The White Queen (2009) (edit title/settings)

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• Elizabeth Woodville: The main character and narrator who marries Edward IV and becomes queen of England.
• King Edward: Yorkist king of England and husband of Elizabeth Woodville.
• Richard, Duke of Gloucester: Duke of Gloucester and loyal youngest brother of Edward IV.
• Edward, Prince of Wales: Fourth child and first son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville and Edward's heir to the throne
• Anthony Woodville: The second Earl Rivers and beloved older brother of Elizabeth, educated and worldly-wise.
• Richard, Duke of York: Sixth child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, their second son and heir to the House of York.
• Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick: Earl of Warwick, the "Kingmaker", first and oldest adviser to Edward IV.
• George, Duke of Clarence: Duke of Clarence, younger brother of Edward IV and older brother of Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The spoiled favorite of his mother, Cecily Neville.
• Margaret Beaufort: Mother of Lancastrian heir Henry Tudor, wife of Thomas Stanley and lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth Woodville.
• Henry Tudor: Son of Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor. One of the Lancastrian contenders to the throne.
• Elizabeth of York: First child of Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward IV and a favorite of her mother.
• William Hastings: Baron Hastings, close friend and Lord Chamberlain of Edward IV.
• Melusina: Female spirit of fresh waters in sacred springs and rivers. The founder of the House of Luxembourg and Elizabeth's ancestress through her mother, Jacquetta.
• Thomas Grey: Oldest son of Elizabeth Woodville by her first husband, Sir John Grey.
• Anne of Warwick: Younger daughter of the Earl of Warwick.
• Margaret d'Anjou: Queen consort of Henry VI and mother of Edward of Lancaster. She commands the battles on her husband and son's behalf.
• Duke of Buckingham: Duke of Buckingham and husband of Elizabeth's younger sister, Katherine.
• Richard Grey: Younger son of Elizabeth by her first husband, Sir John Grey.
• Lionel Woodville: Bishop of Salisbury and younger brother of Elizabeth.
• Cecily Neville: Duchess of York, widow of Richard of York and mother of Edward IV, George, Duke of Clarence and Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
• Isabel Neville: Elder daughter of Richard Neville, "The Kingmaker."
• Jemma: Maid to Elizabeth and her daughters when in sanctuary.
• Katherine Woodville: Wife of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and Elizabeth's younger sister.
• Jacquetta of Luxembourg: Mother of Elizabeth Woodville, descended from the House of Luxembourg and water goddess Melusina who believes she has inherited some of her ancestress's "gifts."
• Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy: Younger sister and supporter of Edward IV. Marries Charles, Duke of Burgundy.
• Elizabeth Shore: Edward IV's favorite mistress.
• Cecily Plantagenet: Third child of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV.
• Thomas Stanley: Nobleman and husband of Margaret Beaufort.
• Henry VI: The Lancastrian king. His gentle and pious nature is ill-suited to the bloody wars waged for and against him.
• Jasper Tudor: Uncle of Henry Tudor and leader of Wales. He supports his nephew's pursuit of the throne.
• Bridget of York: Tenth child of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV.
• John Woodville: Elizabeth's first husband who is killed in battle before the novel starts.
• Mary of York: Second child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
• Margaret of York: Fifth child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, who dies as an infant.
• Anne of York: Seventh child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
• George Plantagenet: Eighth child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
• Catherine of York: Ninth child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
• Lord Warwick: Add a description of this character.
• Duchess Cecily
• Thomas Howard
• Edward Brampton
• Richard Woodville
• Dr. Lewis
• William Herbert
• Edmund Tudor
• Thomas Vaughan
• Lady Mother
• Mother Jacquetta
• Cook
• Richard Welles
• Anne Holland
• John Nesfield
• Edward of Lancaster
• Thomas Burdett
• Catherine Neville
• Duke of Bedford
• Bishop Morton
• Earl Rivers
• Duke of Burgundy
• Peter
• King Henry
• Thomas Neville
• Louis of France
• Anne Mowbray
• Robin
• Thomas Bourchier
• Katherine of Aragon
• PHILIPPA GREGORY

Quotes edit see section history

• “"As men have to fight, women have to wait and plan."”

  Elizabeth Rivers, the narrator and Queen

• “"I wanted to marry a man that I loved, as you did Father. . . I wanted to marry a man for love, not a stranger on the word of his mother and mine."”

  Elizabeth York (daughter of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth Woodville)

• “We are not savages. We don't make war on dead bodies.”

  Edward IV

• “She is the very bone of my bone. She has never had a thought that I did not put in her head.”

  Elizabeth Woodville

• “I would rather be Jemma the maid than you... Jemma can run away and serve another master. But you are locked to the throne of England and you have enslaved us too.”

  Elizabeth York (daughter of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth Woodville)

• “"The sons of York will destroy each other, one brother destroying another, uncles devouring nephews, fathers beheading sons. They are a house which has to have blood, and they will shed their own if they have no other enemy."”

  Elizabeth Woodville

• “"She is Melusina, the water goddess, and she is found in hidden springs and waterfalls in any forest in Christendom, even in those as far away as Greece. (...) A man may love her if he keeps her secret and lets her alone when she wants to bathe, and she may love him in return until he breaks his word, as men always do, and she sweeps him into the depths with her fishy tail, and turns his faithless blood to water. The tragedy of Melusina, whatever language tells it, whatever tune it sings, is that a man will always promise more than he can do to a woman he cannot understand."”

  Philippa Gregory

• “"I have heard ballads of great battles, and poems about the beauty of a charge and the grace of a leader. But I did not know that war was nothing more than butchery, as savage and unskilled as sticking a pig in the throat and leaving it to bleed to make the meat tender. I did not know that the style and nobility of the jousting arena had nothing to do with this thrust and stab. Just like killing a screaming piglet for bacon after chasing it round the sty. And I did not know that war thrilled men so: they come home laughing like schoolboys after a prank; but they have blood on their hands and a smear of something on their cloaks and the smell of smoke in their hair and a terrible ugly excitement on their faces."”

  Elizabeth Woodville

• “"I understand now why they break into convents, force women against their will, defy sanctuary to finish the killing chase. They arouse in themselves a wild vicious hunger more like animals than men. I did not know war was like this. I feel I have been a fool not to know, since I was raised in a kingdom at war and am the daughter of a man captured in battle, the widow of a night, the wife of a merciless solider. But I know now."”

  Elizabeth Woodville

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• He promised her that he would give her everything, everything she wanted, as men in love always do. And she trusted him despite herself, as women in love always do.

  Highlighted by 54 Kindle customers

• “It’s a fool who is afraid of nothing,” I say. “And a brave man is one who knows fear and rides out and faces it.

  Highlighted by 44 Kindle customers

• If there is love enough, then nothing—not nature, not even death itself—can come between two who love each other.

  Highlighted by 39 Kindle customers

• I am a woman who makes things happen, and I am not defeated yet. I am not defeated by a boy with a newly won crown, and no man will ever walk away from me certain that he won’t walk back.

  Highlighted by 26 Kindle customers

• And still the bird sings as if to say that delight is easy, for those who desire it.

  Highlighted by 26 Kindle customers

• a man will always promise more than he can do to a woman he cannot understand.

  Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers

• “We are all precious,” Anthony declares. “And we all have to live a life with risk.

  Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers

• These are not chivalrous times; these are not the times of knights in the dark forest and beautiful ladies in moonlit fountains and promises of love that will be ballads, sung forever.

  Highlighted by 17 Kindle customers

• I understand now why they break into convents, force women against their will, defy sanctuary to finish the killing chase. They arouse in themselves a wild vicious hunger more like animals than men. I did not know that war was like this. I feel I have been a fool not to know, since I was raised in a kingdom at war and am the daughter of a man captured in battle, the widow of a knight, the wife of a merciless soldier. But I know now.

  Highlighted by 15 Kindle customers

• “Edward lives as if there is no tomorrow, Richard as if he wants no tomorrow, and George as though someone should give it to him for free.”

  Highlighted by 13 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Towton: Site of a battle in 1461 where Edward won, but Elizabeth's family lost. Elizabeth's family were for Lancaster; Edward's was York.
• Grafton Manor: Elizabeth's home at the beginning of this story. she lived in her father's and mother's home, near the River Tove.
• Reading: Where Edward's court was set up to introduce Elizabeth as the new queen.
• London: Where Elizabth was crowned, at Westminster Abbey
• Royal rooms in the Tower of London: Where Elizabeth and Edward stayed while in London. Rooms were kept here for them, just one floor above where King Henry VI was living as prisoner, later.
• Fotheringhay: Where Edward and Elizabeth meet in Summer, 1469, hoping to enjoy time at their beautiful house, only to discover a plot by the Duke of Warwick, to dethrone Edward.
• Norwich: Where Elizabeth stayed with their daughters and her teenage Grey sons, while Edward went to Nottingham, hoping to put down a Warwick plot.
• Middleham Castle: Edward was help prisoner here by the Duke of Warwick.
• Westminster Palace: In London, where Edward and Elizabeth live before she has their son, Edward.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• War of the Roses: Also known as the War of the cousins or the war of the Plantagenets- between the Lancasters and York Families of London.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by The Red Queen.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Philippa Gregory (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Mirta Jambrović (Translator) - Croatian

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 823.914

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › British › Historical
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Drama › History
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Women's Fiction › Mothers & Children
• Books › Romance › Historical › England

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Philipa Gregory Official Site: The author's official site with synopses, reviews, audio samples, reading group guide, and downloadable .pdf of the first chapter.

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