Kelsey O. - reviewed on 11/10/2013 + 181 more book reviews

The War of the Roses is finally over (or as Gregory calls it, the Cousins War) and Henry VII has been crowned and he has taken Elizabeth of York as his wife. As Gregory splendidly shows, his reign is anything but stable. He is not loved by the people and he does not have the charm to win them over.

Elizabeth of York is the focus of The White Princess. She was the eldest daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Her brothers were the missing Princes in the Tower. Elizabeth now has to learn to love Henry VII even though her heart still belongs to the deceased Richard III, her uncle. She never truly measures up in her husbands eyes even though she does show him sympathy and tries to be a dutiful wife. But since she was constantly left out of the plans that her husband and his mother schemed together, she never had a chance.

Normally Gregory portrays her main characters as strong-willed and able to manipulate their future. Elizabeth is not this type of character. She was weak and I personally found her none too smart. She allowed herself to be manipulated instead of taking control of her own destiny. You would think with a husband that was obviously a mamas boy and paranoid that she could have had a chance of becoming more. She was definitely overshadowed by her mother-in-law, Lady Margaret Beaufort.

Philippa Gregory of course takes her own liberties with history which provides for an entertaining historical fiction read. There were times that the book seemed drag on without getting to the point but all in all it ended up being a typical Gregory novel. You dont have to read this entire series in order but it does help to keep the timeline straight.

I listened to the audio version narrated by Bianca Amato who did an exceptional job. Her tone of voice captured the characters well and I would listen to another audio narrated by her.

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