You'll find precious little bodice ripping romance in the latest Philippa Gregory novel, the Red Queen. The main character, Lady Margaret Beaufort, is a pious woman who feels passionate about little else other than her conviction that her son should become King of England. She plots and schemes her way through three loveless marriages beginning with her first at the pre-pubescent age of 12, and never loses her conviction that she is destined for greatness.
The novel's narrative dips and weaves between the narrative of Gregory's previous novel, the White Queen, as Margaret Stanley seeks to overthrow the York Brothers to put her son on the throne. She is a much less likable character than Queen Elizabeth, heroine of the White Queen who loved her husband King Edward passionately and dabbled in magic. I struggled with the Red Queen because Lady Margaret is so cold and calculating. As being plunged into her mind for close to 400 pages was difficult for me as a reader, I can only imagine how tough it was for Philippa Gregory to immerse herself in this austere woman's world as she created her character.
Although I didn't empathize with the main character, I would still recommend the Red Queen for all fans of historical fiction. I learned a great deal about the origins of the Tudor dynasty, and enjoyed being plunged so completely into that time period. Both the Red Queen and the White Queen ended with special attention being paid to Elizabeth Woodhouse, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth, the fiancee of Henry Tudor, and the alleged mistress of King Richard. She seems like a fascinating woman and I hope that she will be the subject of a forthcoming Philippa Gregory novel.
2 comments:
I, too, love this type of historical fiction.
And I can do without the bodice ripping, thank you. . .
I loved The White Queen, but I'm a paperback fan. I almost bought The Red Queen in hardback though.
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