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    The Red Queen: A Novel
    The Red Queen: A Novel
    The Red Queen: A Novel
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    The Red Queen: A Novel

    Written by Philippa Gregory

    Narrated by Bianca Amato

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    The inspiration for the critically acclaimed Starz miniseries The White Queen, #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings to life Margaret Beaufort, heiress to the red rose of Lancaster, who charts her way through treacherous alliances to take control of the English throne.

    Margaret Beaufort never surrenders her belief that her Lancaster house is the true ruler of England, and that she has a great destiny before her. Married to a man twice her age, quickly widowed, and a mother at only fourteen, Margaret is determined to turn her lonely life into a triumph. She sets her heart on putting her son on the throne of England regardless of the cost to herself, to England, and even to the little boy. Disregarding rival heirs and the overwhelming power of the York dynasty, she names him Henry, like the king; sends him into exile; and pledges him in marriage to her enemy Elizabeth of York’s daughter. As the political tides constantly move and shift, Margaret masterminds one of the greatest rebellions of all time—all the while knowing that her son has grown to manhood, recruited an army, and awaits his opportunity to win the greatest prize in all of England.

    The Red Queen is a novel of conspiracy, passion, and coldhearted ambition, the story of a proud and determined woman who believes that she alone is destined, by her piety and lineage, to shape the course of history.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateAug 3, 2010
    ISBN9781442304406
    Author

    Philippa Gregory

    Philippa Gregory is an internationally renowned author of historical novels. She holds a PhD in eighteenth-century literature from the University of Edinburgh. Works that have been adapted for television include A Respectable Trade, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool. The Other Boleyn Girl is now a major film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Eric Bana. Philippa Gregory lives in the North of England with her family.

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    Reviews for The Red Queen

    3.5/5

    87 ratings70 reviews

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    • 4/5
      As other reviewers have said, you really don't need to read Philippa Gregory's The White Queen in order to read The Red Queen. Based on the life of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII of England and grandmother of Henry VIII, this book takes place during the Wars of the Roses, during which rival branches of the Plantagenet family vied for the throne of England.I liked this book a lot more than some of Gregory's recent work, especially The Other Queen, which I could barely get through. If you have read Gregory's other historical novels, I recommend this book. If you are just starting to read her, I suggest first trying more entertaining fare such as The Other Boleyn Girl, The Constant Princess, or, my favorite, The Queen's Fool.
    • 3/5
      This was really good, but I was wishing for more. It was like the rest of her story was about to begin and then the book ended. I hope that there is another book coming in this set.
    • 4/5
      If you like suspenseful historical fiction, full of bloody battles and political intrigue, then you will enjoy The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory. This book is set in 15th century England during the War of the Roses, when two related families, the Yorks and the Lancasters, fought for control of the English throne.The narrator of the story is Margaret Beaufort, heir to the house of Lancaster. Because she is a woman, she cannot take the throne, but her son would have a claim to be king. Margaret is a very pious woman. As a child, she has visions of Joan of Arc and believes that she has been chosen by God for greatness. Through three arranged, politically motivated marriages, she becomes convinced that it is her destiny to be the mother of the King of England.Unfortunately for Margaret and the other Lancasters, the house of York is in power throughout most of the book. As King Edward and his brothers George and Richard fight each other for the throne, Margaret works behind the scenes, plotting to place her son Henry as the King of England. The religious Margaret also nurses a deep hatred for the beautiful York queen, Elizabeth, whom she believes to be a witch.Philippa Gregory does an outstanding job of creating suspense through vivid battle scenes and shifting political intrigues. Whose son will be king: York or Lancaster? Read this very entertaining book to find out!
    • 2/5
      Have yet to work out what I didn't like about this book. Margaret Beaufort isn't the most sympathetic of characters being best known for her piety and severity of nature. However much Gregory attempted to make her likeable, Beaufort just wasn't. Her characterisation had no appeal, even her love for her son seemed obsessive. It was extremely difficult for women to gain power during this period and Beaufort did manage to have considerable influence over events, but in the book it just all seemed so contrived. Not Gregory at her finest, probably would have worked better as a novella.
    • 4/5
      This book tells the story of the War of the Roses (or the Cousins War) from the point of view of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII and grandmother of Henry VIII. Margaret was a very devout little girl who was fascinated by the story of Jeanne d'Arc and modelled herself on her. Married at the age of 12 to Edmund Tudor she was still a child herself when she gave birth to Henry. Edmund had died before his son was born and the Yorks were storming their castle so Margaret moved to Pembroke Castle to give birth to Henry. She almost died in the process and the difficult birth probably made her unable to bear any more children. She was then remarried to Henry Stafford and had to leave her son in the care of Jasper Tudor. As the battles for the throne continued Margaret remained convinced that her son was the true King of England and she plotted to have it come about.Having read The White Queen earlier this year it was interesting to read about the same time period from the point of view of a Lancaster. It was also interesting to read about Pembroke Castle as I have toured that castle.
    • 5/5
      Probably Miss Gregory's best. Extremely fast paced and well put together.
    • 4/5
      The more I read about Tudor England, the more fascinating I discover it to be. I?ve read historical books about royalty before and enjoyed them ? Reay Tannahill?s Fatal Majesty (about Mary, Queen of Scots) and The Seventh Son are just two, (I enjoyed the former more than the latter) but this book is different. Maybe because I recently started watching The Tudors and I'd just read The King?s Mistress by Emma Campion (you can read my review of The King's Mistress here). They both piqued my interest and I wanted more. Then along came The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory and now I can?t get enough!The first in this historical series is called The White Queen (which I have not read yet) and is the story of Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England and wife to King Edward IV. The Red Queen is Margaret Beaufort. She is born into the house of Lancaster and from an early age is raised to believe that she has one purpose ? to bear a son who will one day rule England as the one true king. Her life is therefore dedicated to achieving this goal for her son, Henry Tudor, born when Margaret is just fourteen. She is blocked by the Yorks who want the kingdom for their line and so battles rage back and forth over the years. Never does she waver from her belief that her son is the only rightful heir to the crown.I enjoyed this book tremendously for several reasons. It fed my growing addiction to historical novels about the royals and it was well-written and not overly romanticized. I found the writing to-the- point in that there was little description of gowns, styles, cloth, not to mention the various activities such as hunting and hawking that people spent time doing in that century. Depiction of life in the 1400?s was shown rather than described.My favourite character in The Red Queen was Margaret Beaufort?s second husband, Henry Stafford. I found him very sympathetic and he was the only one I could relate to. Margaret thought him weak and a coward but the way he was written showed he had character and didn?t buckle under prevailing opinions. During stressful events, he showed maturity while she displayed anger. And that brings me to Mary. I would say that the author did not write this character to be liked at all. Her one-track mind ? getting her son on the throne ? was unpleasant. Granted, her mother taught Mary that her only raison d?etre was to bear a son, and so I can see where she would have learned this righteous attitude. Still, the added distraction of this character using her piety and belief that God had ordained her son to be the one true king, just made her unlikeable. And now I?m curious ? was her arch enemy, the white queen, equally unlikeable? Or was she a more sympathetic woman? Either way, the facts are known ? I just have to read them!The Red Queen is a must read for anyone who loves historical novels and it?s a stand-alone book - you don?t need to read The White Queen first to enjoy it. And for anyone who hasn?t tried this genre yet ? I?d say go for it!
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this book of Philippa's latest series better than The White Queen. Both books cover the same time period, but tell the story from different perspective. I didn't relate to Elizabeth Woodville at all. I wasn't sympathetic towards Margaret Beaufort, but I could relate. I was surprised that this book also lacked the court drama and intrigue and really focused on the battles and relationships made outside of the court.I was able to read this book faster than the first book in the series as well. I'm not sure if it was because I "knew" the basics of the story already and didn't have to follow closely the relationships of the characters. I am curious what the next perspective that Philippa might write about.
    • 4/5
      The first book that I've read that I actually am not cheering for the main character. What a bad person. How often do we read book where the main character does not learn anything and is just as selfish as at the beginning? I enjoyed the change!
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed this book a lot more than I did 'The White Queen' although, as others have mentioned, the protagonist is not a nice person and does not seem to improve herself at all during the course of the novel. This is the story of Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII, and how she fought throughout her life to bring him to the throne of England - a very interesting story and one which, thanks to Margaret's hubris, is filled with moments of great humour.
    • 2/5
      Philippa Gregory tackles the figure of Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII of England, in this novel chronicling the Wars of the Roses. While it is interesting to learn about Margaret, who married at an extremely young age and endured a difficult childbirth, she was far from a likable character. Margaret displays a self-righteous belief in the Lancaster cause and particularly that her son Henry is destined to be King of England. The ends justify the means to Margaret and she even orders the children of the rival York family murdered at one point to further her son's claim to the throne. I simply could not find much that was sympathetic about Margaret and I found myself hoping her enemies would put this woman in her place, simply because she was so unlikeable.
    • 3/5
      British historical fiction author Philippa Gregory crosses the line to the Lancaster side in the next installment of her Cousins' War series, The Red Queen.The Red Queen tells the story of Margaret Beaufort, a member of the House of Lancaster and, most famously, the grandmother of Henry VIII. At the age of twelve Margaret is married to Edmund Tudor in an effort to create a royal Lancaster heir and help secure the throne. Though Edmund dies shortly into their marriage, he leaves Margaret with a son named Henry, whom she swears to put on the throne as the rightful Lancaster heir. Caught up in a dangerous civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York, Margaret must navigate ever-changing court politics and carefully plot to get her son on the throne. But in a world where the king of England is constantly changing and no line of succession is secure, Margaret must walk a thin line between loyalty and betrayal to get what she desires.Margaret Beaufort is an interesting contrast to Elizabeth Woodville, the York Queen Gregory discussed in The White Queen. While Elizabeth clings strongly to her mother's mysticism and witch-like superstitions, Margaret is a strict religious woman, clinging to the belief that she is a British version of Joan of Arc and it is her duty, as well as God's will, that the House of Lancaster rule England through her son. Gregory's descriptions of the two women are also at completely opposite ends of the spectrum: Elizabeth is described as a tall, blond and beautifully seductive woman who becomes involved in politics mostly through her chance meeting with Edward III, and who appears to have no real ambition of her own prior to the meeting. Margaret, however, is described as a shorter, dark-haired woman who is modest and was taught, from the earliest days of her life, that she is descended from a royal line and it is her job to fill the Lancaster cradle with sons, as well as put him on the throne as the rightful heir.Many of the events that take place in The Red Queen where also documented in The White Queen, though this time there's a different slant to the events and some information is added -- and some is removed. While it was interesting to see the same happenings in a different context from the other side, I couldn't help but think that I've read this book before, so the events weren't as new and, well, felt a tiny bit recycled.An interesting twist though, as in The White Queen, was the inclusion of violent battles. It did bug me when Gregory broke the first-person viewpoint of Margaret to shift to some third-person battles without warning, but it did add an interesting and unexpected facet to the story. I personally enjoyed the change, but some Gregory fans may have trouble with it.Something Gregory fans may also have trouble with is the lack of virtually any romance in the novel, especially fans of The Boleyn Girl and historical romance. Other than a dash of very subtle spark between Margaret and brother-in-law Jasper Tudor, there is absolutely no romance between Margaret and any of her husbands and no romantic subplots between other characters. Seriously, I think this is the first Gregory novel I've read that has no romance in it at all.The pacing in this novel also seemed a little off to me. In fact, I found the first 200-ish pages to be kind of boring, with Margaret doing little else than taking orders from others in charge of her life. Once Margaret takes charge of her own life though and starts to really play political games, things start to get really interesting, eventually culminating in a high-action climax with a highly satisfying, though abrupt, ending.But as always, Gregory's storytelling skills shine through. The descriptions of Medieval England are well-constructed and enjoyable to read, and the characters are throughly developed, especially Margaret. Margaret's transformation throughout the novel from a somewhat spoiled, dramatic child to an intelligent, passionate and ambitious woman is believable and compelling. Fans of biographical fiction will embrace Gregory's portrait of Margaret Beaufort.Though many readers and reviewers will disagree with me, I actually found The White Queen to be more enjoyable than The Red Queen. Something about the Lancaster side just didn't enthrall me as much as the York side. Though not a horrible book, not one of my favorites.I'm interested to see what happens in the next Cousins' War novel which, according to Gregory's website, will be called The Rivers Woman and document the life of Elizabeth Woodville's mother Jaquetta Rivers, instead of the previously announced White Princess.
    • 4/5
      Having just finished The White Queen, the first in Ms. Gregory's Plantagenet series, the history behind The Red Queen was very familiar. However, that does not mean that my overall enjoyment of The Red Queen was diminished in any way. Rather, it provided a fascinating contrast and lesson on the importance of context. As I was reading, I could not help but think how truly interesting it would be to do a side-by-side comparison of the events, as told from each point of view. If anything, the two novels drive home the point that history changes drastically depending on the point of view telling it.The portrayal of each woman is shockingly different. Whereas Elizabeth, according to Ms. Gregory, is beautiful and beloved, politically savvy and well-informed, Ms. Gregory portrays Margaret as cold and calculating and rather clueless about the politics involved to wrest power from the reigning family. She is surprisingly unsympathetic as she masks her grab for power as piety and rather scary in her unwavering belief that she alone is correct in her opinions and beliefs and everyone else is wrong. Also, the mystical elements that appear in the novel - Margaret's holy visions - are harsher, less visually lovely than Elizabeth's conjuring of water goddesses. Even the colors, white versus red, invoke a good vs. bad mentality between the two women. Overall, one walks away with the impression that Ms. Gregory was Team Elizabeth all the way. Yet, from a historical story-telling perspective, Ms. Gregory is still on top of her game. I could feel the pain in my knees as I sat with Margaret for hours on end in prayer. I could smell the unwashed bodies of the poor and the soldiers, feel the anxiety at having to wait days and even weeks for news. The story itself is easy to understand, which in itself is a huge accomplishment because of the complexity and confusion of the era itself. As a counterpoint to The White Queen, The Red Queen accomplishes what it sets out to do. More importantly, The Red Queen is more effective at setting the stage for the third book and ends in such a way that waiting until The White Princess release date will be difficult.Margaret herself is intriguing without the historical backdrop. Her extreme piety started at a young age, while subsequent tragedies all but forced her to become even more devout or lose faith in humanity completely. Married at age twelve, a mother by age thirteen after facing a prolonged and almost fatal delivery, her mother abandoned her to her fate after each of her marriages, all of which were for political reasons rather than for love. Most people would by crying foul if even one of these occurred to a young teenager today. Put together, they helped Margaret form into a formidable and power-hungry, if rather naive, woman. It is a testament to Ms. Gregory's writing ability that I read the book in an entire weekend even though I personally did not like Margaret. Not only is it engaging and utterly thrilling, it is surprisingly suspenseful. With all the political maneuvering, it feels like the entire set-up is one big chess match, where the winner takes all and the loser faces the ultimate punishment. In a way, it really was a chess match to the real-life Elizabeth and Margaret, as one false move could have found them guilty of treason and hanged or worse. This constant threat is was very real, and Ms. Gregory does an outstanding job of making that threat a very prominent presence. The end result is a novel that propels the reader forward, eventually arriving breathlessly at the stunning ending anxious for the story to continue. The Red Queen is a treat for any historical fiction fan, let alone any Philippa Gregory fan.
    • 3/5
      This is interesting for anyone curious about the founding of the Tudor dynasty -- the red queen of the title is Margaret Beaufort, a member of the Lancaster line of England's royal family and mother to Henry Tudor (and thus his claim to the throne). But it didn't really grab me the way some of Gregory's other historical novels have done -- I liked the White Queen better, perhaps because Elizabeth Woodville, wife to Edward IV, is just a more attractive compelling character. Beaufort, as portrayed in this novel, is pious, cold and self-justifying -- which she probably had to be and which was not that unusual for her time and station. But it doesn't make her someone you necessarily want to spend hours with. It is interesting to see Gregory's take on the fate of the Princes in the Tower -- she appears to be leaning toward the theory that 1) Richard III didn't kill them and 2) young Prince Richard was replaced with an imposter and really was the pretender later known as Perkin Warbeck.
    • 3/5
      Margaret Beufort fancies herself and her family the true rulers of England. Additionally, she fancies herself Joan of Arc. She hits disappointment after disappointment as she faces men who are not strong enough to do her bidding and to change the face of history. This is not as strong as any of the Tudor Court Novels. It is the first of The Cousin's War series. Hope the rest are stronger. Too many words and not enough reality.
    • 4/5
      Gregory continues her ?Cousins War,? otherwise known as the War of the Roses, series with a profile of the life and times of Margaret Beaufort who married Edmund Tudor and gave birth at the age of 13 to a child named Henry who was 3rd in line for the English throne. Margaret spent her life on her knees in prayer that her son would be king and she would be Margaret Regina. But she was also not above giving the Lord some help with political marriages and some shady dealings. Some interesting facts about new forms of warfare, and new scholarship on who wanted the Princes in the Tower dead. Must read the companion White Queen for the other side of the story.
    • 2/5
      Boy did I want to like this book, but the character of Margaret Beaufort is so relentless two dimensional, she's obsessed with her dynastic legacy and her faith, it was hard for me to be sympathetic with her. I just found out she's one of my great great grandmothers and I ended up being sympathetic to the York cause. Yikes! In her nonfiction work, "The Cousins War," Philippa Gregory writes about the tendency for contemporaries to support the political powers in place at the time of their writing. In Margaret Beaufort's case, she was presented as a sympathetic figure by her contemporaries, according to Gregory, possibly because her son came out on top following the War of the Roses (or "The Cousins War," as it was called at the time). This may be true, but you wouldn't have been able to tell that from the fictional account Gregory wrote.
    • 4/5
      fascinating book about a fascinating time period, and one that i knew very little about -- in addition to the historical perspective -- it looks at just how easy it is to be blind to our own faults.
    • 5/5
      After being disappointed by the last two Phillipa Gregory offerings (The Other Queen and The White Queen) I began this more out of duty than pleasure. How wrong I was! I really feel Gregory is back on top form, with good dashes of humour which I have not found in her books before. Lady Margaret Beaufort is a complex and often unlikeable character with absolutely no self-awareness whatsoever, but she really keeps you reading. Gregory has done a wonderful job of telling the forgotten story of the original Tudor queen, and the extensive bibliography is a welcome sight in an historical fiction novel. I was also impressed with the battle scenes, which rush along in a blur of gore and blood, especially Towton. The book ends with the death of Richard III at Bosworth field, and I am excited to see where Gregory goes next.
    • 4/5
      I found this book rather overwhelming. I didn't feel it was the fault of the author so much as the subject matter. Writing about the obsessively religious Margaret Beaufort, there would be that dark suffocating feeling due to the character and her background and personality. Other than that I enjoyed how, even as suppressing as it felt at times, the reading flowed. It filled in gaps the I had from the White Queen. I look forward to reading Philippa Gregory's other works.
    • 3/5
      I felt that the battle descriptions were really good in this book, but I don't feel that the author captured the true sense of what Margaret Beaufort was like. She was a very formidable character, and I did not get that impression in reading this book. I came away with the sense that this was nothing more than a silly girl when in fact she founded several schools, was very learned, and knew her way around a rebellion or two...not to mention she was very responsible for the start of the Tudor succession.I would have had a difficult time relating to this individual regardless due to her relentless piety, but I think I could have come away from this book with a little admiration for someone who was obviously very strong and intelligent if the novel had not given me the feeling that this person was petty, uptight, and silly.
    • 4/5
      I was eager to read this book soon after reading The White Queen, since Lady Margaret Beaufort Tudor Stafford Stanley plays a distant but important role in that novel. Elizabeth Woodville, The White Queen plays an even larger role in this novel, since Margaret sees her as a rival.

      I enjoyed this book, but while I felt sorry for Margaret, since she rarely had control over her own life and was an isolated, lonely woman, but I disliked her most of the time. She claimed to be the model of piety, but she was vain about her devotion to her faith and used her faith to justify her family's claim to the throne. She was self-righteous and very hypocritical as well.

      I also was not thrilled with how Gregory ended the book. I was disappointed that, like The White Queen, the book ends when Henry Tudor wins the throne -- I wanted Margaret's perspective on what happens next. Also, the final chapters focus on Henry's battle and not Margaret. I thought Gregory could have described the same events but involved Margaret in the story, perhaps by having someone tell her what happened on the battlefield.

      Despite these reservations, I still enjoyed this book. I will be interested to see who Gregory focuses on for books 4-6 of the Cousins' War series -- perhaps Cecily Neville, Margaret of Anjou, or the Neville sisters.
    • 2/5
      i have been waiting to read this book since i have read the white queen just as good a real must read book for lovers of historical fiction icant wait for the naxt series
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed the book. I have never read anything about Margaret Beaufort. I will say that it dragged slightly, however you can't take away from the interesting history.
    • 4/5
      Gregory's got mad historical fiction skills. Another fantastic book about the same events as The White Queen, told from the Lancaster perspective rather than the York. Margaret is an infuriating character, but I just couldn't seem to put her down. The suspense that Gregory builds at the end is intense. Definitely one of her better ones.
    • 4/5
      Margaret Beaufort is a devout little girl. She spends as many hours in prayer as her mother and nurse will allow. She is fascinated with Joan of Arc and pictures herself one day running a monastary. That is never going to happen. As the daughter of deceased John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, she herself is in line for the throne. The House of Lancaster has very few heirs, so it is imperative that she marry and mother sons as soon as possible. She is married to Edmund Tudor at the early age of 12. Within a years' time, her husband is killed defending the Lancasters, but he leaves her with a son in her belly. She is certain that her son will one day be the King of England because she believes that God spoke this to her as He spoke to Joan. She makes it her live's mission and duty to see God's will be done.The Red Queen is the second novel in Philippa Gregory's series about England's 15th Century Plategents. The Red Queen is a good counterpart to The White Queen. It balances out Elizabeth Woodville's story in more ways than one. It tells the Lancaster family's story where the first told that of the York family. Margaret is devoutly Roman Catholic where Elizabeth was mystyical. Elizabeth was tentative about the future of her family while Margaret is rarely indecisive. She believes that God's will is for her son to be the future King of England and, as it's God's will, she had no cause to ever doubt it. It also compliments the first novel by discussing her views of Elizabeth and whether she was a witch. You saw Margaret's intentions behind the correspondence that gave Elizabeth hope. The two books fit together like puzzle pieces in that way.There were two aspects of Lady Margaret's character that stood out for me - her self-righteousness and her resentfulness. She is certain that God speaks to her as he did to Joan of Arc. Therefore, she believed she could not sin or be in the wrong. Over time, a supposed grace from God became her own personal infalibility. She may have felt that Elizabeth was deluded by her relationship to Melusina, but Margaret was no less misguided herself. She had to believe that she was special to God because the alternatives left her cold. Had she been born a boy, she would have herself been in line to the throne and her very existence would have been cherished and protected. As it was, she was just a bridge to the next generation of the House of Lancaster. Her ultimate destiny never concerned anyone but herself. Knowing that her family, most especially her mother, thought of her life as nothing more than a means to an end infuriated her. I think she was driven more by that resentment than anything else. The House of Lancaster got the son off of her that it wanted, but she created a sense of her own control where she had none through her special relationship with God.I really enjoyed The Red Queen, especially after having read The White Queen. There were sections where Lady Margaret's self-righteousness started to iritate me in similarly to Catherine of Aragon in The Constant Princess, but plotting and the scheming kept me interested. I especially loved the relationship between Margaret and her third husband, Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby. All things considered, he was a perfect match for her. The novel finished especially strong on the battlefield at Bosworth. I knew the outcome beforehand, but I still found myself holding my breath a little. Although the next book in this series will feature Elizabeth Woodville's mother, I'm looking forward to meeting Lady Margaret once again as "the mother-in-law." I am really enjoying this series and highly recommend The Red Queen.
    • 2/5
      2.5 stars

      Margaret Beaufort wants to devote her life to church but is instead maried off to Edmund Tudor when she is 12. He dies soon after that but manages to get her pregnant before that. After her son Henry is born, Margaret devotes her life to get him on the throne.

      I don?t think I?ve ever hated any character so much as I hated Margaret! By page 60 I just wanted to stab her. She think she is England?s Joan of Arc ans is here to deliver England from the Yorkist. I got it, she?s pious person and loves to spend time in praying. I don?t need to be reminded of it on every page. And what up with Margaret and her ?saint?s knees?? I read that way many times.

      I think the book suffer from first person narrative. Margaret spends most of her time in the countryside and much of the happenings must be told in letters. I

      All in all I enjoyed The White Queen more than this. I just couldn?t stand Margaret and it took a lot from the reading.
    • 2/5
      The second book in Philippa's stunning new trilogy, The Cousins War, brings to life the story of Margaret Beaufort, a shadowy and mysterious character in the first book of the series - The White Queen - but who now takes centre stage in the bitter struggle of The War of the Roses.

      The Red Queen tells the story of the child-bride of Edmund Tudor, who, although widowed in her early teens, uses her determination of character and wily plotting to infiltrate the house of York under the guise of loyal friend and servant, undermine the support for Richard III and ultimately ensure that her only son, Henry Tudor, triumphs as King of England. Through collaboration with the dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret agrees a betrothal between Henry and Elizabeth's daughter, thereby uniting the families and resolving the Cousins War once and for all by founding of the Tudor dynasty.


      I get that Philipa Gregory is telling the story of the cousins? war from different viewpoints and that fine is until you have to tell the story of the most boring, deluded, egotistical female character...ever

      The White Queen was good mainly because Elizabeth Woodville was such a charismatic character and her story was well told. I do admit to almost enjoying the first quarter of The Red Queen with Jasper Tudor and the future king but then, for me, it went rapidly downhill.

      I was listening to it on audio book but think I would have given up pretty early on if I had been reading it.

      Every incident was either "The Will of God" (good for Margaret) or "The Work of the Devil" (bad for Margaret) ?interspersed with lots of praying, and non-stop whining about destiny

      Disappointing and TOO MUCH PRAYING?.
    • 3/5
      I am becoming addicted to Ms Gregory's books! This was a good read. I think I enjoyed the White Queen a little more but the saga continues...on to the next in the series.
    • 3/5
      For as much as I enjoyed The White Queen, I found this story very hard to get through. It seemed to have much less action, to the point of nearly being boring for me until the last quarter of the book. to me, Margaret's story just didn't seem to be as interesting as Elizabeth's.