Having never read historical fiction before, and not being a fan of this particular period of history, I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy this novel.  Elizabeth Woodville, maternal grandmother to Henry VIII,  is the main focus of this novel about the War of the Roses.  She is a widow with two young sons who was looking to cast her lot higher, and ends up married to King Edward IV, having ten children with him, and being a part of some major events in English history.  I wasn’t to familiar with her story, so I didn’t really have much to critique when it came to historical accuracy.  I will say this is an interesting story, full of intrigue, manipulation, and made this historical period a bit more interesting for me to digest.  I had seen a movie adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl, another of this author’s novels, and did expect there to be that same element of grandiose drama, which this novel definitely contains.  Remember with historical fiction to take things with a grain of salt, besides any biographical facts about the historical figures, because this isn’t written as a biography, but as a novel.  I did have fun reading it, and it did encourage me to seek out a little bit of information about this time period and the people in the novel, which isn’t a bad accomplishment for a story about history and those who shaped it.

K