I thoroughly enjoyed The Lady of the Rivers. I love historical books that draw from real history, and this was a good one. I'm not overly familiar with the events covered in this story, so I can't give a full assessment as to its historical accuracy, but its attention to even the smallest details was both plausible and engaging. Of course, there's no doubt that many of the day-to-day activities were heavily embroidered with fiction, but that's necessary when telling a story of characters who died almost six hundred years ago.

Philippa Gregory's writing is fantastic, romantic and wise. There are so many beautiful quotes in this book. Since it's an adult, historical novel in English it took me a while longer to read than your typical YA story, but I still loved it lots. Let’s not even get into the complaint which is evident by all readers across the board: the overuse of the titles (ie. “My lord, the Duke of Bedford”).

The Lady of the Rivers

Although Jacquetta is the main character, her character development is extremely weak, to say the least. Her inner feelings and actions never felt fully disclosed and understood, making her seem very one-dimensional. Moreover, many of the other female characters also felt very demeaned and ill-described. Joan of Arc was portrayed quite foolishly and Margaret of Anjou was even more annoying than usual. Margaret of Anjou is already “known” as being villainous but at least she has drama and depth. In The Lady of the Rivers, she just comes off as a spoiled teenager in a teen film. Plus, more of the book was about Margaret of Anjou than Jacquetta. I found this all to be disappointing because none of the characters were likable or encouraged support. Imagine a star-studded ensemble cast in a movie but with a terrible plot and poor acting. That is the best way to describe this book. Descended from Melusina, the river goddess, Jacquetta always has had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she met his prisoner, Joan of Arc, and saw her own power reflected in the young woman accused of witchcraft. They share the mystery of the tarot card of the wheel of fortune before Joan is taken to a horrific death at the hands of the English rulers of France. Jacquetta understands the danger for a woman who dares to dream. And yet there were some definite improvements over recent novels in the series. For one thing, Jacquetta gets to travel around quite a bit, and even though she's not in the battles I did get a better sense of being near to the action than I usually do. And the supporting cast was good; I particularly liked Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI's queen, and I found the account of Henry VI's mental illness compelling. There were several other memorable characters; in fact, I now understand the Wars of the Roses a whole lot better. So if you read historical fiction for the history, you'll be satisfied.

That's about as much plot summary you'll get from me, I'd rather discuss the reading experience, starting with the repetitive text. The Melusine count exceeded twenty, and that's not counting the water/river/fishy woman references or the tally would be much higher. There are times when nothing much happens in Jacquetta and Richard's lives (making babies, cooling heels in Calais for a year waiting for the king to do something), and it would have served the story better just to fast forward a few years with a brief mention rather than more tedious detail on what isn't happening. I must premise, I am a HUGE English history geek. I have read more books about the Tudors than I care to admit to and am creeping up on that number with this era about the Plantagenets. I also am very hesitant to admit that this family might be stealing the place in my heart that was previously held by the Tudors. They are slowly but surely surpassing them. This is huge. But anyways, I can understand that this type of writing or book might not appeal to everyone but I absolutely cannot get enough of Gregory's writing. I am obsessed with this entire 200 year time period that she has written about and I devour her books like they're fast paced young adult novels; I just love them. Lady of the Rivers is the third book in Gregory's Cousins' War series, and focuses on Jacquetta of Luxembourg. While staying in France with her uncle, Jacquetta *meets* imprisoned Joan of Arc and the two share some BFF time together with the tarot cards and the wheel of fortune. After Joan meets her unhappy end, the beauteous Jacquetta catches the eye of the powerful Duke of Bedford, uncle to young king Henry VI. Jacquetta's worries about being ravished by her older husband come to naught as he's more interested in using Jacquetta's virginal qualities to aid his experiments - experiments that have something to do with alchemy, the philosopher's stone and the unicorn. If you are scratching your head over this, rest assured I was doing the same thing. I didn't understand it then and I don't understand it now.

I have been fascinated by the Tudors and Plantagenets most of my life. I knew the various kings and queens, as well as how they ascended to the throne. But to focus on all the women behind the scenes and then in front of the scenes was a fantastic approach. Definitely will continue this series. The Lady of the Rivers is number-one New York Times best-selling author Philippa Gregory’s remarkable story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the Wars of the Roses. I put the charm bracelet away in the purse and return it to my jewel case. I don't need a spell to foresee the future; I am going to make it happen." The end of the book was the best, similarly to how the Battle of Bosworth scene at the end of The Red Queen was surely the highlight and climax. It also set the lead-in to The White Queen quite seamlessly, especially if one would want to re-read it after The Lady of the Rivers. The Lady of the Rivers is #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory’s remarkable story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the Wars of the Roses.

I don't understand the great need to repeat same words three times in a single sentence, over and over and over again (can't quote examples from the ARC, sorry). Then there are the mind-numbing reminders to the reader of who is who via the *as you know, Bob* method. Any time Jacquetta mentions her first husband in a conversation he is always my Lord John, Duke of Bedford. Margaret will mention her uncle in a conversation with an intimate friend as my uncle, the king of France (I think everyone at court would know that she was niece to the king of France). And Richard of York, reviled by all the Lancastrians is always always always (see, I can do things in threes) Richard Duke of York. Every time. I got it the first time, and did not need to be clubbed over the head with it :( 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] Plot [ edit ] Jacquetta fights for her king, her queen, and for her daughter Elizabeth for whom Jacquetta can sense an extraordinary and unexpected future: a change of fortune, the throne of England, and the white rose of York. After his death, Jacquetta marries Richard Woodville, a true love match, and becomes the friend of confidante of Queen Margaret, the fiery and vengeful queen of the pious, neurotic and effete Henry VI. The fortunes of Richard and Jacquetta are swept up in the War of Roses, and the saga ends with their change of allegiance to the House of York, and the betrothal of Jacquetta's daughter, Elizabeth Woodville, to Edward March of York (to be Edward IV).Her flair for blending history and imagination developed into a signature style and Philippa went on to write many bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen. Calendar of the Patent Rolls Preserved in the Public Record Office, Volume 3 p. 53 Web. 17 November 2014. I think the way the story is written in first person, present tense, made it completely emotionless. I felt nothing throughout this entire novel. I didn't really care who lived or died, what cities were lost or won ... zero emotional attachment from me. I wanted characters that I could really root for and admire and there were none to be found. As far as the audio, it is done well. Anyone who regular listens to Gregory's works knows that she usually uses Bianca Amato, who does well with them. Though, considering Jacquetta's French roots, Dagmara Dominczyk is another good choice.

Gregory's descriptive prose had me feeling like I was a part of every scene. Her wording describing Joan of Arc's final moments and later, of Jacquetta's pain upon her young son's death, especially broke my heart. My only grizzle is that being numbered Cousins War #3, you would think that it would be following in a chronological sense after The White Queen and The Red Queen but this is not so. Philippa is a member of the Society of Authors and in 2016, was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award by the Historical Writers’ Association. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Nielsen for achieving significant lifetime sales across her entire book output. I will give Gregory credit where credit is due that she attempted to cover a person who doesn’t have a million biographies or sources available on her. Jacquetta is a lesser known individual and I support bringing the “underdogs” to the table. I admit that I may be a little harsh and that I shouldn’t expect a thorough novel when such little information is available. However, Gregory should have instead transversed this as a novel about Margaret of Anjou, then. I do support the effort, however. Elizabeth Woodville, Queen consort of England (c. 1437 – 8 June 1492), married first Sir John Grey, second Edward IV of England.This really isn’t the best reaction to have to a book of this type. If you’re immediately wishing for a different character, then you know something isn’t quite right. Jacquetta’s story had the potential to be interesting because of the suggestions of witchcraft. But, it was all too vague. The author couldn’t directly allude to the fact that she was or wasn’t a witch. Witchcraft is obviously fictional, and this is a realism novel so she couldn’t say she had magic. Nor could she say that she wasn’t because of the rumours. This resulted in a disappointing dynamic. I wish she went with either side of the picture because what we’re left is a character who doesn’t actually seem to know what she is or isn’t. It was a little bit weird. BBC – Media Centre: The White Queen, a new ten-part drama for BBC One". BBC.co.uk. 31 August 2012 . Retrieved 6 October 2014. The Lady of the Rivers follows the story of Jacquetta, the mother of Elizabeth Woodville, (who becomes Queen of England), from a privileged child of the family Luxemburg in France, a family descended from the goddess Melusina; through her encounter with Joan of Arc; an early marriage to the Duke of Bedford, regent of France, uncle to King Henry of Lancaster, who exposes her to alchemy and secret books of forbidden knowledge, and subsequently, accusations of witchcraft. Upon the Dukes death, Jacquetta follows her heart and against royal consent, marries Richard Woodville and is banished to the country side, descending from a Duchess to the wife of a squire. When Margaret of Anjou is brought over to England to marry King Henry of Lancaster, Jacquetta, as her relative, is retrieved from the countryside to befriend the new Queen. Jacquetta is soon the constant companion of Queen Margaret and privy to the secrets and intrigues that surround the throne of the unfortunate, King Henry. Witchcraft, alchemy, being best friends with a much malaligned Queen, this has all the elements to be a great read, but…