The White Queen
Cousins' War 1
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4.3 • 289 Ratings
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- £0.99
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- £0.99
Publisher Description
THE FIRST IN A STUNNING SERIES, THE COUSINS' WAR, FROM INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR PHILIPPA GREGORY
Set amid the tumult and intrigue of The War of the Roses, Philippa Gregory tells the story of one woman's ambitious ascent to royalty during the unsolved mystery around her sons' imprisonment in the Tower in a captivating family drama.
Elizabeth Woodville is a common woman who ascends to royalty by virtue of her beauty. A woman who rises to the demands of her position and fights tenaciously for the success of her family. A woman whose two sons become the central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the Princes in the Tower. Their fate remains unknown to this day.
From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores the most famous unsolved mystery, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills.
Praise for Philippa Gregory:
‘Meticulously researched and deeply entertaining, this story of betrayal and divided loyalties is Gregory on top form’ Good Housekeeping
‘Gregory has popularised Tudor history perhaps more than any other living fiction writer…all of her books feature strong, complex women, doing their best to improve their lives in worlds dominated by men’ Sunday Times
‘Engrossing’ Sunday Express
‘Popular historical fiction at its finest, immaculately researched and superbly told’ The Times
'Queen of the historical novel' Mail on Sunday
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The queen of British historical fiction (The Other Boleyn Girl) kicks off a new series with the story of Elizabeth Woodville Grey, whose shifting alliances helped the War of the Roses take root. The marriage of 22-year-old Yorkist King Edward IV to 27-year-old widow Elizabeth brings a sea change in loyalties: Elizabeth's Lancastrian family becomes Edward's strongest supporters, while Edward's closest adviser, the ambitious earl of Warwick, joins with Edward's brother George to steal the English crown. History buffs from Shakespeare on have speculated about this fateful period, especially the end of Edward and Elizabeth's two sons, and Gregory invents plausible but provocative scenarios to explore those mysteries; she is especially poignant depicting Elizabeth in her later years, when her allegiance shifts toward Richard III (who may have killed her sons). Gregory earned her international reputation evoking sex, violence, love and betrayal among the Tudors; here she adds intimate relationships, political maneuvering and battlefield conflicts as well as some well-drawn supernatural elements. Gregory's newest may not be as fresh as earlier efforts, but she captures vividly the terrible inertia of war.
Customer Reviews
The White Queen
At first I didn't like Gregory's simplistic language and repetition of the facts. But once we were past the flowery romance at the beginning, her repetition became useful as we met the various characters and pieced together the complex web of family relationships, politics and divided loyalties. Although weak in character development, the pace and intrigue of the plot more than made up for that and it became an unputdownable read, bringing history alive and opening up the secrets of our country's past in a way that a text book cannot. I am now really looking forward to reading more of her material.
The White Queen
Living in this era was filled with lots of mystery and deceit. Not knowing who was your friend or enemy would be very hard. Elizabeth was a very strong woman who had to endure plenty of hardship and sorrow. Not knowing about her son must have been very hard. Very interesting book, the facts mixed with mysterious fiction. Look forward to reading the next book, The Red Rose.
The white queen
History so much better then fiction good read.