The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory
- Method of Obtaining: I received my copy via the publisher through NetGalley.
- Published by: Simon and Schuster UK
- Release Date: 8/16/2012
The Kingmaker’s Daughter is the gripping and ultimately tragic story of the daughters of the man known as the “Kingmaker,” the most powerful magnate in England through the Cousins’ Wars. In the absence of a son and heir, he uses the two girls as pawns in his political games, but they grow up to be influential players in their own right. In this novel, her first sister story since The Other Boleyn Girl, Gregory explores the lives of two fascinating young women.
At the court of Edward IV and his beautiful queen, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne grows from a delightful child brought up in intimacy and friendship with the family of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to become ever more fearful and desperate when her father makes war on his former friends. Her will is tested when she is left widowed and fatherless, with her mother in sanctuary and her sister married to the enemy. Fortune’s wheel turns again when Richard rescues Anne from her sister’s house, with danger still following Anne, even as she eventually ascends to the throne as queen. Having lost those closest to her, she must protect herself and her precious only child, Prince Edward, from a court full of royal rivals.
- I love historical fiction and thoroughly enjoy Gregory’s writing.
I also recommend:
- Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliet Grey
- The Hermetica of Elysium by Annmarie Banks
In this fourth book of The Cousin’s War by Philippa Gregory, we’re introduced to the Neville sisters, Isabel and Anne. In The Lady of the River, Gregory gives us a taste of what it was like to live with, and love, the Woodville family – but sides are switched and now we’re on the opposite side, looking at that dratted large family with something very close to hatred.
The Kingmaker’s Daughter follows the story of Anne Neville and her tumultuous life as the daughter of the man who set aside the “sleeping king,” Henry VI, and put Edward IV on the throne instead. Edward, married to Jacquetta’s daughter, Lady Elizabeth Grey, was once influenced by Anne’s father, Richard Neville, but now has been drawn into the arms of the abundant Woodville family.
This is a story of struggle – struggle between kings and would-be kings, between two insanely strong Queens (both of whom share a common bond through Jacquetta), and a story of how difficult a life Anne Neville had, beginning at such a young age. It’s about blood feuds and witchcraft, murders and sickness, and life and death in the most base of forms. I really think the books contained in Gregory’s Cousin’s War series have been building up to this book – because this is where things really got interesting, it’s where history became so turbulent that there was never once a sense of ease within the court of England. And honestly, Henry VIII, no matter how fascinating he is with his ability to set aside wives like they are delicacies he has lost his taste for, is not nearly as interesting to me as this period of time is. Margaret of Anjou and Queen Elizabeth (Formerly Elizabeth Grey) were strong, independent women who knew exactly how to muster the men of their families to their aid and pitted against each other… that was some formidable stuff.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Kingmaker’s Daughter and look forward to seeing what Gregory has up her sleeve next.
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