The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (SPOILER ALERT)

We read The White Queen, 'The Cousins' War' by Philippa Gregory for our book club.
First of all, I must admit I love this authors style of writing. Her depiction of England, the Monarchy, the courts and the wars are so vivid that one feels as if it is a memoir and not written hundreds of years later. One is truly transported to a different era while reading her books.
The White Queen is a historical novel about Elizabeth Woodville. Although, she was a Lancaster widow and had two Lancaster sons, she fell in love and married King Edward IV of York.
The legend of her charisma is shown by how Edward was drawn to her standing on the side of the road even though he was in his Royal Procession.  She was widely known to use witchcraft and was from a family of witches. Although it was a well known secret, she was never tried for it.
The novel is set in the background of turbulent times. There was constant warring between the cousins hence called, 'The Cousins War', but the three princes of York ' Edward, George & Richard' end up fighting for the throne.
The love between Edward & Elizabeth seems very genuine . Even though Edward is a philanderer and is known to have bedded most of the women of his court, they both share a great companionship. Although she was aware of most of his doings, she didn't allow it to disturb their relationship. Together, they have 5 children - 3 girls and two boys - Edward & Richard.
To ensure the stability of his crown King Edward IV and his two brothers kill the helpless King Henry VI, who is shown either as a saintly person or someone of unstable mind. With that cruel act, King Edward ensures no uprising against him.
However, his brother George - Duke of Clarence, is always secretly riling others in his own favour. He is known as his mothers favourite and a spoilt brat. Also King Edwards marriage with Elizabeth causes many enemies against the King. Elizabeth was obviously not a good political choice and now her family ' The Rivers' gain a lot of power which is the cause of great jealousy and unhappiness in the noble families.
On Edwards deathbed, Elizabeth is forced to put aside her own doubts and shake hands with her brother in law Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in order to ensure her son Edward, Prince of Wales peaceful succession to the throne. However, after the death of King Edward IV, Richard becomes King and Elizabeth is forced to take refuge at the Abbey with her children. Her son Edward is taken by Richard into the Tower of London. When he sends for her second son Richard, according to this account and legend, she sends a pageboy to impersonate Richard. And the real Prince Richard is sent into hiding to a poor French family and he is never discovered.
The two boys in the Tower are both tragically and mysteriously killed. King Richard denies his involvement. in the end, we see a broken Elizabeth, who from being a Lancaster widow grew to be the Queen of England, making her family one of the most powerful in England. Then tragically, during the wars, she loses her brother and father. And after her husbands death, she loses her closest confidante her mother and then her sons. Despite all the tragedy, her thirst for the throne never leaves her. She is constantly plotting to get to the throne. Even when her eldest daughter Elizabeth (the future Queen of England) begs her to stop and to just allow them to lead normal country lives, she reminds her that they have no choice as they were born regal so their destinies and lives are already predetermined.
This is a fascinating book of a very intelligent woman. We had read the second in the series The Red Queen before this, but the White Queen is a much better read. That could also be due to the fact that Elizabeth Woodville (The White Queen) is far more interesting character than Margaret Beauford (The Red Queen).

This is a must read for anyone who loves this genre.

Our book club rated this as a 4/5.