The Lady of the Rivers: Cousins' War 3

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Married to the Duke of Bedford, English Regent of France, Jacquetta is introduced by him to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the Duke’s squire, Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the Duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.

Actiunea debuteaza in 1430 la castelul Beaurevoir unde Jacquetta, fetita fiind, o cunoaste pe Ioana d'Arc care este ascunsa de englezi de catre stramatusa ei. Din pacate aceasta moare si astfel Ioana ajunge pe rug sub ochii Jacquettei, ea intelegand care este uneori soarta unor femei alese. Wagner, John A., ed. (2001). "Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford (c.1416-1472)". Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses. ABC-CLIO. And yet there were some definite improvements over recent novels in the series. For one thing, Jacquetta gets to travel around quite a bit, and even though she's not in the battles I did get a better sense of being near to the action than I usually do. And the supporting cast was good; I particularly liked Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI's queen, and I found the account of Henry VI's mental illness compelling. There were several other memorable characters; in fact, I now understand the Wars of the Roses a whole lot better. So if you read historical fiction for the history, you'll be satisfied. This just needed more Margaret of Anjou. In the other books the characters view her as the villain; she is simply the “bad queen.” Only in this book does Philippa Gregory bother to show a glimpse of her story. I think it would have been incredibly interesting to see how she interpreted the events, and that way I think we would have had a fairly overall picture of the war. Well, at least from the perspective of the powerful women/queens. So far, York and the Tudor faction of the house of Lancaster have had their story told. But, Margaret of Anjou remains a quiet bystander to the events. Where is her voice? Where is her tale? Her minor part in this novel was not enough; this novel was not enough to establish her presence in this series. Am retinut si o vraja in legatura cu sexul copilului nenascut, care se practica indeosebi la tara: se leaga verigheta de o ata si se tine deasupra pantecului, daca se roteste de la stanga la dreapta e baiat. Daca se roteste de la dreapta la stanga e fata.Gregory's descriptive prose had me feeling like I was a part of every scene. Her wording describing Joan of Arc's final moments and later, of Jacquetta's pain upon her young son's death, especially broke my heart. I have a problem with authors thinking that they have to reach a larger mass audience once they are popular. It is comparable to a musician who “sells out”. The Lady of the Rivers certainly portrayed a dummied down storyline which started with the immediate opener. Perhaps Gregory is so popular now, that she took away much of the magic so evident in some of her earlier works to reach a wider audience. I don't understand the great need to repeat same words three times in a single sentence, over and over and over again (can't quote examples from the ARC, sorry). Then there are the mind-numbing reminders to the reader of who is who via the *as you know, Bob* method. Any time Jacquetta mentions her first husband in a conversation he is always my Lord John, Duke of Bedford. Margaret will mention her uncle in a conversation with an intimate friend as my uncle, the king of France (I think everyone at court would know that she was niece to the king of France). And Richard of York, reviled by all the Lancastrians is always always always (see, I can do things in threes) Richard Duke of York. Every time. I got it the first time, and did not need to be clubbed over the head with it :( That's about as much plot summary you'll get from me, I'd rather discuss the reading experience, starting with the repetitive text. The Melusine count exceeded twenty, and that's not counting the water/river/fishy woman references or the tally would be much higher. There are times when nothing much happens in Jacquetta and Richard's lives (making babies, cooling heels in Calais for a year waiting for the king to do something), and it would have served the story better just to fast forward a few years with a brief mention rather than more tedious detail on what isn't happening. When Jacquetta was a young girl she married the duke of Bedford. From this connection, she was instantly dragged into the war of the roses. Cousins battling against one another for power and land. I didn't really like Jacquetta in the beginning of the book, but once the cousin war and more people were introduced I started to like her a little bit more.

The writing in this novel simply isn't up to the standard of some of Gregory's earlier efforts. I thoroughly enjoyed The Boleyn Inheritance, especially Katherine Howard's chapters, which I thought caught the voice of the ditzy young queen perfectly. The first-person present tense here is simply mind-numbing, with needless repetition. Too often, Jacquetta says something, then tells us what she said. The protagonist in The Lady of the Rivers is Jacquetta of Luxembourg, who is not generally a well-known historical figure. The story covers Jacquetta's life from adolescence to middle age, and Gregory fans will realize that it ends with the beginning of Gregory's 2009 novel The White Queen. Cu timpul este rechemata la curte unde va fi iarasi prima doamna, sfatuind-o pe Regina Margareta de Anjou. Cand casa Lancaster pierde tronul si Edward York devine rege, printr-o vraja a Melusinei Jacquetta isi pune fata pe tron.In The Lady of the Rivers, Philippa Gregory continues her Wars of the Roses saga (I balk at calling it the Cousins’ War) with the story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, mother to Edward IV’s queen, Elizabeth Woodville. Like her daughter Elizabeth, Jacquetta is possessed of supernatural powers. Philippa Gregory is one of the world’s foremost historical novelists. She wrote her first ever novel, Wideacre, when she was completing her PhD in eighteenth-century literature and it sold worldwide, heralding a new era for historical fiction. The Lady of the Rivers is #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory’s remarkable story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the Wars of the Roses. Anne Woodville (1438/9 – 30 July 1489), married first William Bourchier, Viscount Bourchier, second George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent.

Jacquetta is married to the Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, and he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the duke’s squire, Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen. beginning in 1431 with Joan of Arc's imprisonment and eventual execution, through the tumultuous reign of Henry VI and his French-born queen, Margaret of Anjou during The Hundred Years War, all the way to the beginning of the Wars of the Roses (1471), I learned a lot about historical events occurring in England and France through Jacquetta's eyes as she might have experienced them; and, Lady of the Rivers is the third book in Gregory's Cousins' War series, and focuses on Jacquetta of Luxembourg. While staying in France with her uncle, Jacquetta *meets* imprisoned Joan of Arc and the two share some BFF time together with the tarot cards and the wheel of fortune. After Joan meets her unhappy end, the beauteous Jacquetta catches the eye of the powerful Duke of Bedford, uncle to young king Henry VI. Jacquetta's worries about being ravished by her older husband come to naught as he's more interested in using Jacquetta's virginal qualities to aid his experiments - experiments that have something to do with alchemy, the philosopher's stone and the unicorn. If you are scratching your head over this, rest assured I was doing the same thing. I didn't understand it then and I don't understand it now. I also love how much power and strength Gregory gives to her heroines. In a time where women were regarded as property of their fathers then husbands then sons, she weaves tale after tale of women rising up and wielding the power that is within their reach. And while some women take things too far and create their own downfall (Anne Boleyn, Margaret of Anjoy, Katherine Howard, etc.), there are those that know how to play the game and solidify their spot in the world (Jaquetta, Elizabeth Woodville, and Elizabeth of York). I find it so interesting how Gregory portrays these strong women of the time and how easily they could have played such major roles of the time but just had to be kept more behind the scenes. One last comment; I have been reading Gregory for years, and am fascinated to note that the novels are getting less sensual as time goes on. This one was PG-rated.

Jacquetta is also an important character in Margaret Frazer's fifth "Player Joliffe" novel, A Play of Treachery (2009). The story is set in 1435–6, after the death of her first husband, John, Duke of Bedford. This historical novel tells a tale regarding her marriage to Sir Richard Woodville. There is no mention of witchcraft in this novel. Esti doamna mea si iubirea mea. Te voi feri de primejdie, Jacquetta! Nu se va intampla niciodata sa ma cauti si sa descoperi ca am disparut!"

Jacquetta fights for her king, her queen, and for her daughter Elizabeth for whom Jacquetta can sense an extraordinary and unexpected future: a change of fortune, the throne of England, and the white rose of York. What frightens me is the sheer size of this series. I doubt that I will finish it in the next few years, but I will continue it for sure. I loved this story so much. There's something about Philippa Gregory's writing that wraps all around you and makes you feel like you're there. The language is beautiful and descriptive, and I crave it when I'm not reading it. This isn't a light story by any means-there is drama and war and romance and death and issues of class. But court politics and political intrigue are some of my favorite parts of fiction, particularly in medieval fiction, and I'm thrilled to get to experience aspects of world history that I'm not very knowledgeable about. Taking small breaks from the story so I could go research people, places, events in Jacquetta's story was the best part. I was meant to be entertained by this book, but I also feel like I learned a lot. The Lady of the Rivers is Jacquetta Woodville, lady-in-waiting to Margaret of Anjou, who becomes the Queen of England in 1445. Jacquetta is a fascinating person, wise and true and regal. She is a direct descendant of Melusina, the water goddess of legend, and this lineage gives her some powers that separate her from the everyday people around her. This aspect of the story is handled beautifully and without anything that makes it seem preposterous or unrealistic. As far as the audio, it is done well. Anyone who regular listens to Gregory's works knows that she usually uses Bianca Amato, who does well with them. Though, considering Jacquetta's French roots, Dagmara Dominczyk is another good choice.Schirmer, Walter F. (1961). John Lydgate. Translated by Keep, Ann E. University of California Press. Jones, William R. (1972). "Political Uses of Sorcery in Medieval Europe". The Historian. Taylor & Francis. 34 (4): 670–687. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6563.1972.tb00434.x. ISSN 0018-2370. JSTOR 24442963 . Retrieved 6 May 2022. The novels begin with Jacquetta of Luxembourg's friendship with Joan of Arc, in her final days of imprisonment before being burned at the stake, and Jacquetta's powers as a seeress. The Lady of the Rivers was an okay kind of book. After watching the TV shows The White Queen and The White Princess I have been kind of dying to read this series. However, this book was just an okay kind of beginning to it. The Lady of the Rivers is the story of Jacquetta of Luxembourg and her marriages, first to John the Duke of Bedford, and then to Richard Woodville. Jacquetta is a descendant of the water spirit Melusina, which means that she has a special Sight. It is because of this unique ability that John, the Duke of Bedford, marries her but it turns out that he is uninterested in her as a person. He only wants to use her Sight for his advancement. After his death, her marriage to John's squire Richard Woodville is one that is born out of love, and this is where Jacquetta begins her family line.