The White Princess by Philippa Gregory

The White Princess 

By: Philippa Gregory

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Summary: 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.

Review: The White Princess follows the story of Elizabeth of York a princess of the House of York who was used as a game piece by her Mother and the new ruling Tudor house of England when she is married to the new upstart Tudor king Henry whom much of the country still sees as a pretender to the thrown and who the author portrays as not having the natural 'finesse' of a natural ruler that the York line had in its rulers such as Elizabeth's Father King Edward, or the last York Ruler, Elizabeth's uncle King Richard;  with whom Elizabeth of York had a much whispered about relationship.  

While some of the details in the story were interesting, this was not one of my favorite Philippa Gregory books, it was very bogged down with the political and battle details of the time, and I found myself after the first hundred or so pages getting annoyed with certain things.  Like Elizabeth constantly telling King Henry, 'I don't know' or when her cousin Maggie Teddy's sister would deliver shocking or private news Elizabeth would consistently just start off by asking 'What?' I don't think this really did justice to how smart Elizabeth would have been or how dialogue would have progressed.  The details, and events that were concentrated on in the White Princess surprised me it was not as enjoyable as other books by this author, that I've read.

Some of the settings, and descriptions of the children were enjoyable, however the overall descriptions of Elizabeth were not what I expected.  The descriptions of England, Henry and his Mother and Elizabeth's Mother were more on point in my opinion, and I do enjoy learning more about this time period. The book follows Elizabeth's life from her marriage to Henry up until he decide's the fate of "The Pretender."  I don't recommend this book if you're looking for a normal Philippa Gregory novel it was really more about King Henry's cowardice,  and Elizabeth not letting go of her love for Richard.  An interesting take on the story of the cousins war.