The novel shows a progress of attachment and affection between the two that will eventually blossom into love, even though Henry and his mother will never trust anyone in the York family completely.
Elizabeth, who was still hot with ardor for her dead lover Richard (about which Henry knew all too well), despised her new husband as much as the kingdom did. He was forced into a marriage with Elizabeth in order to unite the families of York and Lancaster, but wanted no part of it and made no bones about it.
Henry VII was not a charming guy, and felt the lack of love among his people – and his wife. The Yorks were wildly popular, charming and apparently decent kings (Shakespeare’s take on Richard notwithstanding), who were truly loved by their subjects. But England is a wild and wooly place, where people don’t easily give up their allegiances. Then Richard dies in the battle of Bosworth Field, his reign ended by young Henry Tudor, the son of Margaret Beaufort, who will now rule over Elizabeth’s world as “My Lady, the Queen’s Mother.” Margaret has been perhaps the most scheming, ruthless and driven women in this series and, at last, she sees her precious boy placed on the throne as Henry VII, bringing the War of the Roses to an end in England. Her brothers, Edward and Richard, were the two unfortunate children who disappeared from the Tower, but Elizabeth obviously did not blame Richard of Gloucester, because she was in love with him and her affair with the married Yorkist was a scandal in court. The latest Gregory novel, The White Princess, picks up with Elizabeth Woodville’s daughter Elizabeth, a princess of the York faction who – like her mother – is a raving beauty. Gregory is no slouch when it comes to historical research. What’s more, they are based as closely on history as novels can be.
Starz and the BBC are banking on Gregory’s distaff look at history, complete with lots of sex, romance, action and intrigue to fascinate modern audiences – and these books certainly have the potential to do just that.
Starz Television Network, just three weeks ago, began showing the first of 10-episodes of a series based on The Kingmaker’s Daughter and three other novels by Gregory, including The White Queen, from which the series takes its title. Book Review: The White Princess, by Philippa Gregory, Touchstone (July 23, 2013), 544 pages.Ī year ago, in a review of Gregory’s The Kingmaker’s Daughter, I made the following observation: “I don’t see motion picture quality in The Kingmaker’s Daughter, but it is quite a good read.” Well, I failed Prophecy 101 in college, and so I completely missed the boat here.
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