Recent Reads {The White Princess}

The White Princess by Philippa Gregory - This latest in the series about the Cousins' War focuses on Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, as she is married to Henry Tudor after he claims the crown of England. Elizabeth is a York through and through, and she is also grieving the death of Richard III, her uncle and lover. The betrothal had been arranged many years earlier, and with the Lancastrian Tudors finally claiming the throne, the hope was that the marriage would be seen as a reuniting of the two rival houses. Henry Tudor and Elizabeth start out seeing each other as the enemy so their relationship is rocky at best. Still, Henry and his scheming mother cannot trust Elizabeth or her family, because of the possibility that one or both of the York princes are still alive somewhere and might come to challenge Henry for the throne. Rumors and plots are constantly swirling in the background, and even as Elizabeth keeps her distance from any plotting, she cannot help but hope that maybe there is some truth to rumors that her brothers are still alive. Eventually an affection grows between Henry and Elizabeth, especially as they have children, but Henry's ever-present fear of 'the boy' (a surviving York prince) and his mother's constant interference and control over him make their lives together difficult. As always, Gregory delivers history as it might have been seen from a woman's point of view, and her own possible explanation of one of the mysteries of English history - what happened to the York princes? 

By the same author: The Kingmaker's Daughter, The White Queen, The Red Queen, The Constant Princess, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Boleyn Inheritance

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {The Kingmaker's Daughter}

The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory - The man known as the "kingmaker" in fifteenth-century England was Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick. He was a very powerful figure during the Cousins' War (or Wars of the Roses, as we may be more familiar with them) and it was widely believed that his political power was needed to back a successful claim to the throne. Warwick didn't have a son of his own, only two daughters, and he made ruthless use of them in his political strategizing, but both grew up to wield power of their own. This story focuses on the younger daughter, Anne Neville, who grew up in the court of King Edward IV and his queen, Elizabeth Woodville. But when her father clashes with Edward, and eventually makes war on him, Anne is merely a pawn on the political chessboard. She is married off at fourteen and soon becomes a widow; her father is killed in battle against the king, so she and her mother and sister must hide in sanctuary. Her older sister Isabel is married to the king's enemy and rival for the throne, his own brother George, Duke of Clarence. Anne seizes the opportunity to make her own choices, and accepts the marriage offer of King Edward's youngest brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester. She and Isabel are expected at the court of Elizabeth Woodville, but they know that she hates them because of their father, so the days are full of suspicion and intrigue. Even when Edward's death leads her husband Richard to the throne, Anne is not at peace because she fears more than ever for the lives of her loved ones, including her only son.  

I really appreciated this account, albeit fictionalized and imagined, of a woman usually regarded as such a minor player during the Cousins' War. Surprisingly little is known about Anne and her sister. One of the things Gregory does so well is relate historical events as they may have been seen and experienced by the women who lived through them. Already in this series, she has given the White Queen (Elizabeth Woodville) and the Red Queen (Margaret Beaufort) equal time, and the newest book in the series is from the point of view of Elizabeth of York. It is interesting to read about the same events thinking how they would have been seen by people on opposite sides of the issues.

By the same author: The White Queen, The Red Queen, The Constant Princess, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Boleyn Inheritance

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {The Boleyn Inheritance}

The Boleyn Inheritance  by Philippa Gregory - In her follow-up to The Other Boleyn Girl, Gregory tells the stories of Henry VIII's lesser known wives, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard. The story is told using three voices - Anne's, Katherine's, and Jane Boleyn's. The characters of the three women are so different, and their viewpoints of the events are often in sharp contrast. Relatively little is known about Anne of Cleves, but she is remarkable in that she was the only wife of Henry VIII to survive him. (His last wife, Katherine Parr, also survived him, but apparently only because death claimed Henry before the headsman came for her!) Anne is often thought of as fat and unattractive, but this is mainly because it is what Henry VIII himself said of her in his attempt to get rid of her. Other accounts, and portraits show her quite differently.  Katherine Howard was extremely young - just 14 years old! - when the aging, sick king took a fancy to her, and her reputation was that of an empty-headed flirt.  She is characterized her as a silly, vain, teenage girl; being exploited by her powerful family and without the sense or the power to do anything about it.  Poor Katherine, whatever her sins, was not quite 17 when she was beheaded.  Jane was sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn, and it was she who gave the evidence that sent Anne and her brother George to the executioner. She is another character not well-known to most people, but historical records show her to be a jealous and self-serving woman, and quite likely she was not quite sane. Throughout the narratives of these three characters, the increasing tyranny and madness of the aging King Henry is obvious, and highlights the uncertainty of living in a court where a cruel, changeable, and paranoid ruler claims to know exclusively the will of God, and where even thoughts can be considered treason. Another fascinating read.

By the same author: The White Queen, The Red Queen, The Constant Princess, The Other Boleyn Girl

Recent Reads {The Other Boleyn Girl}

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory - Anne Boleyn is the best-known of the wives of Henry VIII of England, and most of us know at least a little of her story and that Henry VIII was notorious for his many wives and mistresses, and that being out of his favour was a very dangerous thing.  However, few people know that Anne Boleyn's younger sister Mary was his mistress first, or anything about her.  In this novel, Philippa Gergory tells Mary Boleyn's story.  The story, while fictional, is based on extensive research into what is known about Mary, but Gregory gives these historical characters believable personalities and motives, so that I sometimes needed to remind myself that I wasn't reading a history, but a novel based on historical events.  I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the other Gregory novels I've read so far, but it was still quite good.

By the same author:  The Constant Princess,  The White Queen, The Red Queen

Recent Reads {The Constant Princess}

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory - It's no wonder Philippa Gregory is knowwn as the 'queen of royal fiction'  Reading this historical novel often felt like I was reading Katherine's personal diary.  I think that most of us are familiar with Katherine of Aragon as the first wife of Henry VIII, and view her as the older,  severely and stiffly religious queen that he set aside in favor of Anne Boleyn.  Fewer people remember much about a younger Katherine, when she was Catalina, the Infanta of Spain - a glamourous young princess who married the beloved older Tudor son, Arthur, and was prepared from babyhood to be the future Queen of England.  Gregory begins her story with Catalina's life in Spain and her arrival in England, and presents us with believable personalities for the historical figures that may explain some of their actions.  One of the scandals of the Tudors was the question of whether Katherine was a virgin as she claimed when she married Henry.  At the time, there wasn't any suggestion that her marriage to Arthur had never been consummated - it was only after Arthur died that this was asserted by Katherine and her duenna.  Later, when Henry VIII was planning to have the marriage annulled, it was asserted that she had lied about this.  Gregory believes that Katherine probably did lie, and offers us a very likely explanation for her motives in this book.  An thoroughly enjoyable read, as I'm coming to expect from Philippa Gregory. 

Recent Reads {The Red Queen}

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory - This is the follow-up to The White Queen, which I read a couple of months ago, and tells the story of Margaret Beaufort.  Lady Margaret is from the Lancaster branch of England's royal family and her son from her first marriage would be the Lancaster heir to the throne at the beginning of tumultous years of the Wars of the Roses.  It is very difficult to like Lady Margaret -right from the beginning of this fictionalized account, when she is only a child, she is portrayed as vain, self-righteous, self-important, sanctimonious.  Granted, life was undeniably hard for women during the late middle ages, and it seems to me often more so for those of noble families despite the obvious advantages of their wealth and privilege.  Considering that children in important families were often raised by guardians rather than their own mothers; young noblewomen had few recognized rights or property of their own, and generally no say in who or when they would marry; and girls were "wedded and bedded" and had become mothers by the time they were young teens...  perhaps we should consider it remarkable that any of them survived with their reason intact.  Lady Margaret, at any rate, fancies herself the English counterpart to Joan of Arc and models herself after the French saint; desiring to be recognized as God's chosen to lead her country and do God's will.  She is an insufferable hypocrite and considers herself to always be in the right and on the side of God, no matter how cruel and vindictive and deceptive her behavior.  She sees fault in everyone else and despises them all.  And yet, of course I was compelled to continue reading and see how her scheming and plotting turns out, for her son Henry Tudor does come to England's throne eventually (as Lady Margaret had always known was his God-given destiny...) and so begins the storied reign of the House of Tudor.

Recent Reads {The White Queen}

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory - Another book club choice, this happens to be the first novel by Philippa Gregory that I've read.  I like historical fiction and I usually like biographies, so a novelization of a historical figure is very likely to get the thumbs up from me.  This book definitely met my expectations.   The title character is Elizabeth Woodville,  who married Edward IV of England in 1464 towards the end of the War of the Roses.  In many accounts, and in all of the other historical novels I have read, Elizabeth Woodville is characterized as a grasping, vindictive, power-hungry schemer.  In fact, she is presented as one of the 'bad guys'.  As we should know by now, there are usually two sides to every story, and Gregory presents this time period as it might have been seen from Elizabeth's point of view.  Not surprisingly, many of the things Elizabeth and her family did take on a slightly different flavor when one considers that her actions may have been motivated by love of her husband and children, fear for the safety of her family, and self-preservation; and not purely from greed or a thirst for power.   The White Queen is the first in a new series by Gregory, and I noticed that the second installment, The Red Queen, will be released soon.  I plan on reading it, and will be adding Gregory's other works to my "plan to read" list as well.