The White Princess by Philippa Gregory

 Title: The White Princess

Author: Philippa Gregory

Read by: Bianca Amato
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Length: Approximately 18.5 hours (15 CDs)
Source: Simon & Schuster Review Copy – Thank-you!

If you have noticed, since school has gotten back into session, my reviews have diminished greatly.  I’m trying to get the second year of my program (new classes – new lab!) off the ground and things are quite hectic involving me working seven days a week.

Therefore, I’m going to try to do some brief reviews just to keep myself somewhat caught up on reviews. 

I enjoyed listening to The White Princess.  I am particularly fascinated by the War of the Roses, and The White Princess is the story of Elizabeth of York and her marriage to Henry Tudor that effectively ended the War of the Roses and created a new ruling house, the Tudors.  In this novel, Elizabeth pines away with love for her deceased Uncle Richard and is forced to marry Henry.  She despises him at first, but grows to love him over time.  Elizabeth was always a second fiddle in the Tudor court after Henry’s mother, Margaret, but she endures.

While I enjoyed this story, I grew weary of some of the repetitiveness of the story, especially Elizabeth lamenting the death of her lover, her Uncle Richard.  I was actually disgusted by this and felt no sympathy at all towards her.  I also thought it was strange that she and her mother hoped for a Yorkist prince to return and overthrow Henry.  At that point, Elizabeth’s own children were in line for the throne – why would you want to displace your own children?  It didn’t add up.

I thought that Bianca Amato was a great narrator and also enjoyed the medieval music that was played during breaks in the audiobook.  Overall, The White Princess was another enjoyable light historical fiction from Philippa Gregory.