Philippa Gregory is truly the queen of royal fiction.
The book follows the tale of young widow Elizabeth Woodville and her journey onto easily becoming the most powerful woman in 15th century England. Though her greatness was short lived, it was colored with the roaring tides of success and failure-- the most prominent being the loss of her two young princes.
Quite uncommon today, her greatest feat is one of true love. Much like that of Prince William and Kate Middleton, she and King Edward IV married for love. They married despite other players in the field telling them it is unheard of a marriage between a king and a commoner. Though the men and women at court deny her of this great pleasure, they managed to hold the throne under their reign even as their own starts to consume them. This book tells the beginning of a story of the Cousins War, whose catalyst was Elizabeth's very marriage to the King. Though it had began even before they had met, it was as if fate had played with their fortunes over and over within the span of a decade.
This is a story of love, power, and lust for the throne. This is a story of great happiness that ends in tragedy. This is the story of England then, told by the women-- the queens. The invisible players in the field, but most definitely not insignificant, show just how much the influence of their mere whispers can change the course of men's judgment. Elizabeth Woodville was despised by many at court for they think the king married her for her sheer beauty alone. She is very ambitious and persistent and it shows in her actions. Not one to be left behind, she quickly placed her family into appointed power. Her actions stirred the game for the throne as she replaced the kingmaker as the most prominent influence in the king's decisions.
I'm fascinated by the additional mythical element to the story. No spoiler here, but I will only say that she incorporated well the legendary beliefs of gods and goddesses into her story telling and how witchcraft was adjudged those times. This also made me think that perhaps these gifts are real, but sometimes we choose to ignore them because we are afraid of them and of others' perspective when they find out.
Ms. Gregory's writing style, like so many other authors attempt to do, is by the first person point of view. In this book, this style helped so much in giving life to Elizabeth Woodville and all the other prominent women in history that time. For example, you wouldn't have known by reading history books that Elizabeth here was crushed by her mother's loss; or that she was persistent with what she wanted; or that she easily fell in love, just as her ancestor Melusina did. You also would not feel what it would have been like to be queen yet be called a witch and a b*itch behind your back by those who pretended to love you. The magnanimous part in this book comes from the fact that the author even captures the attitude of the speaker. Though many attempt to channel their stories through their character's perspective, only few actually achieve the feel of being in that character's shoes and mind. And for that alone I salute you Ms. Gregory!
The first of a trilogy, I am already fascinated by the way Ms. Gregory brought Elizabeth Woodville to life. Not only her, but the other women who play central figures to the untold stories in history. I admire the way she pieced together bits of historical facts and created her own version of the telling. It is a magnificence that I will continue to indulge in until I get through the rest of the series.
Although I think I must hurry because the series is about to show a TV version! I am very excited for this because I was just imagining what it would be like to turn this book to a TV movie or series. I then thought back the the movie "the other Boleyn girl" also by the same author. It was a marvelous retelling that I just had to read her books!
As an addition, I gained insight on the game of chess and how mothers and women truly are the strongest people in the world. As we know, history is written by the victor, but these victors regarded are only the men. Why? Because they are the ones seen by the eyes going into battle and winning wars. I stated this once already in my previous entry, but I will say it again:
The book follows the tale of young widow Elizabeth Woodville and her journey onto easily becoming the most powerful woman in 15th century England. Though her greatness was short lived, it was colored with the roaring tides of success and failure-- the most prominent being the loss of her two young princes.
 |
| The Cousins' War Series The White Queen by Philippa Gregory |
Quite uncommon today, her greatest feat is one of true love. Much like that of Prince William and Kate Middleton, she and King Edward IV married for love. They married despite other players in the field telling them it is unheard of a marriage between a king and a commoner. Though the men and women at court deny her of this great pleasure, they managed to hold the throne under their reign even as their own starts to consume them. This book tells the beginning of a story of the Cousins War, whose catalyst was Elizabeth's very marriage to the King. Though it had began even before they had met, it was as if fate had played with their fortunes over and over within the span of a decade.
This is a story of love, power, and lust for the throne. This is a story of great happiness that ends in tragedy. This is the story of England then, told by the women-- the queens. The invisible players in the field, but most definitely not insignificant, show just how much the influence of their mere whispers can change the course of men's judgment. Elizabeth Woodville was despised by many at court for they think the king married her for her sheer beauty alone. She is very ambitious and persistent and it shows in her actions. Not one to be left behind, she quickly placed her family into appointed power. Her actions stirred the game for the throne as she replaced the kingmaker as the most prominent influence in the king's decisions.
I'm fascinated by the additional mythical element to the story. No spoiler here, but I will only say that she incorporated well the legendary beliefs of gods and goddesses into her story telling and how witchcraft was adjudged those times. This also made me think that perhaps these gifts are real, but sometimes we choose to ignore them because we are afraid of them and of others' perspective when they find out.
Ms. Gregory's writing style, like so many other authors attempt to do, is by the first person point of view. In this book, this style helped so much in giving life to Elizabeth Woodville and all the other prominent women in history that time. For example, you wouldn't have known by reading history books that Elizabeth here was crushed by her mother's loss; or that she was persistent with what she wanted; or that she easily fell in love, just as her ancestor Melusina did. You also would not feel what it would have been like to be queen yet be called a witch and a b*itch behind your back by those who pretended to love you. The magnanimous part in this book comes from the fact that the author even captures the attitude of the speaker. Though many attempt to channel their stories through their character's perspective, only few actually achieve the feel of being in that character's shoes and mind. And for that alone I salute you Ms. Gregory!
The first of a trilogy, I am already fascinated by the way Ms. Gregory brought Elizabeth Woodville to life. Not only her, but the other women who play central figures to the untold stories in history. I admire the way she pieced together bits of historical facts and created her own version of the telling. It is a magnificence that I will continue to indulge in until I get through the rest of the series.
Although I think I must hurry because the series is about to show a TV version! I am very excited for this because I was just imagining what it would be like to turn this book to a TV movie or series. I then thought back the the movie "the other Boleyn girl" also by the same author. It was a marvelous retelling that I just had to read her books!
As an addition, I gained insight on the game of chess and how mothers and women truly are the strongest people in the world. As we know, history is written by the victor, but these victors regarded are only the men. Why? Because they are the ones seen by the eyes going into battle and winning wars. I stated this once already in my previous entry, but I will say it again:
"Women are the strongest creatures, and mothers are the strongest of them all."
PS:
The BBC is turning this book series in to a mini-series :)
Here's a sneek peak of the trailer for The White Queen-- it will be a 10-hour season only
The Cousins' War
The White Queen
Shout out!
To the illustrious Philippa Gregory, I adore your flair in writing historical pieces. I could only hope to master the written word as well as you, and channel the characters as perfectly as you could.
Check out her website here to marvel yourself more on the hidden history of women. ;)
Dani
May 15, 2013- 5:08 PM
Battles are won by men
whose decisions are made law
But it's the words of the women
that make these decisions grow
No comments:
Post a Comment