The Lady of the Rivers

By: Philippa Gregory

Narrated by: Bianca Amato

Length: 19 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Passion. Danger. Witchcraft....

The Lady of the Rivers is number-one New York Times best-selling author Philippa Gregory’s remarkable story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the Wars of the Roses.

Descended from Melusina, the river goddess, Jacquetta always has had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she met his prisoner, Joan of Arc, and saw her own power reflected in the young woman accused of witchcraft. They share the mystery of the tarot card of the wheel of fortune before Joan is taken to a horrific death at the hands of the English rulers of France. Jacquetta understands the danger for a woman who dares to dream.

Jacquetta is married to the Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, and he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the duke’s squire, Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.

The Woodvilles soon achieve a place at the very heart of the Lancaster court, though Jacquetta can sense the growing threat from the people of England and the danger of royal rivals. Not even their courage and loyalty can keep the House of Lancaster on the throne. Henry the king slides into a mysterious sleep; Margaret the queen turns to untrustworthy favorites for help; and Richard, Duke of York, threatens to overturn the whole kingdom for his rival dynasty.

Jacquetta fights for her king, her queen, and for her daughter, Elizabeth, for whom Jacquetta can sense an extraordinary and unexpected future: a change of fortune, the throne of England, and the white rose of York.

A sweeping, powerful story rich in passion and legend and drawing on years of research, The Lady of the Rivers tells the story of the real-life mother of the white queen.

©2011 Philippa Gregory (P)2011 Simon and Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

“Sexy… scandalous… smart.” ( Redbook)

“Gregory is a consummate historical author.” ( Historical Novels Review)

“Confident, colorful, convincing, and full of conflict, betrayal, and political maneuvering.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Slow start, but a great book!

The narrator MADE this book. Almost stopped listening in the second chapter, but enjoyed the narrator so much I continued listening and was soon hooked! Great book!

AWESOME!!!

Queen Phillipa and her First Lady Bianca have done it again! I'm not even irked with myself for listening to the The White Queen and The White Princess first. I loved the historical background as well as the fiction. I love Queen Margaret too. What steel she had and I just want to hug the poor mad King. 😩 Now its time to listen to the White Queen and Princess again although, I may need to take a break because I always end up wanting to gut punch Henry Tudor😬

Yet another spellbinding book from this author

This book is yet another fine example of the true talent of Philippa Gregory. She paints a detailed picture of everyday life during those times, as well as bringing the characters vividly to life. Strongly recommend this book!

Beautiful woven story

Gregory’s story is told so well from a woman’s perspective. The history threaded through her telling is captivating. Absolutely enchanting how she’s woven gold threads of the unspoken art into her telling. Can’t wait for more!

This is my favorite book and my comfort book

I love the voice actor and their performance, pulled me right in. I absolutely love this series but this is my favorite book in with my favorite characters in her series. The pure love they have in this one is so lovely to read about.

Not All Historical Figures are Equal

I enjoy this author, but I'm not a Gregory junkie. i buy her work based on simple things. This book intrigued me because I didn't know Lady Rivers (Duchess) story and I like the less known stories of people around the famous ones.

Plus, she tells a good tale and doesn't get bogged down in the history. After reading (listening) what I found fun to do was to read the reviews. So many people seem to rate this tale based on how the author treated the raters favorite women in history.

***SPOILER ALERT***
If you are a Margaret fan, you'll probably not enjoy this read. And the last quarter of the book dragged because of the repeatitiveness, i.e. off to battle, think loved ones will die, but surprisingly they don't.

But it was nice to see a loving couple do well. And Lady Rivers had 12 children! Oh my!

Fabulous!

I loved this book. The story was great. the narration was wonderful, and I turned it on whenever I had a free moment at home, in the car, at lunch, where ever. The characters were engaging. Jacquetta was very likeable. I can't wait to start The White Queen.

The king's curse begins here

A very fun and interesting book to listen to. A page burner and the narrator is perfect. I highly recommend this book to begin your journey to Henry the 8th and all his escapades. This is how the King's Curse took place which is the title of a another book by this author and narrator. Happy listening to you. 😁

Great story!

Loved this book! I've seen The White Queen on Netflix so I was familiar with some of the characters :) I don't want to provide any spoilers so I'll end with this....get this book!

Wonderful Surprise

Would you consider the audio edition of The Lady of the Rivers to be better than the print version?

Yes, Having not read or listened to the first 2 books, I had no expectation and was engaged for the whole story. beautifully written and the audio is Perfect.

What did you like best about this story?

History . Historical books don't often hold my attention, and I tend to drift at points. Not so with this book. Highly recommend it

What does Bianca Amato bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Made it come alive and her voice gave clarity to emotion and events.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I loved to whole story..which is saying a lot for me, and each part told it's own layered story, and the voice gave these complicated layers life