The Last White Rose

Today I finished reading “The Last White Rose: A Novel of Elizabeth of York,” by Alison Weir today. Almost always Alison Weir never disappoints with making history come alive while still remaining accurate. Elizabeth Plantagenet was the first Tudor Queen after marrying Henry Tudor aka Henry VII. Elizabeth is also mother to many famous children including Henry VIII, yes that same Henry who married 6 wives. Elizabeth’s brothers were also Edward and Richard the same princes in the tower who many suspect were murdered by their evil uncle Richard III.  

Pros

I love that the book touched on Elizabeth’s childhood and her life as a princess, her time in exile and her years as Queen etc. The beginning started off with a bang with her, her siblings her mother and grandmother fleeing to sanctuary when Elizabeth was a child. I also liked that unlike Phillipa Gregory’s series, that Alison Weir depicted Elizabeth and Henry’s relationship accurately as a love match instead of them hating each other. You also read about how Elizabeth was a factor in Henry winning the battle in Bosworth field and how she had some influence as Queen despite not ruling as one in her own right.

Cons

While this book wasn’t a dud, I felt it wasn’t Weir’s best either. The book was too long and I felt you could skip some pages and not miss a whole lot. There were also parts that seemed very repetitive.

Overall

Overall I did enjoy the book. While it wasn’t the best it certainly is worth picking up and it wasn’t a dud like some of the few that I have critiqued in the past. I can’t wait to see how she writes Henry VIII and Mary Tudor in this trilogy of the Tudor Rose series. I hope someday she writes about Elizabeth’s mother Elizabeth and maybe some other royals to consider would be Isabella The She Wolf of France, Katherine Valois, Catherine Di Medici.