Review of The White Princess

I actually enjoyed various theories presented by this book. You can't expect someone to write about the 14th and 15th centuries with modern sensibilities. If Henry did, in fact rape his future wife, would that be in keeping of the brutal times they lived in? And how come no one is shocked or mentioning the incestuous relationship between uncle and niece? These were horrible times, when women were nothing, a man could do anything to his wife and she was nothing more than an object. The fact is that Elizabeth was pregnant when they married. The fact is that Margaret Beaufort was ambitious for her son to be king. She did do many of the things that Gregory reports and I do think that Elizabeth was a child born of fear, living constantly with a sword of Damocles over her head. Her grandfather and great uncle were killed trying to take the throne from her cousins, brother went against brother- mother against sons- Her siblings were murdered and she didn't know if if was by the man sworn to protect her, or another member of her wide flung family. Elizabeth was the daughter of a power couple, could she have quietly wanted to fly under the radar- I wouldn't be shocked if she did. Sounds to me, Gregory presented a girl who just wanted to be safe, her children safe, and if she did it with a no nothing attitude- well, she wouldn't be the first in history. I thought her believable. I did however, enjoy the B story more than anything else. I had never thought about Perkin Warbeck as being anything more than a Pretender and Gregory's representation was quite creditable. She gave the whole story legs and made me want to read about Henry's infatuation with Warbeck's wife. Elizabeth was a pale shadow compared to both her mother and grandmother Jaquetta. I always thought of her as able to influence her husband with her Yorkish  savvy and intelligence. Perhaps I was wrong, but it sure did skip a generation to rest in the heart and mind of her granddaughter Elizabeth 1 , one of the greatest queens of all times.

Happy Reading!
Carole P. Roman