The Lady of the Rivers (The Cousins' War, #3)

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The Lady of the Rivers (The Cousins' War #3)

by Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 9,586 ratings · 1,283 reviews

#1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory weaves witchcraft, passion, and adventure into the story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the War of the Roses.

Descended from Melusina, the river goddess, Jacquetta has always had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she meets his

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#1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory weaves witchcraft, passion, and adventure into the story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the War of the Roses.

Descended from Melusina, the river goddess, Jacquetta has always had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she meets his prisoner, Joan of Arc, and recognizes her own power in the young woman accused of witchcraft. They share the mystery of the tarot card of the “wheel of fortune” before Joan is taken to a horrific death at the hands of the English rulers of France. Jacquetta understands the danger for a woman who dares to dream.

Married to the Duke of Bedford, English Regent of France, Jacquetta is introduced by him to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the Duke’s squire Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the Duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.

Drawing on years of research, Philippa Gregory tells the story of the Woodvilles who achieve a place at the very heart of the Lancaster court, though Jacquetta can sense the threat from the people of England and the danger of royal rivals. Not even their courage and loyalty can keep the House of Lancaster on the throne. Henry the king slides into a mysterious sleep; Margaret the queen turns to untrustworthy favorites for help; and Richard, Duke of York threatens to overturn the whole kingdom for his rival dynasty of the House of York.

Jacquetta fights for her King, her Queen, and for her daughter Elizabeth Woodville, a young woman married to a neighbor for whom Jacquetta can sense an extraordinary and unexpected future: a change of fortune, the throne of England, and the white rose of York.

A sweeping, powerful story based on history and rich in passion and legend, The Lady of the Rivers tells the story of the real-life mother to the White Queen. Philippa Gregory is writing at the height of her talent.

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ebook, 464 pages

Published October 18th 2011 by Touchstone (first published September 15th 2011)

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Sep 22, 2011 Orsolya rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library, queens, historical-fiction, wars-of-the-roses, mistresses-royalty, own

I have a problem with authors thinking that they have to reach a larger mass audience once they are popular. It is comparable to a musician who “sells out”. The Lady of the Rivers certainly portrayed a dummied down storyline which started with the immediate opener. Perhaps Gregory is so popular now, that she took away much of the magic so evident in some of her earlier works to reach a wider audience.

The theme of my complaints against The Lady of the Rivers is the lack of depth. Admittedly, thi...more I have a problem with authors thinking that they have to reach a larger mass audience once they are popular. It is comparable to a musician who “sells out”. The Lady of the Rivers certainly portrayed a dummied down storyline which started with the immediate opener. Perhaps Gregory is so popular now, that she took away much of the magic so evident in some of her earlier works to reach a wider audience.

The theme of my complaints against The Lady of the Rivers is the lack of depth. Admittedly, this novel is a fast page-turner but solely because it is easy to read and has very short chapters (several were only one page); and not because it is overly intriguing or capturing. The book is rather slow in the beginning (even by page 109, I was bored) and it was obvious that this is because Gregory didn’t have much research to include. Is it a coincidence that the latter part of the book is more interesting and not as sparse when describing the battles? Not at all. Sadly, even the events which were described appeared glossed over which relates back to the lack of depth element.

Although Jacquetta is the main character, her character development is extremely weak, to say the least. Her inner feelings and actions never felt fully disclosed and understood, making her seem very one-dimensional. Moreover, many of the other female characters also felt very demeaned and ill-described. Joan of Arc was portrayed quite foolishly and Margaret of Anjou was even more annoying than usual. Margaret of Anjou is already “known” as being villainous but at least she has drama and depth. In The Lady of the Rivers, she just comes off as a spoiled teenager in a teen film. Plus, more of the book was about Margaret of Anjou than Jacquetta. I found this all to be disappointing because none of the characters were likable or encouraged support. Imagine a star-studded ensemble cast in a movie but with a terrible plot and poor acting. That is the best way to describe this book.

Sadly, even the proposed highlights were unsatisfying. Moments in the plot which were meant to be “strong” such as Richard Woodville declaring his love to Jacquetta; were elementary, rushed, and so predictable that I actually rolled my eyes. The inescapability caused the story to be very difficult to “get into”. I have to admit, there were SOME strong points throughout but I have to judge the novel on the whole, and overall, the momentous events covered (Hundred Years War, Wars of the Roses) were barely even scraped in potential by Gregory. The Lady of the Rivers is more of a summary of these events or YA novel.

Some contradictory points were also evident. For example: the novel stressed that the Earl of Suffolk opposed Margaret’s marriage to Henry but then about a page later said that he predicted its success. Um… sure. I also have to ask, did they actually say “hi” during this time period? Jacquetta surely did in this novel. I may not be a linguistic expert but never, ever, have I come across the word “hi” in any other Plantagenet or Tudor novel and I have read countless sources. This bothered me. Also, the churching ceremony appeared to be described in the manner of the rules set forth by Margaret Beaufort which she obviously didn’t do yet at the time of this novel.

Let’s not even get into the complaint which is evident by all readers across the board: the overuse of the titles (ie. “My lord, the Duke of Bedford”).

The end of the book was the best, similarly to how the Battle of Bosworth scene at the end of The Red Queen was surely the highlight and climax. It also set the lead-in to The White Queen quite seamlessly, especially if one would want to re-read it after The Lady of the Rivers.

I will give Gregory credit where credit is due that she attempted to cover a person who doesn’t have a million biographies or sources available on her. Jacquetta is a lesser known individual and I support bringing the “underdogs” to the table. I admit that I may be a little harsh and that I shouldn’t expect a thorough novel when such little information is available. However, Gregory should have instead transversed this as a novel about Margaret of Anjou, then. I do support the effort, however.

Overall, not AS terrible as I suspected but definitely a dummied down version. Either Gregory is losing her spark or I’m just slipping out of the target market.
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Apr 27, 2012 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Where I got the book: review galley from NetGalley.

Philippa Gregory takes a step back farther in time with The Lady of the Rivers; after exploring the lives of the various Tudor women in a succession of novels, she now dives into the rich and complicated history of the Wars of the Roses. This was a period in the 1400s in which two branches of the Plantagenet royal family struggled for power over England (and various bits of France).

The protagonist in The Lady of the Rivers is Jacquetta of Luxem...more Where I got the book: review galley from NetGalley.

Philippa Gregory takes a step back farther in time with The Lady of the Rivers; after exploring the lives of the various Tudor women in a succession of novels, she now dives into the rich and complicated history of the Wars of the Roses. This was a period in the 1400s in which two branches of the Plantagenet royal family struggled for power over England (and various bits of France).

The protagonist in The Lady of the Rivers is Jacquetta of Luxembourg, who is not generally a well-known historical figure. The story covers Jacquetta's life from adolescence to middle age, and Gregory fans will realize that it ends with the beginning of Gregory's 2009 novel The White Queen.

I've been critical of Gregory's kings-and-queens novels in the past, mostly because I would like to see more pure fiction from her, but I enjoyed The Lady of the Rivers. As usual, though, I did not find the protagonist particularly interesting; I felt that she was an observer of history rather than being a participant in it. Of course, in those days a noblewoman's role was to run the house and lands while the men fought (Jacquetta does plenty of that) and produce children (Jacquetta had sixteen). So maybe the impression of passivity that I received was due to the necessity of sticking fairly close to historical fact. The bits of white magic that all of Gregory's heroines inevitably indulge in do not come across as exciting enough to compensate me for the lack of action.

And yet there were some definite improvements over recent novels in the series. For one thing, Jacquetta gets to travel around quite a bit, and even though she's not in the battles I did get a better sense of being near to the action than I usually do. And the supporting cast was good; I particularly liked Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI's queen, and I found the account of Henry VI's mental illness compelling. There were several other memorable characters; in fact, I now understand the Wars of the Roses a whole lot better. So if you read historical fiction for the history, you'll be satisfied.

I'm not going to say much about Gregory's writing idiosyncracies here, since what I was reading was a galley (which had not even been edited for capitalization and paragraph layout; that surprised me). I desperately want to send her the gift of a big bag of semicolons, though. Gregory is the undisputed queen of the comma splice.

One last comment; I have been reading Gregory for years, and am fascinated to note that the novels are getting less sensual as time goes on. This one was PG-rated.

Overall impression: a good Gregory, and recommended for lovers of English history. (less)

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Oct 28, 2011 Jackleen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Two and a half stars

The Lady of the Rivers follows the story of Jacquetta, the mother of Elizabeth Woodville, (who becomes Queen of England), from a privileged child of the family Luxemburg in France, a family descended from the goddess Melusina; through her encounter with Joan of Arc; an early marriage to the Duke of Bedford, regent of France, uncle to King Henry of Lancaster, who exposes her to alchemy and secret books of forbidden knowledge, and subsequently, accusations of witchcraft. Upon t...more Two and a half stars

The Lady of the Rivers follows the story of Jacquetta, the mother of Elizabeth Woodville, (who becomes Queen of England), from a privileged child of the family Luxemburg in France, a family descended from the goddess Melusina; through her encounter with Joan of Arc; an early marriage to the Duke of Bedford, regent of France, uncle to King Henry of Lancaster, who exposes her to alchemy and secret books of forbidden knowledge, and subsequently, accusations of witchcraft. Upon the Dukes death, Jacquetta follows her heart and against royal consent, marries Richard Woodville and is banished to the country side, descending from a Duchess to the wife of a squire. When Margaret of Anjou is brought over to England to marry King Henry of Lancaster, Jacquetta, as her relative, is retrieved from the countryside to befriend the new Queen. Jacquetta is soon the constant companion of Queen Margaret and privy to the secrets and intrigues that surround the throne of the unfortunate, King Henry. Witchcraft, alchemy, being best friends with a much malaligned Queen, this has all the elements to be a great read, but…

First, I must tell you that I am a fan of Philippa Gregory as my bookcases will attest. I have almost all her books and the last four are in hardcover. So, as you can imagine, I was shocked when in the midst of The Lady of the Rivers to find myself not enjoying this story very much at all. Why, I started to wonder. Have I just read too much historical fiction? Have I overloaded on the genre? I had always thought I could read about history, and especially about different view points in history, until, well… my eyes bled. I do not expect historical fiction to be completely accurate, after all the second word in that genre is fiction. And, when you really put your mind to it all history is fiction to a certain extent, as history is the story left behind by the victors or simply by those in power. It is the propaganda and slander of the day carried forward to the present. So within historical fiction is the opportunity to present another side of the story. I mistakenly believed that, finally, I would be given the Lancastrian point of view during the war of the roses.

The York rise to the throne of England was yet another power grab in England’s long history of power grabs. The Celt took England from the prehistoric people, who were invaded by the Saxons and Danes, who lost power to the Romans who came and went, and, finally, William the Conqueror came long and established Norman rule, setting the stage for the Plantagenet’s and their eventual power squabbles that led to the war of the roses. With all this history of conquest in England, I do not understand the need for writers to be so protective of the house of York. The house of Lancaster was the ruling house, how is that they were defeated? That story would be well worth reading about. We all know that the Woodville’s changed sides following the York victory of Edward IV in 1461, and, of the fateful meeting in 1464 of Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward, if only because we all read Gregory’s The White Queen. But in The Lady of Rivers, I wanted to read the Lancastrian point of view, read about their story. Unfortunately I am still waiting.

The underlying theme, or lesson, of The Lady of the Rivers is one of caution for strong women who seek power. Those women who crossed the line from ornamental to power seeking were taken down either through accusations of witchcraft, adultery or being ‘unnatural.’ And, I applaud Gregory for presenting this premise. Gregory presents Joan of Arc, who as we all know was burned at the stake, as an example early in the book, of what historically happened to women when they seeked and assumed power during the middle ages. Another example is the sister in law of Jacquetta, Duchess of Gloucester, Eleanor, who married to the Uncle and heir to King Henry of Lancaster, assumes too much power and privilege, and consequently, is accused of witchcraft and sent to convent from which she never leaves. Jacquetta, herself, with her family history of magic and witchcraft must walk a careful line and avoids being to publically forward in her opinions and actions in order to avoid the scrutiny of the male powers of the time.

So, I naturally believed, as similarly to other of Gregory’s books, this book, while told from the first person point of view of Jacquetta, was in fact the story of Queen Margaret of Anjou. A small point, the woman on the cover of the book has red coppery coloured hair like Margaret, while Jacquetta is supposed to have had white blond hair which she passed down to her daughter Elizabeth. So who is this book about? This should be, as framed by Gregory herself, the story of Margaret, a woman fighting to save the throne for her son against the male powers of the time and being beaten down and defamed by those same men who grab the throne and the power of the land for themselves. But, instead of Margaret’s point of view of a woman disempowered, we are given the same old Yorkist slander of adultery and unnatural female behaviour, Margaret the wolf. I confess to being greatly disappointed, as I believed Philippa Gregory had indeed set out writing a potentially great inspiring novel of one woman’s tragic struggle against overwhelming odds, only to turn her into a cartoon.

In, closing, as Jacquetta abandons her friend Margaret for the house of York, so too, does Philippa Gregory abandon a much defamed Queen to the slanders of history.

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Sep 06, 2011 Michele rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've enjoyed a small handful of Philippa Gregory novels in the past and the subject of her newest book entitled The Lady of the Rivers, the third in her Plantagenet women series, is Jaquetta of Luxembourg and mother to Elizabeth Woodville (subject of a previous novel, The White Queen).

For those of you who have read The White Queen, you'll know that Gregory drew a lot (and I do mean A LOT) from the mythical descendant-aspect of those Woodville girls. There were a lot of allusions to witch-craft,...more I've enjoyed a small handful of Philippa Gregory novels in the past and the subject of her newest book entitled The Lady of the Rivers, the third in her Plantagenet women series, is Jaquetta of Luxembourg and mother to Elizabeth Woodville (subject of a previous novel, The White Queen).

For those of you who have read The White Queen, you'll know that Gregory drew a lot (and I do mean A LOT) from the mythical descendant-aspect of those Woodville girls. There were a lot of allusions to witch-craft, second-sight, and that mythical water/fishy lady Melusina. You can expect more and more of the same in The Lady of the Rivers.

The story follows Jacquetta from a young teenaged girl who befriends Joan of Arc through her brief marriage to the Duke of Bedford and subsequent love match with Richard Woodville (later made Earl of Rivers) and the production of their 16 (!) children, the oldest of which would go on to marry Edward IV of England.

Why only two stars? After all, the subject matter (excluding the supernatural bits) is fascinating stuff. Jacquetta was one interesting and powerful lady. The two stars comes from the writing. I'm not sure if Gregory is thinking that her readers are new to historical fiction and therefore likely to become confused about the characters, their relationship to one another and their respective titles or if the editor fell asleep on the job. But the end result is that every time a character is mentioned, either in dialog or in the text, we are told their name, title and relationship. Over and over and over again. It makes reading the text of the novel a repetitious bore.

For example (one of many, many, many), Jacquetta speaking to Margaret of Anjou, whom she has served for years and years as a lady-in-waiting and therefore is very close friends with:

"I think that Richard, Duke of York, is the only man to successfully hold French lands since my first husband, the Duke of Bedford."

Of course Margaret would know that Richard is the Duke of York....he is her greatest enemy at court and they've hated each other for years. She doesn't need to be reminded of his title. And of course Margaret very well knows that her close friend's first husband was the Duke of Bedford, for heaven's sake! For that matter, so does the reader because names/relationships/titles have already been mentioned in the book at least a dozen times prior to this. ARGHHHHH!

If an editor had come along and slashed these repetitious titles/relationships/names, this novel would be far, far better reading. But alas, they didn't. So the end result is stilted dialog (you don't need to reference your brother-in-laws title when speaking to your husband....trust me, he KNOWS his brother is the Duke of whatever) and the feeling that you're being clubbed over the head with this stuff.

Even if you don't care for the supernatural stuff (the Duke of Bedford, Gregory imagines here, marries Jacquetta for her witchy-talents), the novel could have been far better with a little editing.

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Jan 27, 2013 Rachel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: army, england, fantasy, historical-fic, mermen, medieval, 2011

I'm giving this 3 stars because though I thought the overall scope of the novel was well-handled, I thought some of the individual story lines and conversations seemed a bit stilted, awkward, and overly simplistic. I did like the inclusion of the legend of Melusina, and the various descriptions of tarot cards and white witchcraft that were used around this time alongside Christianity.
I also did like the inclusion of Jacquetta's relationship with Joan of Arc but it was a bit jarring to read abou...more

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Sep 07, 2011 ☆Jessie☆ (Ageless Pages Reviews) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, series-ongoing, galley-grab-arc, reviewed, 2011-reads, 2011-reviews, hf-england, arc, shame-shelf, great-potential-awful-execution, royal-family-tiffs-and-squabbles

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Though not nearly as hair-pullingly irritating as its predecessor The Red Queen, (which irritated me so much I didn't even review it. Who wants to read four+ paragraphs of "UGH" and "WHY DOES SHE DO THIS!" and "Shouldn't Margaret of Anjou be the Red Queen NOT Margaret Beaufort?") The Lady of the Rivers has its fair share of problems. This time the story follows Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Dowager Duchess of Bedford, historically remembered most as the...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Kimberly B. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, 2012, historical-fiction, own

Where to begin...It had been a while since I'd read a Philippa Gregory book (and I'd liked her books in the past--The Other Boleyn Girl being my favorite), so I was looking forward to reading The Lady of the Rivers after I won it through First-Reads. After starting it, I quickly realized PG's writing has become a shadow of its former self. Devoting an entire book to Jacquetta was questionable to begin with; for all the royal goings-on that she was privy to, her life really wasn't all that exciti...more Where to begin...It had been a while since I'd read a Philippa Gregory book (and I'd liked her books in the past--The Other Boleyn Girl being my favorite), so I was looking forward to reading The Lady of the Rivers after I won it through First-Reads. After starting it, I quickly realized PG's writing has become a shadow of its former self. Devoting an entire book to Jacquetta was questionable to begin with; for all the royal goings-on that she was privy to, her life really wasn't all that exciting. The novel consisted a lot of such-and-such happened and then I went into confinement and had another baby (I believe the grand total was 14). Since not as much is widely known about Jacquetta as, say, Anne Boleyn, I was expecting some further character development and insight into who she was. Unfortunately, PG does extremely little character development and for most of the book I couldn't ascertain if Jacquetta was just stupidly ignorant or so innocent that she couldn't quite grasp political implications. All of the other characters were as equally one dimensional and you really couldn't love or hate any of them because they were just...there. PG should have just written a non-fiction book about Jacquetta since she really didn't offer any insight into Jacquetta which, in my mind, is part of the point of historical fiction. But, oh yeah, Jacquetta's life isn't really that interesting to begin with! The beginning of the novel was really reminiscent of an Arthurian legend to me: Jacquetta is married to John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford (a.k.a. Arthur), but she is really in love with Richard Woodville, the Duke's Chamberlain (a.k.a. Lancelot). All of the magical infusions in the story really made this seem even more so. When Jacquetta finally realizes she is to be parted with Richard, her verbal reaction was incredibly stilted. I would compare it to a modern woman finding out that she was going to have to live without her cell phone, "But, I've always had a cellphone...what will I ever do without one?" After Richard got a taste of Jacquetta's virginal, unicorn beckoning magical huha, Bam! they were inseparable and there really wasn't any more to their relationship than that. Well, in PG's imagination at least.

Two other major gripes I had with the book were the constant reminders of who characters were. Within pages it was literally, "Duchess Eleanor", "The duchess", and then "Eleanor, the duchess". Readers aren't that retarded that they can't remember who one of the main characters is and what title they hold! Also, I really didn't understand why PG had Lewis die at age 12 when the family tree says he died in infancy. Now I know infancy is a loose term, but shouldn't it be 'adolescence' or 'childhood' by that age? Maybe not, but it seemed so to me.

Overall, the story was okay and even entertaining in parts with the King and Margaret. I don't think this novel could ever have been a 5 star book considering the subject alone, but it definitely would have garnered a higher rating if PG had just explored her characters more and had fun writing it. I really got the feeling that the book was more of a chore for PG to write rather than a pleasure. I wish she could tap into her imagination like she used to to at least write a page-turner with some scandalous and interesting people. 2 stars.(less)

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Jan 01, 2012 Eiko Leslie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, audio, historical-fic-adult, 2012

Why is it that when I read Gregory's latest titles, they start off strong and keep my interest until about 2/3rds of the way through and then I just want to finish it so I can move on. I thoroughly enjoyed her books about the Boleyn sisters and the Tudors and so hoped to enjoy the Cousin's War books as much. But all three seem to drag on just a bit too long.

The Lady of the Rivers, features Jacquetta of Luxembourg and follows her life from a young girl through her arranged 1st marriage, her 2nd...more

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Oct 11, 2012 ☮Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads-books

So happy to win this book from goodreads First Reads! I adored The White Queen (and all of Gregory's books), so was eager to read the third of this trilogy about the War of the Roses.
While The White Queen was about Elizabeth, the wife of King Edward IV, this is about her mother's life and the events that led to Edward's taking the crown. Jacquetta is the driving force throughout the book and remains a strong woman of her day throughout, loyal to King Henry VI and his Queen. When Jacquetta isn't...more

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Nov 16, 2011 Naomi rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think I was probably harder on this book than I needed to be, but I really felt this book was choppily written for being a PG book. In her last few books, I have found her going down the path of James Patterson~lower quality books because the market for her works is already set. That is how I felt with this book. Not only did I feel it was choppily written, but very superficial to boot. I was just really, really disappointed. I have seen this occurring in a very slow progression with her books...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

I like most of what Gregory writes. She does a wonderful job with history and making it approachable. But sometimes her books just don't hold my interest. And this was one of those. The Lady of the Rivers is the third book in this series, but it actually comes first chronologically, which is why I chose to read it first.

Lady of the Rivers introduces us to Jacquetta, mother of Elizabeth (who would go on to be an important figure in history), and her headlong dash into the intrigue of court. Jacqu...more I like most of what Gregory writes. She does a wonderful job with history and making it approachable. But sometimes her books just don't hold my interest. And this was one of those. The Lady of the Rivers is the third book in this series, but it actually comes first chronologically, which is why I chose to read it first.

Lady of the Rivers introduces us to Jacquetta, mother of Elizabeth (who would go on to be an important figure in history), and her headlong dash into the intrigue of court. Jacquetta captures the eye of a powerful man at court, the Duke of Bedford, and becomes his virgin wife, as he would rather use her innocence in the making of alchemy. But when the Duke dies, Jacquetta is left to her own devices and soon marries for love. Richard is lower born than her, but shows promise and when they regain favor with the court, Jacquetta becomes a favorite of the young Queen and must leave her children to help the Queen and King at court and become a part of the politics that surround England.

Jacquetta isn't actually that interesting. She tells everyone else's tale in this book even though she is supposed to be intriguing herself. She's supposed to have powers, but she always hides these for fear of being called a witch. Which is understandable, but in private moments this could have been used to advance her character. As it is, she follows the Queen everywhere and does things she doesn't want to, and in the meantime has lots and lots of children, whom she leaves in the care of others for most of the book. I just couldn't like her. Her husband Richard, is much more intriguing, but he is always away on some duty. And the Queen, well she's just plain annoying and spoiled. I grew weary of reading about her. And there are so many characters in this book, that it's hard to keep track of them all, especially if you're not very familiar with history.

And I'm not familiar with history. I couldn't tell you in this book was accurate in the least. I get all the Kings and Queens mixed up and never quite know who's who. Probably a weakness on my part, but I'm just not that interested in real life history, so I get my dose of it through books like this. The writing in this one was kind of choppy too. Years would pass in a couple sentences while minutes would take pages and pages of the book. It's still better written than a lot of books out there, I just didn't find myself enjoying it very much.

It's ok, as far as historical fiction goes, but Gregory's done better. I'm curious to read the next book, and it's already sitting on my shelf, so I will. But it better be much more interesting that this one to keep my attention.

The Lady of the Rivers
Copyright 2011
443 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2013

More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com (less)

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Feb 23, 2013 Marjorie Pfister rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book 3 in the Cousin's War series tells the story of Jaquetta the mother of Elisabeth Woodville who becomes the wife of King Edward of York.( there are so many Edwards and Richards and Henrys identifying them by house affiliation sometimes is the only way I can keep them straight.)
Jaquetta is noble born of the house of Burgundy..as a teenager she befriends Joan of Arc who teaches her about how over the course of one's life fortune's wheel can bring you both high and low and the only choice a per...more

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Dec 25, 2012 K rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

AT LAST, PHILIPPA IS BACK ON HER GAME.

This book is not flawless; it still suffers from a bit of plot-lag, as though the direction of the book, instead of being sharp and intriguing, is more soft, mushy, and of questionable direction, but at least here Philippa pulls it together brilliantly.

After reading The White Queen and The Red Queen (extremely not happy with the latter), I was at first groaning about the continuation in The Cousins' War series. But the title of this book alone hooked me. So...more AT LAST, PHILIPPA IS BACK ON HER GAME.

This book is not flawless; it still suffers from a bit of plot-lag, as though the direction of the book, instead of being sharp and intriguing, is more soft, mushy, and of questionable direction, but at least here Philippa pulls it together brilliantly.

After reading The White Queen and The Red Queen (extremely not happy with the latter), I was at first groaning about the continuation in The Cousins' War series. But the title of this book alone hooked me. So mystical. And indeed, The Lady of the Rivers more fully fleshes out what The White Queen hinted at and showed us; I wondered why Philippa didn't publish this book first, because it chronologically comes before the events of The White Queen. That would have made The White Queen a lot easier to absorb and follow, having the background of The Lady of the Rivers.

But this is a book in its own right of historical fiction. Jacquetta meets Joan of Arc in her youth (once I heard that scene existed, I was completely won over and knew the book could not be bad). And the book follows through. Even through historical information that I'd had no clue about (the "sleeping king", etc.), Philippa makes the information accessible and digestible. I could tell what was going on. not so The Red Queen, and just satisfactorily so in The White Queen. Jacquetta is fascinating character for her pull to the river and her mysticism, almost as a river-goddess, wise-woman figure. Her meeting with Joan of Arc underlies this, though Jaquetta sees the meeting as an illustration of what happens to women of power (or women who have powers). You'll know the ending with her daughter Elizabeth Woodville becoming queen, and Gregory does gloss over a lot of the personal domestic details. Literally, one chapter will start with "Oh, I gave birth a baby last month". One segment later. "Oh, I'm with child again". We don't even hear the names of all the like TEN children Jacquetta has. It was just an awkward way to insist on keeping the historical fact in there. But anyway, that was only minutely irksome and was actually somewhat amusing.
This book is great. GREAT. Almost a consummate historical fiction novel, with the Queen of England's characterization as particularly strong. A good work from Philippa after two "meh" books. Strong.(less)

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Dec 10, 2012 Sadie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Overall it is a pretty good book that held my attention throughout. However, I was confused at times by repetitive events and basic chronology. Character representation and continuity also cause me to be still troubled by the book.

What I did not like most was that the main character, Jacquetta, was a fairly feeble woman though the author said explicitly that she was a very strong woman. In other words, the author's narration told me "this is a strong woman" but the inner dialogue and actions of...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Encruzilhadas Literárias rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: civilização-editora, catarina

Tenho algo a confessar: A família Woodville, principalmente a Jacquetta e os seus filhos tem um lugar muito especial no meu coração. Desde a Rainha Branca que sigo a história desta família e cada vez me apaixono mais por esta e espero sinceramente que a autora não me desaponte no quinto livro desta saga A Princesa Branca, no qual vai falar da vida de Elizabeth, neta de Jacquetta.
No presente livro começamos em 1430 e conhecemos Jacquetta quando ela é ainda pequena, o que é um inicio diferente ao...more Tenho algo a confessar: A família Woodville, principalmente a Jacquetta e os seus filhos tem um lugar muito especial no meu coração. Desde a Rainha Branca que sigo a história desta família e cada vez me apaixono mais por esta e espero sinceramente que a autora não me desaponte no quinto livro desta saga A Princesa Branca, no qual vai falar da vida de Elizabeth, neta de Jacquetta.
No presente livro começamos em 1430 e conhecemos Jacquetta quando ela é ainda pequena, o que é um inicio diferente ao da Rainha Branca, onde já conhecemos Elizabeth viúva e com dois filhos. Conhecemos algumas das pessoas que vão marcar a sua vida para sempre apesar de não ficarem com ela bastante tempo e encontramos o seu primeiro marido que tem para ela planos muito especiais.
O que mais gostei neste livro, e o que mais gosto nesta família, é o poder que estas mulheres tem. Não só de tomarem decisões por si só mas também de as levarem até ao fim. Falo de tomar riscos e aprender a viver com as usas consequências, sem temor e sem fugir. Quem pode resistir a uma mulher que desce de estrato social por amor? Que não prejudica mais ninguém senão ela própria para ficar com quem ama?
Só houve uma coisa que me decepcionou, foi a falta de "magia" tão vísivel na Rainha Branca, talvez se venha a descorbir que Elizabeth é mais dotada do que a mãe, ou talvez Jaquetta aqui ainda fosse muito nova e se vá sentido mais confiante à medida que a história for avançando. Mesmo assim continua a ter os mesmos elementos místicos dos descendentes de Mesulina que tanto gostei no primeiro livro.
Gregory é também, por excelência, a Rainha da época Tudor, e podemos contar com livros historicamente correctos, ainda que um pouco fantasiados, no que diz respeito às personalidades das perosnagens, dos eventos que aconteceram nas épocas em questão. Nota-se a presença de uma pesquisa intensiva que podemos sentir nas descrições e na maneira como as personagens lidam entre si.
Todos estes elementos aliados à escrita de Phillippa Gregory tornam este livro completamente irresístivel para mim. Desde que saiu em inglês no ano passado, até finalmente ter sido editado em português pela Civilização Editora, que andava a contar os dias para o ler e finalmente consegui. Agora espero apenas que para o ano, Gregory lance o quinto volume desta sua saga. Isto porque a autora anda a lançar os livros aos pares, as mesmas situações de pontos de vista diferentes da guerra. Assim sendo, o quarto volume irá contar as mesmas guerras e eventos d'A Senhora dos Rios, mas do ponto de vista de Anne Neville, sendo o seu título em inglês The Kingmakers Daughter.
Antes de acabar gostaria de dizer que a capa do livro é algo de fantástico. Sem dúvida uma das capas mais bem conseguidas que vi este ano e que acompanha mais uma obra fantástica de Phillipa Gregory sem dúvida a não perder.

Este é o terceiro livro da saga "Primos em Guerra" da qual já lemos também A Rainha Vermelha;
Apesar de ser o terceiro volume em termos de escrita, a acção passa-se antes do primeiro volume, A Rainha Branca e da sua contra-parte A Rainha Vermelha. - Catarina(less)

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Oct 07, 2012 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"I put the charm bracelet away in the purse and return it to my jewel case. I don't need a spell to foresee the future; I am going to make it happen."
--Philippa Gregory, The Lady of the Rivers

The third book in Philippa Gregory's The Cousins' War series is The Lady of the Rivers which chronicles Jaquetta of Luxembourg. While this is the third book in the series I hesitated reading this because I wasn't sure if this particular woman in history would interest me. I read The White Queen, the first b...more "I put the charm bracelet away in the purse and return it to my jewel case. I don't need a spell to foresee the future; I am going to make it happen."
--Philippa Gregory, The Lady of the Rivers

The third book in Philippa Gregory's The Cousins' War series is The Lady of the Rivers which chronicles Jaquetta of Luxembourg. While this is the third book in the series I hesitated reading this because I wasn't sure if this particular woman in history would interest me. I read The White Queen, the first book in the series which follows Elizabeth Woodville, and absolutely LOVED it! The newest and fourth book in the series I actually read next called The Kingmaker's Daughter; this tells the life of Anne Neville, daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and eventual wife of Richard III. Again, loved this book. So I decided to go back and read this one and I cannot understand my hesitation. This book was enthralling!

I must premise, I am a HUGE English history geek. I have read more books about the Tudors than I care to admit to and am creeping up on that number with this era about the Plantagenets. I also am very hesitant to admit that this family might be stealing the place in my heart that was previously held by the Tudors. They are slowly but surely surpassing them. This is huge. But anyways, I can understand that this type of writing or book might not appeal to everyone but I absolutely cannot get enough of Gregory's writing. I am obsessed with this entire 200 year time period that she has written about and I devour her books like they're fast paced young adult novels; I just love them.

So back to Jaquetta, her story starts out very interestingly because while in her uncle's keeping they have captured Joan of Arc. Weird, right? This time in her life and seeing Joan's inevitable fate cements her fear of being caught and tried for witchcraft for the rest of her life. Jaquetta descends from Melusina, the water goddess, and she is blessed (or cursed) with the Sight. Because of this Jaquetta eventually catches the eye of the Duke of Bedford and he proposes marriage. He's about two and a half times her age, her at roughly 15, him at almost forty. And while this is not unheard of in these times, his reason for wanting her is. He does not want her as his bedmate, he will not take her virginity, he does not desire to make an heir, instead he wants her pure in order to use her gift to find the Elixir of Life.

This all comes to naught obviously and throughout her marriage she is slowly starting to fall for her husband's squire, Richard Woodville *sigh*. He is handsome, strong, courageous, and kind. After her husband's death, and a little trickery, she finally convinces him to marry her. He was worried he was too far beneath her and would be the ruin of her, but alas, true love prevails and with a heavy fine they are left to their devices and a very happy marriage.

The rest of the novel takes us through their lives together which include no less than 12 children, the marriage of Henry VI to Margaret of Anjou, the beginning of the battles of the Cousins' War with Richard, Duke of York, and the eventual demise of Henry and Margaret with the rise of Edward IV of York.

I devoured this 437 page novel in about a day and a half...no joke..this is how much I love this stuff. Gregory's writing is so poetic and flowing that you forget you are reading about actual historical events and the drama that goes on rivals any non-historical fiction work out there. Seriously people, the best stories are those rooted in the past.

The only negative I have are some of the battle scenes got a little boring to me, but they were not long or drawn out I was just impatient to get to the meat of what happens after. I also reeeeeally wish Gregory would have taken us to the arrest and execution of her husband and son. We get this story both in The White Queen and The Kingmaker's Daughter but I would have love love loved to hear her personal perspective of the situation. Oh well, we can't get everything we wish for.

I also love how much power and strength Gregory gives to her heroines. In a time where women were regarded as property of their fathers then husbands then sons, she weaves tale after tale of women rising up and wielding the power that is within their reach. And while some women take things too far and create their own downfall (Anne Boleyn, Margaret of Anjoy, Katherine Howard, etc.), there are those that know how to play the game and solidify their spot in the world (Jaquetta, Elizabeth Woodville, and Elizabeth of York). I find it so interesting how Gregory portrays these strong women of the time and how easily they could have played such major roles of the time but just had to be kept more behind the scenes.

Like I said, I cannot get enough of this time period, I mentally swoon over Richard Woodville and Edward IV and I am totally going to now re-read The White Queen so I can re-live, yet again, the courtship and life of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.(less)

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Oct 07, 2012 Denise rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is my favorite book (#3) in Phillipa Gregory's War of the Roses (cousins' war) series so far. It explains much more of the history of the Plantagenet family (descendents from Edward III & Catherine of Aragon, i.e. "The Lion in Winter"). It describes the actions and motives of British and French royalty that caused the start of the War of the Roses during the reign of King Henry VI. The main character, Jacquetta of Luxembourg (Lady Rivers, Duchess of Bledsoe), is a wonderfully rich chara...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Patricia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've always liked Philippa Gregory, as much as I always hated English history. Don't you remember having to memorize all those names and dates, and it all seemed so irrelevant? Philippa Gregory does her research, and her fictional-history turns the names we had to memorize (and promptly forgot after the test) into flesh and blood human beings with extraordinary lives. When she tells her stories, history starts making sense. It's people, with all our frailities, our excesses, our arrogance, our a...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book b/c I enjoy Gregory's historical fiction series. I love the Tudor series and I really enjoy the Cousins' War even though I didn't know much about it before The Red Queen. Gregory has a writing style that is very easy to read. Certainly this is no literary work of genius or work worthy of critical review, but it is interesting to read and fun. I do think, though, that the reader should have an interest in the English regency of this time (1400s) b/c otherwise, the politics and...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Lydia Presley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, fiction, historic-fiction

I've been a fan of Philippa Gregory since, years ago, I picked up The Other Boleyn Girl. I can't help it - I love easy to read historical fiction, and Philippa Gregory provides enough meat in these books to make me feel like I'm learning and being entertained, all in one fell swoop.

I've had The Lady of the Rivers on my shelf for a year now - and I'm ashamed of myself that I'm just now getting to it. For some reason, I was thinking it would be a huge time investment, as historical novels tend to...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Christie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am usually a really big fan of Phillipa Gregory. I loved her Tudor Series, especially The Other Boleyn Girl. The Cousins War series is her attempt to try out a different historical period -that of the War of the Roses.

I cannot review this book without mentioning the others. I enjoyed the White Queen, though felt all the references to magic were a bit unnecessary. Magic had been included in The Other Boleyn Girl to good effect. I didn't have an issue with magic being brought up or believed in,...more I am usually a really big fan of Phillipa Gregory. I loved her Tudor Series, especially The Other Boleyn Girl. The Cousins War series is her attempt to try out a different historical period -that of the War of the Roses.

I cannot review this book without mentioning the others. I enjoyed the White Queen, though felt all the references to magic were a bit unnecessary. Magic had been included in The Other Boleyn Girl to good effect. I didn't have an issue with magic being brought up or believed in, it was a big part of the times, but I like it's effectiveness to remain ambiguous. The Red Queen was horrible - there was not a single likeable character in it. I felt like The Lady of The Rivers would be the deciding book, as to whether this series was worth it or not.

First off - a small point. The picture on the front of the cover shows a redhead. So, I originally imagined Jacquetta as a redhead, even though she was blonde. Phillippa Gregory even mentions that she has white blonde hair halfway through the book. This disconcerted me somewhat.

The constant regurgitation of peoples names and titles were annoying. I felt that in places the story had been over-simplified, it felt like I was reading the literary equivalent of Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette - Margaret of Anjou was certainly written in the same vein. There was very little detailing the married life of Jaquetta and Richard Woodville or indeed their romance. It literally seemed it was like - they meet up, they shag once, he goes back to Calais, she conceives every time they have sex, he returns to see the sproglet, they meet up - and so the circle goes on. Also, their eldest son apparantly dies in infancy - so why has Phillippa written that he dies when he is 12?

Most of all, I felt there was too much reliance on the magic aspect - it was like Phillipa Gregory used the myths to cover up to scant historical research there was available on Jacquetta. I quite liked it in the beginning, where Jacquetta was a young girl who was made to scry and I quite liked how she was pressurised to read the cards...but I didn't like the fact that she was supposed to be this really powerful witch.

I did like the way that the end of the book foreshadowed the first book in the series - The White Queen - I felt that was quite nicely done. The battle scenes were very well written and I felt for the characters as Jacquetta was searching the battlefields for her family. I did like the turn of opinion in her writing from supporting the King and Queen to conceding that the house of York had more to offer, while struggling to remain loyal to the idea that a King is born and not just made.

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Jul 31, 2012 Elaine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Time of Henry VI-Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Peaceful and pious, not suited for the dynastic wars, known as the Wars of the Roses, which were to commence during his reign. His periods of insanity and his inherent benevolence eventually required his wife, Margaret of Anjou, to assume control of his kingdom, which contributed...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Catarina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Uma vez mais, tive a sorte de conseguir ler a trilogia de Philippa Gregory de acordo com a história das personagens, e não com a data de publicação/escrita.

Comecei pelo ultimo livro, mas que cronologicamente é o primeiro, uma vez que Jacquetta é a mãe da "Rainha Branca", o primeiro livro da trilogia :)

Para mim, o melhor dos três. Tinha lido apenas livros da série dos Tudors, e tinha receio de não gostar deste, uma vez que se passa mais cedo, logo, é uma escrita com mais ficção do que relato hist...more

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Jul 01, 2012 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Philippa Gregory rocks. This one gets a little tedious near the end when the author has to fit in all the historical details, but even then she finds ways for her characters to spice it up. I really liked it (as noted in my star rating).

Again, I have to praise the cleverness of Philippa Gregory. To anyone else, the Cousins' War series would be completely out of order. But her first book is the hook to get you started, the next book is other side of the story to make it fair, and the third book...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, historical-fiction

Philippa Gregory has always been one of my fav authors. When I was growing up, my high school librarian didn't really buy any YA books--I had to buy those at Waldenbooks at the mall or read books from my mom's library. But my H.S. librarian loved historical romances, so there was plenty of Philippa Carr and Victoria Holt.

In this title, Jacquetta meets Joan of Arc as a young girl, and then rises through the English and French monarchy. Jacquetta has to marry the old Duke of Bedford, but he doesn'...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Hyarrowen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical

PG has done it again – a novel full of bad history that's also page-turningly readable. Sigh.

She manages to glide over one of her major errors in 'The White Queen' – stating that Jacquetta was a Burgundian – but she makes other strange, simple mistakes throughout. For instance – why does a fifteenth century woman start thinking about dynamite – unless her powers of prediction are even stronger than we're given reason to believe? Why is a duchess addressed as 'Lady Bedford' rather than 'Your Gra...more

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May 07, 2012 Didi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

And so Philippa Gregory continues her novels about women during the Wars of the Roses with this story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford.

The outlines of Jacquetta’s life known to historians are that she was born into the ruling family of Luxembourg (a family popularly believed to be descended from the water nymph Melusine); married the Duke of Bedford (English Regent of France); and after the Duke’s death she married his squire Richard Woodville with whom she had 13 children. She was a close frie...more

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May 06, 2012 Traci rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, mother to 12 children, the oldest becomes queen of england, married to Edward york, during the cousins war, or the war of the roses. elizabeth stands on the side of the road with her two sons from her first marriage (her husband is killed in battle), and catches the eye of Edward while he is riding past.

Jacquetta is French, but is married to the Duke of Bedford, but only for her ability to "see", he never sleeps with her, nor loves her. When he dies, s...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Hope rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 15th-century, historical-fiction, england, psychic, library

I have been seeing Philippa Gregory books in the library for a few years now. I have always thought they looked interesting, and that I would probably like them if I gave them a chance, but I just wasn’t in the mood for history. I finally decided to take the plunge with The Lady of the Rivers. I have since learned that Mrs. Gregory is known for her impeccable research and treatment of real historical women – even the more obscure ones such as Jacquetta, the main character of this book.

Although J...more I have been seeing Philippa Gregory books in the library for a few years now. I have always thought they looked interesting, and that I would probably like them if I gave them a chance, but I just wasn’t in the mood for history. I finally decided to take the plunge with The Lady of the Rivers. I have since learned that Mrs. Gregory is known for her impeccable research and treatment of real historical women – even the more obscure ones such as Jacquetta, the main character of this book.

Although Jacquetta starts out life in a wealthy French family, the bulk of the story is set in 15th century England. Around the age of 17 or 18 (with historical women accurate dates of birth are not always easy to pinpoint) Jacquetta is married to the Duke of Bedford, an older man and the regent of the English held lands in France. She soon finds out that he has not married her for the usual reasons, however. He has married her because he believes that her ancestry has possibly given her the gift of psychic abilities. She is also a virgin so pure she could “capture a unicorn,” which he thinks will be an asset to his alchemical studies. But after a brief marriage, the Duke dies and Jacquetta finds herself the Dowager Duchess of Bedford, a title which means very little in terms of money or land since she is a woman.

The death of the Duke leaves Jacquetta in a position for her second marriage to be for love – to the Duke’s squire, Richard Woodville. They marry quickly, and in secret, before the royal family can arrange a more “fitting” marriage for her. They are soon forgiven and are invited back to court where Jacquetta befriends the new queen, another young French girl named Margaret. Because of this and Richard’s loyal service to the king, he is given the title of Lord Rivers.

The rest of the novel follows Jacquetta’s life during the difficult period of English history known as the War of the Roses. Even though she has many children, as a lady-in-waiting to the queen she rarely gets to see them or her husband who is stationed as the captain of Calais, the English stronghold on the coast of France. She follows the queen loyally, though not blindly, through every move in this royal game of chess through the English countryside.

Gregory’s novel is sometimes drawn out and a tad boring, but still interesting and exciting enough to keep a reader engaged until the end. And although it is centered around a minor player in the war, it presents historical facts in a way that is much more interesting than a history class and has left me with a desire to learn more about this time period. It has also left me wanting to read Gregory’s earlier novel, The White Queen, which is the story of Jacquetta’s daughter, Elizabeth, who, as a young widow, marries King Edward IV. As stated before, Gregory’s research of her subject is impeccable, and her portrayal of strong, historical women like Jacquetta a welcome change to the “his-story” of history.
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Feb 14, 2012 Victoria Hess rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you are a fan of Philippa Gregory, the title says it all. If you are not familiar with her work, she has written extensively of the history of England during some of its most tumultuous times, inclusive of Henry the VIII and his ancestors of several generations. She always writes from the viewpoint of the women in and near the court, and those women, who are traded and sold as as if they were property, seem to glean far more about the doings of the court than the men of the time would ever ha...more If you are a fan of Philippa Gregory, the title says it all. If you are not familiar with her work, she has written extensively of the history of England during some of its most tumultuous times, inclusive of Henry the VIII and his ancestors of several generations. She always writes from the viewpoint of the women in and near the court, and those women, who are traded and sold as as if they were property, seem to glean far more about the doings of the court than the men of the time would ever have acknowledged. It would be very fair to say that the women of the time were highly underrated.

The star of this book, which is actually the first of the Cousins war series, even though it is the third book produced, is Jacquette of Luxembourg. She is said to have the powers of prescience, though she avoids openly using that power, for fear of being convicted of witchcraft. Still she has inklings of events throughout the book, and many we see come true, though not necessarily as one might expect.

She first marries an Uncle of the British king, who is taken with both her beauty and her alleged powers, though not to his benefit, as he dies two years later. She then begins a relationship with the Duke's squire,and marries him in secret, and bears an unbelievable number of children by modern standards. Though not, I think, by the standards of the time. Remarkably, she survives 14 confinements, all the children are born alive, and only one dies before reaching adulthood. Perhaps there is some power used here after all. Incidentally, she correctly predicts the gender of every child. Some reviewers have balked at the ordinariness of this part of the tale, but I am always fascinated by Gregory's research into the ways of this period of history.

The history making part of this book is Jacquetta's friendship with the Queen of England, and her help in this queen's efforts to keep her ill (mad) husband and his proclaimed heir, in power. The battles are fierce and sad on many levels and are the beginning of the war between the Houses of York and Lancaster, and all the horror this brings on the Kingdom and its people. Fortunately, the horrors of these battles are saved for the latter part of the book, and dealt with briefly. After all, this is a book from the viewpoint of the women of the court, not the men, and the women would rarely have participated in the fighting.

After the battle is done, Jacquetta and her husband are left without their abiding allegiance to the house of Lancaster, and with a shaky allegiance to that of York. But Jacquetta has an answer for even that, which I shall not reveal here.

When I read Gregory's books, I invariably turn to Wikipedia and other such resources to see how closely she is following the outlines of the history. I am always glad to see that she follows at least the broad strokes, though this is fiction, and I expect many of the intimate details are embellished by her talented writing. After all, this is not a period when many diaries were kept or when the lives of women were considered all that important. (less)

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About Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory was an established historian and writer when she discovered her interest in the Tudor period and wrote the novel The Other Boleyn Girl, which was made into a TV drama and a major film. Published in 2009, the bestselling The White Queen, the story of Elizabeth Woodville, ushered in a new series involving The Cousins’ War (now known as The War of the Roses) and a new era for the acc...more

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Books by Philippa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl (The Tudor Court, #2)

The Constant Princess (The Tudor Court, #1)

The Boleyn Inheritance (The Tudor Court, #3)

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Quotes from The Lady of the Rivers

“The wheel of fortune [...] tells us that we all only want victory. We all want to triumph. But we all have to learn to endure what comes. We have to learn to treat misfortune and great fortune with indifference. That is wisdom.” — 16 people liked it

“When you pray, you know that you want something, that's always the first step. to let yourself know that you want something, that you yearn for it. sometimes that's the hardest thing to do. Because you have to have courage to know what you desire. You have to have courage to acknowledge that you are unhappy without it.” — 12 people liked it

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The Lady of the Rivers (The Cousins' War #3)

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