Fiction Addict

Genre: Historical, Adventure

Publisher: Touchstone

Publication Date: August 2009

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

The War of the Roses. No, I’m not talking about the movie with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. I’m talking about pre-Tudor England. Everyone knows the stories of Henry VIII and his wives. The War of the Roses is what happens before Tudor England. And Philippa Gregory is, once again, a master of the period.
The book opens with a poor widow standing next to the side of the road with her two sons. She’s hoping that she can catch the eye of the man who is about to pass by. He’s the King of England and her family fought against him in the battle to become king. Nonetheless, she’s now in need of his service. Her lands and her children’s inheritance have all been taken from her and she’s determined to get it back. So, looking beautiful, a little bit lost, and very determined, she stands with her boys and waits for him to pass by. He doesn’t pass by. He stops, speaks to her, and history is born.

King Edward is constantly battling for his throne. The Lancaster’s, York’s and Tudors are all within sight of the throne and all believe it to be rightfully theirs. His reign is rife with battles, war and rumblings from other areas about him not being the true king. His own mother and brothers put this idea into the public perception. It’s a vicious world where the rumor mill can make or break kingdoms. And then he meets Elizabeth waiting at the side of the road and he has no idea that she holds the shape of his reign and the future of his kingdom.

In this tale, Philippa Gregory once again handles the heavy subject of kingdoms, war and monarchy with a light hand and a deft touch. She brings to life characters that most have only read about in schoolbooks and history classes. As opposed to the amazing queens and women in the book I just finished, The Other Queen, Elizabeth’s queen is not born to the throne. She doesn’t understand all of the ins and outs of the court and she learns as she goes. She grows into a woman who doesn’t care about the throne for herself, but everything in her life revolves around her children.

It’s amazing to watch how fluid kingdoms are throughout the course of the story. No kingdom or reign was safe during this time in history. The pace of the story is breathtaking at times, but it’s a vivid reminder of how easily a king could be overthrown. One moment characters are on the throne and the next they’re shivering in sanctuary wondering if their lives are at stake.

Once again, Gregory’s retelling of history is vivid, beautiful and heartrending. The only disappointment in the entire book was my woefully lacking knowledge of the history. This made for wonderfully tense drama and build up as I couldn’t quite remember what happened in the reigns of each of the monarchs mentioned. The book ended on a delicious cliffhanger that left me eager and waiting for the next adventure from Gregory’s brilliant mind.

Review copy provided by Touchstone.