Ricky Morgan’s Reviews > The Red Queen > Status Update

It looks like Margaret has found who she would like to remarry, Lord Thomas Stanley. This is somebody well connected and owns a lot of land but is all as it seems? Especially with certain characters in the York household?…

The first person narration just as captivating as ever, is so effective at juxtaposing Margaret’s apparent hatred for the York household and her love for her only son. She finds it unfair that Elizabeth woodville has a team of mid wives with her while she gives birth while Margret didn’t she calls her son her only son and is extremely protective of him but wants to make sure that he is safe.

So it looks like Henry is beginning to understand his destiny and the piety of his mother now as he grows up, the first person narration just as captivating as ever fromGregory herself and is certainly what makes this series unique. Even though Henry has been effectively kidnapped by the York household he doesn’t lose sight of his identity and I think Gregory also captures this perfectly

This is the part that really feels melancholic because the future king Henry VII’s uncle is forced into exile following the battle and Henry himself who is still a young child doesn’t take this particularly well but there are characters in this scene, the hidden ones that hold the story together for example the wisdom of Margaret’s husband Sir Henry Stafford. The fatherly figure even she asks for counsel to

These are tense uncertain political times when all seems lost and the York prince is on the throne, Margaret is seeking solace knowing that her son is safe at Pembroke Castle however all isn’t as it seems…
Despite elements of distinct melancholy here, I think that again Gregory plays a blinder in making the reader feel like they’re really there at the scene and this could explain the popularity of all her books

Battle scenes are quite graphic and gruesome but this is only historically accurate so once again credit to Philippa Gregory where it’s due

There’s ups and there are downs but the person that I think the reader feels sorry for the most is Margaret herself. Her piety makes her think she is carrying out Gods work but throughout these early stages she is constantly being forced to do things that wouldn’t seem right or justifiable in any way. Especially being married against her will not once but twice. This was the harsh reality in Tudor England

There’s lots of competing claims for the throne, conflict and Tudor politics at play… this makes things interesting and I think Philippa Gregory is quite keen for the reader to understand each of these issues especially in the run up to the Battle of Bosworth Field

There are things about Margaret’s story we would find shocking nowadays and Philippa Gregory does a great job of giving the reader an insight into this especially from her unique first person narrative

A modest start but a fascinating one into Margaret Beaufort (Henry VIII’s grandmother)