Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Historical Fiction Review & Giveaway - The Lady of the Rivers by Phillipa Gregory

First I want to thank Phillipa Gregory, and this book, for reminding me why I love reading and why I especially love historical fiction. I've been having a really hard time getting into books lately. Not so with this book. I was instantly in love with the characters and completely lost in the time period.


The Lady of the Rivers: A Novel (The Cousins' War) is the third book in Phillipa Gregory's War of the Roses books. It focuses on Jaquetta, a young woman from the first family of Luxembourg. During her time, Luxembourg was contested land between the English and the French. Jaquetta is married off to the English duke whose duty it is to protect the land from falling into French lands. She is sucked into court politics, playing a role in the Cousins' war, and eventually becoming grandmother to "the princes in the Tower". While her role isn't talked about much in the history books, her life was central to the history of the time and of the present. The current royals are in fact her descendents.

Jaquetta's family claims to be descended from Melussina, a water-goddess. Because of this, the women in her family sometimes show a propensity for somewhat magical powers. In this time period, being anything but a quiet and demure wife is a dangerous thing for a woman. Jaquetta learns this when her family becomes the hosts for Joan of Arc. She watches as Joan is made a martyr for her thoughts and ideas. When Jaquetta is married off to the duke, she learns that he is interested in alchemy and has married her mostly for what he hopes are her magical powers.

I loved the magical element in this book. While Jaquetta tries to deny it and be a simple wife, the places she finds herself don't allow her to do so. The magic isn't crazy and over the top. It is very simple and gently done. I read some reviews that complained that the magic reduced her from a strong and powerful woman to just a woman who survives through her magic. I didn't find that to be true at all. She displayed some powers, usually only when forced. The rest of her life was driven by her own ambition and will to do what was right.

Jaquetta accomplished a lot of things in the royal court of England. While she was simply a dowager duchess, she was a close friend to Margaret of Anjou and so had a great influence. It is amazing to see how big a role she played at court considering she spent a good part of her life pregnant. She eventually had fourteen children.


While this is the third of the Cousins' War books, it can be read as a stand-alone. I have no idea what happened in White Queen, even though I read it a few years ago, and I was able to read this one just fine. If you've read the first two and didn't love them, I still think you should give this one a chance. It is a lot more character driven and fast-paced. It is a quick and easy read, with a lot of good history in it. I gave this book four stars on goodreads', so I'd definitely recommend it.

I'd recommend it so much, I want to share it. So I'm going to do a giveaway for my paperback copy. It is in almost new condition. I dog-ear books to keep my place. Horrible habit, I know, but what can ya do? So to enter, just use the rafflecopter below. Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway Pin It

17 comments:

  1. I love historical fiction! My favorite is The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I love reading just about any time period though. If I had to choose, the Civil War era would probably be my favorite.

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    1. I have had that on my bookshelf forever! I want to read it because I know I will love it, but it is soooo long! It scares me!

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  2. I love historical fiction! I particularly like the Victorian era.
    My favorite book has got to be The Other Boleyn Girl..

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    1. That is one of my favorites too. Gregory is probably my favorite historical fiction author.

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  3. I adore historical fiction books! I really don't have a favorite time period, but anything in Europe is great for me (most of historical fiction books are in Europe anyway!). I agree with Bookie Bee, the Victorian era is especially impressive. If you like the Victorian era, then The Girl in the Steel Corset, and The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross are part of a great series that are set in the Victorian era. That series is technically under the category of Steampunk, but it's set in the Victorian era. Also, Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers is an AMAZING, AMAZING historical fiction novel. It's extremely long, but it is so worth every page. The scheming, the rich history, the characters... everything about this book screams amazing. I loved this book. Ms. LaFevers has two more books from this series coming out in the next couple of years. I can't wait!

    Thanks for the giveaway!
    Alyssa Susanna

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    1. Grave Mercy does look good. I might have to move i up on my to-read list. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  4. I like most all time periods for historical novels. This book was set in the Regency period and was very good: THE LOVES OF LEOPOLD SINGER BY LK Rigel
    Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net

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    1. I love the Regency period, definitely going to have to look this one up! Thanks for the tip!

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  5. I love Victorian England but The Other Boleyn Girl was already recommended. It's fantastic.

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  6. I love The Victorian Era. Steampunk, or just plain fiction taking place during Victorian Era is my cup of tea. I love the Rebel Angels series by Libba Bray.

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    1. You know, I never thought of the Rebel Angels series as historical fiction, but I love it. It is probably in my top 5 favorite books of all time.

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  7. I haven't read a ton of historical fiction, but I've enjoyed Gregory's books around the Henry VIII era!

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    1. This book is just before the Henry VIII books so it is almost a little backstory for the Tudor books. I'm sure you'd love it.

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  8. I love the Tudor period, but I also like to read nearly anything pre-Industrial Revolution. :-)

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    1. I haven't read much that pre-Industrial Revolution historical fiction, but I should look some up. Thanks for the recommendation. :)

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  9. abrennan09@hotmail.com
    I always liked WWII stories/novels. Hoping to read "The Golden Hour," which I just recieved a few days ago.

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  10. I love historical fiction! Mostly medieval/Renaissance set, but I also adore the Roaring 20s. I actually can't think of a non-Philippa Gregory book to recommend right now though. -facepalm- It's late and I'm tired. Forgive me. xD

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