Title: The Read Queen
Author: Phillipa Gregory
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis: Part of the "The Cousins' War" series by Phillipa Gregory, the story follows Margaret Beaufort, a Lancaster. After several marriages, this pious young girl becomes an ambitious young woman fighting to put her son on the English throne.
My Thoughts:
After reading the other five books in this series, I had an understanding of the large events that would take place. Each book tells the story of The Cousins' War (aka. The War of the Roses), from the perspective of a woman member of the warring parties. As expected, it was an enjoyable read with a great mix of historical fact and fiction that captivate the reader.
What was unexpected, is the sympathy I felt for the protagonist, Margaret Beaufort, who I had come to despise in the five works I had read previously.
The early chapters provided me with the background I needed to see that Margaret started as an innocent, dreaming girl. By the end, though I understood the hardships that made her the hardened and manipulative woman she became, I still found her to be unlikeable. Oddly, I liked that I wasn't always on her side, even as the protagonist in the story. Her actions in this novel made me really think about if the ends can justify the means.
Most of the book is written in first person from Margaret Beaufort's point of view. There was an odd switch for a few chapters toward the end, where battle scenes were written in third person. While I understand that Margaret wasn't present for the battles, the switch felt uncomfortable, and when the battles were over, it came back to first person.
Overall, this was a good read that kept me engaged and in suspense. (Even though I knew what was going to happen! How does Gregory do it?) I highly recommend any of the books from this series, many of which I enjoyed even more than this one.
To buy this book from amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from Phillipa Gregory, visit her website linked above.
The early chapters provided me with the background I needed to see that Margaret started as an innocent, dreaming girl. By the end, though I understood the hardships that made her the hardened and manipulative woman she became, I still found her to be unlikeable. Oddly, I liked that I wasn't always on her side, even as the protagonist in the story. Her actions in this novel made me really think about if the ends can justify the means.
Most of the book is written in first person from Margaret Beaufort's point of view. There was an odd switch for a few chapters toward the end, where battle scenes were written in third person. While I understand that Margaret wasn't present for the battles, the switch felt uncomfortable, and when the battles were over, it came back to first person.
Overall, this was a good read that kept me engaged and in suspense. (Even though I knew what was going to happen! How does Gregory do it?) I highly recommend any of the books from this series, many of which I enjoyed even more than this one.
To buy this book from amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from Phillipa Gregory, visit her website linked above.
