The Cousins' War is over. The Tudors are in. Elizabeth of York has no time to grieve for her dead lover. Instead, she must marry his number one enemy, Henry Tudor. Though she struggles to take on the new role of being his wife, she slowly starts to fall in love with him. But when boys start proclaiming to be her supposedly dead brother, can she survive the fight for her husband's crown?
Philippa Gregory first enchanted me with her novel, THE OTHER BOLYEN GIRL, followed shortly by the rest of her Tudor novels, so I was excited to read this 5th installment of the Cousins' War series, where the Tudors come back in. However, this didn't quite live up to my expectations.
THE WHITE PRINCESS does have the fantastic historical aspects to it that Gregory is known for. From the first chapter on, it feels exactly like being sucked into the beginnings of the Tudor era complete with politics, scandal, and fancy head ware. She nails the forming of the day to day life of royalty at the time with subtle hints and displays of the time appropriate normality.
While I'm sure the political happenings were spot on, they also dragged on. One of my favorite parts of historical fiction is the freedom to which writers have and use in giving romances and friendships and character interactions to the textbook story. The interpretation of the historical figures can change the story like no other. Unfortunately, I didn't see a lot of that in THE WHITE PRINCESS. The big focus is on the politics, and while there was some romance and other character relationships, there wasn't enough to balance the heavy political angles.
Elizabeth of York is portrayed as almost a naΓ―ve character, and one who takes the back seat to the main story. With that, I still feel sympathy for her, especially after what Henry puts her through. I feel sorry for her, but I don't love her as a character. If there was more character development with her through the novel, I might like her more, because she comes across as a static character. Political upheavings are happening around her, but she remains the same.
In the end, THE WHITE PRINCESS wasn't a good book for me. While I will still look for new titles from Gregory, even happily, this one just didn't work with me.
When Henry Tudor picks up the crown of England from the mud
of Bosworth field, he knows he must marry the princess of
the enemy houseβElizabeth of Yorkβto unify a country divided
by war for nearly two decades.
But his bride is still in love with his slain enemy, Richard
IIIβand her mother and half of England dream of a missing
heir, sent into the unknown by the White Queen. While the
new monarchy can win power, it cannot win hearts in an
England that plots for the triumphant return of the House of
York.
Henryβs greatest fear is that somewhere a prince is waiting
to invade and reclaim the throne. When a young man who would
be king leads his army and invades England, Elizabeth has to
choose between the new husband she is coming to love and the
boy who claims to be her beloved lost brother: the rose of
York come home at last.
No excerpt available.
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