Tuesday 4 August 2009

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

I've not read this novel yet but there's a very full review by Marie Burton on the web. It looks intriguing, time will tell whether it hits my wall or not.

I have a suspicion that Yorkists and Woodvillians are generally less tolerant of historical divergence (or more picky) than Tudorites, but we shall see.

It's is probably about time someone did a novel from the POV of Elizabeth Woodville, though of course it has been done before, notably by Rosemary Hawley Jarman in The King's Grey Mare. Apparently a common thread in both is that Elizabeth's witchiness is emphasised. Personally I'm more impressed by what Elizabeth achieved off her own bat, without special powers!

5 comments:

trish wilson said...

So sorry Brian but in the last few hours both Philippa Gregory and Marie Burton have been slapped down too.

Judy said...

I love Elizabeth's gutsiness under pressure and agree that she didn't need the witchcraft wand to achieve all she did and endure all she did...after Susan Higginbotham's repudiation of Gregory, I don't think I will read this one.

BurtonReview said...

(Seems to me that Trish would like to be slapped down herself)
Thank you Brian for posting a link to my review. =)

trish wilson said...

Whenever I stick my neck out over the parapet I don't do it for mean spirited reasons which is what Marie is suggesting on her blog but for logical.

Ever heard of some guy called Bertram Fields? He's another on my hit list. And don't think Marie I couldn't stand up to him. I'd love the opportunity to face him in Court.

Kathryn Warner said...

Great review by Marie! I'm in two minds as to whether I want to read The White Queen or not, and I wasn't very impressed by the excerpt that I've seen.