Author | Philippa Gregory |
---|---|
Audio read by | Bianca Amato |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Series | The Cousins' War |
Genre | Historical fiction |
Published | 2011 |
Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Media type | |
Pages | 512 |
ISBN | 978-1-84737-459-2 |
Preceded by | The Red Queen |
Followed by | The Kingmaker's Daughter |
The Lady of the Rivers is a 2011 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, part of her series The Cousins' War . The story is narrated by Jacquetta of Luxembourg, mother of Elizabeth Woodville, and covers the reign of the Lancastrian King Henry VI. [1] [2] The novel serves as a prequel to Gregory's The White Queen (2009), the story of Elizabeth's reign as Queen consort of England. [3]
Fourteen-year-old Jacquetta, whose noble family claims descendance from the water goddess Melusine, learns the secrets of her inherited powers from her great-aunt Jehanne, the Demoiselle of Luxembourg. Jacquetta befriends Joan of Arc, who is a prisoner at her uncle's castle, but later watches in horror as Joan is burned at the stake by the English-backed church. Three years later at age 17, Jacquetta is given in marriage to John, Duke of Bedford, the uncle to King Henry VI and the English regent in France.
On their wedding night, however, the Duke explains that he wishes to keep her a virgin so that she may use the powers of her family in their purest form in his alchemical experiments seeking the ability to turn iron into gold. He later dies and leaves Jacquetta a wealthy widow at 20. She and the Duke's handsome squire Richard Woodville realize that they have fallen in love and become lovers. Returning to England, they marry in secret before the king can remarry her to someone else. Exiled from court in disgrace, Jacquetta and Richard soon have their first child, Elizabeth.
Once Jacquetta and Richard are forgiven and allowed back to court, the pair become close companions of the young king Henry VI and his new French bride Margaret of Anjou, a kinswoman of Jacquetta's. Soon after their marriage, however, the royal couple become increasingly unpopular and there are several uprisings. They rely heavily on the advice of favourites and lavish wealth and titles on them, including Richard and Jacquetta. Margaret becomes frustrated with her husband and when she eventually becomes pregnant, it is strongly implied that the baby has actually been fathered by Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset. After the King slips into a coma, Jacquetta is a constant companion to the pregnant Queen and remains by her side for the next few years. When the King eventually awakens, the country is plunged into civil war between Lancaster and York led by Richard of York.
Margaret becomes Queen Militant and raises armies to fight in her husband's name, including an army of Scots to fight the Yorkists, which makes her even more unpopular with the people. A defeated Margaret is forced to flee to France, and Jacquetta returns to Grafton manor. A widowed Elizabeth also returns with her children, and petitions the new King Edward IV for the return of her lands. Jacquetta looks from the window of her house to see Elizabeth walking up with Edward, finishing where The White Queen begins.
Publishers Weekly wrote of the novel, "Gregory portrays spirited women at odds with powerful men, endowing distant historical events with drama, and figures long dead or invented with real-life flaws and grand emotions." The review adds that the author "makes history (mostly accurate) come alive for readers (mostly women) by giving credence to persistent rumors that academic historians (mostly men) have brushed aside." [1]
AudioFile magazine gave its Earphones Award to the audiobook recording of The Lady of the Rivers, calling the story "fabulous" and praising narrator Bianca Amato, noting that "Amato’s striking performance draws lifelike portraits from Gregory’s blend of research and imagination." [4]
Elizabeth Woodville, later known as Dame Elizabeth Grey, was Queen of England from 1 May 1464 until 3 October 1470 and from 11 April 1471 until 9 April 1483 as the wife of King Edward IV. She was a key figure in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic civil war between the Lancastrian and the Yorkist factions between 1455 and 1487.
Lady Margaret Beaufort was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late fifteenth century, and mother of King Henry VII of England, the first Tudor monarch.
Cecily Neville was an English noblewoman, the wife of Richard, Duke of York (1411–1460), and the mother of two kings of England—Edward IV and Richard III. Cecily Neville was known as "the Rose of Raby", because she was born at Raby Castle in Durham, and "Proud Cis", because of her pride and a temper that went with it, although she was also known for her piety. She herself signed her name "Cecylle".
Philippa Gregory is an English historical novelist who has been publishing since 1987. The best known of her works is The Other Boleyn Girl (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association and has been adapted into two films.
Jacquetta of Luxembourg was a prominent, though often overlooked, figure in the Wars of the Roses. Through her short-lived first marriage to the Duke of Bedford, brother of King Henry V, she was firmly allied to the House of Lancaster. However, following the emphatic Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of Towton, she and her second husband Richard Woodville sided closely with the House of York. Three years after the battle and the accession of Edward IV of England, Jacquetta's eldest daughter Elizabeth Woodville married him and became queen consort of England. Jacquetta bore Woodville 14 children and stood trial on charges of witchcraft, of which she was exonerated.
Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, also Wydeville, was the father of Elizabeth Woodville and father-in-law of Edward IV.
Katherine Woodville was the Duchess of Buckingham and a medieval English noblewoman.
Mary of York was the second daughter of King Edward IV of England and his queen consort Elizabeth Woodville.
The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory is a 2003 historical fiction novel. Set between 1548 and 1558, it is part of Philippa Gregory's Tudor series. The series includes The Boleyn Inheritance. The novel chronicles the changing fortunes of Mary I of England and her half-sister Elizabeth through the eyes of the fictional Hannah Green, a Marrano girl escaping to England from Spain where her mother was burned at the stake for being Jewish. Hannah is discovered by Robert Dudley and John Dee and subsequently begged as a fool to Edward VI. She witnesses and becomes caught up the intrigues of the young king's court, and later those of his sisters. As Mary, Elizabeth, and Robert Dudley use Hannah to gather information on their rivals and further their own aims, the novel can plausibly present each side in the complex story. The Queen's Fool follows Hannah from ages fourteen to nineteen, and her coming-of-age is interspersed among the historical narrative. The book reached # 29 on the New York Times Best Seller list and had sold 165,000 copies within three weeks of its release.
Edward IV of England has been depicted in popular culture a number of times.
The Other Queen is a 2008 historical novel by British author Philippa Gregory which chronicles the long imprisonment in England of Mary, Queen of Scots. The story is told from three points of view: Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots; Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, also known as Bess of Hardwick; and George Talbot, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury.
Anne Woodville, Viscountess Bourchier was an English noblewoman. She was a younger sister of Queen Consort Elizabeth Woodville to whom she served as a lady-in-waiting. Anne was married twice; first to William Bourchier, Viscount Bourchier, and secondly to George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent. Anne was the grandmother of the disinherited adulteress Anne Bourchier, 7th Baroness Bourchier, and an ancestress of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.
The White Queen is a 2009 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, the first of her series The Cousins' War. It tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, queen consort of King Edward IV of England. The 2013 BBC One television series The White Queen is a 10-part adaptation of Gregory's novels The White Queen, The Red Queen (2010) and The Kingmaker's Daughter (2012), and features Rebecca Ferguson as Elizabeth Woodville.
The White Queen is a British historical drama television drama serial based on Philippa Gregory's historical novel series The Cousins' War. The first episode premiered on BBC One on 16 June 2013 in the UK.
The Red Queen is a 2010 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, the second of her series The Cousins' War. It is the story of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII of England. The 2013 BBC One television series The White Queen is a 10-part adaptation of Gregory's novels The White Queen (2009), The Red Queen and The Kingmaker's Daughter (2012), and features Amanda Hale as Margaret Beaufort.
The Kingmaker's Daughter is a 2012 historical novel by English writer Philippa Gregory, part of her series The Cousins' War. It is the story of Anne Neville, wife of Richard III of England. The 2013 BBC One television series The White Queen is a 10-part adaptation of Gregory's novels The White Queen (2009), The Red Queen (2010) and The Kingmaker's Daughter, and features Faye Marsay as Anne Neville.
The White Princess is a 2013 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, part of her series The Cousins' War. It is the story of Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville, and later wife of Henry VII and mother of Henry VIII.
The King's Curse is a 2014 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, part of her series The Cousins' War. A direct sequel to The White Princess, it follows the adult life of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, the daughter of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville.
The Women of the Cousins' War: The Duchess, the Queen and the King's Mother is a 2011 book by historical novelist Philippa Gregory and historians David Baldwin and Michael K. Jones. It is a non-fiction work that explores the lives of three prominent women of the historical Wars of the Roses, all of whom Gregory has featured in her Cousins' War series of novels.
Bianca Amato is a South African actress known for her work in American theatre, as a prolific audiobook performer and for her portrayal of Philippa De Villiers in the original cast of the South African soap opera Isidingo.