Rachel's Books: December 2023

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The War of the Roses is something I know very little about beyond the basics. I know most of the focus is on the dueling want-to-be King(s) from two different families (the Yorks vs the Lancasters). They eventually all kill each other and die out leaving the Tudors to take over (being that the male line is all that matters). So what about the women: the mothers, wives, sisters, cousins, aunts?
I like that the primary focus on this book is one one of the women of that time: Elizabeth Woodville who (secretly) married Edward (IV). Elizabeth does know what she wants and strives to achieve it. I don't think she was a wholly good or evil character, but rather very gray. The magical element was interesting, but I'm not sure it added much to this book (being that this was a historical fiction, not fantasy).
Anyway, she was a multidimensional character. Like most stories of that time, she didn't have the happy ending. The most recognizable fact about her is 2 of her sons were the Princes in the tower (of London).

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