Review : The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

Title : The Lady of the Rivers Author : Philippa Gregory Reading Dates : 02 Jul - 07 Jul 2012 Total Pages : 630
The Cousins' War The White Queen The Red Queen The Lady of the Rivers The Kingmaker's Daughter
From Amazon : A story rich in passion and legend, The Lady of the Rivers is the story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the Wars of the Roses. When Jacquetta is married to the Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the duke’s squire Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen. The Woodvilles soon achieve a place at the very heart of the Lancaster court, though Jacquetta can sense the growing threat from the people of England and the danger of their royal York rivals. As Jacquetta fights for her king and her queen, she can see an extraordinary and unexpected future for her daughter Elizabeth: a change of fortune, the throne of England, and the white rose of York. . . .

Book Review of The Lady of the Rivers.

I loved The Lady of the Rivers for many reasons.

The first was the language. The novel is beautifully written, especially when the heroine describes her family’s legacy from Melusina or when she and her husband share tender moments together. The mystery of Jacquetta’s gifts and the passion she shares with her second husband really comes through. All of which leads me to the second reason I loved the story.

Philippa Gregory really brought Jacquetta to live with all her strengths and weaknesses. While Jacquetta is ambitious, she is also loving and kind. Obviously she wants her family to get ahead in the world, but more than that she wishes for their happiness. And never, never does she intend to use her powers for harm, even against her enemies. Jacquetta was a strong and likable heroine, one I really enjoyed rooting for.

In a way, I’m glad the book ended the way it did, at the height of her family’s power. Reading Philippa Gregory’s books, I can’t help wondering why I used to think that history was boring. I’ll be eagerly anticipating her next book in the series.

My conclusions :

• Would I re-read the book ? Yes.
• Would I want to read the next book in the series ? Yes.
• Would I want to own my personal copy if I didn’t already own it ? Yes.
• Who would I recommend this too? Historical fiction fans.
• For those looking to read the book, would I recommend buying or borrowing the book? Buy it. This is a keeper.

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Challenges : 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge; What's In a Name 5 Reading Challenge

Review : The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

Title : The Red Queen Author : Author Reading Dates : 7 Jul - 15 Jul 2011
The Cousins' War
Books in the series so far: The White Queen The Red Queen
From goodreads :
The second book in Philippa's stunning new trilogy, The Cousins War, brings to life the story of Margaret Beaufort, a shadowy and mysterious character in the first book of the series - The White Queen - but who now takes centre stage in the bitter struggle of The War of the Roses. The Red Queen tells the story of the child-bride of Edmund Tudor, who, although widowed in her early teens, uses her determination of character and wily plotting to infiltrate the house of York under the guise of loyal friend and servant, undermine the support for Richard III and ultimately ensure that her only son, Henry Tudor, triumphs as King of England. Through collaboration with the dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret agrees a betrothal between Henry and Elizabeth's daughter, thereby uniting the families and resolving the Cousins War once and for all by founding of the Tudor dynasty.

Book Review of The Red Queen.
The Red Queen offers a different perspective of The Cousins’ War, one seen from the The White Queen’s enemy’s side. Normally, that would put me in the corner of the The Red Queen. Instead, I find that seeing things from Margaret Beaufort’s side, makes me root for the Rivers and the Yorkists more.

Margaret is pitiful. I can’t sympathize with or like her, but I do pity her greatly. The Margaret Beaufort in The Red Queen, no matter how many years pass, strikes me as nothing more than a pitiful child. One who hits out due to envy and spite because she is never given the attention and love she wants. And the root of her piety is simply her wish to believe herself special. And that is why I find that she is someone to be pitied rather than admired or feared.

That is also one of the reasons why I find myself sympathizing more with the Yorkist cause in this book. Another reason are the opinions voiced by Margaret’s second husband. Margaret’s and Sir Henry’s opposing thoughts on who they should support and why are interesting. If Sir Henry truly thought as he did in this book, than I would think that is something unique to the times because his reasons for supporting the king he chooses are not based on self-interest or lineage.

The Red Queen also gave me a thirst to know more about the Princess Elizabeth. Her few appearances certainly shows a young woman of courage, intelligence and charm. And I can’t help but wonder if she is truly as fearless as she appears and how she will deal with the aftermath of the York’s loss.

The Red Queen has me hankering for the next book in the series now. I can’t wait to read The White Princess’ story.

My conclusions :

• Would I re-read the book ? Yes.
• Would I want to read the next book in the series ? Yes.
• Would I want to own my personal copy if I didn’t already own it ? Maybe, I'm reserving judgement until I finish the series.
• Who would I recommend this too? Historical fiction fans.
• For those looking to read the book, would I recommend buying or borrowing the book? I'm reserving judgement until I finish the series.

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Challenges : 100+ Reading Challenge

Review : The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Title : The White Queen Author : Author Reading Dates : 2 Jul - 7 Jul 2011
The Cousins' War
Books in the series so far: The White Queen The Red Queen
From Amazon :
THE COUSINS' WAR Book One Philippa Gregory, "the queen of royal fiction,"* presents the first of a new series set amid the deadly feuds of England known as the Wars of the Roses. Brother turns on brother to win the ultimate prize, the throne of England, in this dazzling account of the wars of the Plantagenets. They are the claimants and kings who ruled England before the Tudors, and now Philippa Gregory brings them to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women, starting with Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen. The White Queen tells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing princes in the Tower of London whose fate is still unknown. From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores this most famous unsolved mystery of English history, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills.

Book Review of The White Queen.
The White Queen was a good read. And since The Queen’s Fool, I’ve thought that I wanted to read more works by Philippa Gregory, even if the endings do leave me feeling a bit depressed at times.

There are a few reasons why I enjoy The White Queen. The primary one being how real the characters in it are. They come alive and history becomes something interesting rather than just mere facts and figures. In reading Elizabeth Woodwille’s story, once again I realize that these historical figures which achieved such great heights were also mere humans as well, fallible and deserving pity as well. Just the facts and figures never really explains the whys and wherefores of a thing; and sometimes it becomes easier to simplify a thing to mere greed and ambition when there could be more.

And that also brings me to the second reason why I enjoyed this. I liked how the author wove the tale of the water goddess Melusina into it. Whether real or not, it certainly had me wondering why the Rivers family really had such a belief with them and whether their futures would be a reflection of Melusina’s tale. If the Woodwille women really could do the things they did, what a weapon of war they’d make ? Of course the tragedy is that they can’t exactly control who suffers from their gifts.

My only quibble with The White Queen was that the story ended before I was ready to let go. Luckily, I have the next book, The Red Queen with me.

My conclusions :

• Would I re-read the book ? Yes.
• Would I want to read the next book in the series ? Yes.
• Would I want to own my personal copy if I didn’t already own it ? Maybe, I'm reserving judgement until I finish the series.
• Who would I recommend this too? Historical fiction fans.
• For those looking to read the book, would I recommend buying or borrowing the book? I'm reserving judgement until I finish the series.

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Challenges : 100+ Reading Challenge, The Read-a-Myth Challenge

Review : The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory

Title : The Virgin's Lover Author : Philippa Gregory Reading Dates : 25 Mar - 3 Apr 2011
The Tudor Court Novels
The books in the series so far : The Constant Princess The Other Boleyn Girl The Boleyn Inheritance The Queen's Fool The Virgin Lover The Other Queen The Wise Woman
From goodreads :
From the author of The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool comes a stunning portrait of the first perilous years of Elizabeth I's reign. As a new queen, Elizabeth faces two great dangers: the French invasion of Scotland, which threatens to put Mary Queen of Scots on her throne, and her passion for the convicted traitor Robert Dudley. Bud Dudley is already married, and his devoted wife Amy will never give him up, least of all to an upstart Protestant Princess. She refuses to set her beloved husband free to marry the queen; but she cannot prevent him from becoming the favorite and the focus of the feverishly plotting, pleasure seeking court. Others too oppose the marriage, but for very different reasons. William Cecil, the queen's wisest counselor, knows she must marry for policy; her uncle hates Dudley and swears he will be murder him first. Behind the triangle of lovers, the factions take up their places: the Protestants, the priests, the assassins, the diplomats and the moneymakers. The very coin of England is shaved and clipped to nothing as Elizabeth uncertainly leads her bankrupt country into a war that no-one thinks can be won. Then someone acts in secret, and for Elizabeth, Dudley and the emerging kingdom, nothing will be as planned. Blending historical fact with contemporary rumor, Philippa Gregory has created a dark and tense novel of Tudor times, which casts Elizabeth I in a light no one has suggested before. Passionate, fearful, emotionally needy, this is a queen who will stop at nothing.

Book Review of The Virgin's Lover.
I had a harder time getting into The Virgin’s Lover as compared to The Queen’s Fool. The first drew me in almost immediately because I’m in the head of the main character from the start whereas The Virgin’s Lover often changes viewpoints and takes some adjusting to.

The other reason was that by becoming intimately acquainted with Robert Dudley and Elizabeth’s thoughts in the book, it was hard to sympathize or even like them. It was almost as if there is nothing left of them but their ambitions and fickleness. And this puzzles me greatly because if that were all, could they rise as high as they did ? Was it merely a matter of luck ? Amy Dudley too appears in a different light. If The Queen’s Fool gave me the impression of a dullard and a possibly unhinged woman, The Virgin’s Lover has me revising that opinion. For here she exhibits a rather contradictory personality. Practical when it comes to matters involving the governing of her home but weak and pitiful when it comes to her relationships.

In the end, The Virgin’s Lover seems such a tragic tale. One where the most selfish character of them all triumphs. What about you ? What did you think of this one ?

My conclusions :

• Would I re-read the book ? Maybe, but I wouldn't pick it up if I were in need of some light reading.
• Would I want to read the next book in the series ? Probably but I'd need to fortify myself first. I am certainly curious about Katherine of Aragon and Mary, Queen of Scots histories.
• Would I want to own my personal copy if I didn’t already own it ? Not really. These are books I wouldn't be in a hurry to re-read.
• Who would I recommend this too? Historical fiction fans.
• For those looking to read the book, would I recommend buying or borrowing the book? If you don't mind tragic tales, I think these are definitely worth buying.

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Challenges : 100+ Reading Challenge

Review : The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

Title : The Queen's Fool Author : Philippa Gregory Reading Dates : 16 Mar - 24 Mar 2011
The Tudor Court Novels
The books in the series so far : The Constant Princess The Other Boleyn Girl The Boleyn Inheritance The Queen's Fool The Virgin Lover The Other Queen The Wise Woman
From Amazon :
A young woman caught in the rivalry between Queen Mary and her half sister, Elizabeth, must find her true destiny amid treason, poisonous rivalries, loss of faith, and unrequited love. It is winter, 1553. Pursued by the Inquisition, Hannah Green, a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl, is forced to flee Spain with her father. But Hannah is no ordinary refugee. Her gift of "Sight," the ability to foresee the future, is priceless in the troubled times of the Tudor court. Hannah is adopted by the glamorous Robert Dudley, the charismatic son of King Edward's protector, who brings her to court as a "holy fool" for Queen Mary and, ultimately, Queen Elizabeth. Hired as a fool but working as a spy; promised in wedlock but in love with her master; endangered by the laws against heresy, treason, and witchcraft, Hannah must choose between the safe life of a commoner and the dangerous intrigues of the royal family that are inextricably bound up in her own yearnings and desires. Teeming with vibrant period detail and peopled by characters seamlessly woven into the sweeping tapestry of history, The Queen's Fool is another rich and emotionally resonant gem from this wonderful storyteller.

Book Review of The Queen's Fool.
I liked The Queen’s Fool but this is not a story that is easy to read. There are simply too many senseless deaths and heartbreaking moments to make it an “enjoyable” read.

Still I’m glad I picked it up. The characters, whether fictional or real, comes wonderfully to life. They weren’t all saints or sinners but real people. They had their faults and strong points. So much so that it is hard to hate them even when they behave despicably. Because we understand that the demands of their times and upbringing make them so. Which is what makes seeing them pass on one after another and in rather desolate conditions, rather depressing.

Of course seeing the events through Hannah’s eyes makes me easily empathize with those she loves or admires. I not only gained an understanding of the forces that drove the actions of these people but how events might have influenced those around them. The Queen’s Fool has certainly left me intrigued by the Tudor court and curious to find out more.

My conclusions :

• Would I re-read the book ? Yes.
• Would I want to read the next book in the series ? Yes.
• Would I want to own my personal copy if I didn’t already own it ? Probably, but that still depends on the next book.
• Who would I recommend this too? Historical fiction readers.
• For those looking to read the book, would I recommend buying or borrowing the book? I'm reserving judgement until I finish the next book.

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Challenges : 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge, Historical Fiction Reading Challenge