The King's Curse - Book Review

King Henry VIII was never a favorite monarch of mine. I really do not believe he reformed the church do to Scriptural conviction, but more out of convenience. He desperately needed an heir and the Catholic Church was in the way. His father's greatest fear was that his line would die out and I am sure that fear was passed on to his children. In the book "The King's Curse", I just hate Henry more. He was a despicable man. The story is told from the view point of Margaret Pole, countess of Salisbury. Her father was the brother of Edward IV. This book is excellent! Philippa Gregory, the author, really captured the constant ebbing and flowing of fear and peace that was the reign of Henry VIII among those that may be a threat to the throne. No body was safe with him, not even his own children. Even though I knew how Margaret died, the book still gripped me and I anxiously waited the ending. This book was a great book and one of my favorites that Ms. Gregory has written. This book is the last in the series of the Cousins' War Series.

To the Christian: The Reformation is in its infancy during this era. The struggle between tradition and Scripture was almost at its boiling point. Margaret Pole is Catholic and I do feel sorry for her because  Henry's "reform" utterly destroys the practices that have been a part of her faith for centuries. It brings homelessness and destitution to the monks and nuns that have spent their lives in cloister. I believe he does these atrocities not in the name of God, but to satiate his power hungry ambition. During this time, Henry burns at the stake William Tyndale, a man that translated the Bible into English, so that all may partake and read Scripture.

There is no explicit content in the book.

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White Princess Book Review

The White Princess is written by Philippa Gregory and is the story of Elizabeth of York and her rule as Queen of England. Elizabeth of York is the mother of Henry VIII; the grandmother of Queen Mary I, Queen Elizabeth I and James V of Scotland; and the great-grandmother of Mary Stuart Queen of Scots.

The book begins with Elizabeth becoming the wife of Henry Tudor who has become Henry VII King of England. It would be a great advantage to the reader to have read "Lady of the Rivers", "The White Queen" and the "The Red Queen" previously as to understand just how incredible the players of this book are. There are so many names and tangles in the lineage and they are so closely related that it is best to be prepared with foreknowledge of these incredible characters. There is a curse that is spoken of quiet often in the book, and if you do not know the lineage after Henry VII,  you might want to do some research on it. Reading "The Constant Princess" and "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory would help.

The book itself was really well written. Philippa Gregory does an outstanding job in developing the characters in the book. Her history is impeccable and her "theory" of the missing princes makes sense. I love her depiction of Henry Tudor and his mother Margaret Beaufort Countess of Richmond (she is the Red Queen). Although King Henry's anxiety does get a little old by the end of the book.

Queen Elizabeth of  York is a peacemaker and soother. In the book, she deals with a suspicious husband that still has his umbilical cord attached to his mother. She has a mother-in-law from hell and a mother (The White Queen and former Queen of England) with a rebellious heart and spirit that puts her and many others in danger. Throughout the book, Elizabeth of  York is second-guessed, mistrusted, and shamed; but she continuously is dutiful and faithful to her new allegiance.

To the Christian: This book is sexually tame compared to other Philippa Gregory novels.The love scenes (about 4 of them throughout the whole book) are usually no more than a paragraph long and deal mostly with Elizabeth of York's heart than what is happening physically.
                           Like most books written about this time period, the Church and God are involved in the majority of medieval royal life. Prayers, fasts, feast days, confessions, God's sovereignty are sprinkled throughout the book.

Glory to God: I really enjoy reading about these times in history. Everything - life, death, weather, children or lack thereof, sickness, health, war, and so much more are all attributed to God. So much was left to God and the people respected His decision making. These days, we really pat ourselves on the back more than we should. And the day things don't go as we wanted we blame God, never thanking him for the 364 days that things went well.

Scriptures: Our God is in the heavens, He does all that He pleases. Psalm 115:3
                  Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ~ Romans 13:1

If you are interested in this book, you can order it via Amazon by clicking here