Of all the gory stories that swirl around Tower of London, none has quite the intrigue as that of Princes of Towers, pre-teen boys of King Edward V who were allegedly killed by their uncle Richard III. The White Queen is not about them. It’s a novel about their mother, Elizabeth Woodville, and the long journey that she makes from an aristocratic nobody to a queen in hiding who never sees her children again.
The White Queen starts with Elizabeth’s fateful meeting with Edward as he rides into battle and their love at first sight. Gregory’s narrative leans into the rumors that Elizabeth entrapped Edward using witchcraft. Indeed, the whirlwind romance between Edward and their quick secret marriage would almost suggest other worldly powers at play. However, Edward was a known flirt and seducer. One can never know the circumstances of why he married an older woman widowed with two children.
“Edward lives as if there is no tomorrow, Richard as if he wants no tomorrow, and George as though someone should give it to him for free.”
― Philippa Gregory, The White Queen
The White Queen is not a love story, even though it starts that way. Like other Gregory novels, it is steeped in documented history. Elizabeth’s first person narration gets us inside the palace walls, and we get a view of the machinations that helped Edward IV hold on to his throne.
Gregory attempts to unravel the political influence Elizabeth yielded in Edward IV’s court, given she was unpopular with Edward’s close confidantes, Hastings & Warwick. In her early years as a queen, Elizabeth loses her father and brother to the inner warring factions of the York house. This turning point in her life will determine how desperately she will cling to the throne and how she will fanatically protect the family.
Being outside the war council didn’t prevent her from strengthening her power or wealth. She quickly and astutely set up her extended family with advantageous marriages and title, creating further disdain against the ‘upstart Rivers’.
Reading historical fiction based heavily on actual events is always tricky to navigate. It’s hard to know what happened and what’s put in for entertainment. I found the narrative a little underwhelming, but the history nerd in me spent many hours in Wikipedia hyperlink black hole and for that reason The White Queen made this list.
