Weekly Reader Philippa Gregory Edition: Lady of the Rivers (The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series Vol. 1) by Philippa Gregory; A Good Beginning To Series About Powerful Royal Women, But Marred By A Not-So-Memorable Lead

Weekly Reader Philippa Gregory Edition: Lady of the Rivers (The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series Vol. 1) by Philippa Gregory; A Good Beginning To Series About Powerful Royal Women, But Marred By A Not-So-Memorable Lead




By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Besides the Thursday Next Series, another favorite book series that I am going to tackle is Philippa Gregory's The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series. This series focuses on the scandals, power plays, and political intrigue that was found in the English Royalty from the reign of King Henry VI to Queen Elizabeth I. The series involves several key players, mostly female, as they recount this colorful history.

The books were not written in chronological order and not originally one whole series but two: The Cousin's War which focused on the War of the Roses and the reign of Richard III and the Tudor Court Series which dealt with the reigns of Henry VIII and his daughters, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I. The first book written in the former series was The White Queen while the latter was The Other Boleyn Girl. It was only after books like Three Sisters, Three Queens and The King's Curse tied into events from the two series, that Gregory combined the two as one. It is the preferred chronological order that I am using for these reviews creating one steady timeline from one book to the next.


It is important that this distinction is made to reveal some of the issues that are found in the first book in the series, Lady of the Rivers. This is the first set but the ninth book written and it somewhat shows in Gregory's writing.

Lady of the Rivers focuses on Jacquetta of Luxembourg, mother of Elizabeth Woodville who became the wife of King Edward IV and turned heads because of her commoner status. The White Queen was brilliant in how Gregory wrote Elizabeth as a strong confident character who while flawed was active and powerful in her own right. Lady of the Rivers however differs in that it gives us a lead in Jacquetta who has some interesting moments but is a dull lead. She often just reports on others doings becoming unimportant and underdeveloped in her own story.




Jacquetta begins the novel as the daughter of a noble family who is a descendant of Melusine, a magical half-woman and half-sea creature from Breton legend. (In history, Jacquetta was related to the Duke of Burgundy whose family legends believed that they were descended from Melusine.) Trained by her great-aunt, Jehanne, Jacquetta exhibits supernatural abilities such as spell casting and precognition. In some creepy moments, she hears Melusine sing when family members die.




These abilities carry Jacquetta far especially when she marries John, Duke of Bedford uncle of King Henry VI and regent of France. In fact it is her abilities that interest John more than her body or personality. He is possibly asexual, and wants to live a sexless marriage with Jacquetta so she can use her abilities to his benefit. He is an alchemist and he wants her precognitive abilities to discern how things are going to go. One memorable chapter features her seeing a vision of a queen riding a horse with shoes on backwards. The implications of this vision isn't revealed until the end of the book.




Jacquetta uses her abilities in secret to be a figure behind the scenes of the action. Unfortunately, that's how she remains through most of the book. Jacquetta only comes into her own in these moments when she uses her abilities and when after John's death, she marries his squire, Richard Woodville and surrenders her wealth and title for love. She shows glimpses of being an interesting and memorable protagonist. Unfortunately, the glimpses are all that is shown.




Her precognitive abilities are used sparingly and her love story with Richard Woodville is resolved by the middle of the book. Instead of being an active participant, she remains happily married to Richard, a mother to a large family, and friend and lady in waiting to other more interesting characters.




One issue is that in the narrative Jacquetta serves as friend and companion to characters that are far more fascinating and colorful than she is. In the early chapters, her uncle hosts a unique prisoner whom Jacquetta bonds with: Jeanne La Pucelle also known as Joan of Arc. Jacquetta is fascinated by Joan's spirituality, her courage in leading men in battle, and her determination in the face of death. She is heartbroken after Joan's execution having lost a close friend.




It is understandable that Gregory would choose not to tell the novel from Joan's perspective. After all, Joan of Arc’s story has been done to death. However, there is another character that Gregory could have chosen instead, one who not only chews every moment she's in but devours them: Margaret d’Anjou, the wife of Henry VI and the matriarch of the Lancaster family during the War of the Roses.




When Jacquetta first meets her, Margaret is a shy nervous girl uncertain about her matrimonial duties. After Henry suffers a stroke and is reduced to a childlike state, Margaret emerges as the true power behind the throne. No decision is made without her approval. She rewards and demotes noblemen in her favor. When she is desperate to have an heir, she foregoes her infirm husband and has an affair with the Duke of Somerset to conceive her son, Edward. Her at times reckless actions causes the War of the Roses as Richard, Duke of York questions her decisions and ultimately challenges Margaret and her followers for the throne. Margaret is passionate, strong-willed, self-centered, and more competent than the men around her.




How awesome would it be for Margaret to tell her own story? We would understand perhaps her mixed feelings towards her ailing husband and her growing affection for Somerset whom she could see as more than an ally. We would see the power struggles that she has with male noblemen when she is often the only woman in the room. We could also understand her anger more when the Duke of York turns against her and her anxiety when, upon York's death, she and others see three suns in the sky (a real-life astronomical phenomena at the time. Some thought it was a comet passing over during the day) and interprets it to be a sign of the three sons of York: Edward, George, and Richard. (Two of which become kings as well.)

We had the Cousin's War told from the Yorkist side in the series and while we get the Lancaster side with Margaret Beaufort, Margaret d'Anjou’s narrative would also help give both sides of the conflict equal air time.

Plus in most accounts of the War of the Roses, Margaret d'Anjou often emerges as the villain of the peace. Like Richard III in books such as Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne in Splendour, allowing Margaret d'Anjou to narrate her own story would make her more complex and give her the chance to explain herself in a way that history doesn't allow.




Unfortunately, Gregory uses Jacquetta of Luxembourg instead and this narrative pales in comparison to Gregory's previous works. Even after Jacquetta’s husband and brothers swear fealty to York, Jacquetta concentrates on providing advantageous marriages to her children particularly her daughter, Elizabeth whom she sees as bound for great things. Jacquetta is reduced to being a mouthpiece for other people's actions and not her own.




Perhaps in her ninth book, Gregory had writer's fatigue which is understandable. In a long series of loosely connected books, not every volume is going to be a winner. However, compared to other characters that Gregory wrote about such as Elizabeth Woodville, Anne and Mary Boleyn, Catherine of Aragon, Margaret Beaufort, even a fictional lead like the Queen's Fool’s Hannah Greene, Jacquetta just seems boring and colorless.
While Lady of the Rivers does a good job of setting the stage for things to come, Readers could just as easily jump to the White Queen and not miss much. They would also find a more compelling narrator in the daughter over the mother.