The third novel in Philippa Gregory's series on the Cousins War should probably have been read first. However, Ms. Gregory did not write it first so we are left to backtrack to learn the source of Jacquetta's gifts, how she influenced her life, her many children and the lives of others during the time prior to the beginning of War of the Roses and during the end of the Hundred Years War. We learn of Mesulina and the reason for the connection to the river that was such a part of The White Queen. I found that I liked this book as much as the other two and have adjusted much of my thinking about Elizabeth as well.
Jacquetta was a strong, royal woman who was restricted by the position women held in society during the 15th century. She was intelligent, personable, strong of character and loyal, almost to a fault. Married to an older Duke when she was still quite young, she set about being a good wife, even after he told her she was his wife for her special gifts, not for love, sex or anything related to the typical marriage of that or any time. She was loyal to Duke Bedford even though she had probably fallen for Richard Woodville long before the Duke died and they became lovers. The fairytale aspect of meeting her one true "prince" adds to the story and the love affair of Jacquetta and Richard is enduring and I believe one not readily found in that time period. I think she is somewhat more favorably dealt with in this book than in The White Queen where she was seen to be just a tad manipulative! Here I found her resourceful, using all her abilities to survive and to carve out a place for herself and her children in society.
Much of this book deals with the varied role of women in the 15th century. Our two main characters are Jacquetta and Margaret. Jacquetta has been taught by her great-aunt to be careful how one uses the gifts you have and to be very careful when cursing as it might have unintended consequences. Margaret on the other hand, is married to the King, thinks of no one but herself most of the time and uses whatever means she can to carry out revenge, murder, mayhem and all around spitefulness. Yet, Jacquetta is there for her. My own thought was to give Margaret the proverbial kick in the pants and be done with her but that did not happen. Then I wished that she would get her comeuppance.
Once I get beyond my feelings about each character I try to look at the book from a perspective I think Ms. Gregory is trying to convey. Women had to do what they had to do--to survive in a man's world where they were often nothing more than chattel. When Margaret took control of the realm while Henry "slept" she was considered harsh, cruel, and I am sure a few other words not so kind. She is accused of having become pregnant by Edmund Beaufort (probably) and that the heir to the throne was not the king's son. She still played that very close to the vest and would have done well to not be so public with the fondness she had for Beaufort. She most definitely should not have waged a war of revenge against the people who were responsible for his death at the expense of losing the country. Margaret had too been well trained but she was the opposite of Jacquetta--brash, vindictive, manipulative and responsible for the deaths of many English as a result of her action. If I wanted to be equally harsh I would say she almost single handedly caused the War of the Roses.
I enjoyed the book. I love the characters, their humanness and their greatness as well as their weaknesses. I cannot imagine giving birth to a dozen children and having all but one live. As much as Jacquetta loved Richard, she did not challenge him on anything. He was the ruler of the house. He did love her and respect her but there was no discussion about much that impacted her life. He was away too much. But then I can't imagine being away from my family while I was a lady-in-waiting for a self-centered, conniving queen either! Thankfully, times have changed and I don't have to!
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