Elizabeth of York: The last white rose by Alison Weir

Alison Weir has created a fascinating and riveting story of the English Royal families, beginning in 1470 and taking us through to 1503.p Weir begins her narrative in a time of rivalry and anger, a time when unwanted upstarts, according to certain other royal families, should be taken prisoner, even simply killed to prevent their taking over the throne of England.  Outstandingly vivid, thoughtful, and richly developed as a narrative, this gripping novel plunges us into what life would have been like in these unsettled times.

Elizabeth was expecting to be Queen of England, but the death of her father does not lead into her claim of Queen, and rather she flees the capital, seeking sanctuary for a time, hiding in an unexpected place, and planning how to ensure that her reinstatement as Queen is done in a proper and royal manner.  In fact, it is her uncle who plans to marry this claimant, but Elizabeth decides instead to marry Henry Tudor.  Life does not settle down to any sense of normality, but Elizabeth acts wisely, seeking to rule as the rightful heir, but ensuring that her country returns to something like normal, run by a person of intelligence.  Indeed, her marriage keeps her as the Queen in an unexpected way, with both her husband as King and she as Queen, ruling calmly and thoughtfully to make England a safe and good country.

This narrative is brilliantly constructed to enable readers to consider how the ‘royals’ could be fair and decent people, running the country in a considerate and thoughtful way, seeing themselves as people who are royals, thus exploring how such a political situation could be decent and considerate of all who lived in these times. 

Themes: Great Britain - Kings, queens and rulers, Great Britain - History -1485-1603, Tudor period, Queen Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Bondar