THE KING'S DAUGHTER

Author: Sandra Worth ISBN: 9780425221440 12/2008 HISTORICAL FICTION Publisher: BERKLEY
Time Period: 1470 - 1503

In this groundbreaking novel, award-winning author Sandra Worth vibrantly brings to life the people's Queen, "Elizabeth the Good." Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth of York trusts that her beloved father's dying wish has left England in the hands of a just and deserving ruler. But upon the rise of Richard of Gloucester, Elizabeth's family experiences one devastation after another: her late father is exposed as a bigamist, she and her siblings are branded bastards, and her brothers are taken into the new king's custody, then reportedly killed. But one fateful night leads Elizabeth to question her prejudices. Through the eyes of Richard's ailing queen she sees a man worthy of respect and undying adoration. His dedication to his people inspires a forbidden love and ultimately gives her the courage to accept her destiny, marry Henry Tudor, and become Queen. While her soul may secretly belong to another, her heart belongs to England . . .

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

The first emotion that I find myself confronting after reading THE KING'S DAUGHTER is one of great overwhelming sadness. This depiction of Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and mother of Henry VIII, whose marriage to Henry Tudor (Henry VII) after the War of the Roses united the Lancastrian and York houses of England, is so vividly written that my heart truly ached for her as if she were real at that very moment.

Once again, Ms. Worth proves herself a master storyteller and word weaver by telling of the tragedy-filled life of this first Tudor queen through Elizabeth's own eyes and in her own words. Yes, there are many enjoyable times in the young queen's life, but to live the majority of it under the thumb of an ambitious, sometimes cruel mother; fall in love with someone who cannot return that love and you can never be with; be married to someone you do not love, could never love and you know capable of great violence against those you do love, a man who sees enemies everywhere and whose overbearing, power hungry mother usurps your standing—or tries to—at every turn; just seems such a tragic waste of this woman's kind and gentle spirit and benevolent soul. Her portrayal touched me deeply, not just as a reader but as a person, and I only wish that Fate had allowed Elizabeth a much kinder, happier and love-filled life than what she truly must have lived.

There's not much that was written or told by her own contemporaries about the real Elizabeth of York, and Ms. Worth is quick to acknowledge that. However, Worth's ability to justify her theories through painstaking research on what Elizabeth's life and time might have been like is very well documented inside her Author's Notes, which I found to be fascinating to read and extremely informative. There's nothing like weighing the worth of a book by how much it makes you google, and google THE KING'S DAUGHTER made me do—for hours.

Sandra Worth's THE KING'S DAUGHTER easily garners a Top Pick award from this reviewer and historical fiction buff, and I heartily recommend it.

Nancy Davis