Book Review: The King Maker's Daughter

The 4th book I've read this year was The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory.

source


 

Here is the book synopsis from Amazon.com:

SPIES, POISON, AND CURSES SURROUND HER. . . . IS THERE ANYONE SHE CAN TRUST?
The Kingmaker’s Daughter—Philippa Gregory’s first sister story since The Other Boleyn Girl—is the gripping tale of the daughters of the man known as the Kingmaker, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick: the most powerful magnate in fifteenth-century England. Without a son and heir, he uses his daughters, Anne and Isabel, as pawns in his political games, and they grow up to be influential players in their own right. At the court of Edward IV and his beautiful queen, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne grows from a delightful child to become ever more fearful and desperate when her father makes war on his former friends. Married at age fourteen, she is soon left widowed and fatherless, her mother in sanctuary and her sister married to the enemy. Anne manages her own escape by marrying Richard, Duke of Gloucester, but her choice will set her on a collision course with the overwhelming power of the royal family.

Philippa Gregory can do no wrong in my eyes.  Every single book that I have read, I have loved.  To me, few things are as fascinating as these historical tales of England.  Her books are based on historical research, but she weaves in amazing story lines to fill in details that cannot be found.  This book is part of The Cousins' War (also known as the War of the Roses) series.  These novels focus on the time period in which the House of Lancaster and the House of York were fighting for the rights to the throne of England.  The first book in the series is The White Queen.  The Red Queen is next, followed by The Lady of the Rivers, which is actually a prequel to The White Queen because it tells about Elizabeth Woodville's mother, Jacquetta.  The Kingmaker's Daughter is fourth in the series.

I found this particularly interesting since I've read the other three books in the series.  Though it has been awhile since I've read The White Queen, I was able to recall some of the events told now through Anne Neville's eyes.

What I truly love about Philippa Gregory is that you are always rooting for the protagonist of her novels...even when you found yourself rooting against that same character in a previous novel.  In The White Queen, I desperately wanted things to work out for Elizabeth Woodville.  In The Kingmaker's Daughter, I was rooting for Anne and feeling, like her, that Elizabeth Woodville was the enemy.

Maybe I'm just fickle.

OR maybe that's the beauty of these books.  Unlike real life, you actually get a chance to experience events from another person's perspective.  It really makes you see both sides of the story.

If you like historical fiction, English history, Philippa Gregory, Kings, Queens, love, drama, triumph, etc., I say, grab this book and read it!