The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

The plot: This is the third installment of The Cousin’s War series by Philippa Gregory. This is the turn of Jacquetta’s story; mother of the future queen Elizabeth Woodville. Thought to be descended from a water goddess, there are strong themes of magic and witchcraft throughout the book making it tantalising reading, especially when you consider the stakes were high (literally) dabbling in the dark arts during this era.

The good bits: Gregory breaths life into another powerful women who was behind the scenes in the male dominated world at court. With plenty of civil unrest unaided by an unpopular queen and a king who was mentally ill, this is a fascinating period of English history. With little information to go on on these characters Gregory does a very good job of telling their story, keeping you gripped till the last page.

The bad bits: The dialogue at times can make you cringe yet I’m sure many would prefer the odd 21st centry’ism to something barely understandable.

When should you read it: When in need of an adventure or need a boost of girl power (sorry boys).

Worth a mention: Gregory has co authored a book of the true events of Jacquetta, Elizabeth and Margaret in the The Women of the Cousins’ War: The Duchess, the Queen and the King’s Mother.

Book Rating

Catch up with the first two books in the series by clicking on the covers.