Book Review: The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

The White Queen: A Noveltells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, a young woman whose husband died during the wars between the Lancaster and York houses for the throne of England. Left with two small boys and virtually no property, she appeals directly to the new York king, Edward IV. Her beauty and charm captivate him and they eventually marry in secret. What follows is her stormy history of ups and downs, fighting to retain the throne, and to place her son upon that throne.

Things I Liked:
This book was full of interesting history. I know next to nothing about the wars of the roses or anything from this time period. I really thought the action parts were well done and the suspense definitely kept me on my toes (probably because I didn't know what happened). The sections of the book where they are threatened by traitors and rebellions kept my attention. Elizabeth was often hard to read, but sometimes she felt very real and I could understand what she was thinking and feeling. I particularly loved the part where she sees war first hand and is disgusted with it.

Things I Didn't Like:
All that said, I thought the book was way too long. The amount of information was simply overwhelming. Huge sections of the book were just plain dull. There were too many plots, too much information, and too many people to keep track of (many of them with the same names or with multiple names). I am sure a true historical fiction fan would enjoy it more, but I just struggled through it, mostly so I could know what happened. I was a little disappointed with the ending not being satisfying. I also wish she'd included a family tree for those actually alive in the book!

Read-alikes:
There are so many English royalty historical fiction books out there, I couldn't begin to name them all (and I haven't read that many), but Philippa Gregory has written a lot more
Read the comments on this post for more historical fiction reads
Some younger, non-royal, medieval stuff I enjoyed:
Catherine, Called Birdyand The Midwife's Apprenticeby Karen Cushman

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
some

mrg-factor: XX
mostly implied situations

v-factor: ->->
wars - what do you expect?

Overall rating: **

Do you like to know the history behind historical fiction books or do you prefer to find out while you're reading?

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