Elizabeth of York: The Last White Rose by Alison Weir

Today I pass the blog over to Mandie who is sharing her thoughts on Elizabeth of York by Alison Weir. Our thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the blog tour invite and to publisher Headline for the advance copy for review. Here’s what it’s all about:

About the Book

Mother. Survivor. Queen.

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AN ENGLISH PRINCESS, BORN INTO A WAR BETWEEN TWO FAMILIES.

Eldest daughter of the royal House of York, Elizabeth dreams of a crown to call her own. But when her beloved father, King Edward, dies suddenly, her destiny is rewritten.

Her family’s enemies close in. Two young princes are murdered in the Tower. Then her uncle seizes power – and vows to make Elizabeth his queen.

But another claimant seeks the throne, the upstart son of the rival royal House of Lancaster. Marriage to this Henry Tudor would unite the white rose of York and the red of Lancaster – and change everything.

A great new age awaits. Now Elizabeth must choose her allies – and husband – wisely, and fight for her right to rule.

Mandie’s Thoughts

I have always meant to pick up one of the many books written by Alison Weir as they deal with an interesting time in history. Having been given the opportunity to read the latest detailing the life of Elizabeth of York, who is someone I know very little about I just couldn’t say no. Whilst this book is a fiction in as much the story is told from the viewpoint of Elizabeth herself, it is also very much steeped in historical fact.

This was certainly a bloody time in history with the constant battles for the crown and the right to rule England and for Elizabeth the precarious and uncertain role she would play in all of this saw both her way of life and her family constantly in danger and often hung in the balance of power-hungryrelatives even before her father died. On paper her life should have been one of luxury but in reality she spent a lot of her time seeking sanctuary with her mother and siblings until her eventual marriage to Henry Tudor.

Elizabeth is certainly an interesting character. She is constantly torn between family and duty and all that goes with it. As the eldest child she would have been eligible to rule but at that time women were not considered capable of such responsibility, and you could sense her frustrations about this. It must have also been hard watching family and friends either disappear or be killed in order to gain the upper hand and the right to rule.

At times I did find it hard to remember that this is historical fiction such was the depth of truth and facts that are woven throughout but as the author herself admits Elizabeth’s thoughts and interactions are of her imagination. Her interactions with her mother and siblings are quite easy to believe as they would turn to each other for comfort and guidance. She is portrayed as a highly intelligent woman who fights for what she believes in and what is right for the country, putting duty to the crown before herself on many occasions.

At approx 480 pages this is quite a lengthy book but with spanning 40 years without cutting out major events I don’t think that it could be any shorter and still do this period of history justice. This is definitely one for people with a fascination for history.

About the Author

Alison Weir is the bestselling female historian (and the fifth-bestselling historian overall) in the United Kingdom, and has sold over 3 million books worldwide.

She has published twenty history books, including her most recent non-fiction book, Queens of the Crusades, the second in her England’s Medieval Queens quartet. Alison is also the author of twelve historical novels, including the highly acclaimed Six Tudor Queens series about the wives of Henry VIII, all of which were Sunday Times bestsellers.

Alison is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an honorary life patron of Historic Royal Palaces.

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