Cousins' War (1) - The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
The Hundred Years War ends and a new one is to begin – here is how the peace within England ended. Here is the story of Jaquetta of Luxembourg – The Lady of the Rivers, book one of the Cousins' War by Philippa Gregory (in German Die Mutter der Königin in French not published yet) I heard it as an English unabridged audio book, but the original is about 688 pages long. Age 15+.
When Jacquetta's first husband dies, she's free. Free to be loved, to use her gift of the Sight as she wishes – and free to be with Richard, her late husband's squire. As one of the most powerful women in Europe, Jacquetta goes to England, to serve at court… And the new queen, Margaret d'Anjou. Cruel and unwanted she soon becomes a danger to the British people, while her saintly husband sleeps and sleeps... And all the while, Jaquetta sees her first-born child bloom into a beautiful girl... and the picture she saw while scrying: Of her Elizabeth as a queen.
I like Jaquetta far more than her daughter even though – in this part at least – Elizabeth is a nice girl. She's gentle and intelligent, she knows how to read people. And all these hints towards her future are quite comical.
The scrying and Jaquetta's other gifts at foresight are very well done. While listening to the story I was always puzzled who the riding queen with the horseshoes backwards was. I was almost sorry when the solution came.
Jaquetta herself is a good girl, a wise person. And fertile! 14 children!! How is that possible? She's also beautiful and charming, traits which help her in many situations – I love the Londoners, by the way. Additionally, Jaquetta's utterly loyal, faithful and knows what she wants. And, of course, she's powerful beyond witchcraft. She's the most powerful (or second-most) woman of France and England, a descendent of the house of Luxembourg, she could have been the queen of France and she's first lady in waiting and one of the most trusted friends of the Queen of England. Not to forget that, later on, she's the queen's mother. She is as powerful as a woman of that time can be without a crown and she uses that power wisely – and for good. She's the perfect protagonist of the story of the beginning of the Cousins' Wars, even though she only starts to be involved when Jean D'Arc (whom I like as well) comes to her great aunt.
Jaquetta's very easy to love as well. You feel with her. I was sorry for her in many situations, but I envy her as well. The love she shares with her Richard? My god, not many people can say that they have had that! But I'm sorry she's almost always parted from him.
I like Richard very, very, much. It's cool how he supports his wife in any way he can, even though he does not entirely believe in witchcraft and all that jazz. And I like his faithful, even blind loyalty towards his own soldiers and people – and his king. Richard is honourable and I hate how they hurt him through that. What they do with him is very, very unfair.
The royal couple is shown in an interesting way. I wonder if Margaret and Marie Antoinette are related. They probably are and that would explain where Marie Antoinette got certain character traits.
But I must admit that I rather like the queen. She's a very difficult woman, bad tempered and like a child with too much power. But she's also sweet and charming. It's rather funny how she reacts when someone comes with logic. She's spoiled – how she again and again and again bullies Jaquetta into risking her life and how she treats her country... that's unforgivable. But I also understand how she could have gotten that way. Her affaire with Edmund was absolutely obvious – and who is the crown prince's father as well.
The crown prince. My god, what a charming child. He's even more cruel than his mother! But the swan was a very nice story and it does fit to Margaret and her child.
I am so sorry for the king. He really is made of glass. His illness is as interesting as terrible for the country and when he caught his wife and best friend, I nearly cried for him. Of course, he has provoked it in some way. He didn't treat his wife very well. What she did is understandable, but it was still wrong and it's terrible he has to suffer from it.
As you can see, the characters are very credible. They are drawn like real people, like people you could meet everyday on the street. They might be all dead but in this book, they come to life again. As her protagonist Jaquetta has her powers of foreseeing and making her own future, Philippa Gregory has the gift of making the dead come to life again.
Apart from this, you have the best mixture of real history and fantasy. You understand the time and its rules completely, especially the strictness for women and their knowledge – through Jean d'Arc and Eleanor – as well as the social necessary blindness towards the king in contrast to the believe in magic and the political games and intrigues.
The style is extraordinarily well done. It's tense and emotional.
In brief:
All in all, I give this book stars for content, style, ideas, characters and the fantasy elements.
Sequel: