The Last White Rose

A Novel of Elizabeth of York

By: Alison Weir

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Alison Weir explores the life of Henry VIII's mother, Elizabeth, the first queen of the Tudor dynasty, in this stunning historical novel.   

Elizabeth of York is the oldest daughter of King Edward IV. Flame-haired, beautiful, and sweet-natured, she is adored by her family; yet her life is suddenly disrupted when her beloved father dies in the prime of life. Her uncle, the notorious Richard III, takes advantage of King Edward’s death to grab the throne and imprison Elizabeth's two younger brothers, the rightful royal heirs. Forever afterward known as the princes in the tower, the boys are never seen again. On the heels of this tragedy, Elizabeth is subjected to Richard’s overtures to make her his wife, further legitimizing his claim to the throne. King Richard has murdered her brothers, yet she is obliged to accept his proposal.   

As if in a fairy tale, Elizabeth is saved by Henry Tudor, who challenges Richard and kills him in the legendary Battle of Bosworth Field. In recognition of his victory, Henry becomes king and asks Elizabeth to be his wife, the first queen of the Tudor line. The marriage is happy and fruitful, not only uniting the warring houses of Lancaster and York—the red and white roses—but resulting in four surviving children, one of whom, Henry VIII, will rule the country for the next 36 years.   

As in her popular Six Tudor Queens series, Alison Weir captures the personality of one of Britain’s most important monarchs, conveying Elizabeth of York’s dramatic life in a novel that is all the richer because of its firm basis in history.

©2022 Alison Weir (P)2022 Recorded Books

Much Better Nonfiction Writer

Alison Weir shines as a historian and unfortunately can’t translate that talent to writing fiction. Her writing is extremely stilted in terms of just trying to cram in every historical anecdote she can- an early example, the three year old Princess Elizabeth overhearing her servants talking about how “an Italian ambassador said there were two kings of England- Warwick and one they can’t recall.” This is a famous historical quote but also feels extremely disingenuous in terms of the recollections of a toddler. Also tons of very awkward explainer dialogue, like extended conversations where various family members, nurse maids etc. lay out the conflict that has happened prior to Elizabeth’s birth in a way that absolutely no real person would speak. Perhaps if you don’t know the history at all you would be too absorbed in learning the story to notice how forced all the dialogue is, but if you are vaguely familiar it sounds ridiculous. This has been a problem with all of her fiction and I just have to highly recommend any interested party seek out her nonfiction instead, because it’s honestly about the same level of dry-ness and speculation.

Loved

I really really enjoyed this book along with the narration. I think I listen to it in less than a week. I didn't know a whole lot about Elizabeth of York before this book but now I feel like I know her personally. She went through so much in her life, good and bad. It you're on the fence definitely get this one. You won't be disappointed.

Boring

As other reviewers have said this narrator is terrible. Not sure if the story is awful too because I can’t pay attention to it. Just drones on and on like she’s taking to kindergarteners. Not even good to put you to sleep, it’s just annoying and bleats on and on. Monotonous drone. Too bad the return function isn’t available for this title. Only returned 3 books in all years I’ve had Audible. This is one I would love to return.

Not for my taste

I just didn't like this book or narrator. Could not finish it. Maybe the characters weren't fleshed out and it was not interesting.

Very entertaining

I enjoyed this novel very much. A very entertaining novel.
I am huge fan of medieval & Tudor history. It’s fun to mix a little historical fiction in with the actual history to bring the characters to life. I liked that the story began with Elizabeth as a child, giving detail and perspective to her character’s feelings & actions. The narration was excellent and added to my enjoyment.

Loved it! loved it! loved it!

It was so nice to finally hear about her life from her point of you. All that she experienced; her love her, losses and her determination. I really enjoyed this audiobook and highly recommend it to anybody who loves War of the Roses/Tudor era history fiction!

Best Narrator!

I love all the Tudors stories and this book is very interesting since it is actually the beginning of the Tudor Dynasty. Again Rosalyn Landor does a superb job narrating this fantastic book... Loved it.

Read as a librarian to kindergartners.

I don't know if I can finish it. The voice actor is annoying. She reads as if she's reading to children. the story is tolerable. I think I might like it better if read by an adult to adults.

Historical Wrong

Elizabeth was crowned in 1487 a full year after the birth of Arthur….. It was an ok story but I thought Allison Weir was a historian

Very tedious

I found this book very tedious. As a enthusiast of history, I was quite disappointed