The war of the cousins, the mystery of two young princes locked in the Tower of London never to be seen again yet no body ever found, a roadside beauty, and an ambitious family make up the tale of The White Queen. The more I read by Philippa Gregory the more I want to read by her.
Elizabeth is a young widow who lost her lands during the war when her family chose to support the losing side. Desperate to get her wealth back she appeals to the young King Henry begging him for justice. Taken aback with her legendary beauty the young King not only grants her land back but makes her his queen in secret. So begins the story of a bloody battle between cousins and brothers for the throne.
I did like the take on Elizabeth and while it was clear it was following a chronicle order of dates that are proven a fascinating tale was still put together making me want to keep turning the pages to see the fate of everyone. I did have a couple problem with the writing this time, for some reason (I have never noticed in any other books by Philippa Gregory) much of the writing was poor especially the first half of the book. Lots and lots of use of the word he and she. Many times a whole paragraph would be sentences that all started with he and it did interfere with my enjoyment of the book at times. The second half the writing picked up a little becoming less tedious. I do hope to read more of Philippa Gregory's work in the future.
Different, I've always heard of friendship between cousins. I've regretted not having or knowing many cousins. Well, my cousins were much older than me.
ReplyDeleteI am the same was as you. Cousins that are much older or younger and none around my own age. I never fought with them though if the throne had been at stake I could see fights breaking out.
DeleteI've always enjoyed Phiippa Gregory's storytelling and am sorry to hear the writing didn't work for you. I do have The White Queen on my to-read list so will probably read it at some point. Maybe I should start a drinking game, "take a drink everytime you read the word she... Thanks for the honest review!
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