People who don’t read have a strange image of us bibliophiles. To non-readers we are a foreign breed of indoor plant. They assume we spend all our time in dark libraries with our faces buried in dusty books. When they find out you actually went to school to study books and literature – like I did – twice – you become an even more exotic flower. They tilt their heads and look at you through squinty eyes trying to figure out why you shun the real world. And they also assume you’ve got super highbrow taste in literature. It can be a lot of pressure to live up to.
So imagine the waves of embarrassment and panic rushing over me when I realized that the dude running the register at a local bookstore looked familiar. As I wandered around the shelves I realized that I had been a TA in a class he took. Now this kid, whose papers I had graded, was going to judge what I was choosing to read. And what I was about read was not necessarily something I was proud of.
See, I’ve read a lot of Philippa Gregory. And I’m not really sure why, but her books feel like a dirty little secret. I swear they are not as “romance novel” as they look. I mean, yes, there is a lot of love story going on. But what I like about Gregory’s books is the way she opens up a new view of history. Reminding myself of all this, I sacked-up (ovaried-up?) and walked out of there with The White Queen clutched in my hands.
One of the reasons I like historical fiction, which is mostly what Gregory writes, so much is for the untold stories. It’s easy to read a history book and learn about the battles fought, the territories lost, the political moves made. But what you don’t get most of the time is a view into what life was actually like while all the “history” was going on. And you especially don’t get to know what life was like for women.
The White Queen is a first in a new series about The Cousin’s War. Gregory weaves the story around Elizabeth Woodville; married to Edward IV and mother of the princes in the tower. Keeping track of what seems like 5 Richards, 3 Edwards, 8 Elizabeths and 4 Henrys (it’s like there were only 10 names on the whole planet for people to choose from!) as they battle back and forth for the throne of England can be confusing. This was a time when politics was a bloody contact sport. Men literally fought to the death for political power. Women were nothing more than pawns, used by their fathers and husbands to make deals and secure financial rewards. Most women had no choice but to stand passively by and watch their lives swirl around the ever changing political leavings of the day.
Not Elizabeth. As Gregory paints her, she is a fierce mother and even fiercer political player. Instead of standing on the sidelines and letting things unfold around her, Elizabeth takes an active role in her world. We watch as she reaches unimaginable highs and plunging lows. All while trying to protect her children, herself, her family, and her place in history. What Gregory does so well is craft one woman’s story set against a background of true events. The history becomes a part of the story, and we care about the outcome because we care about Elizabeth.
As messy as our political landscape is today, I’m glad we are in a more civilized place. Can you imagine Barack and Michelle making backroom deals to arrange the marriage of poor Sasha to John Boehner’s first born as the only way to secure a vote in congress? Though, the thought of Santorum, Romney, and Gingrich in a fight to the death would be much more entertaining than watching all those boring debates…
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