REVIEW: The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

Things I learned from this novel: Margaret Beaufort was self-righteous and power-hungry; and the Cousin's War (the War of the Roses) was really long and drawn-out. Like, generations long and drawn-out. Let's talk about the novel, though!

CHARACTERS
The main character of The Red Queen is Margaret Beaufort, daughter of John Beaufort, the Duke of Somerset, and an heiress to the Lancaster House of England - at the time of Margaret's birth, the royal house. As a young girl, she is married off to the king's half-brother, Edmund Tudor, who was some twelve or so years older than her. Through him, Margaret conceived her only child, Henry Tudor, who was royal through both parents and had a vast claim to the throne. Cue, the Cousin's War.

At the start, Margaret is shown to be someone who thinks she is above others. She expects special treatment from her mother (see: begging to be a nun rather than marry, though she was her father's only child and as such, was expected to provide an heir), recognition as a "holy woman" because of her intense dedication to prayer, and for everything to work out so that she comes out on top due to her belief that God is on her side and hers alone. In one section, rather than blame poor planning on several counts, including her own, and the forces of nature for the failure of a plot to put her son on the throne, she blames those she allied with, calling them sinners and accepting no blame for herself. She is the definition of "holier-than-thou".

So, of course I hated her. Unbearably self-righteous and unwilling to listen to anyone with some modicum of sense, Margaret spends most of her life in prayer or plotting. Prayer that her son will take the throne, that her enemies will be struck down, and that she can "sign [her]self Margaret Regina: Margaret R". That line is literally repeated at least once every hundred pages. I hated her. She also complains a lot, and literally thinks other people are beneath her.

Of the other characters, the ones who get the most attention are: Jasper Tudor, the brother of Margaret's first husband, guardian of her son, and the man she maybe is in love with; Sir Henry Stafford, her second husband; and Thomas Stanley, her third husband. They are presented as well-rounded men, with their virtues and shortcomings (Jasper adores Margaret and believes in her cause, but he's hotheaded and doesn't know when to give up; Henry Stafford is kind and gentle, but doesn't believe in anything; and Thomas Stanley is intelligent and quick-witted, but is literally the definition of a double-crosser). Other characters are seen as side characters and not interacted with much, but then, Margaret appears to have been a rather reclusive woman, at least in Gregory's portrayal of her.

PLOT
Basically, the plot is Margaret Beaufort's life. Everything that happens in the novel is inspired by actual events, and this is the most of it. At the start of the novel, Margaret is nine years old, at the end, her twenty-eight-year-old son has just been crowned king. While this does not seem like much of a plot, it also involves the intricacies of the Cousin's War, and the madness that was life in England at the time. Therefore, it is well-crafted in my opinion: Gregory does her best to ensure that something is always happening, and keeps the reader interested.

WRITING
I love Philippa Gregory's writing! She is such a master of her craft - so much so that I give this book four stars, even though I despised the central character. Gregory truly knows what she is doing when it comes to writing a novel, and I really must give her credit for that.

RATING
Four stars! Not my favorite of Gregory's works (currently, that is still The Other Boleyn Girl), but very well-written and engaging.

RECOMMENDATION
I would recommend this to others who love history, especially the Plantagnets and Tudors, as these novels are written for them. However, be prepared to hate Margaret by the end of it!