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A review by readingwithtea
The White Princess by Philippa Gregory
5.0
4.5/5 but this was a second read through (I read all these books years ago when they originally were released) so I already knew going into what I was getting. But I only recently started writing reviews, so I figured I should write this one with a fresh read through.
Love this book. Love this series. Love this author. But I think that’s all a given, provided anyone has talked to me, looked at my bookshelf, or browsed my read list here.
So, given all that, here are my thoughts.
The spins she puts on these historical storylines add to the experience. Are these books all historical accurate? No, they’re not, and if that is what you were looking for, then you may be interested in something like a history book or a school lecture. These are works of fiction and she includes works of fiction in them. They enhance the historical details we know and sometimes she has to bend them to make her storylines work. I’m ok with that and that’s all I have to say about it.
The Princes in the Tower: little Edward and Richard. They’re here. Well, they’re here in spirit. They’ve already gone into the tower just before where this book picks up and many of you will already be familiar with their story and the controversy of what may or may not have happened to them. Since this book is part of her long standing series, I’m sure many of you already know what her stance is on this but technically all these can be stand alone. So if you jump around and don’t know about this yet, don’t worry about it.
What’s probably my most controversial opinion here is this: I like the mini series slightly better than the book. Please don’t pick up your pitch forks yet! So all those things that Gregory tweaked to make her story a good story, the miniseries twists even more. This means all you die hard history buffs need to stay away from the miniseries. I’m all for history but I also enjoy all the pretty gowns and the political back stabbing, then all the little plot changes make for a nice compact story.
But in conclusion, I’ve loved Philippa Gregory since the day my mom randomly bought me The Boleyn Inheritance in high school. I’ve devoured almost every one of her books since. I haven’t agreed with every historical detail she’s twisted, but in the end that’s not the point. She crafts good stories. She gives these women voices and powerful stories of their own. I’ll be reading her books until the end. And I’ll recommend them to anybody I believe would like them.
Love this book. Love this series. Love this author. But I think that’s all a given, provided anyone has talked to me, looked at my bookshelf, or browsed my read list here.
So, given all that, here are my thoughts.
The spins she puts on these historical storylines add to the experience. Are these books all historical accurate? No, they’re not, and if that is what you were looking for, then you may be interested in something like a history book or a school lecture. These are works of fiction and she includes works of fiction in them. They enhance the historical details we know and sometimes she has to bend them to make her storylines work. I’m ok with that and that’s all I have to say about it.
The Princes in the Tower: little Edward and Richard. They’re here. Well, they’re here in spirit. They’ve already gone into the tower just before where this book picks up and many of you will already be familiar with their story and the controversy of what may or may not have happened to them. Since this book is part of her long standing series, I’m sure many of you already know what her stance is on this but technically all these can be stand alone. So if you jump around and don’t know about this yet, don’t worry about it.
What’s probably my most controversial opinion here is this: I like the mini series slightly better than the book. Please don’t pick up your pitch forks yet! So all those things that Gregory tweaked to make her story a good story, the miniseries twists even more. This means all you die hard history buffs need to stay away from the miniseries. I’m all for history but I also enjoy all the pretty gowns and the political back stabbing, then all the little plot changes make for a nice compact story.
But in conclusion, I’ve loved Philippa Gregory since the day my mom randomly bought me The Boleyn Inheritance in high school. I’ve devoured almost every one of her books since. I haven’t agreed with every historical detail she’s twisted, but in the end that’s not the point. She crafts good stories. She gives these women voices and powerful stories of their own. I’ll be reading her books until the end. And I’ll recommend them to anybody I believe would like them.