Book Review | The White Princess by Philippa Gregory


Title: The White Princess

Author: Philippa Gregory

Series: The Cousins' War, #5

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publication & Year: Touchstone • 2013

Page Number: 528 (Hardcover)

Synopsis From Goodreads:
"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 nearly two decades.

But his bride is still in love with his slain enemy, Richard III—and her mother and half of England dream of a missing heir, sent into the unknown by the White Queen. While the new monarchy can win power, it cannot win hearts in an England that plots for the triumphant return of the House of York.

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

Quote I Like
"You don't need to struggle, your baby is coming. Help him come to us, open your body and let him come into the world. You give birth, you don't force birth or besiege it. It's not battle, it's an act of love. You give birth to your child and you can do it gently." - Dowagger Elizabeth

My Thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though I did skip the other 4 books in the series I really felt connected and drawn into it. I did watch The White Queen show on STARZ on Demand so I did get a bit of the basis behind each character. I finished this book in a matter of two and a half days. The love-hate relationship between Henry and Elizabeth was quite interesting to me. Neither of them wanted to be together, but since they were betrothed they had no choice. I enjoyed seeing their relationship grow over time with each endeavour they went through. The amount of traitors against the House of Tudors that were still supportive of the House of York was intriguing and definitely had me on my toes.

- Spoiler Alert -
I hated the scene when Henry basically raped Elizabeth (more than once) and talked down to her as if she was a low level slut. That pissed me off extremely. His only remark was to ensure that she was fertile enough and if she wasn't he would marry her little sister. Like what kind of crap!! That scene had me highly upset. I did enjoy that over time they did grow to love and respect one another by the end of the book.

The execution of her brother Richard was truly sad, but than again -- one never really knows if he is Richard because the names of said person are often changed. I am still curious to know which "boy" was Richard truly.

Overall -- I shockingly loved the book. I am not a huge history person so I thought a historical fiction novel would bore me, but to my surprise I was inclined to keep reading on and on. I definitely plan to read the other 4 previous books in the series as well as the new one coming out.

Have you read this novel? What are your thoughts?