Thursday, January 16, 2014

REVIEW: The White Princess (Cousin's War) by Philippa Gregory

Blurb:

Caught between loyalties, the mother of the Tudors must choose between the red rose and the white. 

Philippa Gregory, #1 New York Times best­selling author and “the queen of royal fiction” (USA Today), presents the latest Cousins’ War novel, the remarkable story of Elizabeth of York, daughter of the White Queen.

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 house—Elizabeth of York—to unify a country divided by war for nearly two decades. 



But his bride is still in love with his slain enemy, Richard III—and 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.

Henry’s 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.



My Review:


Philippa Gregory is one of my all time favorite authors of historical fiction. I have read every one of her books, and have yet to be disappointed. She is able to bring historical characters to life in a way that makes you believe that things happened exactly as she writes. I also appreciate that she researches her novels so well. Of course she takes some creative license when writing her novels, but overall she sticks with the facts, and creates a story that’s hard to put down.

I loved Elizabeth’s (Henry VII’s wife/queen) character. She’s passionate and loyal; whish is exactly as I would imagine her to have been in real life. Philippa Gregory did an amazing job of brining her character to life in this novel. I wasn’t really a fan of how she portrayed King Henry VII, but that is just my bias. I’ve read so many books where he is described as a loyal, faithful, loving husband to Elizabeth, that it’s hard for me to see him as a jerk, for lack of a better word!

Her descriptions allow the reader to imagine everything that is going on clearly, whether it is a characters dress or personality, or the landscape they are travelling through. I would recommend this novel, and really any Philippa Gregory novel, to lovers of historical fiction. It’s definitely a page-turner.

I give this novel a FIVE out of FIVE stars!

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