The King's Grey Mare

I admit my high rating may be due to early imprinting and nostalgia, but this was one the novels that made me fall in love with both English history and historical fiction. I was maybe fourteen when I still read this book but I can still remember it vividly decades later. Jarman is known as someone sympathetic to Richard III, who thinks him much maligned--you can see that in his depiction in Jarman's We Speak No Treason centered on Richard III. Ordinarily, ardent Ricardians are harsh on Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of the minor gentry who caught the eye of a king and became Queen and mother of the Two Princes in the Tower and an ancestor of Elizabeth I (and II). This portrait does have its hard edges, but I did feel sympathy for her show more Elizabeth--more I felt the pull of her charisma, and I think Jarman does well by her subject. I also enjoyed Jarman's We Speak No Treason and Crown in Candlelight about the wife of Henry V who'd become an ancestress of the Tudors. The King's Grey Mare though remains my favorite novel by her. (And when a friend I lent my copy to returned it with the copy ripped off, let me tell you that was the beginning of the end of our friendship.) show less

The King’s Grey Mare by Rosemary Hawley Jarman tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville who became the wife of Edward the IV and the mother of the two lost princes of the tower. She lived during extremely turbulent times and played a major role in many of the events that have become known as the War of the Roses.

Elizabeth’s capturing of Edward was very good for the Woodville family as they had previously backed the Lancaster side of the dispute, now married to the House of York’s heir, they benefited mightily. Unfortunately some of the House of York’s top players were against this marriage, most prominently was Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and Edward’s own brother, Richard of Gloucester who went on to become Richard III.

Her show more life was one of contrasts rising to become the Queen of England, but also sinking to having to beg for sanctuary from the church in order to stay out of grasp of Richard III. She saw her marriage declared unlawful and her children named bastards by Richard, but also saw this act overturned by Henry Tudor and herself and her children declared “Royal” once again. Her daughter married Henry VII and this alliance put an end to the War of the Roses.

I enjoyed this book and found Elizabeth to be a very engaging woman and appreciated all the 15th century details that the author added. I believe the history is accurate and her speculation as to the fate of the two doomed princes was interesting and believable. What I didn’t care for was the hint of witchcraft that I believe was sheer propaganda spread by her enemies and the author used simply to enhance Elizabeth’s mystique. Also I didn't care much for the format, the book was broken into long segments with no chapters. Often years would have gone by from one paragraph to another which was disconcerting.

Overall I found The King’s Grey Mare to be a pretty good blend of fiction and history. It is definitely among the books that I would recommend to anyone wanting to read of this time period, with The Sunne in Spendour still holding top spot. show less

Elizabeth Woodville was the ambitious, much-maligned wife of King Edward IV, the mother of the little princes in the tower, and rumored to be a witch. Her character and role in history are plagued by the same problems as Richard III. It seems there is no grey area (forgive the pun!) - you are either pro-Elizabeth or anti-Elizabeth.

The pro-Elizabeth faction is enchanted by the story of her romance and secret marriage to Edward IV. The mysterious death of her two sons in the Tower, the two periods in which she fled into sanctuary at Westminster and her daughter Elizabeth of York's marriage to Henry Tudor only add to the drama of her life.

The anti-Elizabeth faction view her legendary beauty with suspicion (she must have ensnared the King show more into marriage through witchcraft!) and as a greedy woman who ruthlessly promoted the interest of her numerous relatives thus adding to the tensions which led to Richard III's usurpation of the throne.

Jarman does a wonderful job of bringing this fascinating figure to life, even though all but the barest facts about her are lost to history. show less

This story is exceptionally well written. It's about Lady Elizabeth Grey and the mysteries surrounding how she married into the Plantagenets through Edward IV (the Sun in Splendor). To this day I'm captivated by this account.

Illuminating and fun to read. If the cover looks familiar somehow, I figured it out: It's a detail from "Execution of Lady Jane Grey." Nice touch, since for Elizabeth Woodville home sweet home is Bradgate, birthplace of England's tragic Nine Day Queen.

Do check out the short story "The Mists of Melusine" in 1996's collection "Warrior Enchantresses." Wonderfully chilling. That's what got me to buy this book, and it was a shame that the novel skimps on Elizabeth's relationship to the water witch Melusine. The short story is all about the witchcraft connection, while the novel is quite decorous and doesn't ever quite admit to anything actually supernatural.

This was a good book. I liked it, I did not love it. If I found someone who was interested in this type of book I would recommend it until I found a better one. Elizabeth Woodville is a very interesting woman and how she bewitched a king and married him make for fascinating reading. I think the subject matter was wonderful, but the storytelling could be much better. I wanted to like this book more than I did.

The descriptions are wonderful and the imagery was interesting but did not capture my attention or propel me through the story. Parts dragged and I literally put me to sleep several nights.