The queen of British historical fiction (The Other Boleyn Girl
) kicks off a new series with the story of Elizabeth Woodville Grey, whose shifting alliances helped the War of the Roses take root. The marriage of 22-year-old Yorkist King Edward IV to 27-year-old widow Elizabeth brings a sea change in loyalties: Elizabeth's Lancastrian family becomes Edward's strongest supporters, while Edward's closest adviser, the ambitious earl of Warwick, joins with Edward's brother George to steal the English crown. History buffs from Shakespeare on have speculated about this fateful period, especially the end of Edward and Elizabeth's two sons, and Gregory invents plausible but provocative scenarios to explore those mysteries; she is especially poignant depicting Elizabeth in her later years, when her allegiance shifts toward Richard III (who may have killed her sons). Gregory earned her international reputation evoking sex, violence, love and betrayal among the Tudors; here she adds intimate relationships, political maneuvering and battlefield conflicts as well as some well-drawn supernatural elements. Gregory's newest may not be as fresh as earlier efforts, but she captures vividly the terrible inertia of war. (Aug.)
closeDetails
Reviewed on: 06/29/2009
Release date: 08/01/2009
Genre: Fiction
Hardcover - 417 pages - 9781847374554
Other - 432 pages - 9781847377654
Paperback - 464 pages - 9781847394644
Hardcover - 440 pages - 9781847377470
Paperback - 464 pages - 9781416563693
Mass Market Paperbound - 538 pages - 9781439170656
Paperback - 464 pages - 9781471153280
Open Ebook - 415 pages - 9781416563914
Paperback - 417 pages - 9781471125812
Paperback - 464 pages - 9781476735481
Compact Disc - 6 pages - 9780743582292
Hardcover - 659 pages - 9781410419309
Mass Market Paperbound - 538 pages - 9781451602050
Hardcover - 415 pages - 9781416563686
Downloadable Audio - 432 pages - 9781847378217
Compact Disc - 6 pages - 9781847376053