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Book Review of The King's Daughter

The King's Daughter
The King's Daughter
Author: Sandra Worth
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
kopsahl48 avatar reviewed on + 181 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


Elizabeth of York is the daughter of Edward IV, niece of Richard III, sister to Richard V and wife to Henry VII. With a tree of kings in her family you would think that Elizabeth would have been a strong, confident woman. Not so. Elizabeth was a very meek, subservient woman, which frustrated me at times. She deferred to all the men in her life to make her choices and lets her husbands overbearing mother rule the roost. As you can tell from this passage on page 174:

Mother, dont you understand? We are captives, you and I. Though you may roam more freely than I, we are both watched by Tudor spies, and they report back on everything we say or do. I cannot take back the reins of the household from Henrys mother. I have no influence on him. He hates the House of York. Tis only his mother and Morten he trusts. Their advice has been to give me honorable captivity, but tighter than what Henry received in Brittany, for in the end he escaped. I am not even permitted to write lettersthough whom I would write to is a matter for consideration. Everyone I would write to is dead

We see Elizabeth grow from a young girl in love with Sir Thomas Stafford, one of the guards, to taking her fathers advice and becoming the queen that he knew she would be by logically marrying Henry VI. Her only joy in life was the birth of her kind, sweet son, Prince Arthur. Elizabeth was much loved by her people and was the only reason that Henry VI was tolerated. We also have a glimpse into young Henry VIIIs early life. Elizabeth knew right away that young Henry would not be a good, kind leader that Arthur would be and feared that he would be cruel to his people. If you know anything about this history and know what happens.

I enjoyed reading The Kings Daughter. It blended fiction with historical facts seamlessly and without overburdening the reader. Ms. Worths description of places, people and things bring you right into the folds of the late 1400s.