The White Queen

By Philippa Gregory (Penguin Group, RRP $40)

Philippa Gregory's latest novel begins during the War of the Roses, when the House of York challenged the House of Lancaster for the throne of England.

By 1453, Henry VI had lost all territory in France gained by his father, Henry V, except Calais. This, combined with the empty Treasury and a breakdown in law and order, caused his York cousins to challenge for the throne. Twenty thousand men died at the Battle of Towton and the Lancastrian king and queen fled to Scotland, leaving Edward IV on the throne. The story is told through the voice of Elizabeth Woodville, whose family fought for Lancaster but changed allegiance when she married Edward IV in 1464. Elizabeth's parents were Richard Woodville, Baron Rivers and his wife Jacquetta, who was descended from the House of Burgandy, which claimed a mythical descent from Melusine, the water goddess, most often described as a mermaid.

In the novel, Jacquetta uses magic to facilitate the marriage of Elizabeth and Edward, to keep their family in power and retain the throne for Edward and his sons. Their enemies soon include York loyalists Richard Neville, his cousin and closest adviser as well as Edward's own brother George, aided by their mother. After the death of George and Edward, younger brother Richard eyes the throne at the expense of his nephews.

This story is well told but many characters are unsympathetic, except Henry VI, who endured long periods of insanity before his eventual murder in the Tower, and Elizabeth's sons, who were held in the Tower by their uncle, Richard III, and probably murdered there. While much of the novel is historically accurate, there is a fictional twist in the story of the imprisoned princes, of which historians will not approve. Despite this, The White Queen is a novel well worth reading.

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