The Lady of the Rivers: Cousins' War 3

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Philippa Gregory's writing is fantastic, romantic and wise. There are so many beautiful quotes in this book. Since it's an adult, historical novel in English it took me a while longer to read than your typical YA story, but I still loved it lots. The York rise to the throne of England was yet another power grab in England’s long history of power grabs. The Celt took England from the prehistoric people, who were invaded by the Saxons and Danes, who lost power to the Romans who came and went, and, finally, William the Conqueror came long and established Norman rule, setting the stage for the Plantagenet’s and their eventual power squabbles that led to the war of the roses. With all this history of conquest in England, I do not understand the need for writers to be so protective of the house of York. The house of Lancaster was the ruling house, how is that they were defeated? That story would be well worth reading about. We all know that the Woodville’s changed sides following the York victory of Edward IV in 1461, and, of the fateful meeting in 1464 of Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward, if only because we all read Gregory’s The White Queen. But in The Lady of Rivers, I wanted to read the Lancastrian point of view, read about their story. Unfortunately I am still waiting. Dupa ce ramane vaduva, constienta ca-si va pierde averea si pozitia, se casatoreste cu Richard Woodville, scutierul fostului ei sot. Casnicia este una ca de vis, ei iubindu-se enorm, iar ea nascandu-i o gramada de copii. Nu regreta niciodata ca renunta la statutul de ducesa si la avere pentru aceasta casnicie splendida. One last comment; I have been reading Gregory for years, and am fascinated to note that the novels are getting less sensual as time goes on. This one was PG-rated.

Margaret is a horrible person, and I mostly despised her. I really felt like Jacquetta and Richard were on the wrong side the entire time. They're fighting for terrible people, and I get that, but it's such a stated fact, there's no emotional investment so you kinda just question why? I think the way the story is written in first person, present tense, made it completely emotionless. I felt nothing throughout this entire novel. I didn't really care who lived or died, what cities were lost or won ... zero emotional attachment from me. I wanted characters that I could really root for and admire and there were none to be found.When Jacquetta was a young girl she married the duke of Bedford. From this connection, she was instantly dragged into the war of the roses. Cousins battling against one another for power and land. I didn't really like Jacquetta in the beginning of the book, but once the cousin war and more people were introduced I started to like her a little bit more. The rest of the novel takes us through their lives together which include no less than 12 children, the marriage of Henry VI to Margaret of Anjou, the beginning of the battles of the Cousins' War with Richard, Duke of York, and the eventual demise of Henry and Margaret with the rise of Edward IV of York. Descended from Melusina, the river goddess, Jacquetta has always had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she meets his prisoner, Joan of Arc, and recognizes her own power in the young woman accused of witchcraft. They share the mystery of the tarot card of the "wheel of fortune" before Joan is taken to a horrific death at the hands of the English rulers of France. Jacquetta understands the danger for a woman who dares to dream. One of the oddest things about The Lady of the Rivers was that there almost didn’t seem to be a plot. It felt like a vehicle to get the book from A (Jacquetta’s childhood) to B (the moment where The White Queen begins), stumbling through the key events like a join-the-dots but without an overall big picture.

Married to the Duke of Bedford, English Regent of France, Jacquetta is introduced by him to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the Duke's squire Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the Duke's death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.

Jacquetta fights for her king, her queen, and for her daughter, Elizabeth, for whom Jacquetta can sense an extraordinary and unexpected future: a change of fortune, the throne of England, and the white rose of York. BBC – Media Centre: The White Queen, a new ten-part drama for BBC One". BBC.co.uk. 31 August 2012 . Retrieved 6 October 2014. Jacquetta was the eldest daughter of Peter I of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, Conversano and Brienne, and his wife Margaret of Baux (Margherita del Balzo of Andria). [1] Her father Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, was also the hereditary Count of Brienne from 1397 until his death in 1433.

By the mid-1440s, the Woodvilles were in a powerful position. Jacquetta was related to both King Henry and Queen Margaret by marriage. Her sister, Isabelle de Saint Pol, married Margaret's uncle Charles du Maine while Jacquetta was the widow of Henry VI's uncle. She outranked all ladies at court with the exception of the queen. As a personal favourite, she also enjoyed special privileges and influence at court. Margaret influenced Henry to create her husband Baron Rivers in 1448, and he was a prominent partisan of the House of Lancaster as the Wars of the Roses began. [6] Wars of the Roses [ edit ] Elizabeth Woodville, Queen consort of England (c. 1437 – 8 June 1492), married first Sir John Grey, second Edward IV of England. Cu timpul este rechemata la curte unde va fi iarasi prima doamna, sfatuind-o pe Regina Margareta de Anjou. Cand casa Lancaster pierde tronul si Edward York devine rege, printr-o vraja a Melusinei Jacquetta isi pune fata pe tron. Her flair for blending history and imagination developed into a signature style and Philippa went on to write many bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen.

The Lady of the Rivers

Jacquetta is married to the Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, and he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the duke’s squire, Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.

I have a problem with authors thinking that they have to reach a larger mass audience once they are popular. It is comparable to a musician who “sells out”. The Lady of the Rivers certainly portrayed a dummied down storyline which started with the immediate opener. Perhaps Gregory is so popular now, that she took away much of the magic so evident in some of her earlier works to reach a wider audience. The end of the book was the best, similarly to how the Battle of Bosworth scene at the end of The Red Queen was surely the highlight and climax. It also set the lead-in to The White Queen quite seamlessly, especially if one would want to re-read it after The Lady of the Rivers. I loved this story so much. There's something about Philippa Gregory's writing that wraps all around you and makes you feel like you're there. The language is beautiful and descriptive, and I crave it when I'm not reading it. This isn't a light story by any means-there is drama and war and romance and death and issues of class. But court politics and political intrigue are some of my favorite parts of fiction, particularly in medieval fiction, and I'm thrilled to get to experience aspects of world history that I'm not very knowledgeable about. Taking small breaks from the story so I could go research people, places, events in Jacquetta's story was the best part. I was meant to be entertained by this book, but I also feel like I learned a lot. The Lady of the Rivers was an okay kind of book. After watching the TV shows The White Queen and The White Princess I have been kind of dying to read this series. However, this book was just an okay kind of beginning to it. Jacquetta is married to the Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, and he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the duke’s squire Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.The writing in this novel simply isn't up to the standard of some of Gregory's earlier efforts. I thoroughly enjoyed The Boleyn Inheritance, especially Katherine Howard's chapters, which I thought caught the voice of the ditzy young queen perfectly. The first-person present tense here is simply mind-numbing, with needless repetition. Too often, Jacquetta says something, then tells us what she said. Married to the Duke of Bedford, English Regent of France, Jacquetta is introduced by him to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the Duke’s squire, Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the Duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen. The novels begin with Jacquetta of Luxembourg's friendship with Joan of Arc, in her final days of imprisonment before being burned at the stake, and Jacquetta's powers as a seeress.