The Kingmaker's Daughter

A typical Phillipa Gregory. A historical romance with the emphasis on romance. It does show the emnity and horror that the fight for power produces. ( )

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.

Circumstances meant I read this out of sequence and I shouldn't have as although I know the history I wanted to see how the author wove the women's stories together. As always a excellent, light read and timely as well since the body of Richard III was found as I was reading this ....now I must go back and read the earlier books ( )

As much as I like this series by Philippa Gregory, I can only give this one 3 stars. It is my least favorite of the series, not because of the writing which is wonderful as always, but because the main character, Anne of Warwick, had so little go right for her. It ends in a sad, solemn, depressing way which fits the tone of the entire book but I felt like it was too rushed and didn't explore the relationship between Anne and her husband enough. It was interesting to see things from Anne's point of view after reading the first three books, I just hope that the next is a little more cheery, or at least a little less melancholy which may be difficult given the subject. ( )

I started this book with goodwill toward its author, as I have read many of her books set in the Tudor period. I have not read any of the other books in this series, but it seems they focus on the roles of different women in the Wars of the Roses. This one is about Anne Neville, daughter of Warwick the Kingmaker and wife of Richard III. It started out pretty well--I liked the character of Anne and her relationship with her sister, father, and mother.

But then, as another reviewer here has mentioned, it got derailed by an unaccountable obsession with witchcraft that soured most of the last half of the book. Despite claiming she does not believe in witchcraft, the main character associates every bad thing that happens with some curse she believes the queen and her mother have placed on her, Anne's, family. She goes on about it for what feels like pages at a time, completely obliterating any hope for readers to see her as a reasonable or sympathetic person. Maybe it would have worked if this book had been a novel explicitly about early modern people's fears of witchcraft. But that's not the kind of books this author writes and it's certainly not the way this book was marketed.

Ms. Gregory's finances will surely survive my woeful two stars, and her huge fanbase isn't going anywhere. I might return to her in future--she is tolerably good at what she does and spins pretty good yarns most of the time. This just didn't happen to be one of those times.

PS, I think the shipboard labor/delivery scene is just about the most misogynistic thing I've ever read in a novel. The physical and emotional disdain for Isabel expressed by Anne, their mother, and, seemingly, Gregory herself, absolutely revolted me. ( )

I admit I have taken a break from Philippa Gregory; while nothing can top her tour de force "The Other Boleyn Girl," and nor did I expect anything to, her subsequent novels were a rather bland disappointment. I picked up "The Kingmaker's Daughter" with no real expectations aside from some healthy historical fiction, and thankfully that is what I received. I am glad to see Gregory back on her game! ( )