The first novel in the sweeping series, The Cousins War, Philippa Gregory’s The Lady of the Rivers tells the story of Jacquetta Woodville, Lady Rivers. The mother of the eventual queen of England, Elizabeth Woodville, Jacquetta is a young woman from Luxembourg’s royal family. She is married at 17 to the Duke of Bedford who, according to the novel, wished to use her prowess as a wise woman and a seer to increase the power of the nation of England against France and other international powers. Only a few years into the marriage she is widowed and chooses to re-marry her groom, Richard, a knight of her first husband.
The story winds through the decades leading up to the War of the Roses and primarily follows the House of Lancaster as they prepare to war against the House of York. While many members of the English court turn coat for York, the Rivers family remains loyal to Lancaster. Told from a female perspective, much of the book revolves around courtly intrigue and the secret use of alchemy and other magic to improve the fortunes of the king.
while not necessarily historically accurate, Gregory’s series of novels are a light, fun read providing background to some of the lesser known characters in English history and delving deeper into the history of the important women of the era. I recommend looking at them with less of a critical lens, and instead enjoying them for the tales they tell about women in an era where only men had real worth.