10/11/12

Review THE KINGMAKER'S DAUGHTER by PHILIPPA GREGORY


Book Description

August 14, 2012 The Cousins' War

Spies, poison, and curses surround her...

Is there anyone she can trust?
 


The Kingmaker's Daughter is the gripping story of the daughters of the man known as the "Kingmaker," Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick: the most powerful magnate in fifteenth-century England. Without a son and heir, he uses his daughters, Anne and Isabel as pawns in his political games, and they grow up to be influential players in their own right. In this novel, her first sister story since The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa 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 to become ever more fearful and desperate when her father makes war on his former friends. Married at age fourteen, she is soon left widowed and fatherless, her mother in sanctuary and her sister married to the enemy. Anne manages her own escape by marrying Richard, Duke of Gloucester, but her choice will set her on a collision course with the overwhelming power of the royal family and will cost the lives of those she loves most in the world, including her precious only son, Prince Edward. Ultimately, the kingmaker's daughter will achieve her father's greatest ambition.

About the Author
Philippa Gregory is the author of several bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl. She studied history at the University of Sussex and received a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. Visit her website at PhilippaGregory.com.


SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

As sisters, Anne and Isabel are best friends, confidants and later become rivals.  Their father, Richard Neville, uses the girls as political pawns and betroths them to the man that will give him the likeliest gain.  Anne finds herself in and out of arrangements and she finally ends up with the love of her life after her first husband dies and she essentially elopes with Richard, second in line.  With him, she has a son, and they find themselves on the throne after multiple intrigues and escaping her sister, Isabel and her husband, both of whom have tried to use her as a pawn.  

I always forget how much I adore Philippa Gregory's work until I pick up one of her books.  This story about Anne Neville doesn't disappoint.  Anne was aunt and guardian of the princes who later turned up dead in the Tower of London and I think her sister's story will be told next and it will be interesting to see how Isabel's point of view relates these same stories.  I always end up pulling out the family tree to get the background on these characters and how they are so interrelated.  I think this one will even appeal to teen readers since the main characters are teens.  



 Details

  • Hardcover: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Touchstone (August 14, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 145162607X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1451626070


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