The Red Queen / druk 1 The Cousins War Book Two

In the second novel in this series about the Wars of the Roses, Philippa Gregory switches her focus from the House of York to the House of Lancaster and specifically to Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry Tudor, later Henry VII.

I did not warm to Margaret as I did Elizabeth Neville but she emerges here as a fascinating, dangerous woman, who put her ambitions for her son and House above all else.

Margaret tells her own story from the age of nine and emerges quickly as a deeply religious young woman who would have welcomed a life within the Church. Instead, due to her royal lineage, she is required to make an advantageous marriage with another family of the royal line. Thus, she is married at the age of twelve to Edmund Tudor, who was twice her age. This union resulted in her giving birth when she was thirteen to her only child, Henry. Edmund died in captivity when Margaret was pregnant. When another marriage was arranged by her family a few years later she was required to leave Henry in Wales to be raised by his uncle, Jasper Tudor.

As time passes Margaret's desire to see the House of Lancaster restored to its position and her son claim the throne of England becomes an all consuming obsession. She is quite willing for those who stand between Henry and the crown to die and to see the entire country plunged into bloody warfare to achieve this end.

As the narrative progresses Margaret as the Red Queen and Elizabeth Neville as the White Queen take on an almost archetypal quality as if they are queens in a game of chess that will determine the future of England.

Margaret Beaufort's sense of self-righteousness and ruthless ambition was quite astonishing. Even though the young Margaret in her girlish devotion to Joan of Arc was sympathetic, I found myself getting quite emotional as the novel continued and my dislike of Margaret grew and grew, especially when she and Lord Thomas Stanley joined forces. Of course, the outcome and Margaret's triumph is a matter of history. In the final chapters of the book, the perspective leaves Margaret to observe the unfolding of the fateful events of August 1485 . Again, as I found with The White Queen, Gregory handles battle scenes well. I've seen the re-enactments at Bosworth Fields a few times and she really brought it to life on the page.

In the end-notes Gregory includes details of her main sources, suggestions for further reading and of course a reminder that this is a work of historical fiction and as such is a combination of historical truth, informed speculation and the author's imagination.

While I was reading, the image that came to my mind for this series was of a set of vibrant, living tapestries; each providing a different view on the theme of royal women connected to Wars of the Roses. If Elizabeth Woodville's tapestry teemed with images of nature, flowing water, magic and love; then by contrast Margaret's weaves in images of piety, worship, fire and battles. I was deeply pleased to read that Philippa Gregory intends to write at least four more books in this series bringing her considerable talent as a story-teller and her passion and integrity to this complex and rich period of history.

-Aeleonor

I must admit it took me a little while to get into. But once I got in I was stuck. Ran around asking my mother (we are British) more about English history and got more and more interested. I think I must go and read the other books as well. I could see them wandering around the castles. It is a great mix of reality and fiction and takes you on a journey into the magical and hard times of our history.

Philippa Gregory omschrijft Margaret Beaufort, Elisabeth Woodville en Ann Warwick als haar heldinnen, in de tv serie op de BBC over dit stuk Britse geschiedenis.
Ze doet erg veel research, al deze boeken zijn grotendeels op ware feiten gebaseerd, zei het natuurlijk subjectief beschreven en geïnterpreteerd door haar.
Je kunt de hoofdpersonen dus wel onaardig noemen, maar je moet dat in het tijdsbeeld zien: vrouwen hadden alleen maar hun afkomst en hun titel. En op deze manier konden ze tenminste hun invloed laten gelden op mannen.
Margaret is obsessief, arrogant en schijnheilig, beslist niet leuk! Maar toch leest het verhaal lekker weg en is dus de moeite waard.

Wonderfull series about this period in English history. Very nice written. I can't wait for the next book to arrive at home (The lady of the Rivers) and for the new book to come out (The king maker's daughter).

Geschreven bij Red Queen

door het eerste boek heb ik de rest van de reeks gekocht, het is een aardige reeks die ook verfilmd is: the white queen of bbc, maar ook the white princess. allebei ook leuke series

Margaret Beaufort is iemand waarmee ik het moeilijk vind haar leuk te vinden. Toch is de portrettering van haar in dit boek zeker goed en de moeite. Zeker altijd eraan denken dat dit fictie is.

Geschreven bij The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels - The Red Queen

Positief aan dit boek vind ik: spannend
Wat me tegenviel: ingewikkeld verhaal

Op een of andere manier pakte dit boek me niet zo. Ik had wenig sympathie voor de hoofdpersoon en kon ook geen klik maken met andere karakters. Voor de helft ben ik gestopt. Misschien had ik moeten doorlezen en ik ga het vast mog eens proberen maar het is me tot dusverre niet gelukt.