Book Review: The White Queen

I've always loved reading. I can remember the first book I read that made me fall in love with books, Matilda by Roald Dahl. Thus began a long and happy love affair with literature. So, last June, when I was invited to join a book club, I said "yes" without hesitation. I know what you're thinking. Book Club? Yep. I'm in a book club, and proud of it! We're an intimate group of four, though our potential membership at the first meeting was seven (the other three girls just couldn't hang). We're complete and total nerds; we even have a motto. "It's like Book Club...but Cool."

Since our first meeting, we've read seven books: The Next Thing on My List, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Water for Elephants, The Lovely Bones, The Magicians, and most recently The White Queen. Some of these, I highly recommend (Guernsey and Splendid Suns). Others, not so much (Magicians and Lovely Bones). Now, after we've read and met each month, I'm going to provide my own personal review of the book, as well as the overall rating given by our group of esteemed literary critics (wink, wink).

First, a little more about the book:

Philippa Gregory, "the queen of royal fiction," presents the first of a new series set amid the deadly feuds of England known as the Wars of the Roses.


Brother turns on brother to win the ultimate prize, the throne of England, in this dazzling account of the wars of the Plantagenets. They are the claimants and kings who ruled England before the Tudors, and now Philippa Gregory brings them to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women, starting with Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen.


The White Queen tells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing princes in the Tower of London whose fate is still unknown. From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores this most famous unsolved mystery of English history, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills.

This was my first foray into historical fiction, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Overall, I enjoyed the experience. I was never that interested in history as it was often presented in such a boring way; memorization of dates, names, and battles. I've found, though, if it can be presented in story format, it retains my attention for a far longer amount of time. Though I found certain explanations and areas of the story to be repetitive, the first person insight into this particular royal family was interesting. Through reading this novel, though, I realized my disdain for this period of time. I'm not a feminist per say, but I was disappointed and frustrated by the limitations and treatment of women during, which ultimately led to whatever major complaints I had about the novel. No writing complaints really; just gratefulness for not having lived during such an oppressive time for us girls. Thank goodness for progress!

Cheri's Rating:

Average Book Club Rating: