Book #60 The White Princess by Philippa Gregory

The White Princess

Length Of Time In Possession : A day

The White Princess is the latest installment of the Cousins War Saga, picking up where The Kingsmaker's Daughter left off; Anne Neville and Richard the Third have died, and Henry Tudor has finally fulfilled his mothers desperate single minded determination to see him on the throne.

Margaret Beaufort the King's Mother, and Elizabeth the Dowager Queen have already made an alliance that would see Henry Tudor marry Elizabeth Of York thus cementing any doubts about his claim to power.

Here things get somewhat muddled I think, and a lot of people's characters get besmirched by the unfortunate authorial decisions Gregory makes. Firstly, young princess Elizabeth it seems would far rather be getting it on with her dead uncle than with her new young man. Allegations of incest between Richard III and Princess Elizabeth went unproved and seem entirely unlikely. They were probably largely invented by dramatists such as Shakespeare looking to paint Richard III in a poor light.

Next Henry Tudor turns rapist, determined to get Princess Elizabeth pregnant before marriage to prove she's not barren. Margaret Beaufort encourages this and Elizabeth Woodville complies and so the whole sorry affair reflects well on no-one. Elizabeth Woodville had 8 children and her mother before her had 12, it seems highly unlikely in those times that the fertility of the young princess would ever have been questioned, and also more than unlikely that the religious Margaret would have encouraged sex before marriage.  

Following their poor start Henry and Elizabeth have a difficult relationship flying in the face of what is known of them historically. Unlike her mother, Elizabeth Of York is not a power player in her own right and does not really carve out a path of any interest for herself. There is very little hint at the powers of the water goddess that her mother and grandmother had except in being warned of death. The court is controlled by the King's Mother and so Elizabeth has little to do.

The plot itself becomes exceptionally repetitive. During the novel The White Queen Gregory gave us the idea that one of The Princes In The Tower : Richard in fact survived, a theory that given later events seems quite likely. Throughout his reign Henry is chased by the spectre of 'the boy' and pretty much the entire novel is devoted to various boys popping up out of the woodwork claiming to be Richard Plantagenet. As each of these emerge, Henry rants at Elizabeth she simpers about not knowing anything, the pretender is defeated and it all starts again. This wears thin.

I do find the idea that Richard survived plausible and certainly of these Pretenders, the one they called Perkin Warbeck may well have been the real thing which is pretty much what is suggested here.

In the end I think that possibly the things that I found the most interesting about The White Princess are the continuation of the idea that Elizabeth effectively cursed her own line by accident & that this book in itself acts as a natural conduit between Gregory's Cousins War and her Tudor Saga the next story chronologically being that of Catherine Of Aragon in 'The Constant Princess' whose marriage to Prince Arthur is being prepared for at the close of this novel.

Not perfect by any means, but still another enjoyable addition to the canon.


Verdict 7/10

Destination : ebook storage

Book #45 Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Bring Up The Bodies

Bring Up The Bodies is of course the sequel to Booker Prize winning Wolf Hall, charting the career and life of senior Tudor court advisor Thomas Cromwell.

We return to his story exactly where we left off at the titular Wolf Hall where Henry VIII is first introduced to future third wife Jane Seymour. One of the many great things about Wolf Hall was that they arrived there in the last sentence, and you finally know why it is called Wolf Hall in the first place.

I adored Wolf Hall and thought it was one of the most well written and enjoyable Booker Prize winners in years. Therefore it gives me tremendous pleasure to say that Bring Up The Bodies is equally good. The exquisite prose and turn of phrase follow on seamlessly from the first book and it wasn't hard at all for me to totally re-enter that universe despite not having brushed up on a re-read of Wolf Hall beforehand.

I enjoy stories of the Tudor court and have read all of Philippa Gregory's Tudor novels, and watched the laughably bad Showtime series on BBC2. Mantel's novels are a much classier affair however, and by taking the character of Thomas Cromwell, a lesser explored and perhaps enigmatic figure gives a fresh eye on a well told tale. Where Wolf Hall chartered the downfalls of Cardinal Wolsey and Katherine of Aragon respectively, Bring Up The Bodies brings us the downfall of Anne Boleyn, a well documented fall from grace. Anne Boleyn herself remains enigmatic - were the stories about her true or was she much more sinned against than sinning?

This book doesn't offer those answers only Thomas Cromwell's motives: political alliances, satisfying the King's capricious nature by any means necessary, and more interestingly, payback for his personal vendettas. He makes for an intriguing, clever, and foreboding individual which is just what one wants from a protagonist.

It is again, beautifully written and beautifully researched, and I was delighted to hear that there will be a third novel, which history buffs will know will cover the disaster that befalls Thomas Cromwell as Henry's favoured man when Henry finds that he mislikes fourth bride Anne Of Cleeves. I for one can't wait! 10/10