity.) If you aren't familiar with this period, this book will very much be a headache due to all of the characters having the same name. Elizabeth Woodville has two sons and a brother named Richard for some reason. I think if you don't care or know anything about the Wars of the Roses, then it will be a difficult, probably boring, read because that was most of my enjoyment.
Regardless, for forcing me to suffer through that terrible beginning, I sentence you to 3 stars.