The King's Grey Mare

By Rosemary Hawley Jarman

Known as the King's Grey Mare, Elizabeth Woodville, queen of Edward IV, was beautiful beyond belief, with unique silver-grey hair. She had once known joy of a marriage based on love, only to see it snatched away on the battlefield. Hardened and changed by grief, Elizabeth became the tool of her evil ambitious mother, the witch, Jaquetta of Bedford, who was determined that her daughter should sit on the throne of England. By trickery, deception and witchcraft, Jaquetta's wish was fulfilled. But even a witch could not have known the tragedy which lay in store for the King's Grey Mare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Feb 4, 2008
• ISBN: 9780750952378

Reviews for The King's Grey Mare

[divinemissw · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a good book. I liked it, I did not love it. If I found someone who was interested in this type of book I would recommend it until I found a better one. Elizabeth Woodville is a very interesting woman and how she bewitched a king and married him make for fascinating reading. I think the subject matter was wonderful, but the storytelling could be much better. I wanted to like this book more than I did.The descriptions are wonderful and the imagery was interesting but did not capture my attention or propel be through the story. Parts dragged and I literally put me to sleep several nights.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The King?s Grey Mare by Rosemary Hawley Jarman tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville who became the wife of Edward the IV and the mother of the two lost princes of the tower. She lived during extremely turbulent times and played a major role in many of the events that have become known as the War of the Roses.Elizabeth?s capturing of Edward was very good for the Woodville family as they had previously backed the Lancaster side of the dispute, now married to the House of York?s heir, they benefited mightily. Unfortunately some of the House of York?s top players were against this marriage, most prominently was Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and Edward?s own brother, Richard of Gloucester who went on to become Richard III.Her life was one of contrasts rising to become the Queen of England, but also sinking to having to beg for sanctuary from the church in order to stay out of grasp of Richard III. She saw her marriage declared unlawful and her children named bastards by Richard, but also saw this act overturned by Henry Tudor and herself and her children declared ?Royal? once again. Her daughter married Henry VII and this alliance put an end to the War of the Roses. I enjoyed this book and found Elizabeth to be a very engaging woman and appreciated all the 15th century details that the author added. I believe the history is accurate and her speculation as to the fate of the two doomed princes was interesting and believable. What I didn?t care for was the hint of witchcraft that I believe was sheer propaganda spread by her enemies and the author used simply to enhance Elizabeth?s mystique. Also I didn't care much for the format, the book was broken into long segments with no chapters. Often years would have gone by from one paragraph to another which was disconcerting.Overall I found The King?s Grey Mare to be a pretty good blend of fiction and history. It is definitely among the books that I would recommend to anyone wanting to read of this time period, with The Sunne in Spendour still holding top spot.

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I admit my high rating may be due to early imprinting and nostalgia, but this was one the novels that made me fall in love with both English history and historical fiction. I was maybe fourteen when I still read this book but I can still remember it vividly decades later. Jarman is known as someone sympathetic to Richard III, who thinks him much maligned--you can see that in his depiction in Jarman's We Speak No Treason centered on Richard III. Ordinarily, ardent Ricardians are harsh on Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of the minor gentry who caught the eye of a king and became Queen and mother of the Two Princes in the Tower and an ancestor of Elizabeth I (and II). This portrait does have its hard edges, but I did feel sympathy for her Elizabeth--more I felt the pull of her charisma, and I think Jarman does well by her subject. I also enjoyed Jarman's We Speak No Treason and Crown in Candlelight about the wife of Henry V who'd become an ancestress of the Tudors. The King's Grey Mare though remains my favorite novel by her. (And when a friend I lent my copy to returned it with the copy ripped off, let me tell you that was the beginning of the end of our friendship.)