Book Review: THE KING'S CURSE by Philippa Gregory

 Margaret Pole was a true survivor in every sense of the way. She had had made it through her uncle Richard III’s rule, Henry VII’s conquest of her closest confidant Elizabeth of York, and again she survived the wrath of Margaret Beaufort, which is no easy task. Margaret was one f the few royals that had survived the War of the Roses and the transition to Tudor England. The war came to an end with Henry VII’s marriage to her cousin Elizabeth. The cousins through the years had been very close. They shared every tear and heartbreak up until Elizabeth’s death.

The biggest tragedy to strike the cousins was the loss of Elizabeth’s son Arthur. Henry VII had executed Margaret’s own brother to finalize the agreement between Spain and England for the marriage of the infant of Spain: Catherine of Aragon to Arthur. After the marriage took place the new couple were entrusted to their mothers closest friend Margaret for their care and managing. Margaret had already cared for Arthur most of his life and loved him like he was her own son. Shortly after the marriage Arthur's health had suddenly started to dramatically decline and he was gone with in a day. Greif stricken Margaret knew then that the curse on the Tudors was still very real. Arthur’s own grandmother, and mother had cursed who ever had murdered their lost princes that would have been Arthur uncles. There had always been rumors of the Woodville women being witches even his great grandmother Jaquetta had been put on trail for witchcraft during the war. The Woodville women wanted revenge and cursed “those that had murdered our princes” and had inadvertently cursed their own future line because Elizabeth had been forced to marry the enemy. Margaret had lost the prince she loved but had gained a princess. Catherine of Aragon had become a close confident of Margaret’s over the years and even closer yet after Elizabeth’s tragic death.

After years of tragedy bestowed on Margaret’s family everything changed in the blink of an eye when young King Henry came to the throne upon his father’s death. Her family’s fortune was reversed and she was back in the lime light because the new queen was Catherine of Aragon her closest friend. The new courts blissful happiness was slowly chipped away by the Tudor curse when Catherine of Aragon gave birth to dead child after dead child. Devoted to Catherine and her only surviving child princess Mary, like Prince Arthur Margaret had been asked to care for Mary though the years and had also loved her like her own daughter maybe even more than that. King Henry had sworn to love Catherine until death do them part but the nagging question of the curse weighed heavy on him. Eventually he turned from Catherine to another leading the whole country into civil out cry over the unjust treatment of Catherine his legal wedded wife. Margaret had survived many trials but her friendship with Catherine would lead her to the greatest tragedy of her life, protect the princess or sacrifice all to a deranged King that sought to destroy all in his path.

5/5 I LOVED this one out of all of the books in this series this one is now my second favorite. My first will always be “Lady of the Rivers” but this one comes right after now. Margaret’s story is tragic to say the least but I really enjoyed how the author wove Margaret’s alliances and intriquet relationships with her many many children. This one I think could be read as a stand-alone novel but if you do it that way you will loose all of the back history of the curse, which I would not really, recommend because what leads up to the curse is great historical fiction reads. I would highly recommend this to Tudor lovers because Margaret’s story is one of the most dramatic cases of the times.

FTC ~ this novel is from my personal collection

PG ~ 13 For mild violence.

Amazon: The Kings Cure by Philippa Gregory

S T A Y C O N N E C T E D W I T H M E :
S U B S C R I B E ~ T W I T T E R ‪ ~ F A C E B O O K ~ I N S T A G R A M ~ G O O G L E +‪
~L I Z Z I E~

Upcoming Release: The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory

The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory Releasing~ 9.9.2014

"This is the story of deposed royal Margaret Pole, and her unique view of King Henry VIII’s stratospheric rise to power in Tudor England. Margaret Pole spends her young life struggling to free her brother, arrested as a child, from the Tower of London. The Tower – symbol of the Tudor usurpation of her family’s throne – haunts Margaret’s dreams until the day that her brother is executed on the orders of Henry VII. Regarded as yet another threat to the volatile King Henry VII’s claim to the throne, Margaret is buried in marriage to a steady and kind Tudor supporter—Sir Richard Pole, governor of Wales. But Margaret’s quiet, hidden life is changed forever by the arrival of Arthur, the young Prince of Wales, and his beautiful bride, Katherine of Aragon, as Margaret soon becomes a trusted advisor and friend to the honeymooning couple. Margaret’s destiny, as an heiress to the Plantagenets, is not for a life in the shadows. Tragedy throws her into poverty and rebellion against the new royal family, luck restores her to her place at court where she becomes the chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine and watches the dominance of the Spanish queen over her husband, and her fall. As the young king becomes increasingly paranoid of rivals he turns his fearful attention to Margaret and her royal family. Amid the rapid deterioration of the Tudor court, Margaret must choose whether her allegiance is to the increasingly tyrannical king, Henry VIII, or to her beloved queen and princess. Caught between the old world and the new, Margaret has to find her own way and hide her knowledge of an old curse on all the Tudors, which is slowly coming true . . ."

BEHIND THE BOOK RELEASED IN 2014 
"This is a novel which changed its nature, content and significance from when I started research until publication. Right up until the last stage of copy editing I was revising and adding material and characters to this dark story. I started it, thinking that it would be a relatively simple telling of the tragic story of Margaret Pole - daughter of George, Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville. George was the brother of Edward IV, probably drowned in a vat of Malmsey wine for treason against Edward and Queen Elizabeth. As the book progressed I discovered that Margaret was a central figure in the Tudor court, and probably actively involved in the endless conspiracies against the Henry VIII and his advisors. This hidden rebellion reached its peak in the uprising of the North called the Pilgrimage of Grace. The pilgrims won their aims of defending the Roman Catholic traditions and the return of the traditional advisors, but Henry reneged on his promises and sent his troops for a terrible persecution to men who held a royal pardon. Margaret, and her entire family, came under suspicion too and this novel moved far from the template of a persecuted heroine and became the story of a merciless murder of a family. Margaret's betrayer, and her defenders all come under the gaze of a king who was increasingly frightened and, I believe delusional. It's been a chilling and powerful book to write and the image of Henry VIII, composer of 'Greensleeves' beloved of primary school history, will never be the same again for me. He was a serial killer and this book traces his steps towards psychosis. THE BOOK OPENS IN 1499 England is under a Tudor king, Henry VII has two sons with Elizabeth of York which should have secured his line, yet his court is still filled with fear and suspicion. Plantagenet is a dangerous name to carry and the heiress Margaret Pole is swiftly married off to a staunch Tudor supporter, but her brother Edward's claim cannot be ignored. Henry executes him on Tower Hill, leaving Margaret to face a lifetime of uncertainly". Source: Philippa Gregory

For more on Philippa Gregory's book check out her really cool site that puts all the book in order by time periods 
Amazon ~ The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory
~Lizzie~

Upcoming Release: The White Princess (Cousins' War) by Philippa Gregory

Releasing July 23, 2013

"The newest novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author and “queen of royal fiction” (USA TODAY) Philippa Gregory tells the passionate story of Elizabeth of York, daughter of the White Queen, who gets caught in the middle of a battle for the crown of England.

The White Princess opens as the news of the battle of Bosworth is brought to Princess Elizabeth of York, who will learn not only which rival royal house has triumphed, Tudor or York, but also which suitor she must marry: Richard III her lover, or Henry Tudor her enemy.

A princess from birth, Elizabeth fell in love with Richard III, though her mother made an arranged betrothal for her with the pretender to the throne: Henry Tudor. When Henry defeats Richard against all odds, Elizabeth has to marry the man who murdered her lover in battle, and create a new royal family with him and his ambitious mother: Margaret Beaufort, The Red Queen. But, while the new monarchy can win, it cannot, it seems, hold power in an England which remembers the House of York with love.

The new king’s greatest fear is that somewhere, outside England, a prince from the House of York is waiting to invade and re-claim the throne for the house of York. Fearing that none of his new allies can be trusted, Henry turns to his wife to advise him, all the time knowing that her loyalties must be divided. When the young man who would be king finally leads his army and invades England, it is for Elizabeth to decide whether she recognizes him as her brother and a claimant to the throne, or denies him in favor of the husband she is coming to love…"

Amazon

The White Princess by Philippa Gregory
~Lizzie~

Book Review: THE KINGMAKER'S DAUGHTER by Philippa Gregory

The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory

There is nothing better than a good Richardian novel to get your book blood pumping. This is book number 4 in the Cousins’ War series. I really enjoyed this novel but not nearly as much as I love Lady of the Rivers. I love that PG’s novels in this series usually pick up exactly where the last one left.  Shifting from Jacquetta Woodville to Anne Neville the kingmaker’s youngest daughter. Richard Neville aka the Kingmaker had a merciless ambition and he wanted his girls to sit on high in England’s court but everything has its price and the Neville’s would pay dearly for it.

Anne and her older sister Isabel Neville were the only children of the famous Earl of Warwick.  The King making Earl held great power and popularity through out England. He was also included in the handful of nobility that had a major role in the War of the Roses. Warwick had the ward ship of all the York boys through their adolescents Edward, George, and Richard Plantagenet all were in Warwick’s home at one time or another. Warwick had a dream of seeing a puppet king on the throne of England and he wanted to be the one pulling the strings.  His ambition was so great that he wanted to make sure that at least one of his daughters were married to the puppet king. When Edward of York became Edward IV Warwick was a big part of the events and their relationship was great until Edward married the beautiful commoner Elizabeth Woodville with out warning.  Warwick had been working on a French marriage for Edward and it was all for nothing now that he secretly married. Warwick saw the marriage as a personal slight on him and it started to deteriorate what had been a positive relationship of so many years.  The relationship could never really be healed after this point because the rift became too great.

Immediately afterwards Warwick had begun plotting and he moved on to his back up plan. He successfully married his eldest daughter to King Edwards’s younger brother George Duke of Clarence. His ultimate plan was to replace Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville with his daughter Isabel and George. Things were doomed to fail for them but his girls really suffered the most by his hand. Isabel had the most reason to be upset. Early on in her marriage to George Isabel had become pregnant and she was forced to flee with her whole family.  Edward had foiled his mentor’s plans and they went to hide in Calais. A wicked storm took over there ship on the way there and they were also not permitted to dock Calais. She went into early labor from duress and her child was stillborn. Isabel swore afterwards that it was a witch’s wind that had taken over her fathers ship. She also swore that it was none other than Elizabeth Woodville and her mother that had conjured it up.

In this novel in the series Elizabeth Woodville is a force to be reckoned with in her own right….fierce and very deadly.  Warwick had basically declared war on her when he had stolen her father and brother and murdered them in the name of the law when in reality it was out of pure hatefulness for Elizabeth.  He executed them with no authority and Elizabeth would never forgive or forget it. Elizabeth would lay a curse on two names and two names alone. Isabel Neville is convinced that it is she and her sister’s names on that piece of paper.

Anne Neville had made it through so much with her sister at a young age it really was not an easy life for these girls even in the beginning. Warwick had sided Anne at one point to Margaret of Anjou the she wolf of France. Anne married Margaret’s son Edward and they all lead a one last-ditch effort attack into England. They planned on recapturing the crown from Edward IV.  The planed failed before it had even begun and it left Anne a widow in war torn England. Stuck with Margaret Anne had not known what to do but when they were captured her heart skipped a beat when she saw again her childhood friend Richard Duke of Gloucester

In a complete turn of fortunes wheel Anne is in some sorts of favor at court. She also gets to see her sister Isabelle but that quickly turned sour when it became apparent that Anne was more of a prisoner than an honored guest. Anne was presented with an escape route and it was a very handsome way to gain control of her life. She had always loved Richard and she even fancied herself marring him as a child. Yet she still could not believe it might actually truly come to pass.

Richard and Anne put the past behind them and had moved on as an untied front. At court at the time it seemed that everyone was plotting, possibly poisoning, and what made it worst of all is the Woodville witch held all the power. They fled to escape the pressures of court. It was not long before they had received word that Edward has suddenly passed away. He had named Richard as his protector of his young heir. Elizabeth Woodville would never just “let” Richard be protector and so began the mad dash to the position of power over a defenseless child heir.

4.5/5 Such a good book but “Lady of the Rivers” was better. It was a delightful follow up to it. I cannot wait for Elizabeth of York: “The White Princess” which will release July 23, 2013. PG has made another wonderful addition to the Cousins’ War series. I hate to admit this but Philippa’s spin on Anne Neville was way better than Jean Plaidy’s version. That was the only novel of Jean Plaidy’s that I did not like because Ann was portrayed as a week woman but Gregory empowered her and made her strong to me, as she should be for a woman who lived her whole life in the turmoil of the War of the Roses.

PG-13 for mild violence

FTC- this novel was sent to me for review by the publisher

 ~Lizzie~

Book Review: LADY OF THE RIVERS by Philippa Gregory

Book number three in the cousin’s war series “The Lady of the Rivers” is mother to “The White Queen”. PG has completely made up for the previous novel in the series “The Red Queen”. To be fair though I have to give her some credit for writing a novel about Margaret Beaufort because she is not exactly as likeable character during the war of the roses. The lady of the rivers is now a new favorite of mine but I am beginning to think none of her novels will ever topple “The Queen’s Fool” from its high-ranking pedestal because it is after all my favorite novel of hers. But on the other hand I am waiting for the next book in the series to arrive “The Kingmaker’s Daughter” to arrive in the mail. Who knows what Gregory has up her sleeve for the future of this series. I will continue to enjoy the benefits of her hard work cousins’ series or not.

Jacquetta, the Duchess of Bedford was a figurehead in the war of the Roses. Her daughter Elizabeth Woodville would become King Edward IV’s queen and we all know how quickly fortunes wheel turned on Elizabeth but what about her mother? In a war between cousins’ that spanned generations. Jacquetta was at the center from the very beginning. Married at what we today would deem a young age Jacquetta married the very much older uncle to the king of England. The Duke of Bedford was the English regent in France. To the powerful Duke Jacquetta was a tool that he planned on using for his benefit. It had been said that since her family had originated from the line of the water goddess Melusina. The women of the family were especially gifted when it came to the gift of sight. The Duke would awaken the sight with in Jacquetta and also introduce her to the dashing Sir Richard Woodville. Richard was the Dukes right hand man. The duke knew he was not long for this life and when he passed. Jacquetta and Richard married in secret. It was a true love match and the newlyweds went back to England to face the possible wrath of the young King Henry VI. They made it through and even found favor with the young king and when it came time for him to marry it was Jacquetta he called upon to befriend her distant relation and future Queen Margaret of Anjou.

Jacquetta became very close with the bratty queen Margaret and with her constantly stirring up problems with the nobles it was no wonder Jacquetta could feel the tension mounting to something horrific. She finds herself worrying about what the future holds because the constant shifting of power never stops. I have to admit that Philippa Gregory has given the greatest spin EVER on why and how King Henry VI because so suddenly ill. Gregory really blew me away this time and it made for excellent reading.

With an ailing King and a vengeful foreign-born Queen, England was in trouble and depending on your point of view Richard Duke of York was either a troublemaker or had legitimate issues with the king and queen but mostly it was the queen. The rift between the two house of Lancaster and York more volatile than it had ever been in the history of England. Jaquetta and Richard would defend their king and queen to the very end if need be. The couple had found that Margaret was leading them down a dark path of revenge. She would stay true to her allegiance but if Margaret kept on behaving like a spoilt brat the future of Jacquetta’s children could be put into jeopardy. She could never let that happen. Choices would have to be made and when it came time for sacrifices her family is what mattered the most.

5/5 I loved this novel. It is by far my favorite in the series. Once again I will say of course it is not 100% accurate nothing PG writes is. But I guess that is why they call it historical fiction and not non-fiction. Nonetheless I loved this read and I cannot wait for “The Kingmaker’s Daughter” to show up in the mail. I cannot wait to dig into that one and see what the future holds for Jacquetta and Richard. This is a historical fiction must read if you are not a stickler for complete historical accuracy.

• FTC-This novel was sent to me by the publisher for review.
• PG-13 For mild violence

 
~Lizzie~

The Lady of the Rivers Philippa Gregory US Book Tour

In stores 10.18.2011
  
Book Tour Schedule
16th October - NEW YORK - New York Times 2011 Great Literary Conversation, The Times Centre, 11:00am. With Rita Mae Brown, Lee Child, and Sapphire.

17th October – NEW YORK – Landmark on Main Street with Port Washington Library, Jeanne Rimsky Theatre, 7:30pm

18th October – ATLANTA - Ivy Hall Writers Series with Savannah College of Art & Design, 6:30pm

20th October – MILWAUKEE - Shully’s High Tea at Shully’s Garden Pavillion with Next Chapter Bookshop, 2:00pm

23rd October - CHICAGO - Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College with Anderson’s Bookshop, 2:00pm

25th October – SAN FRANCISCO - Commonwealth Club of California, 6:00pm

26th October - SAN FRANCISCO - Diablo Country Club with Rakestraw Books, 7:00pm

27th October - SAN FRANCISCO - Osher Marin Jewish Community Center with Book Passage, 7:00pm

29th October - MADISON, CT - Polson Middle School with R.J. Julia, 4:00pm

30th October - ROCKLEIGH, NJ - Rockleigh Country Club with Books & Greetings, 10:00am

1st November - TORONTO - St. Barnabas Church with Indigo Books, 7:00pm
Information curtsey of PG Notice Board

"Jacquetta, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg and kinswoman to half the royalty of Europe, was married to the great Englishman John, Duke of Bedford, uncle to Henry VI. Widowed at the age of nineteen she took the extraordinary risk of marrying a gentleman of her house-hold for love, and then carved out a life for herself as Queen Margaret of Anjou's close friend and a Lancaster supporter - until the day that her daughter Elizabeth Woodville fell in love and married the rival king Edward IV. Of all the little-known but important women of the period, her dramatic story is the most neglected. With her links to Melusina, and to the founder of the house of Luxembourg, together with her reputation for making magic, she is the most haunting of heroines".
 
For more on Philippa Gregory check out her site, her Facebook page, and Twitter.
Amazon: The Lady of the Rivers: A Novel (The Cousins' War)
~Lizzie~

Book Review: QUEEN BY RIGHT by Anne Easter Smith

“Proud Cis” has been a long standing curiosity for me in historical fiction novels. There really is not much out there on just her even though she is the mother of kings. I was elated to participate in the Anne Easter Smith blog tour. Cecily Neville also nick named “Proud Cis” was one of the core people in The War of the Roses. I have decided with finishing this novel that The War of the Roses is for sure my favorite time period to read about. There is a reason the war was also called The Cousins’ War and it is because it was literally all the royal cousins fighting that triggered off like an avalanche back when Richard II was murdered. Since so many important people were tied to the war it makes for some good reads to see all the different perspectives on the war. What made this one different from other War of the Roses novels is that it was not just another novel that focuses on the future Edward IV of England but instead the focus is on his mother the duchess of York, “The Rose of Raby” Cecily Neville.

Just trying to lay out Cecily’s pedigree and family ties is impossible to cover in one book review. I wish I could but that is a book all by itself. One key piece of info on her I had not known was her father Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmorland was married twice. First it was to Margaret de Stafford with nine children, second to Cecily’s mother Joan Beaufort. Joan had a whopping fourteen children with the earl and it was even said to be a love match. I was really surprised when I found out Joan’s parents were none other than John of Gaunt and later wife Katherine Swynford. I really enjoyed that even in a large family Cecily found her individuality and as a child was a head strong little tom boy that held her father’s affection from the very beginning. Joan had even said she was “spoilt by her father”. When she was around nine years old the newly orphaned Duke of York came to the Neville household under her father’s care. Of course her father was hoping to get York into the family by marriage and Cecily made the perfect fit.

The two could not have been a more perfect match and I am genuinely in love with the realistic personalities Anne conveyed in this novel. Cecily with her passion for Jeanne d’Arc and Richard with his need for recognition at court, the pair were the stuff movies and legends are made of. They really seemed an unstoppable force at court but fate would throw the couple to and fro in a violent storm that became England in the years leading up to The War of the Roses. Richard was such a loveable character and Cecily was so smart to recognize a good man when she saw one, I won’t give spoilers but the marriage proposal to Cecily is a riot. Richard it seemed had an infectious laugh or “neigh” and each time it was mentioned I found myself snickering to myself. I have to admit there was one that I quoted below that made me laugh so hard it made my stomach hurt.

“A neigh of laughter ricocheted off the rafters of the old great hall, abruptly halting conversation in the rest of the room”. At the Wedding

Happiness between the couple came to a crossroads when the case of the French woman Jeanne d’Arc came to English authority. York was involved with the proceedings since he was a high ranking Duke and I have to admit Cecily’s link to Jeanne was well tied into the novel. Leave it to Proud Cis to show genuine compassion where others had failed miserably. Life for the Yorks even after Jeanne was gone was hard but they say a rose that blossoms in diversity is the rarest most beautiful of its kind and Cecily would become that rose. I admire the fact that the couple did what most couples did in the face of adversity they held onto their love and took whatever the future threw at them even if it was The War of the Roses.

5/5 Beautiful this one should be a movie, a complicated movie but a very very good one. I was kind of sad that in the beginning it is Cecily reliving her memories after she finds out Richard is dead. But this is a classic case of you know what happens but it is how it gets there that really matters. This one I have to add to my top War of the Roses picks for so many different reasons. One a very unique main character, two Cecily and Richards love is compelling to say the least, and finally just because it really was that good of a novel. Queen by Right was superbly written and now I know exactly why Anne Easter Smith is so widely popular. I would highly recommend this to newbies of War of the Roses because you cannot go wrong with the very point where history took a change in course and this one must be recommended to everyone not just newbies to the period because if you love a good love story you will really enjoy this one.

• FTC~This novel was sent to me by the publisher for review. 
• R~Rating for sexual references and violence.

Amazon
Queen By Right: A Novel
The King's Grace: A Novel
A Rose for the Crown: A Novel
Daughter of York: A Novel

Cover Alert Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

Hitting Bookstores everywhere October 11th 2011 The Lady of the Rivers (The Cousins' War)! This is the third book in the series and after the last on Margaret Beaufort I am sure this one will be much more interesting.

"Jacquetta, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg and kinswoman to half the royalty of Europe, was married to the great Englishman John, Duke of Bedford, uncle to Henry VI. Widowed at the age of nineteen she took the extraordinary risk of marrying a gentleman of her house-hold for love, and then carved out a life for herself as Queen Margaret of Anjou's close friend and a Lancaster supporter - until the day that her daughter Elizabeth Woodville fell in love and married the rival king Edward IV. Of all the little-known but important women of the period, her dramatic story is the most neglected. With her links to Melusina, and to the founder of the house of Luxembourg, together with her reputation for making magic, she is the most haunting of heroines".

I also found this other cover on goodreads.com and I really am not sure which on is the US one and which one is the UK one but as soon as I know I will make sure to display the for sure US on on my sidebar. Juding by the styles I would say the top one is the US one and the below on is the UK one. Either way both of them are beautiful and I can not wait to read this one when it comes out. How about you readers?

Amazon
The Constant Princess
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Boleyn Inheritance
The Queen's Fool: A Novel
The Virgin's Lover
The Other Queen: A Novel

Cousins' War Series
~The White Queen: A Novel
~The Red Queen
~Lizzy~