The White Queen [Paperback]

Philippa Gregory (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; 1ST edition (2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847394647
• ISBN-13: 978-1847394644
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 7.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (219 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,724,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Kenya in 1954, Philippa Gregory moved to England with her family and was educated in Bristol and at the National Council for the Training of Journalists course in Cardiff. She worked as a senior reporter on the Portsmouth News, and as a journalist and producer for BBC radio.

Philippa obtained a BA degree in history at the University of Sussex in Brighton and a PhD at Edinburgh University in 18th-century literature. Her first novel, Wideacre, was written as she completed her PhD and became an instant world wide bestseller. On its publication, she became a full-time writer, and now lives with her family on a small farm in the North of England.

Her knowledge of gothic 18th century novels led to Philippa writing Wideacre, which was followed by a haunting sequel, The Favoured Child, and the delightful happy ending of the trilogy: Meridon. This novel was listed in Feminist Book Fortnight and for the Romantic Novel of the Year at the same time - one of the many instances of Philippa's work appealing to very different readers.

The trilogy was followed by The Wise Woman, a dazzling, disturbing novel of dark powers and desires set against the rich tapestry of the Reformation, and by Fallen Skies, an evocative realistic story set after the First World War. Her novel A Respectable Trade took her back to the 18th century where her knowledge of the slave trade and her home town of Bristol produced a haunting novel of slave trading and its terrible human cost. This is the only modern novel to explore the tragedies of slavery in England itself, and features a group of kidnapped African people trying to find their freedom in the elegant houses of 18th century Clifton. Gregory adapted her book for a highly acclaimed BBC television production which won the prize for drama from the Commission for Racial Equality and was shortlisted for a BAFTA for the screenplay.

Next came two of Gregory's best-loved novels, Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth, based on the true-life story of father and son John Tradescant working in the upheaval of the English Civil War. In these works Gregory pioneered the genre which has become her own: fictional biography, the true story of a real person brought to life with painstaking research and passionate verve.

The flowering of this new style was undoubtedly The Other Boleyn Girl, a runaway best-seller which stormed the US market and then went worldwide telling the story of the little-known sister to Anne Boleyn. Now published in 26 countries with more than a million copies in print in the US alone, this is becoming a classic historical novel, winning the Parker Pen Novel of the Year award 2002, and the Romantic Times fictional biography award. The Other Boleyn Girl was adapted for the BBC as a single television drama and a film is now in production starring Scarlett Johansson as Mary Boleyn, Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn and Eric Bana as Henry VIII.

A regular contributor to newspapers and magazines, with short stories, features and reviews, Philippa is also a frequent broadcaster and a regular contestant on Round Britain Quiz for BBC Radio 4 and the Tudor expert for Channel 4's Time Team.

She lives in the North of England with her husband and two children and in addition to interests that include riding, walking, skiing and gardening (an interest born from research into the Tradescant family for her novel, Virgin Earth), she also runs a small charity building wells in school gardens in The Gambia. Fifty-six wells have been built by UK donors to date.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

193 of 206 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ms. Gregory is Back!, August 18, 2009

By 

Julie Peterson "Booking Mama" (Central PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The White Queen: A Novel (Cousins' War (Touchstone Hardcover)) (Hardcover)

I have been anxiously awaiting the new Philippa Gregory book THE WHITE QUEEN. Like many, I enjoyed THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL; however, I didn't exactly love the last book that I read by Ms. Gregory. I was sincerely hoping that THE WHITE QUEEN would love up to all its advance billing. After reading it (or you could say devouring it), I am so excited to say that Ms. Gregory is back. I loved THE WHITE QUEEN!

THE WHITE QUEEN is the first book in The Cousins' War Series. You can't see me, but I'm doing a little happy dance because that means there will be two more books about the Plantagenets -- THE RED QUEEN and THE WHITE PRINCESS. I am already excited about the release of the next book because I felt as if I was kind of left hanging at the end of THE WHITE QUEEN. I don't mean that in a negative way and I'm sure it was the author's intent, but I want to know what happens next!

While I definitely enjoy historical fiction, I am sadly lacking in knowledge about England and its Monarchy. As a result, I knew almost nothing about the Plantagenets except for a few small things that appeared as side stories in other novels. I can't tell you how much of this story is fact versus fiction; and frankly, I don't even care. I was fascinated by the story Ms. Gregory told about these characters' lives. THE WHITE QUEEN is better than any televised drama or movie I've ever seen. These characters are smart, determined, and ruthless; and I just loved reading about them.

I thought THE WHITE QUEEN had a little bit of everything; and I'm sure there is something in Elizabeth Woodville' s story that will capture your attention. First, THE WHITE QUEEN is just a fabulous historical story about the Cousins' War. There are so many scenes where brother is pitted against brother for control; and the characters involved have absolutely no idea who they can and can not trust. It was a great, suspenseful ride for the reader too! I also thoroughly enjoyed how Ms. Gregory used facts to tell the story while also embellishing the mysteries and holes in the characters' lives to make a very readable story. I realize that Ms. Gregory picked some fascinating people to write about, but a whole lot of credit goes to her for being such an amazing storyteller.

Another part of this story that will keep many readers entertained is the magical and sorcery elements. Elizabeth is said to be the descendant of a mythical water creature called Melusina. Ms. Gregory incorporated the myth of Melusina into the novel and actually used it as a recurring theme/symbol throughout the story. In addition, Elizabeth's mother practiced some examples witchcraft. Some people actually claimed that Elizabeth's mother put a spell on Edward to make him fall in love with her daughter. The character of Elizabeth also had premonitions about certain things and places in her life. She always had a bad feeling that something awful would occur in the Black Tower.

One of my favorite elements of the THE WHITE QUEEN was the love story angle. It seemed to me as if there was a perfect blend of romance and history in this book. Not only did THE WHITE QUEEN show the love affair between Elizabeth and Edward, but this book is also demonstrated the love between mothers and their children. More than once, I was amazed by what women did to protect their children especially in the case of Elizabeth and her sons.

THE WHITE QUEEN would make an excellent book club pick. In fact, if your group enjoys historical fiction like mine does, then you should definitely consider this book in the very near future. One added bonus is that the book is around 400 pages (shorter than many historical novels), and it is not at all overwhelming in scope. There is a great reading guide with fifteen questions that really allow you to delve into Elizabeth's life and her actions. Some of the topics for discussion include mother/daughter relationships, moral dilemmas, adultery, betrayal, and witchcraft. There is also a very interesting interview with Ms. Gregory that gives you some insight into the background of this novel.

188 of 205 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Average, August 18, 2009

By 

K. Huff (Radnor, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The White Queen: A Novel (Cousins' War (Touchstone Hardcover)) (Hardcover)

The White Queen opens in 1464, on the day that Elizabeth Woodville meets Edward IV, the man who has just recently been crowned King of England. In the attempt to gain back the lands she lost when her husband died, Elizabeth catches the eye of the young king, and becomes Queen of England herself--and eventually, the mother of kings and queens of England.

I have mixed feelings about this book.

Here's what I didn't like so much:
--The fact that the book is written in the present tense. Gregory started writing this way sometime around The Boleyn Inheritance, and it gets on my nerves sometimes because I feel that using the present tense for historical fiction is so limiting.
--The water imagery got to be a bit much-too-much at times. It was beautiful at first, but the fact that Elizabeth kept talking about her ancestress, the water goddess/nymph Melusina, began to get tired after a while.
--Although Gregory is great in general at describing the events of the time periods of which she writes, she's not so good as describing how people actually lived--as with her previous novels, there's very little about what her characters wear, eat, or do in their free time. It's the little bits and pieces that make characters come to life, make them three-dimensional.
--Reading Sharon Kay Penman has seemingly made me pro-Richard III for life, so I was a little disappointed by Gregory's vilification of him in the book (though of course, when the story is told from the point of view of Elizabeth Woodville, of course Richard would be portrayed in a negative light).
--About halfway through the book, Gregory switches from 1st person POV to 3rd, in order to talk about some of the decisive battles of the Wars. I can understand her intent, but it was jarring to me to go back and forth.

However, I think The White Queen is a vast improvement over Gregory's previous book, The Other Queen. Elizabeth is much more of a three-dimensional character, as are the other people that populate the novel. I was also a lot more engaged by the story--mostly because the story of the War of the Roses is more interesting than that of Mary, Queen of Scot's captivity! Elizabeth generally has a bad rep, but here she comes across as a sympathetic woman, strong and courageous at a time when the times moved against her. Gregory uses her imagination a lot more in this novel, because there's so much less documentation to work from. I think it's a good thing that Gregory has moved away from writing about the Tudors (at least for the time being); the Plantagenets are a breath of breath air on Gregory's writing, which was in the process of getting stale.

60 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Two Chief Complaints, August 21, 2009

By 

jjd232 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The White Queen: A Novel (Cousins' War (Touchstone Hardcover)) (Hardcover)

As usual, Philippa Gregory spins an engrossing tale around fascinating characters in the history of England's royal family. My only basis for comparison is "The Other Boleyn Girl," a story I enjoyed more, simply because I found the history more interesting.

I have two chief complaints about the novel: one I recall feeling while reading "The Other Boleyn Girl," and the other I do not. The first complaint is her repetition. I realize that some authors use this as a literary device, but some facts I felt she repeated way more often than was necessary. Melusina this and locket that. They were important bits of the story, but she could have let us remember them on our own sometimes. The other complaint is that, at times, I felt the book read a little like non-fiction, just a recounting of the events from one character's point of view, and not as much a novel.

Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that it's interesting what she does with the "Princes in the Tower," and the end is abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying (for a person who knows the history).

Overall, however, I enjoyed reading the book and I liked delving into the Plantagenet dynasty. It has inspired me to pick up other books on the period, and I look forward to her next one.