The White Queen by Philippa GregoryI'm not usually one for historical novels, but after seeing so many blimmin' Philippa Gregory books in every single charity shop I figured I should at least give the genre a go. Broaden my horizons and all that. Lorna recommended the Cousin's War series to me, starting with The White Queen. I then found it on my Mum's bookshelf, and if that isn't
mere coincidence fate/a sign then I don't know what is. The White Queen is the first part in a series about the Wars of the Roses - the conflict within House of Plantagenet, between the Lancastrians and Yorkists. The White Queen, Elizabeth Woodville, marries king Edward IV of rival house York and this begins the story of love and conflict between and within families. I have to admit I can't go into much more detail about the different houses and conflicts as although I enjoyed this read, I just sort of... went with it. Having gone back to work and being tired in the evenings once again, I struggled to keep up with who was who and the nitty gritty of betrayals, conflict and war. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, I did, but I think if I had read this on holiday where I could really get into the details I would have left feeling more knowledgeable
than I do now! I've made it sound like I had no idea what was going on, which isn't true... promise. I found the book to be pacey, scandalous without being too smutty (as I've heard Gregory's books are often known to be) and essentially a good story of Kings and Queens and that. As I said, this is part of a series - next is The Red Queen which I have already bought. I won't read it straight away but most definitely plan to by the end of the year. This book follows the story of Margaret Beaufort, which I know will be an interesting read given what we know already.