I’m currently racing to the finish of Philippa Gregory’s “The Red Queen”, set in pre-Tudor England during the War of the Roses, and it’s quite the tour de force: Told in the first person by what has to be the most remarkably nasty, bitter, vain, spiteful, envious, self-righteous, cold-hearted, holier-than-thou, hateful protagonist I have ever encountered – and it’s a gripping, engrossing page-turner.
It’s chronologically the second book in her Cousins’ War historical novel series about the pre-Tudor era, but fortunately I started with “The White Queen” (number 3), then went back to “The Lady of the Rivers” before “The Red Queen” – these books all overlap a lot, timewise, you’re seeing many of the same events from wildly different perspectives, and if I’d read the current novel before “The White Queen” (which in fact was written first) I’d have missed a lot of what makes this one so deliciously enjoyable despite the truly dreadful persona of the protagonist. Next up: “The Kingmaker’s Daughter”, then “The White Princess”, then “The King’s Curse”.
This is the author of “The Other Boleyn Girl” and “The Queen’s Fool”, both part of her series of novels set in the Tudor era, both of which I’d read some years ago. I’m tempted, when I’m done with the Cousins’ War series, to go back to them and wallow in all six books in her Tudor Court series.
I agree, Margaret Beaufort is the queen of biotch. And yet Gregory somehow keeps her from being one-dimensional. I just finished The Lady of the Rivers but don’t think I’ve read The White Queen yet. The King’s Curse is still fresh in my mind, partly because I read it in the last few months and partly because the ending makes it one of the few books where I immediately Googled for more information. Phillipa Gregory is a compelling writer and I’m so glad she’s prolific. The lack of bodice-ripping is a huge plus, too.
(I’ve been meaning to look for her website. Thanks for the link. Now I have to decide which of her books to read next.)
As horrid as she is, I’ve found myself at times actually sorry for Margaret, if only for her crippling inability to see that she has any responsibility at all for the narrowness of her life and the catastrophes she unleashes, how that has destroyed any chance for real happiness in her life. Though mostly I find it wryly amusing when she goes off on another bitter internal diatribe at how the wickedness of this or that person has ruined her life, has stolen the power and attention – especially the attention! – that was rightfully hers. The departure scene between her and Princess Elizabeth, when the girl who’s been so viciously bullied by her remarks that this will be the last time that Margaret will be permitted to sit when in the presence of (the future Queen) Elizabeth, is wickedly funny.
But she had “saint’s knees”! Surely that must make her special!
And yes, there’s lots of passion in Gregory’s novels, but it’s sure as heck not the bodice-ripper kind; it’s real-people love and desire, integral to the characters as she’s realized them from the historical record.
I’m especially intrigued by her informed speculation about what really happened to the two princes in the Tower, as to who – other than Richard – was most likely responsible, and why.
Forgot to mention – I normally don’t care for first-person narratives in present tense, but in Gregory’s capable hands it’d been working wonderfully so far.
Yes, I’d say follow the timeline on her website. As I noted in the OP, there’s a whole lot of overlap in the chronology of each book and you’ll often be seeing the same events from very different perspectives – it’s rather a Rashomon experience at times.
The other way would be to read them in the order that she wrote them, which she also indicates on her website.
“The White Queen” is the first novel written in the Cousins’ War series, also one I started with and I’m glad I did; Gregory has stated that her protagonist in that novel is her favorite, and it will help to have that perspective as a starting point when you read the others.
I’m about a third of the way through “The White Princess” and I’ve just put a hold at my local library on the next book chronologically, “The Constant Princess”, about Katherine of Aragon – a far more complex and interesting character than the cast-aside wife stick figure we’re all familiar with.
