Upon reading Philippa Gregory's "The White Queen", one of the most interesting characters I came across was the mother of the queen, Jacquetta Woodville. My curiosity of her was triggered from the beginning when she used the thread in the river. My hopes of her life being written were answered when this book was released.
Three things I expected to read about in this book were her transition from a girl from the House of Luxembourg to Duchess of Bedford, to the wife of Richard Woodville; how the Wars of the Roses began; and how she ended up always being beside Queen Margaret of Anjou. The book was satisfactory on all three aspects. In her usual charm, the author managed to draw Jacquetta perfectly as she was depicted in history. The interesting bit of her life was how she used her ancestral inheritance from the water goddess into her Catholic beliefs. This was a contradiction given her beliefs.
Her love story with Richard Woodville interested me most because, for a woman of her stature, I could not understand why she married him. Reading her thoughts and her actions, I began to understand why. Jacquetta Saint-Pol was one of the daughters of the House of Luxembourg, a House of France proudly descended from a goddess. She witnessed how cruelty was against women who spoke out. Her friend Joan of Arc, a young maid advocating for the French throne, was killed as a witch for going against the English and saying she had a vision from God that France had its own rightful king, and it was not the English. Seeing as how women could be so easily subjected to the will of men, she took advantage of her power and status and asked to marry for love after the death of her first husband. I admired her for this because of her strength and will to do what she wanted. She took control over her life even though this was not acceptable for women to do in those times.
The Cousins' War:
The Lady of the Rivers
by
Philippa Gregory
Jacquetta was a brave and wise woman. She endured her first husband's commands of seeing and using her gift for the benefit of the throne of England despite not knowing for herself how to do it. She was doing her duty of obedience, as all women that time were expected to do, while at the same time rebelling in her heart. She did not do this through any open overt actions. She did this in her mind as her concern for the throne of England drifted to her concern for her own happiness. This should be expected of a girl of seventeen. Still, I can't help but admire her discipline and discretion in all of this. She was a strong woman, but she had the discretion not to display it in front of a patriarchal monarchy. She, along with other highly placed women of the court, had to be discreet in using their power. I admire her above all the other women in her time for this because she was able to perform her duty to the queen while keeping strong to her principles. Above all else she displayed fierce loyalty to her queen despite opposing the latter's opinions on affairs of state and matters of the heart. She was never misplaced in any of those at any time, up to the time of her death. Her strength and her discretion made her the beloved character that she is in the book.
Despite the lack of historical records and studies, the author was able to create a very real and strong person of Jacquetta Woodville in this book. It may be that history remembers her only as the mother of Elizabeth Woodville, wife and queen of Edward IV. But through this book, and the other researches that would go along with it, her story can be told. Perhaps this version is flawed, and perhaps it does not tell what and why she was the way that she was in those times; but it is a good place to start on it. This book not only shed some light and insight into the life of possibly one of the greatest women and influences in the history of England, but it also shed some light into the history of women, and of our beliefs as well. Because of this, I would say this book is by far the best of the series of The Cousin's War novels.
One of my favorite lines of hers was from her conversation with her daughter Elizabeth. I even wrote it down for me to remember it:
"I believe that a desire a prayer and a spell are all the same thing. When you lose something precious, and you go to the chapel and you kneel before the little glass window of St. Anthony and pray to him the thing that you need, what are you doing but reminding yourself that you have lost something and you want it back? And what is that but calling it back to you?And so when I pray, I remember where I left it, and go back to find it. Is that answer to prayer or is it magic?... The prayer is just the same as a spell, which is just the same as knowing your desire that calls the thing back to your mind, and so back to your hand..."
My only disappointment is that I should not have read it after having read the three novels published before it. Yes this one is a prologue and tells a story in a different timeline, but some of the intrigue and mystery of how their lives would end up was lost in me knowing how it would all end for them. Still, that does not take away from the fact that this is a marvelous and insightful read.
That being said, I would recommend the reader interested in this series to read this one first so that you would not spoil your appetite for what is to come in the succeeding timelines.
Dani
April 19, 2014- 12:38pm
"... sometimes you show yourself only your own desires. And sometimes-- though very rarely-- you can put your heart in your own desires and bring them about. Take the dream and make it come into being."
-Jacquetta Woodville nee Saint-Pol, The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Book Review: The Lady of the Rivers
Friday, June 28, 2013
Book Review: The Kingmaker's Daughter
In the White Queen we see her as the petite second daughter of Warwick. She was just another pawn in her father's schemes. Towards the end of that side of the story we see her rise into the throne of her father's making. Here, we read her story as Anne Neville reveals her tender hearted soul gradually hardened by her experiences on the battlefield.
Reading the first few pages I already knew what events to expect, having read the other two books of this war. What intrigued me then as I read this were three things: one, why did she not order her gown for the young prince's coronation; two, what was the nature of her relationship with Richard-- was it genuine or a strategy for both or either of them; and three, did she have a hand in the loss of the princes in the tower? I indulged myself in this book keeping those questions in mind and found that I got more answers to questions that I left unasked. More particularly, I was surprised to see how George's thoughts influenced her and her husband. I knew George was a green-eyed monster but I never thought he could run his influence deep into this young couple's minds. I was alarmed at this because this coupled with the fact that they were moving under the pretenses that the Queen, Elizabeth Woodville, was after their lives to secure her power on the throne was a dangerous formula for their decisions. This was a disconcerting dilemma they had that I think ultimately lead them to believe that they were doing the best for the throne and for their country. But I think if I were in those times, I would also think that, but I don't think I would have planned my life around it. Then again, these are different times.
The Cousins' War Series
The Kingmaker's Daughter
By
Philippa Gregory
What I loved most about the book is the way the transition in Anne's life and thoughts were shown. If you could do a summary combined with her growth, you could paint her out as this little girl who was ruled with fear over her mother, and who could not do to be without her sister. After her tragic rise and fall at fourteen-- being married to the enemy then losing her husband at the blink of an eye-- she changed dramatically. She was still fearful of others but now she thought more strategically and more like how a queen would. Still, she did not lose her soft edge. The third part of her life, I would describe as her happiest and most dramatic. It is the happiest because she got most of what she wanted, and dramatic because she lost them all almost at the same time.
I guess one part of the book I enjoyed very much was the bond between her and her sister. I think what's funnier even is I could see their relationship being very similar to the way my older sister and I are to each other. It was refreshing to think that part of someone else's life thousands of years ago resonated with yours today. As for her adolescent years, I enjoyed reading about her courtship and early marriage to Richard because it was wholesome and it was just a whirl of romance for a girl her age to have the boy she liked for so long be her husband. The only dilemma I had was on Richard's part. I keep thinking whether this was all genuine for him as we'll or just a tactical approach at getting her fortunes, or the best of both. Seeing as how he is a military commander I think it is both. In the latter part of her life I began to pity her. I pitied her for loving and losing her only son and her husband. I pitied her because she lived under a pretentious fear of Elizabeth Woodville and continued cursing her. I pitied her because she dared to go down the path that her father always did. I pitied her because in that moment of crucial advice to Richard, she chose to upscale her ambition, her father's ambition, over the welfare of England and their family. In that moment I think she was lost. With no guidance from her mother or her sister, she was lost. Still, I adored her for having a genuine heart and for being brave through the years of living in fear. I admire her for her courage to muster up herself despite her fears. And for this, I came to respect her. But, I also learned from her moment of weakness in morality that too much ambition on the wrong side can take you down.
Needless to say that I loved her character here not much for her tactical thinking, but for her genuine heart and soul. She does have many weaknesses, her fears being the greatest, but I admire her because she learned to live through them. As for her husband Richard, I also grew to like him without much effort. The only problem I have is I cannot see through to his actions precisely. I could not figure out whether he was true to his words to her or merely playing his own games. But I guess in a way that is the mystery of this "sometime king of England".
As usual I commend the author for giving a voice, a very unique voice to this character in history. Not much is known about her but through this book, I think she did her character justice and shed new light into not only her life, but also her husband's and her family's.
Watch out for The White Queen series adaptation on BBC one :)
Dani
June 28, 2013- 4:17PM
Whatever you do
Whatever you say
Neither fear nor ambition
Should rule your way
Monday, May 20, 2013
Book Review: The Red Queen
"A woman of sense would always marry only for the improvement of her family.
Only a lustful fool dreams every night of a marriage of love."
- Margaret Beaufort, The Red Queen
Margaret Beaufort was a woman who truly believed that she was a chosen child of God. She devoted her childhood and much of her life into hearing and obeying the will of God. Spending much of her life in prayer and solitude, she came across a dream that her son will be the rightful king of England. Believing this to be the will of God, she undertook every measure possible to make sure that nothing but this ambitious vision would be the future of her son, of England, and of her life.
From her childhood, she had been a sheltered girl. She spent most of her days kneeling in prayer and transcribing them from one language to another. She had a passion and enthusiasm for learning, a first of girls from her time. Because this was an unlikely behaviour for a lady in those days, her mother often reprimanded her of the dozens of questions she had on matters concerning her. This, I think is an admirable trait from her that was just out of her own time. However, though her thirst for knowledge is admirable, her selfish interests which she coats with the will of God for her have lead her down the wrong path of judgment.
As you would read from the novel, and probably in many of her historic biographies, she has called herself a child of God and that God speaks to her through her prayers. And because she sees the will of God, this must happen under any circumstances, regardless of the costs. In mirror to her admirable feminist trait, her devotion to God has seems to have led her astray instead of down the righteous path. From this depiction of her character, we will see how the greatest mystery of English monarch history was unveiled. Her obsession over her son's inheritance to the throne became, as she states, her calling as it is the will of God. And she continually compares herself with Joan of Arc. Because of these, she was lead to order the death of the princes in the tower, with the thought that her son is the rightful heir, as it is the will of God. It is a very skewed perspective to come from someone who calls herself a devout Catholic. I do not think thee character in the book realized that because her judgment was so clouded with ambition. She went as far as even passing on the blame to others, washing her hands clean of the act-- thus being the next Poncious Pilate.
Though her character was very distasteful, the people she encountered were a joy to come across again in this book. In its predecessor The White Queen, we were introduced to a host of these characters already but they were not really that memorable. Having them become central players in this book gives us a better perspective of who these people really were and how they acted in the time of the Wars of the Roses. In short, these two books acted in juxtaposition of each other. This book began in an earlier date, but merely to illustrate the mindset of the narrating character whose perspective we take.
Among these characters that were a treat to read about were her two husbands: Sir Henry Stafford and Sir Thomas Stanley. Sir Henry Stafford, I admire because despite being her husband when she was only fifteen, he treated her with great respect-- much more than she deserved in my opinion. As well, he was a worldly thinker. Margaret despised him for not going into war for their House of Lancaster and fighting for the cause of her son. But what she failed to completely see was his perspective on the matter, which is the same as the perspective of the commoners. He was tired of these wars and would rather fight for the usurping House of York under which England successfully thrived. No bloodshed happened for the sake of seating a king, and the English were kinsmen once more. Margaret could not see this because, as mentioned, she cared only for what she thought was the will of God. I admire Sir Henry Stafford for his worldly view. I admire him for being so warm and generous despite her unpleasant attitude towards him. Most of all I admire him for his thoughtfulness.
Sir Thomas Stanley, on the other hand, I admire for his techniques and strategy. They may not be as straight as a path should be, but they get him to come out on top always. Properly nicknamed by people as "the fox" he ans his family have the motto "Sans Changer", which many of the characters took to mean never changing their loyalty and allegiance. But upon being introduced to the character, you will see that this is true with regard for their family's own interest alone. Then again, aren't all these only about personal interest really? This was one thought I came across when I found some of the characters' actions tried to punish the Stanley's for their questionable allegiance(s). I would not do that to them because I think what they did is merely a strategy that none of the turncoats would do for fear of being discovered. In essence I think they are also turncoats,but the only difference is the Stanleys are very good at keeping that thought to themselves.
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| The Cousins' War Series The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory |
I came across several reviews of the book calling out Ms. Gregory for the horrid way that the character was. They mostly say that they despise Margaret Beufort for being a selfish little b*itch who hinks she is called upon by God to do His will. I would have to agree that I ended up loathing her character as well, especially after confirming that in this story line she ordered the deaths of the princes. However, I would not bash on the author. Instead, Mr. Gregory if you end up reading this, I would like to congratulate you for successfully creating such a character. Because of the way her perspective was written did I realize how far-fetched she was from Elizabeth Woodville. Though both were driven by ambition, you could actually see the differences in their precautionary movements and their strategies. Where Elizabeth Woodville mostly took preventive and pre-emptive measures, Margaret Beaufort took offensive measures.
So to those claiming they disliked the book because of the character, that is only proof that the author was successful in bringing to life in our minds a historical figure that none of us could probably even create. I applaud you for that Ms. Gregory!
As to the form of the book, I was less impressed by this If anything really I would rate the book a three out or five mostly for the content. The narration was my problem. Though I would admit that most of these parts would be hard to play out if not through narration, I still expected more interactions and conversations. This was one of the reasons that I got a bit bored of the book and so it took me two more days longer to finish that with its predecessor. The only comment I have is that I wished it had more dialogue. But I do understand that because it ran in about the same timeline as The White Queen, not much more could be said. However, I was interested in knowing more about what she was doing in those times since Margaret Beaufort was always away form the court's eye. Or maybe that was the point of the lengthy narrations? Because she spent most of her time in solitude and prayer, she had not many people around her to converse with other than the servants, whom she thought lowly of. Perhaps that was it, or maybe not.
But despite this, I still found the book entertaining and engaging especially the parts of Jasper Tudor. :)
I cannot wait for this book to be made into Season two of the BBC series. I hope they do make this into Season two. Again, if you haven't heard, BBC is taking Ms. Philippa Gregory's The Cousins' War series and turning it into a mini-series for television.
Here's the latest trailer:
And a little behind the scenes footage:
Shout out!
To Ms. Philippa Gregory, I will continue to support your books and I dare say I am now an avid fan. I swear fealty to your novels. ;)
Dani
May 20, 2013- 2:49 PM
"A man with the best cause to be true,
the most untrue creature living.
A man who had everything he asked for.
Never was a false traitor better treated."
-Richard III, The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Book Review: The White Queen
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.
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| 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