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ayten's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Oh my god. I am genuinely surprised by how a book about one of the main historical couples (Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York) that I was interested in was so hard for me to finish. There is a reason for this and it is because this book is one of the most boring reads you can imagine. The characters in this book are very one dimensional, and the relationships formed between them are inconsistent.
First I'd like all of you to know that this book is not about the relationship between Henry and Elizabeth, it is about the rebellions against Henry VII bu written from the perspective of Elizabeth of York, who is sitting at some palace in London and actually has no idea what's going on. This means that the main events of the book which would've been action-packed and very interesting to read are summarised in one sentence and everything else is just fillers. This makes the book incredibly boring.
Secondly, let's talk about the characters in this book. Oh my god, I don't think I've ever read characters be more one dimensional than they are in this book. I 100% believe that there is not one character ever written as Elizabeth of York is written in this book. She literally has no idea what's going on 100% of the time, even though everything is fucking obvious, she cries about her "lover" instead of her family, and for some reason do not understand what her mother's actions mean to her family and keeps forgiving her for treason. Bitch, your mother is trying to get your husband and your sons killed are you fucking for real?
Let's now talk about Henry VII. I'm convinced that for some reason Gregory just hates Henry VII. There is no other explanation of how she wrote his character. Let's get our facts straight here: Henry Tudor ended the War of the Roses, boosted England's economy, stabilized the government's finances AND achieved peace between both France and Scotland. He was in no way a stupid man, and he was actually a good king. But for some reason, Gregory portrays him as being a king who can never do something right and is always paranoid about losing his throne. There is nothing more to Henry's character other than listening to his mom and getting paranoid and angry about the possibility of losing the throne. Although most probably Henry in real life was troubled by the rebellions to get him off the throne, I doubt it was all of his personality.
Thirdly, the book is NOT HISTORICALLY ACCURATE, and I'm not talking about the Perkin Warbeck storyline here but the private relationship of our main characters. It is pretty well known that real Henry VII and Elizabeth of York actually loved each other. Historians are able to back this up from their letters, and how their relationship was reported by other people. There is no doubt that they had a loving and affectionate relationship with each other. For some reason, Philippa Gregory decides to ignore this fact and make them hate each other for 95% of the book. Their relationship in this book goes like, hating each other, loving each other for 10 pages, and again hating each other for no reason whatsoever.
Also, what's up with the relationship between Elizabeth and her uncle? That is not true. Although there were rumors that Richard had planned to marry Elizabeth they are only rumors and historians found evidence that after Queen Anne's death Richard III was planning a marriage with another country's princess. A marriage between Richard III and Elizabeth would have been IMPOSSIBLE because Richard III illegitimised Elizabeth Woodville and Edward's marriage making Elizabeth of York a bastard instead of a Princess. A king cannot, in any circumstances marry a bastard, and if he tried to legitimize and make her a Princess then he would lose the crown to her brothers. It's fucking stupid and disgusting. Not only the addition of this to the story makes it historically inaccurate, it's also incredibly annoying to read.
Overall, this book is BAD and BORING. I do not recommend this book at all. From what I understand
Philippa Gregory's books are hit and miss and I might've read a bad one because most people praise The Other Boleyn Girl (?) but I have no interest in reading about the Boleyns and I don't really care if it's good or not. I was interested in Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York and Philippa Gregory failed to provide an interesting, and enjoyable read. I would say skip this read for sure and if you're really interested just watch the series they made, it's much better than the book.
First I'd like all of you to know that this book is not about the relationship between Henry and Elizabeth, it is about the rebellions against Henry VII bu written from the perspective of Elizabeth of York, who is sitting at some palace in London and actually has no idea what's going on. This means that the main events of the book which would've been action-packed and very interesting to read are summarised in one sentence and everything else is just fillers. This makes the book incredibly boring.
Secondly, let's talk about the characters in this book. Oh my god, I don't think I've ever read characters be more one dimensional than they are in this book. I 100% believe that there is not one character ever written as Elizabeth of York is written in this book. She literally has no idea what's going on 100% of the time, even though everything is fucking obvious, she cries about her "lover" instead of her family, and for some reason do not understand what her mother's actions mean to her family and keeps forgiving her for treason. Bitch, your mother is trying to get your husband and your sons killed are you fucking for real?
Let's now talk about Henry VII. I'm convinced that for some reason Gregory just hates Henry VII. There is no other explanation of how she wrote his character. Let's get our facts straight here: Henry Tudor ended the War of the Roses, boosted England's economy, stabilized the government's finances AND achieved peace between both France and Scotland. He was in no way a stupid man, and he was actually a good king. But for some reason, Gregory portrays him as being a king who can never do something right and is always paranoid about losing his throne. There is nothing more to Henry's character other than listening to his mom and getting paranoid and angry about the possibility of losing the throne. Although most probably Henry in real life was troubled by the rebellions to get him off the throne, I doubt it was all of his personality.
Thirdly, the book is NOT HISTORICALLY ACCURATE, and I'm not talking about the Perkin Warbeck storyline here but the private relationship of our main characters. It is pretty well known that real Henry VII and Elizabeth of York actually loved each other. Historians are able to back this up from their letters, and how their relationship was reported by other people. There is no doubt that they had a loving and affectionate relationship with each other. For some reason, Philippa Gregory decides to ignore this fact and make them hate each other for 95% of the book. Their relationship in this book goes like, hating each other, loving each other for 10 pages, and again hating each other for no reason whatsoever.
Also, what's up with the relationship between Elizabeth and her uncle? That is not true. Although there were rumors that Richard had planned to marry Elizabeth they are only rumors and historians found evidence that after Queen Anne's death Richard III was planning a marriage with another country's princess. A marriage between Richard III and Elizabeth would have been IMPOSSIBLE because Richard III illegitimised Elizabeth Woodville and Edward's marriage making Elizabeth of York a bastard instead of a Princess. A king cannot, in any circumstances marry a bastard, and if he tried to legitimize and make her a Princess then he would lose the crown to her brothers. It's fucking stupid and disgusting. Not only the addition of this to the story makes it historically inaccurate, it's also incredibly annoying to read.
Overall, this book is BAD and BORING. I do not recommend this book at all. From what I understand
Philippa Gregory's books are hit and miss and I might've read a bad one because most people praise The Other Boleyn Girl (?) but I have no interest in reading about the Boleyns and I don't really care if it's good or not. I was interested in Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York and Philippa Gregory failed to provide an interesting, and enjoyable read. I would say skip this read for sure and if you're really interested just watch the series they made, it's much better than the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Misogyny
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