I admit that Philippa Gregory has been an author I have seen many times on bookshelves, but I’ve never been interested enough to actually read one of her books despite their increasing popularity. I’m not a fan of historical novels. You see, I studied History at A Level and that was enough for me.

‘The Lady of the Rivers’ was given to me to read during my first book club meeting. I was fascinated by the cover of the book and found it pretty and appealing. However, upon reading the blurb my heart sank:

Descended from Melusina, the river goddess, Jacquetta has always had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she meets his prisoner, Joan of Arc, and sees her own power reflected in the young woman accused of witchcraft, before Joan is taken to a horrific death at the hands of the English rulers of France.

Married to the Duke of Bedford, English Regent of France, Jacquetta is introduced by him to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the Duke’s squire, Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the Duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.

The Woodvilles soon achieve a place at the very heart of the Lancaster court, though Jacquetta can sense the growing threat from the people of England and the danger of royal rivals. Not even their courage and loyalty can keep the House of Lancaster on the throne. King Henry VI slides into a mysterious sleep; Margaret, his queen, turns to untrustworthy favorites for help; and Richard, Duke of York, threatens to overturn the whole kingdom for his rival dynasty of the House of York.

Jacquetta fights for her king, her queen, and for her daughter Elizabeth Woodville, a young woman for whom Jacquetta can sense an extraordinary and unexpected future: a change of fortune, the throne of England, and the white rose of York. A sweeping, powerful story rich in passion and legend and drawing on years of research, The Lady of the Rivers tells the story of the real-life mother to the White Queen.

Already this felt over complicated and romanticised.

Upon first opening the book I was further intimidated by the family tree that took up an entire page. I scanned over it and still had no idea who all of these names belonged to.

I decided to persevere.

The first chapter felt cumbersome and weighty, however it was short and I managed to get through it. After that I sailed through the book. I was fascinated by the character of Jacquetta and the mystique surrounding her. I found myself thoroughly invested in the book, making time for it when I should have been doing other things. I finished this book within a few days, and found myself craving more.

I think part of what interested me in this book were the twists and turns. The author really managed to keep me surprised. That is hard to do these days as I am constantly foreseeing the plot ahead when I read most books or watch TV series’.

I did sometimes find the characters hard to follow. Some of them had similar or the same names as others, which is very representative of the time but can be confusing to readers. I had to read more carefully than I usually do. The historical aspects of the novel were immersive and realistic; it seems the things that turned me off about Philippa Gregory books were the things I appreciated the most.

Overall I did enjoy the novel, however I did feel that some parts may be formulaic if I continued to read her books.

In the aftermath of this review I went on to read the next book ‘The White Queen’ and this started a series long obsession with the Philippa Gregory books. I am now on ‘The Constant Princess’, which is the sixth book in the series and have the following three books on loan from the library.





