The White Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels) by Philippa Gregory (Epub)

Description

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 more than three decades. But his bride is still in love with his dead enemy, and her mother and half of England remain loyal to her brother, the missing York heir.

Henry’s greatest fear is that somewhere a prince is waiting to reclaim the throne. When a young man who would be king invades England, Elizabeth has to choose between the new husband she is coming to love and the boy who claims to be her lost brother: the rose of York come home at last.

“A bloody irresistible read.” —People

“Bring on the blood, sex, and tears!…You name it, it’s all here.” —USA TODAY

User’s Reviews

Review “Loyalties are torn, paranoia festers and you can almost hear the bray of royal trumpets as the period springs to life. It’s a bloody irresistible read.” (People Magazine)”Bring on the blood, sex and tears! . . . You name it, it’s all here.” (USA Today)

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ Philippa Gregory can write. Obviously, as she has so many books to her name. Even when I disagree with content, I still want to keep reading her stories.I watched the Starz version of “The White Princess” and wanted to read the source material. To my dismay I discovered that my issues with the TV show are the same issues I have with the book.I don’t consider myself a Tudor expert by any means, but I am fascinated with the War of the Roses. I especially love the story of Henry and Elizabeth since they seemed to truly fall in love with one another and ended the war between their houses.Everything I’ve read about Henry VII is not presented in this book. That he was fiscally responsible, organized his kingdom well and was a king to be admired is not how Gregory imagines him, apparently. In her book he is a cold, mean, vindictive man who uses his love as a weapon. He’s paranoid to the point of almost mental illness and is just generally an unlikable character/man. That goes against all that I’ve read about his love for his wife and his children. There is also no historical indication that he had an affair with Kathy Gordon/Lady Katherine Huntly. Especially since Elizabeth took her into her household and cared for her the rest of her life. And that when Henry had the chance to marry Kathy after Elizabeth’s death, he did not take it. That doesn’t sound like a man in love or a man with a mistress. Henry is one of the few English kings to not have an official mistress. Given his mother’s piety and upbringing, I believe that he was a man of morals and would not cheat on the queen he adored.While Elizabeth is presented as a strong character in the beginning, toward the end of the book that radically changes. Literally the entire last half of the book is her saying, “I don’t know. I don’t know.” It’s so bad that Henry even mocks her for it on several different occasions. Instead of driving her story (as Gregory tells us is most important, that we see all the ways Elizabeth ruled and had influence even if history didn’t record it), she is instead out of the loop in every event in her life. So that when questioned, she literally can’t say anything but “I don’t know.” Which is a pity, to see her character reduced to such nothingness in her own story, especially since Gregory wanted the opposite to happen.One of my main issues with the show and this book is that by presenting Henry and Elizabeth as enemies forced to wed (another point that most historians disagree with–they had a good deal of time to get to know one another and it seemed that, especially on her side, there were real feelings there before they married and he certainly didn’t rape the girl and try to impregnate her first), part of what drives this story should be Elizabeth’s surrender. That you see her husband falling in love with her, and I wanted that moment where she tells him she feels the same. It’s sort of in this book (sort of in the show, too), but it falls completely flat. She says it at the end of a scene. So we don’t see Henry’s reaction. Winning Elizabeth’s love is important to him (how can he make the country love him if he can’t even get his own wife to?). I wanted to see what happened with that moment. How it changed things for them. What it meant for them as a couple. We don’t get that here, at all.I’m not sure how I feel about the Perkin Warbeck thread or who killed the princes in the tower. I don’t have enough information on either subject to form a sure opinion, but I’m not sure Gregory persuades me to her point of view in the book. (Like I believe that Richard III killed those boys and the reason he didn’t display their bodies was that he didn’t want anyone to know that he’d murdered children to be king.)Anyway, this book has very little romance and affection. The characters often have these long monologues that are not how real people speak, but more like a historian is trying to explain a fact by putting it into her characters’ mouths and letting them spell out all the different intricacies of what’s happening in a particular scene. I wanted more Henry and Elizabeth, their day to day lives and their love story, and what I got was a bunch of explanations about battles and fear and obsession with pretenders to the throne.Not one I’d ever read again.

⭐ I used to love Gregory’s books. The characters were richly drawn and dialogs revealed their inner worlds. I noticed that has not been the case with the last several books. I am thinking the author may be getting lazy and is cranking out these books without putting as much thought into them as she did with her first ones. Did these books become just a money-making machine for her? I don’t want to accuse her of anything but really, for the price she is charging, the quality is just not there anymore.The main character Elizabeth is so incredibly boring. I laughed when I saw somebody else say in the review how Elizabeth got on their nerves because the only thing she ever said was “I don’t know.” And that even Henry’s character got irritated with that. I laughed because it was exactly what I thought at some point. And when Henry commented on it, I thought “Man, I am with you, she is so annoying!”The dialog, in general, was kept to a minimum so the book read more like a historical chronical vs. a novel.I really don’t like the latest trend of narrating from the first person because it limits our access to other characters’ inner worlds. All we can rely on is the person’s perception of others’ emotions and thoughts. The problem with Elizabeth’s character is that she never knew what was happening around her (hence the consistent answer “I don’t know” to most of the questions she was ever asked). So the whole story is being told from the perspective of someone who has an extremely limited view of events. You judge it for yourself how interesting that could possibly be!

⭐ First and foremost, readers should remember that this is historical fiction not history, per se. This is the story of Henry Tudor, who got his crown and became King Henry VII of England by defeating King Richard lIl of the house of York at the battle of Bosworth. He soon marries Princess Elizabeth of the house of York, daughter of King Edward IV and his wife, Queen Elizabeth. He does so to give his kingship stability and unite England. Unfortunately, the best laid plans often go awry.Not much is known about the women of that era, other than the basics: birth, marriage, children, and death. So, here the author tries to make the women three dimensional. The author also weaves a narrative on the women’s take of the events of the day. It is certainly an intriguing tapestry that the author weaves. While at times the book is a bit repetitive, it is still an entertaining work of historical fiction. Fans of the author will not be disappointed.

⭐ After watching the Starz production of The White Princess , I was eager to read the Philippa Gregory novel. As a fan of Elizabeth of York, I devour most everything I can find about her and the first Tudor king, the underrated Henry VII. Disappointment is the only way I can describe my reaction to this novel. It starts out well, although leaning heavy on the theory Elizabeth was Richard III’s lover (not proven). Henry is a complex but admirable character until about three-quarters into the book where he turns into this hateful, extremely paranoid, dare I say just idiot. To say this book doesn’t do Henry justice is a massive understatement. When I finished it, it truly left a bad taste in my mouth. Nobody likes to witness a character assassination.

⭐ So disappointed. I decided to read the choice material after watching the miniseries. Elizabeth of York is horribly diminished to a mouse of a wife in a very love less marriage to a madman. It shows nothing of the supposed love I’ve read about the marriage of Elizabeth of York and Henry the 7th. I prefer the miniseries. I’ve watched it a couple dozen times. Not sure I’ll read anymore of her books. The producers clearly changed a lot. I watched all miniseries that were adapted from her books.

⭐ You just can’t go wrong with Philippa Gregory novels (if you like historical fiction about the Plantagenet/Tudor period in England – which I love!) The author truly makes you feel that you are there, privy to all of the inner workings of the palace intrigue! And while she uses modern language (thank the Lord) she sprinkles in words from that time period – just enough to give you the flavor – (One of my favorites is “moldwarp”, for example.) I can always glean the meaning from the context. Her characters always seem quite genuine and human. I am sure there are massive amounts of research involved, yet she must have had to speculate a lot in order to “connect the dots” and create plausible motivations for these historic figures.My only objection to this particular novel is the cover art. The White Princess pictured here looks like a spoiled, sulky Valley girl wearing a tiara. The actual character is much more interesting!

⭐ Philippa Gregory is truly a master storyteller. I picked up this book, however, and just wanted it to be over. I really hated the disparaging differences between the story and the mini series. In the book Elizabeth is a doormat and Henry is a paranoid, moody man. I saw nothing in Elizabeth that cried out “strength.” I got tired of the emotional abuse Henry heaped onto Elizabeth and it seemed as though she just took it. I also thought that if I read her say one more time “I don’t know” I was going to throw my kindle across the room.

⭐ Murder, intrigue, blackmail, treason, torture, jealousy, lies, fear, betrayal, and the ultimate reason behind it all – struggle for the power of the English throne during it’s most tumultuous time in history – the battles between two branches of the Plantagenet family, known as the Red Rose and the White, the houses of Lancaster and York. We’ve read this story from every angle and mulled over the intrigue surrounding the elimination of the Princes in the Tower who might have held a stronger claim on the throne. We’ve been on the battle fields, and imagined the death of Richard, Duke of York, at the hands of Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth Field. We’ve learned that loyalty to the throne was a slippery slope. We’ve seen it all through the eyes of the men who manipulated the power that made the history – until now. True to form, Phillipa Gregroy gives us history from a brilliantly crafted perspective, through the eyes and ears, heart and mind of Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, married to Henry Tudor for the political cement that bound both houses, and to give credibility to Henry’s claim to the throne. Here, we see the inside of the court, the inside of the marriage, and the inside of the man who now holds the throne, with his dependence on his mother, his insecurities and failings, his calculations and cruelties. Here we see the ultimate sacrifice of a woman caught between the blood of her ancestors and the blood of her children, whose choices must be dictated by the safety of those she loves. It is a brilliantly woven story of a king, threatened from his borders and embattled by his insecurities, and of the woman who maneuvered the fine line between his ever fluctuating feelings of admirations and love, contempt and distrust. It was a brilliant take on brilliantly researched history, and it has forever altered the history I thought I was so secure with. Though at times redundant, as everyday life is redundant – even that of a queen – it held my interest throughout, if not on the edge of my seat. I recommend this read for those familiar with the Wars of the Roses, and who have an interest in this time and place in English history. It will broaden the scope of what you thought you knew.

⭐ I actually enjoyed various theories presented by this book. You can’t expect someone to write about the 14th and 15th centuries with modern sensibilities. If Henry did, in fact rape his future wife, would that be in keeping of the brutal times they lived in? And how come no one is shocked or mentioning the incestuous relationship between uncle and niece? These were horrible times, when women were nothing, a man could do anything to his wife and she was nothing more than an object. The fact is that Elizabeth was pregnant when they married. The fact is that Margaret Beaufort was ambitious for her son to be king. She did do many of the things that Gregory reports and I do think that Elizabeth was a child born of fear, living constantly with a sword of Damocles over her head. Her grandfather and great uncle were killed trying to take the throne from her cousins, brother went against brother- mother against sons- Her siblings were murdered and she didn’t know if if was by the man sworn to protect her, or another member of her wide flung family. Elizabeth was the daughter of a power couple, could she have quietly wanted to fly under the radar- I wouldn’t be shocked if she did. Sounds to me, Gregory presented a girl who just wanted to be safe, her children safe, and if she did it with a no nothing attitude- well, she wouldn’t be the first in history. I thought her believable. I did however, enjoy the B story more than anything else. I had never thought about Perkin Warbuck as being anything more than a Pretender and Gregory’s representation was quite creditable. She gave the whole story legs and made me want to read about Henry’s infatuation with Warbeck’s wife. Elizabeth was a pale shadow compared to both her mother and grandmother Jaquetta. I always thought of her as able to influence her husband with her Yorkish savvy and intelligence. Perhaps I was wrong, but it sure did skip a generation to rest in the heart and mind of her granddaughter Elizabeth 1 , one of the greatest queens of all times.

⭐ I really enjoy reading her books but my heart breaks for Elizabeth in this. How depressing her short life was. It’s really hard to keep going to the end knowing it doesn’t get any better for her. While I don’t think the boy was Prince Richard, I firmly believe they were related. He was likely one of Edwards many bastards and it must have been really difficult for her to live through all of the constant death and never ending suspicion.

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