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The Dragon and the Rose
by
The Dragon
Henry had been hunted, betrayed and attacked by his political enemies since the day he was born. He had conquered his fear of the constant danger surrounding him, but ould he conquer the woman he had agreed to wed -- the woman who represented all he had learned to despise, the one who would profit most from his death?
And The Rose
Fair, beautiful, passionate and cl ...more
Henry had been hunted, betrayed and attacked by his political enemies since the day he was born. He had conquered his fear of the constant danger surrounding him, but ould he conquer the woman he had agreed to wed -- the woman who represented all he had learned to despise, the one who would profit most from his death?
And The Rose
Fair, beautiful, passionate and cl ...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
December 28th 1980
by Jove Books
(first published January 11th 1979)
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Let's make one thing clear: Despite the cheesy romance novel cover (Seriously? Henry VII wishes), this is NOT a romance novel. It's historical fiction. But not good historical fiction. Historical fiction at its most mundane. Historical fiction that forces you to listen in on every conversation and read every document, no matter how trivial to the plot.
This book should have been called THE DRAGON has a lot of meetings and does some paperwork AND THE ROSE wanders in every once in a while, whines o ...more
This book should have been called THE DRAGON has a lot of meetings and does some paperwork AND THE ROSE wanders in every once in a while, whines o ...more
The Dragon and the Rose is supposedly the story of Henry VII (the dragon) and Elizabeth of York (the rose), but don't go getting yourself fired up by the romancy looking cover and jacket blurb. The first half of The Dragon and the Rose is more about Henry's younger years, his mother Margaret Beaufort and events leading up to becoming king after the battle at Bosworth field. That latter half revolves around the Henry's early years as king as he faces challenges of plots against the crown, stabili
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Probably more a 2.5 star read for me. I found the 1970's style a little dry. A good historical account of the early reign of Henry 7th and Elizabeth of York.
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I’m glad whenever positive initial impression that I’ve got from reading the first 20-30 pages of book is sustained throughout its length onto the last pages, such as the case with this book.
I know what I want and I know what I seek when I’ve come across a mention about this book amongst the Tumblr community of “The War of the Roses” enthusiasts, and then spent a considerable amount of time, effort, and my (googling *ahem*) research skill in scourging the net freebies zone for its digital versio ...more
I know what I want and I know what I seek when I’ve come across a mention about this book amongst the Tumblr community of “The War of the Roses” enthusiasts, and then spent a considerable amount of time, effort, and my (googling *ahem*) research skill in scourging the net freebies zone for its digital versio ...more
A Classic Historical Romance Worth the Read
This is one of Gellis’ early classics. It tells the story of Henry Tudor who seized the throne of England in 1485, and the bride he took as king, Elizabeth, daughter of King Edward IV. Henry was the heir to the House of Lancaster; Elizabeth was the heir to the House of York. He was the dragon; she was the rose. Though politically expedient, and begun with great distrust, their marriage would become so much more. Though Elizabeth was quite neurotic (as G ...more
This is one of Gellis’ early classics. It tells the story of Henry Tudor who seized the throne of England in 1485, and the bride he took as king, Elizabeth, daughter of King Edward IV. Henry was the heir to the House of Lancaster; Elizabeth was the heir to the House of York. He was the dragon; she was the rose. Though politically expedient, and begun with great distrust, their marriage would become so much more. Though Elizabeth was quite neurotic (as G ...more
Personally, I thought that this was a sweet, and refreshing, tale of Henry VII's love for his wife, Elizabeth of York. It was not dripping in romance; richly detailed various plots against Henry (both before and after he took the crown), and brought to light the reasoning behind many of his actions - that often look cold and callous to the 21st Century observer. My main disappointments: the awful characterisation of Elizabeth Woodville, and the fact that the story ended when Henry's reign had ba
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While this is a very good historical novel about Henry VII, its a mistake to market it as a romance between Henry and Elizabeth. Elizabeth gets very little stage time, and when she and Henry are together, it is clear this is a thorny political marriage with some emotional issues thrown in, not some grand passion of two equals that great romance novels are made of.
Great to see Henry VII get the spotlight for a change instead of his larger than life (pun intended) son, but, despite the front cover ...more
Had it not been for the note at the end claiming that the book was accurate, I would have given it 4 stars. As far as writing is concerned, the story is great, progresses wonderfully and I literally could not put the book down until I finished it (8PM in the evening till 3 AM in the morning is what it took me). BUT this book is not accurate. Example of inaccuracies: the Gray that was executed by Richard III was not Elizabeth Woodville's brother, but her second son. Elizabeth of York was 19, not
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This book presents as an historical romance, but it would much better fit the historical novel category. It is a well researched and novelized version of Henry VII's boyhood and early manhood, growing up in exile and taking the throne, marrying Richard III's niece, Elizabeth and their turbulent struggle with each other and with enemies in England. I found it quite good and certainly entertaining. I now know more about the period.
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Liked this book because it shows how anyone would have interacted in that time, how they expressed their feelings.. But I would have liked more of Elizabeth's view on the whole thing because most of it is from Henry's POV.
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This is a historical novel about Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, focusing primarily on Henry.
I struggled between giving this book 3 or 4 stars. I settled on three, but it's more like 3 1/2 in reality.
I'm actually not really sure how to describe my feelings for this book, but let me explain it like this: I was looking for a story with focus on Henry VII and Elizabeth of York for quite some time and kept stumbling about this. I kept not buying it, because look at the cover! It looks like a drippy love story where everyone just whispers "My darling!" for at least half a page while making g ...more
I'm actually not really sure how to describe my feelings for this book, but let me explain it like this: I was looking for a story with focus on Henry VII and Elizabeth of York for quite some time and kept stumbling about this. I kept not buying it, because look at the cover! It looks like a drippy love story where everyone just whispers "My darling!" for at least half a page while making g ...more
I read this one several times, also. It's historical fiction based on the life and marriage of Henry VII of England to his wife, Elizabeth.
The marriage was arranged, and brought together the two entities fighting over the British throne, in what is referred to as The War of the Roses.
Unfortunately, it's been out of print for many years, but my parents had a copy of it I found one day. It can still be found on Amazon.com. ...more
The marriage was arranged, and brought together the two entities fighting over the British throne, in what is referred to as The War of the Roses.
Unfortunately, it's been out of print for many years, but my parents had a copy of it I found one day. It can still be found on Amazon.com. ...more
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Roberta Gellis has been one of the most successful writers of historical fiction of the last few decades, having published about 25 meticulously researched historical novels since 1964. She was married to her husband Charles for over 50 years and they lived together in Lafayette, Indiana with a lively Lakeland terrier called Taffy. She has one child called Mark.
Her page at the Internet Speculative ...more
Her page at the Internet Speculative ...more
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