The Kingmaker's Daughter

I recently finished reading The Kingmaker's Daughter, a work of historical fiction by Philippa Gregory, probably best known for books in the Tudor series such as The Other Boleyn Girl. Although I have collected a lot of Philippa's books over the years (after all, I have over 230 books in my bookshelves yet to be opened once), this was the first one I've actually read and I must say I was quite impressed and can see why she's so popular.

In this novel, Philippa has taken the era of the Cousins' War, or War of the Roses, and has written about events leading to the crowning of Edward IV and Richard III through the eyes of Richard's eventual wife, Anne Neville. No prior knowledge of this time in history is required (I certainly didn't have any, seeing as I only have vague notions of Richard III); the story can be enjoyed just as it's written, and perhaps, for historical fiction, that's the better way, as then the reader doesn't come into the novel with any expectations due to their prior knowledge.

Philippa writes beautifully and has a way of describing place so well that your imagination can soar and picture everything described perfectly - the castles, the court, the dresses, the customs... The story itself started off very strongly and started out as a real page turner, but for me it then slowed towards the end and became a little repetitive. It grew a little tiring reading for pages on end about the paranoia felt by Anne and her family, and about how Elizabeth was a suspected witch. It got to the stage where it felt like I was reading the same chapter over and over as the pace slowed and became more of the same.

Overall though it was a well-told story and I'd recommend it to anyone who's even remotely interested in historical kings and queens of England. They all seem just that bit messed up ;)

The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory - 3.5/5 stars

The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory