The Lady of the Rivers (The Cousins' War #3)
by
Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)
#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
...moreebook, 464 pages
Published
October 18th 2011
by Touchstone
(first published September 15th 2011)
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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
The theme of my complaints against The Lady of the Rivers is the lack of depth. Admittedly, thi...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 Luxem...more
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
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
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
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
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'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
I also did like the inclusion of Jacquetta's relationship with Joan of Arc but it was a bit jarring to read abou...more
Ah! So good! This was without a doubt my favorite of The Cousins' War series so far.
I love Jacquetta and Richard Woodville, they're definitely my favorites out of the three in this series that I've read. I'm excited and bummed at the same time to read the next one. I'm excited for more of the story and interesting history but sad that the next won't be from Jacquetta's POV. In the Author's Note, Philippa Gregory notes that there isn't much documentation on Jacquetta which is upsetting because I'...more
I love Jacquetta and Richard Woodville, they're definitely my favorites out of the three in this series that I've read. I'm excited and bummed at the same time to read the next one. I'm excited for more of the story and interesting history but sad that the next won't be from Jacquetta's POV. In the Author's Note, Philippa Gregory notes that there isn't much documentation on Jacquetta which is upsetting because I'...more
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Jacquetta of Luxembourg was the mother of Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV's queen. Her story is less well known than that of her daughter, but after writing novels featuring Elizabeth and Margaret of Anjou, Gregory has turned her attention to this second wife of John Duke of Bedford who may well have met Joan of Arc as a child of twelve. After the duke dies, Jacquetta marries Richard Woodville, later Baron Rivers. While she is still, technically, one of only two royal duchesses, ehr life with Woo...more
Jun 02, 2013
Caitríona Shanahan
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-romance
So why do I read Philippa Gregory's stuff? Because it turns out that I love romantic histories - that is to say, I really do enjoy history and it's always better when there's a romping good story to carry it along. And Philippa Gregory is a proper historian - not only does she get the BIG events into her stories, she also gets the details and mundanities of life in earlier times in there. And best of all, she builds her histories around women - real life, flesh and blood creatures, not fluffy fa...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. Jacqu...more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
No presente livro começamos em 1430 e conhecemos Jacquetta quando ela é ainda pequena, o que é um inicio diferente ao...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 b...more
--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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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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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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“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.”
—
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“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.”
—
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Dec 12, 2011 12:00pm
Dec 12, 2011 12:02pm