Fanatically religious Margaret Beaufort makes it her life's mission to see her son become king of England during the Wars of the Roses in one installment of Philippa Gregory's mesmerizing "The Cousins' War" series.
My thoughts
"The Cousins' War" loses some of its allure, all because Margaret Beaufort is supremely unsympathetic. Even in Philippa Gregory's capable hands, Margaret's religious asceticism is dull as dirt.
Margaret Beaufort was the polar opposite of those lusty, fertile Woodvilles, and as a Lancastrian she was pitted against them in the Wars of the Roses. She was the mother of Henry Tudor, who would grow up to defeat Richard III to become king of England as Henry VII. She had already been widowed when she gave birth to Henry at the age of thirteen (say it with me: good God!). She was a very devout Catholic who believed it was God's will that her only child succeed to the throne of England.
If there's one weakness in "The Cousins' War" series, it's that the books overlap so much. While it can be interesting to see the same event from opposing perspectives, it's ultimately too repetitive.
I didn't care for this book, but I did like Margaret Beaufort in the Starz miniseries The White Queen (which was based on Gregory's book series), mostly because of Amanda Hale's marvelously twitchy performance. Now on to the final two books in the series (Gregory is nothing if not prolific)!
Bottom line
"The Cousins' War" is worth reading, but you won't miss much if you skip this one or just watch the miniseries.
"The Cousins' War" Reviews
The White Queen
The Lady of the Rivers
The Kingmaker's Daughter
Fine print
The Red Queen, by Philippa Gregory
Genre: historical fiction
Photo from Goodreads
I own this book.
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