The White Queen, book two of the Plantagenet and Tudor series by Philippa Gregory, picks up not long after the previous book The Lady of the Rivers. This time it follows the life of Elizabeth Woodville, eldest daughter of Jacquetta of Burgundy, who has recently been widowed when her husband, Lord Grey, was killed during a battle of the Cousins’ war. Having been refused her pension and land she is determined to find a way to still support herself and her two young sons. When she learns that the York King, Edward, is moving through the area she decides to try and garner his support even though he is on the opposing side of the war since her family supports the Lancaster King, Henry. As she arranges a subtle meeting between her and Edward on the side of the road as he passes she is not prepared for what is to come. Upon meeting Edward and gaining his support she ends up agreeing to meet him again and as they meet a few more times in the following days her and Edward end up quickly falling in love. When this leads to a quick but discrete marriage she thinks all of her problems are solved but in reality if she only knew this was the beginning.
I have mixed feelings about this book and I am not entirely sure why. What I can say is that it was very well written and you can see the amount of research that must have taken place prior to writing the story as there are so many fairly accurate historical details and suppositions woven into the story. That is something that always gains my respect and this series does also tend to add to that by focusing on the lives and roles of the women instead of the men. I think my issue with this particular story is that I am not a huge fan of the personality for the protagonist, Elizabeth Woodville. Once Elizabeth married Edward it feels like she overlooked or ignored her two previous sons and even much of her other family unless they were useful to her new family. I don’t like saying that about people, even fictional people, but it really came across that way and it just didn’t sit right with me. Ignoring my issues with the character though, the story was pretty good and did a great job of exploring and narrating the different events in Elizabeth’s life as she adapted to being Queen and supporting Edward through the War of the Roses, what they called the Cousins’ war. In terms of historical fiction this was pretty good but I don’t think it had a very likable protagonist. I am still giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars though.
This was a pretty decent example of historical fiction from an author well noted for her works of historical fiction, specifically this series actually. If you like historical fiction, especially books that focus on the intrigues of the English Court, then you might consider trying this one out. Technically speaking it is part of a series that follows the development and rise to power of the Plantagenets and Tudors in England. However, the series is structured so that each book can be read mostly as a stand-alone. You don’t need to read the previous book before this one unless you just want to. Keep in mind the general time frame and events of the book before considering it as it does deal with war and some other somewhat dark concepts so it may not be for everyone. A good book that is worth the consideration so if you decide to try it consider sharing your thoughts in the comments.