It's been awhile since I've read any of Gregory's books and I was excited to dive into her new novel. When I read historical fiction whose history I am unfamiliar with, I usually prep myself by doing a little light research to brush up on who's who and what's what. I did not do any such preparations this time, because I realized I could use my unfortunate ignorance on the subject to my advantage: this book would read more like a fictitious story whose ending will not unfold to me until the last second. And that's mostly what happened.

Unfortunately, Ms. Gregory became slightly heavy-handed with her repetition and symbolic concepts. At times, I could almost imagine the lovely author taking the book out of my hands during said symbolic passages, which were repeated quite frequently, and thunking me over the head with her words. 'See? Do you see what's going to happen here? I gave you a hint!" she says with each thwack over my head.

Other than the qualm with repetition, I thought this was an entertaining read. I enjoyed learning about Elizabeth Woodville, a queen who was largely unknown to me before I read this novel. Another aspect of the book that others sometimes have a problem with is the inclusion of witchcraft. This aspect of the novel did not really bother me since this is, after all, fiction rather than an historical account of the Wars of the Roses. Some liberties can be taken. But how far is too far? Gregory herself admits that "There is more fiction in this novel than in my previous ones," and that "Elizabeth Woodville was indeed a descendant of the dukes of Burgundy, who cherished the tradition that they were descended from Melusina, the water goddess." I thought that the touches of medieval magic and witchcraft simply added interest to the narrative.

Gregory includes an author's note and an extensive bibliography on the subjects covered in the novel for further reading.

This is not my favorite Gregory novel, but I still enjoyed the read. I stayed up late last night to finish it! ( )

Brother turns on brother to win the ultimate prize, the throne of England in the wars of the Plantagenets. The are the claimants and kings who ruled England before the Tudors.
The White Queen teells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. ( )

repetitive, no character development except for the queen, boring ( )

I have much love for Philippa Gregory for bringing me The Other Boleyn Girl and introducing me to the Tudors. Although it will be difficult for her to ever write another novel as compelling as The Other Boleyn Girl, I had been impressed with the books following…until her last book The Other Queen. I was barely able to finish the book and if it was any other author I probably wouldn’t have.

With The White Queen, Gregory is clearly back. Although it didn’t grab me the way I expect her books to and it took me a while to become attached to the story, by the end of the book I was yearning for more. I am extremely excited that this is the first book in a series and I am anxiously awaiting more information on the next book.

As with The Other Boleyn Girl, Gregory has introduced me to an entire period of history I was blind to.

I think the next book is going to be some of her best writing. She has laid the base and the background and now she can get into the drama

I can’t wait! ( )

I found this an interesting take on the story of this period of the War of the Roses. While Ms. Gregory does take liberties with the known facts (she admits to them too so that's ok) she also raises some interesting points about the princes in the tower and highlights the other power players on the stage at the time.

While I felt she could have focused a bit more on certain aspects of the story, drawn the motivations of the characters more clearly, and fleshed out more of the dynamics (some of the background is left a little too much to the readers guessing) it is an interestingly told story and a fine diversion.

I will admit that I am probably being much harder on Ms. Gregory than is warranted due to academic training. I did enjoy the book and think others will too. ( )

http://maggiesbookshelf.blogspot.com/...

Elizabeth Woodville was born little more than a commoner, but by virtue of her beauty alone she became Queen of England, beloved by her husband the king, feared by her enemies and grudgingly admired by her people: a true historical Cinderella. Set against the dramatic and brutal backdrop of one of the longest wars in history, the War of the Roses, this first installment in acclaimed historical fiction writer Philippa Gregory’s new series The Cousins War explores the life of this extraordinary woman and one of the most famous mysteries in English history: the Princes in the Tower.

While my personal favorite of Gregory’s remains The Other Boleyn Girl for sheer intrigue and powerful plotting, The White Queen is an extraordinary tour-de-force that blends history with fiction so seamlessly that it’s hard to imagine a more engaging and interesting read about this period. It’s especially nice to see the author leaving the Tudor period for awhile and turning her considerable talents to a little-explored region of English history that is as fascinating as it is confusing.

However, as something of a Tudor scholar myself, I continue to struggle with Gregory’s boldness in rearranging history to tell a good story. They are indeed excellent stories, and she makes good cases for more controversial historical theories, but it certainly isn’t a history lesson. I began to cringe at the constant repetition of the witchcraft themes in this novel—and while the story of Melusina was certainly fascinating and important to Elizabeth’s character, it gets old, too. In a way, they’re almost more historical fantasy than historical fiction, despite the author’s meticulous research.

All in all, this novel is like watching a train wreck. You know it won’t end happily, and that every time of peace and quiet is merely the calm before the storm; which gives it a depressing air that can be exhausting at times. But truly, it’s hard to imagine a better tribute to a beautiful and powerful woman so often neglected in history books. Her character brims with life from the first page, from her love for her children (including the doomed Princes) to her stubborn refusal to give up her crown; and I imagine that in the end what I felt was similar to what England felt: awe at the risks she took and pity at how much she lost.

The Final Verdict: A stunning work of fiction that approaches The Other Boleyn Girl in intensity, despite some deviancy from historical accuracy. ( )

After taking us through the lives of more Tudors than I care to remember, Gregory’s latest novel deals with the earlier Plantagenet family during The Cousins’ War, more commonly referred to as The War of the Roses. In this, the first in a new series, we see how Elizabeth Woodville, a widow of the House of Lancaster, becomes Queen of the House of York: their White Queen. Elizabeth is beautiful, determined and aided by her mother’s skills with witchcraft, but even she cannot stop the war around her; as long as there other claimants to her husband’s throne there will be no peace in England.

'The White Queen', like all of Gregory’s novels, focuses on a particularly compelling section of English history and manages to bring the dangerous but vivacious atmosphere of Court to life. This is an historical intrigue that has it all; love, sex, death, wealth, betrayal, witchcraft and exile all feature in the novel. Surprisingly, the plot is not overwhelmed by the diversity of these themes; instead Gregory manages to illustrate how fantastical the life of royalty was in the fifteenth century. Indeed, this is a period in history that I knew little about and I waited expectantly for the Princes in the Tower subplot to emerge (thank you Shakespeare!), I was not disappointed. Gregory managed to maintain tension, even when you knew what was about to happen, and her own take on the mysterious disappearances of the two young royals seemed a valid reinterpretation of a clearly unknowable event. Equally, the witchcraft sections of the novel, mainly involving Elizabeth and her mother Jacquetta, were also written in a generally understated way. This meant that the witchcraft sections were both believable and ambiguous, leaving us to wonder at the end of the novel whether Elizabeth’s and Jacquetta’s actions truly affected the future.

Occasionally the writing is a little repetitive, and the almost constant description Elizabeth’s locket often brought me back to reality abruptly. Another distraction, but not entirely Gregory’s fault, is the difficulty in keeping a handle of the many Richards and Edwards galloping about the novel. However, unlike others who have complained about Gregory’s use of modern language, spellings and other ‘slip-ups’ I found that instead of being a hindrance to the plot they worked well to allow a modern reader to relate to the characters easily. The main problem though is not repetitive writing or characters with the same name, but the sad fact that 'The White Queen' simply does not have the same sex appeal as her other novels. While some of them are positively scorching, 'The White Queen' can barely muster a fizzle. Luckily this does not make the relationship between Elizabeth and Edward unbelievable, but simply makes it less exciting!

Overall, despite these few niggling problems that I’m sure many people will be unable to see past, 'The White Queen' is an enjoyable read. Fans of Gregory and historical romance will appreciate it, even though there are better Gregory books available. 'The White Queen' is an exciting and engaging historical romp that will certainly be good enough as a break between hefty textbooks. ( )

Elizabeth Woodville is young, beautiful, and a widow with two small boys when she plans to petition the newly crowned King Edward to get her lands back from her former mother-in-law. She waits patiently with her two boys by the side of the road knowing he will pass by with his army. While the Woodvilles fought on the side of Henry, Edward's cousin and now defeated king of England, she has hopes that her beauty will make him stop and help her.

The two fall in love, marry in secret, and wait for Edward to secure his crown before announcing the marriage. Elizabeth is a commoner and the marriage is not popular with the King's counselors who do all they can to convince him to leave her. He doesn't and the two begin building strong alliances by marrying off every supporter, brother, sister, and friend to anyone they see as a future problem. In the end, the war they fought so hard to end, never does. After Edward's death, the world Elizabeth knows is gone but she keeps fighting wanting to continue and secure the Plantagenet line that she and Edward worked so hard to protect.

This is the first Philippa Gregory book I've read. I love historical fiction but somehow I've managed to pass her over. I picked this one up with very high hopes. I won't say the hopes were dashed, but it may be a while before I read another.

I liked the time period, I liked the royals fighting, I liked the court, and I liked the characters. Edward and Elizabeth had good chemistry and the court intrigue was really interesting but there was something that was holding me back from really liking it and I think it was the magical element to the story. It felt silly and contrived to me. I usually like the fantasy, magic, and witchcraft additions to a story but here it didn't work for me. I vaguely remember reading that either Elizabeth or her mother were accused of witchcraft and I understand the need to include it in the story but I couldn't get into it here.

I almost put this book down a few times but I decided to finish it and I'm glad I did. Gregory's writing style can pull you in and in a few places I felt I was really liking the book and then the queen and her mother would get to cursing someone and I quickly backed away again. I don't know what it was here but in a few months time I think I will give her another chance. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. I have liked her fiction on the tudors and it was nice to look at another part of our history. Elizabeth is a really strong character and the mysteries of the time are still not resolved. ( )

This novel was not at all what I expected. In many ways it is a dark novel, about greed and betrayal in a time when those concepts went far beyond words and often led to death-- of friends, servants, kinsmen, cousins, brothers, and many innocent bystanders. In a world where choosing the wrong side could literally lead to death for oneself and one's family, the choices were stark.

History is written by the victors, and the Tudor propagandists did a number on Richard III which we still remember--accusing him of murdering the Princes in the Tower--and apologists have defended him ever since it was no longer treasonous to do so. But Gregory's treatment in this novel of Richard--and of everyone else!--is neither villainous nor exculpatory; indeed, there is hardly an innocent character in the entire book, but neither are there many outright villains. Everyone has an agenda; no one is loyal to any but himself or herself. It is a somewhat cynical commentary on the effect of power on the human condition, but it strikes me as a very lifelike one.

The style of the novel takes some getting used to: it is written entirely in the first person, present tense, even when it strays to another person's viewpoint. But once past this idiosyncrasy (and the usual anachronistic language and mistaken word usage), the novel becomes an enjoyable blend of fact and fiction that picks up the pace significantly in the second half of the book and by the end became a page-turner.

The protagonist is Elizabeth Woodville, the queen of Edward IV. The one great good shown in the novel is the love between these two, which survives every test that the Wars of the Roses can throw at it. Elizabeth is no saint; she is loyal but greedy and ruthless; but Gregory portrays her in a sympathetic manner that does justice to a woman who is usually written off as a conniving and malicious social climber in histories and is rarely given a fair hearing.

Overall, at the beginning I did not like this book at all, but by the end I enjoyed it very much, wondering how Elizabeth was going to react to the news of each event as it unfolded; and the resolution left enough unanswered questions to make one suspect that Gregory already writing a sequel or series.

I have read Gregory since she first published _Wideacre_ and find that while she frequently disappoints me in terms of historical detail and anachronism, she excels at bringing people of another era to life and showing plausible motivations for the often inexplicable behavior of people who made English history. This is her greatest strength and what keeps me reading her work. ( )

As excited as I was to read The White Queen, I’m sort of torn on my feelings of it. It took me a while to read mainly because I didn’t find it as compelling as the Tudor novels. I’m not sure if this was because the subject wasn’t as risque or because the plot line was just slower. Overall it was an interesting book and an intriguing time period, but the War of the Roses was so drawn out that I think the book suffered in return. The War of the Roses continued for 36 years and flip-flopped rulers and alliances continually. One of the problems was that taking place in the 15th century the historical records are foggy, not to mention that it was considered a “cousin’s war” so there are a lot of conflicting stories.

The narrative took place in first person, yet was sometimes omniscient (all-seeing) third person. This change in narrative bothered me, as it was done as sort of a mystical-seeing. I found Elizabeth Woodville a little unbelievable due to the witchcraft. Going into the novel thinking “historical fiction” and being a strong non-believer (personally) in such mysticism, I had a hard time suspending belief to allow the plot to continue. But of course, that is just my personal view; when I go into a book expecting “fantasy” or “science fiction”, I suspend belief and allow the story to take over. It may have been less bothersome for me had it been the characters believing in it, but the first person narrative didn’t give us the views of any other characters and we just had to take it as true. But for Philippa Gregory, the appeal in Elizabeth Woodville was was more about being a powerful female figure.

View my blog post here: http://www.monniblog.com/2009/10/the-... ( )

This book was relatively fast-paced. Told against the back drop of the War of the Roses, the story follows Elizabeth and her rise to power. Elizabeth is not an innocent among the men who are scheming for control of the monarchy. A magical element is also incorporated into the story. ( )

The White Queen tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville as she goes from a common woman and rises to the greatest position of all; Queen of England and then fights for the rights of her children.

I feel like Philippa Gregory lost it a little bit with The Other Queen and The Boleyn Inheritance but she is back on top form with The White Queen.

I know nothing about The War of the Roses and yet again Philippa Gregory provided me with an interesting and fun way of learning. ( )

Gregory hit a home run with "The Other Boleyn Girl," and her books since then have lacked the intrigue of that first in her series on the Tudors. She is back in great form with this, "The White Queen," introducing us to a new, and perhaps even more fascinating woman -- and, for a refreshing change, with an interesting and strong marriage. ( )

Another fascinating historical novel from Philippa. I admit to knowing nothing about this period in history, so it was a bit daunting, especially when so many of the characters had similar names. I love how she gives the reader the 'unseen' woman's perspective; a voice so often silenced in the history books. ( )

I enjoyed it but the end got confusing and did not flow. I think it is because it is the beginning of a servies and the focus was in part on that. Not as good as The Other Bolyn Girl, but good. ( )

I really enjoyed this book, told from the point of view of Elizabeth of Woodville, the mother of the "princes in the tower". Elizabeth marries King Edward in 15th century England and they spend a lifetime defending their family and their crown. When Edward dies, his brother Richard becomes king and is at the heart of the age-old question: What happened to the two princes who were being held in the Tower of London? ( )

Overall, I thought this was a good read. I liked it better than the book published before this, The Other Queen, which I thought was not her strongest book. Personally, I could have gone without the witchcraft that is portrayed in the story, although there is very little of it throughout the book. The book moved along at a good pace, and the story kept me interested. I am looking forward to the next book in this new trilogy. ( )

First book by this author. Wonderful! ( )

In ‘The White Queen’, historical fiction author Philippa Gregory moves away from the Tudor era, the setting of several previous novels, and further into English history to bring us the story of Elizabeth Woodville, Queen Consort of Edward IV. The novel begins with Elizabeth and Edward’s first meeting, and follows her rise to power. Where Elizabeth goes, her family follows, and the extensive Woodville network proves to be a hotbed for palace intrigue and treacherous plots. But when Edward is felled with a sudden illness, Elizabeth’s kingdom begins to crumble has her sons are locked away in the Tower and her brother-in-law, Richard III, takes control of the government. Elizabeth must tread very carefully to regain her position of power while protecting her daughters from harm.

The first half of the book is swept up in the romance of the battlefield and the bed. Elizabeth and King Edward are two lusty souls thirsting for power and each other, so whenever Elizabeth isn’t pregnant and Edward isn’t fighting to protect his claim to the throne, they’re in bed. The romance is fine and dandy, one of Gregory’s trademarks. Fans of ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ will be pleased to find all the emotion and splendor of the English court retained in this novel. But the battle scenes are a little stranger. You see, most of the book is told in the first person by Elizabeth, but being a woman she was naturally not amongst the soldiers during the war. For these scenes, the book switches to a third-person narrator, and the change is a bit confusing. Is it Elizabeth, experiencing a vision? Is it someone else, or merely the omniscient storyteller?

Elizabeth could be experiencing a vision. Her family claims to descend from Melusina, a mythical water goddess whose story is woven into the narrative, recalled in the ‘Once upon a time…’ fashion of a fairy tale, and this supernatural origin has left the women with an unusual effectiveness when casting spells. Folk magic and quaint rituals are practiced by Elizabeth and her mother Jacquetta, and I found the details of these spells to be some of the most interesting moments in the book.

The book is far more sympathetic to Elizabeth than the biographies I’ve read, but this is definitely a ‘warts-and-all’ character. Elizabeth Woodville is greedy and calculating; she wastes little time with forgiveness and is usually a sharp, harsh speaker. She’s also incredibly stubborn, and her insistence on certain points throughout the book become extremely, extremely repetitive. But she’s also shown to be a loving mother to her children and devoted wife of her husband. Elizabeth has an extremely strong mother-daughter relationship with Jacquetta, and in her later years it’s almost heartbreaking to see her trying (and struggling) to create to a similar relationship with her own daughter.

‘The White Queen’ is definitely Philippa Gregory’s strongest novel in the past few years. If you enjoyed her earlier books but fell off the wagon, this is a good chance to step back into her world. It is the first volume of a proposed trilogy, to be followed by ‘The Red Queen’ (Margaret Beaufort) and ‘The White Princess’ (Elizabeth of York, Woodville’s daughter). ( )

I love good historical fiction & the War of the Roses has been one of my favorite time periods since I was a little girl & read a kid's book about them. I have searched & searched & can't find this book & don't remember the name, but the subject matter made an impression.

My next exposure to the War of the Roses was through Sharon Kay Penman's wonderful The Sunne in Splendour which I read as teenager & have read & re-read throughout the years because it (like all of her books) is just that wonderful. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey is another fun Richard III book.

I am a big fan of Richard III, whether in his hunchbacked evil Shakespearian incarnation or the more nuanced incarnation one finds when reading history of him that isn't filtered through the Tudor propaganda bias. For the record, I agree wholeheartedly with Ms. Penman's assertion that the boys in the tower were killed by the Duke of Buckingham.

The White Queen is the first in Philippa Gregory's new books on the Plantagenets. What a great family they are - founded by Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine, their history is a fascinating one. In this novel, Gregory focuses on Elizabeth Woodville, the Lancastrian widow who married the Yorkist king, Edward IV. She was considered one of the greatest beauties of her time & the story of her life before, during & after Edward (for whom she bore 10 children) is a fascinating & tragic one.

This isn't Philippa Gregory at her best, but she's not at her worst, either. The story she has chosen is an engrossing one, but she appears to slip over the surface of it, rarely diving deep into any one event or person. I felt that her portrayal of Elizabeth was both the most flattering of her that I have seen yet & the most shallow. This was a woman who was ruled by ambition & Ms. Gregory does little to explore her character beyond trading upon her purported ancestry to Melusine.

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series - I'll be curious to see how much deeper into the history of this time Ms. Gregory is able to take us. This is a good beginning & a decent read, but not as good as I'd hoped nor as good as Ms. Gregory is capable of producing. ( )

I really like historical fiction and the War of the Roses interests me, since I live in York, PA - the White Rose City (right across the Susquehanna River from the Red Rose City of Lancaster). So many people raved about Gregory's "Other Boleyn Girl" that I thought I would try "The White Queen". I have to say that I found it pretty dull. The queen is telling the story, yet now and then you move away to action that is not in first person and that she wouldn't be able to tell about first hand. I found that a little strange...and the story just dragged on and on.

I kept waiting for the mystery of the two missing princes that was mentioned on the inside flap of the book, but it took 85% of the book before getting there. Not to mention everybody is named Elizabeth, Richard, Edward, etc and it can get confusing, so she has to keep reminding the reader about which person she's talking about.

So, while I learned some about that time period, I generally found it hard to read and boring. ( )

Another rousing historical tale from Gregory. The story just flows and it is hard to put the book down as Elizabeth Woodville marries Edward IV who was her sworn enemy. It is a love marriage and they have many happy years and children together. But this is the time of the cousins wars--the War of the Roses-- the house of Lancaster (white) vs the House of York (red) and the prize is the throne of England. The battles and the plots and the treason just pile up and overflow until even Elizabeth does not know who is on her side. As is her custom Gregory adds some new twists or interpretations to the history, some possible events which make for interesting reading if nothing else. Looking forward to the next in this series on the Plantagenets. ( )

After showcasing as many Tudor royals as any one reader can comfortably stomach, Philippa Gregory strives to show us another English Royal family as equally interesting. The White Queen launches her War of the Roses trilogy, and focuses on Elizabeth Woodville. Gregory’s Woodville falls instantly in love with the King, and she ascends the throne at a dangerous time of civil war. An incredibly cut throat period in which each claimant to the throne has a much right as the next, and the alliances of the Great Families of England are always shifting. We soon learn that no one, especially your own family can be trusted in noble England. Elizabeth and Edward’s union makes instant enemies, and the entirety of their marriage will be spent on defending the throne.

In my opinion, while this novel is good, it is not as good as either Boleyn book chiefly because I felt that I understood those characters. In The White Queen, Elizabeth is painted as complacent and dutiful wife during the first half of the novel, and ambitious shrew during the second. Towards the end it becomes a Woodville on the throne at any cost which may have been historically accurate, but it didn’t fit with Elizabeth’s established persona up until then. Elizabeth also believes she is the descendent from a water goddess from a fairy tale which Gregory interrupts literally, and that tale is interspersed with Elizabeth’s tale although they don’t quite connect. The tenses also shift from Elizabeth’s first person to assumedly Elizabeth’s first person describing battle details as they happen which doesn’t make sense and is jarring.

However, the book is still one of Gregory’s best. As always the story is instantly gripping. You are immediately immersed in the Woodville family, and their struggles to advance their family while ensuring security for Edward’s reign. Gregory does a great job of fleshing out a family that has been villanized by history, and presenting their side of the story. And even those who know the inevitable outcome will be surprised by Gregory’s take. Gregory doesn’t attempt to pander for sympathy to Elizabeth’s plight and instead gives us as even a portrayal of Elizabeth as the historical records afford. And Elizabeth’s relationship to her own daughter (also Elizabeth) is easily my favorite element of the novel, this relationship is almost portrayed as Elizabeth wrestling with her own conscience which is not only brilliant but expertly builds interest for the next two books in the series.

Gregory’s books are one of my guiltiest and most anticipated literary pleasures. This book was no exception. Gregory fans and first time readers who enjoy the genre will want to puck it up immediately and will count down the days until her next book in the series, The Red Queen. Moderate fans may want to wait for the paperback. ( )

The first in a new series called The Cousin's War.

Elizabeth Woodville is widowed when her husband is killed in battle. With the help of her mother and witchcraft she seduces and marries King Edward IV.

What follows is a continuing saga of rivalry, ambition, conflict and betrayal as Elizabeth fights for her family's survival.

Elizabeth's two sons disappear from the Tower of London, the mystery of what happened - has never been solved to this day.

Elizabeth is a strong personality who mixes witchcraft with her fierce ambition - she is a woman who would stop at nothing to help her own family.

Philippa is as usual a fantastic storyteller. I look forward to her next book in this series.