White Queen

By: Philippa Gregory

Narrated by: Susan Lyons

Length: 15 hrs

Publisher's summary

Brother turns on brother. The throne of England is at stake. The deadly Wars of the Roses have begun....

They ruled England before the Tudors, and now internationally best-selling author Philippa Gregory brings the Plantagenets to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women.

Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition, secretly marries the newly crowned boy king of England. While she rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become the central figures in a famous unsolved mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the lost princes in the Tower of London.

Philippa Gregory brings the artistry and intellect of a master writer and storyteller to a new era in history and begins what is sure to be another best-selling classic series.

©2009 Philippa Gregory (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"It would be hard to make history more entertaining, lively or engaging." ( Sunday Express)

"Queen of the historical novel." ( Mail on Sunday)

"Gregory brings to life the sights, smells and textures of 16th-century England." ( Financial Times)

Good story of love and treachery

The treachery of the people around the king and his reluctance to be brutal combine with the Quebec's absolute determination to secure the throne lead to misery and suspicion. The answers to some of the questions persist to modern times

Best book of the series

Where does White Queen rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I personally love Philippa Gregory books. This has the feel of the tudor series more than her other books, so if you liked that series you will like this book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of White Queen?

The fact that the 3 part series could have easily been written in reverse. I am glad that this book came first instead of last because it gave me the insight into the charactors I needed.

If you could take any character from White Queen out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Probably Antony, he was very well read and seemed like a genuinely nice guy,

Love this series

If you could sum up White Queen in three words, what would they be?

intriguing, historical, royal

What other book might you compare White Queen to and why?

I love all the books in this series. Historical fiction is very interesting to me and this authors writing style is beautiful.

Have you listened to any of Susan Lyons’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

other Cousin's War books, love the voice and accent. Makes is seem as if she really is the true character talking to you.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A War, A Queen

Any additional comments?

Highly recommend! I love to actually read myself but these books are so good as audios I will only listen to them. :)

Fabulous read!

Totally recommend this book - flew by so quickly! Can't wait to read the next one!!!!! Glad this is a series

Great read

This book kept me up all night. Riveting from beginning to end. Cant believe i waited this long to listen to it. I Intend to finish the series before I watch it on tv. The Narrator was excellent.

A captivating historical romance

I don't know what genre to place this book in. Stripped to its essence, I would have to say that this is a romance. It just happens that it takes place in the historical setting of the battle for the English throne known as the war of the roses. As such, it contains all the elements of an adventure novel as well as some aspects of a mystery. It also contains aspects of magic and witchcraft. What this book is not, and never professed to be, is a history book.

The White Queen is the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the commoner and former Lancaster supporter, who married the newly crowned Edward IV from the house of York. They married in secret, for love, and kept it quiet for a time because marriages during that time among nobles were arranged for political alliances. Told mostly in the first person from Elizabeth's point of view, the book starts in 1463 when Elizabeth first meets Edward until 1485 when Edward's brother Richard III holds the throne.

The book was meticulously researched and contains an extensive bibliography (for anyone wanting to read the history.) By using the first person, Ms Gregory is filling in the thoughts of Elizabeth as well as the behind the scenes dealings in the king's court. These are not historically accurate, nor were they ever portrayed as such. One can only guess what went on behind the scenes as no historical documents exist to tell us, and with all the backstabbing going on I am not surprised that nothing was put in writing.

Another nice touch added by the author was the introduction of magic to the story. Elizabeth's mother claimed to be descended from Melusina, the water goddess who was half woman and half fish. Melusina's legend exists in many cultures and is probably most well known as that of a mermaid. This legend is woven into the events of the war of the roses masterfully, and Elizabeth and her mother are both accused of witchcraft at one point or another. Whether to believe or not is left up to the reader.

If you enjoyed Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon as I did, then I think you will also enjoy The White Queen. They are both similar in that they are first and foremost love stories. The main difference is that there is no time travel in this book. Instead, the reader is transported to the fifteenth century and sees life through the eyes of Elizabeth Woodville.

Lady of the Rivers was better.

This book was good, but I couldn't get into it. I think it's because Edward was such a misogynistic pig. It's hard to see that women are putting up with the same thing today.
The narrator was good. Not exceptional, just good.

The narration really bothered me

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No, I had a really hard time finishing. I really enjoy medieval history and stories but not listening to this story. I should have just read the book.

Would you recommend White Queen to your friends? Why or why not?

The story was interesting, a bit long and hard to follow all the family tree, but still interesting.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Susan Lyons?

Susan Lyons sounded like her nose was plugged up. I understand she was trying to keep the dialect of the area and time, but i found her very irriating and it made me not want to finish the story.

Did White Queen inspire you to do anything?

no, i heard the show based on these books are good, I would consider watching those versus reading any further books by Phillipa Gregory.

The performance annoyed me

I felt like the woman reading sounded like her nose was clogged most of the book.

If you a history buff, you will probably like this one. I really wanted to like it, I have always been fascinated by medieval mythology and stories, and perhaps it was just the old world style of the writing...but I personally found this hard to follow and a bit boring.

I'll stick with the show.

Great story

I enjoyed this book. I wish there was a little more detail and more dialogue between the king and queen, but I understand this is about Elizabeth Woodville life and not a romance novel. I loved the historical fact mixed with a little fantasy and the narrator did an excellent job. I finished it in 3 days so on to the next one!