Third Book Review of The White Queen - Part 1

Happy Sunday!

The bulky nature and the fact that I am so far behind on my reading demand that I break my review into two parts.  I read, but I don't read as fast as I used to, and when you add poorly made glasses into the mix, things get even slower.  I'm really nearsighted to begin with, so my glasses are like magnifying glasses in the first place.  If I read without my glasses, everything has to be right in front of my face.  It's quite a nuisance, but it's just another fact of my life that I need to accept.

In reading the book jacket for The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, and the websites, you'll discover the main topic of the book: Elizabeth Woodville - aka, The White Queen (from the movies, I believe it was due to the white powder she would put on her face, but that is a guess at this point). This book has everything a good story needs, romance, marriage, children, scandal and intrigue. What makes it fascinating is that the intrigue and mystery are taken right out of the history books.

Yep, you heard me, a good old fashioned intrigue that came right from the pages of English History. This mystery has to do with the two sons of Queen Elizabeth Woodville. Her sons get embroiled in some sort of scandal and find themselves in the Tower of London. The problem is, no one knows what happened to them after they got there. That's right, not one, but two missing princes of England and heirs to the throne.

So, what happened to them? No one knows, and I mean no one knows. There is no written record to explain what actually happened to them after they were put into the Tower - which is where all criminals were placed to await trial and/or execution. Was it all a rouse to protect them and the crown? Were they disowned by their mother? Were they left in the Tower dungeons so long that others forgot their names and so did they? Who's to say. Without actual records, everything is at best just educated speculation.

Which is what Philippa Gregory is a master of, educated speculation. I listened to both The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance and found education as well as entertainment between the pages. She wove such great tales here, that it seemed so easy to see life in those times. It was as if she actually lived in those times and in those places. William Makepeace Thackeray wrote Vanity Fair as a living testament to the times he lived in. So, one could almost call Philippa the Thackeray of London's royalty!

I've babbled on enough for today. Please join me next week when I pick through some of the details a bit more thoroughly. I promise not to give anything crucial away!!!

Have I managed to intrigue you? Would you like to win a copy of this book? Well, to enter your name in the drawing, leave a comment at the post found by clicking here! Be sure to select the link that says, "Post a Comment" - Thanks!