Over the past two weeks, I read Philippa Gregory's The White Queen and The Kingmaker's Daughter. Both books are set during the period when the House of York ruled over England, and narrated from the point of view of the two Queens; Elizabeth Woodville, Queen Consort of King Edward IV, and Anne Neville, Queen Consort of King Richard III.
I'll admit that I didn't know very much about the House of York before. After all, there were only three Yorkist Kings, one of whom was never crowned (Edward V), and they ruled for a total of 23 years. Also, most of their rule was dominated by the War of the Roses, which I always found rather boring. But Philippa Gregory's work is incredibly detailed, marvelously researched, and, most importantly, told from the perspective of the women of the household, therefore skating over all the undesirable aspects of war. I literally could not stop reading, and I learnt so much.
And while Ms. Gregory was able to create strong-willed female heroines, I must say, I quite disliked Elizabeth Woodville (And if I said that while she was still alive, I'd be tried and executed for treason). Never did I imagine that such unrest could be caused all because of a woman! To briefly explain, Elizabeth, a widow, married the newly crowned King Edward in secret, and immediately after her coronation began marrying her siblings off to nobleman or granting them vast lands of their own. Soon, all her family was highly influential in England, and controlled most of it. Everyone who, today, accuses Kate Cambridge of being a gold-digger and the Middletons of using her position to their advantage, would have absolutely hated Queen Elizabeth!
Anyway, Edward's secret marriage infuriated his mentor, the Earl of Warwick, who saw that neither Edward nor England were in his control anymore. Rather, they were both controlled by Elizabeth Woodville, either directly or through her large family. Of course, that upset him, and he revolted against Edward, first championing his brother, George, Duke of Clarence, and then the deposed King Henry VI, by siding with his Queen, Margaret of Anjou. As a result, Edward IV spent the first 10 years of his reign fighting to secure his position on the throne instead of bettering the nation, something that could easily have been prevented if it were not for Elizabeth Woodville!
In fact, I felt that Elizabeth was rather like her enemy Queen, Margaret of Anjou. Just like Margaret, she fought, first to keep her husband and then to put her son onto the throne. While Margaret of Anjou led armies into battle, Elizabeth Woodville cursed them with witchcraft. Both Queens sought vengeance, and plotted and killed, and always put themselves first. The only difference was that Margaret of Anjou know that she was ruthless, Margaret of Anjou admitted it. Right until the end, Elizabeth Woodville pretended that she was nothing but pure goodness.
Anne Neville, on the other hand, was quite and submissive, and yet managed to get her way in the end. I grew quite fond of Anne Neville, as I read. She would have made a good Queen, and Richard would have made a good King. If it were not for Elizabeth Woodville (Who might have been a perfectly lovely woman, and just portrayed in a bad light, but I doubt it), that is.
While I absolutely loved reading both books, the drawback to reading historical stories like these is that the ending is, well, history. I know that Elizabeth Woodville outlived her husband by a fair bit, and I know that Richard III was defeated in battle, and I couldn't even bring myself to hope otherwise, like I wanted and like I would with a purely fictional book, because I knew it was useless.
Also in this series, or pertinent to this historical era, are The Lady of the Rivers, about Elizabeth Woodville's mother, Jacquetta, The Red Queen, about Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry Tudor, rival claimant to the English throne, and The White Princess. The last one is about Elizabeth of York, who was primarily a Tudor Queen, but who was born and raised a York, so I suppose it counts. I haven't read any of these three, but they are definitely on my agenda.
A random, interesting (Well, depends on what you consider interesting) fact is that today, the 4th of May, is the... five hundredth and forty-third (543rd) anniversary of the Battle of Tewkesbury, the last battle during
the reign of Edward IV, where Margaret of Anjou and her army were defeated. It is known as the "decisive Yorkist victory".
Another random, interesting fact is that Philippa Gregory shares a birthday with the Duchess of Cambridge, the 9th of January.
I'll admit that I didn't know very much about the House of York before. After all, there were only three Yorkist Kings, one of whom was never crowned (Edward V), and they ruled for a total of 23 years. Also, most of their rule was dominated by the War of the Roses, which I always found rather boring. But Philippa Gregory's work is incredibly detailed, marvelously researched, and, most importantly, told from the perspective of the women of the household, therefore skating over all the undesirable aspects of war. I literally could not stop reading, and I learnt so much.
And while Ms. Gregory was able to create strong-willed female heroines, I must say, I quite disliked Elizabeth Woodville (And if I said that while she was still alive, I'd be tried and executed for treason). Never did I imagine that such unrest could be caused all because of a woman! To briefly explain, Elizabeth, a widow, married the newly crowned King Edward in secret, and immediately after her coronation began marrying her siblings off to nobleman or granting them vast lands of their own. Soon, all her family was highly influential in England, and controlled most of it. Everyone who, today, accuses Kate Cambridge of being a gold-digger and the Middletons of using her position to their advantage, would have absolutely hated Queen Elizabeth!
Anyway, Edward's secret marriage infuriated his mentor, the Earl of Warwick, who saw that neither Edward nor England were in his control anymore. Rather, they were both controlled by Elizabeth Woodville, either directly or through her large family. Of course, that upset him, and he revolted against Edward, first championing his brother, George, Duke of Clarence, and then the deposed King Henry VI, by siding with his Queen, Margaret of Anjou. As a result, Edward IV spent the first 10 years of his reign fighting to secure his position on the throne instead of bettering the nation, something that could easily have been prevented if it were not for Elizabeth Woodville!
In fact, I felt that Elizabeth was rather like her enemy Queen, Margaret of Anjou. Just like Margaret, she fought, first to keep her husband and then to put her son onto the throne. While Margaret of Anjou led armies into battle, Elizabeth Woodville cursed them with witchcraft. Both Queens sought vengeance, and plotted and killed, and always put themselves first. The only difference was that Margaret of Anjou know that she was ruthless, Margaret of Anjou admitted it. Right until the end, Elizabeth Woodville pretended that she was nothing but pure goodness.
Anne Neville, on the other hand, was quite and submissive, and yet managed to get her way in the end. I grew quite fond of Anne Neville, as I read. She would have made a good Queen, and Richard would have made a good King. If it were not for Elizabeth Woodville (Who might have been a perfectly lovely woman, and just portrayed in a bad light, but I doubt it), that is.
While I absolutely loved reading both books, the drawback to reading historical stories like these is that the ending is, well, history. I know that Elizabeth Woodville outlived her husband by a fair bit, and I know that Richard III was defeated in battle, and I couldn't even bring myself to hope otherwise, like I wanted and like I would with a purely fictional book, because I knew it was useless.
Also in this series, or pertinent to this historical era, are The Lady of the Rivers, about Elizabeth Woodville's mother, Jacquetta, The Red Queen, about Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry Tudor, rival claimant to the English throne, and The White Princess. The last one is about Elizabeth of York, who was primarily a Tudor Queen, but who was born and raised a York, so I suppose it counts. I haven't read any of these three, but they are definitely on my agenda.
~
the reign of Edward IV, where Margaret of Anjou and her army were defeated. It is known as the "decisive Yorkist victory".
Another random, interesting fact is that Philippa Gregory shares a birthday with the Duchess of Cambridge, the 9th of January.
Many thanks to my friend Sunaina, who gave me these books for my birthday, and who is one of the only people I know that has read every post on my blog.
N
Hey! You were right... I have read every post on your blog. And you can't imagine how surprised I was to suddenly come across my name! I feel like a celebrity now. I'm glad you liked the books :)
ReplyDelete