The King's Daughter. A Novel of the First Tudor Queen (Rose of York) Paperback – Illustrated, December 2, 2008

Elizabeth of York, loyal daughter to King Edward IV, worships her father and believes in him as king. While her mother plots and schemes, her father reaches her with his ideas and warmth. When he dies, Elizabeth encounters Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the man appointed as regent for Edward's son. Despite the wicked rumors about Richard and the multiple misfortunes her family experiences throughout his rise to power, Elizabeth knows her father entrusted the kingdom into his hands. Was he wrong? One night, Richard's wife Anne speaks to her from the heart and Elizabeth comes to know better the man, as king as and father, and indeed herself. As political pressures come to bear, making her a pawn in a power play for the kingship, his presence in her heart helps her to endure the horrors ahead and devote her life to serving England as wife to Henry Tudor (Henry VII).In the absence of letters or personal documents from Elizabeth of York herself, Sandra Worth's first person narrative creates an insightful portrait of her as a woman and mother during turbulent times as the Middle Ages come to a close and a new era is born when Elizabeth becomes the first Tudor queen. Sandra Worth makes the connections between all the royal figures throughout these shifts of power so that readers feel the intrigue and danger among the uneasy alliances. THE KING'S DAUGHTER gives a chilling insight into the heart of the monarchy where family alliances provide solace but also create a threat to one's very existence as grabs for position within the family destroy. A brother is not just a brother but also a man who stands in the way of access to power. Within this context, the contrast between Elizabeth and her mother, and later Elizabeth of York and Lady Margaret Beaufort (mother to Henry VII) highlight the precarious position of women in this world as well. Sandra Worth provides an intriguing look not only into the limited role of women during this era but also a look into which they wield power of their own with determination in the choices royal women make, albeit in ways perhaps less obvious to the casual observer.THE KING'S DAUGHTER brings several key characters to life so that historical figures sometimes presented as isolated characters in history books are now seen in their relationships to one another, thus giving this period a new vibrancy and depth. THE KING'S DAUGHTER focuses on Elizabeth as a woman in her roles as daughter, lover, wife and mother. Sandra Worth views this period through family dynamics first and foremost, juxtaposing the sometimes brutal machinations of power of those surrounding Elizabeth to her longings and devotion to family. Living her life in one sort of captivity or another most of her life, some more obvious, such as her time of escape to to sanctuary, than others, such as her being under the almost absolute control of her mother-in-law, Elizabeth of York was a quiet woman with a rich inner life. Elizabeth thought, read and internalized omens and the great works of medieval literature from Boethius, the Tristan tale to Sir Thomas Malory's Arthurian tales. Although the dating of Boethius is off a couple of centuries (an editing typo hopefully but an important correction not to miss), Sandra Worth does an exceptional job not only in her selection of relevant medieval works, but also in her use of them in Elizabeth's thoughts to give a depth to her character and to the period itself. As the new world emerges, slight hints of that change enter in references to Erasmus and a chilling reference to Machiavelli's THE PRINCE. Through literature, the reader comes to know Elizabeth's values and her intimate thoughts on love and kingship. Though sometimes Elizabeth appears frustratingly submissive, Sandra Worth's contrast to the careful and covetous plotting of others shows growing determination within her to make a difference, a determination that in the end makes her true to the name "Elizabeth the Good" often bestowed upon her. As the novel progresses, Elizabeth of York moves from being a woman mostly ruled by others to a woman looking outward, not only as a mother trying to look out for her children, but also a woman determined to serve her people. Sandra Worth leaves readers with a haunting, disturbing image of the future Henry VIII. THE KING'S DAUGHTER will appeal to a wide variety of historical fiction readers, not only for the presentation of a world in the process of change but also Sandra Worth's ability to capture the the inner lives of her characters.

When we think of British history and its queens, I doubt many of us will immediately think of Elizabeth of York, daughter to a king, niece to a king, sister of a king, and wife of a king. Yet without her, the War of the Roses might have continued on interminably, and her family's Tudor dynasty would not have existed. Sandra Worth has taken this obscure tragic queen and illuminated her life in her excellent historical novel, The King's Daughter.Told from Elizabeth's point of view, Worth starts with her earliest childhood as the beloved eldest daughter of Edward IV and his queen, Elizabeth Woodville. Worth takes the view that Elizabeth Woodville was purely evil, giving her an over-the-top personality that quite honestly grated on me throughout the novel. Young Elizabeth, however, having lived through two times of frantic sanctuary, the death of her father and the disappearance of her two younger brothers, continues to try to make peace with her vitriolic mother. Indeed, making peace seems to be Elizabeth's lot in life; used as a pawn from her earliest days, she never seems destined to discover any true happiness of her own.Worth chooses to have Elizabeth fall in love with her uncle, Richard III, which I believe to be a mistake for several reasons. The idea of an incestuous relationship between the two, while less distasteful in the 1400s than today, still gives the story an icky feeling. Plus, Richard's devotion to his wife is well known, and it would be hard to believe that he would have encouraged his niece to foster her romantic feelings for any reason. While a young girl who hasn't known much stability might have fallen for a strong older man, the sort of unending devotion Elizabeth exhibits just feels wrong.However, Worth does do a terrific job in bringing the details of Elizabeth's life forward, and I found her portrayal of the relationship between Elizabeth and Henry Tudor very believable. Elizabeth, trained from birth to accept her fate, realizes that it's going to be up to her to find her own place in life, and if that means tolerating both Henry and his overbearing mother, she will do it in order to bring peace to the kingdom her father loved. Worth does give Elizabeth a bit more spunk and spine than I'd previously thought she might have, and I appreciated that as this is a woman I just couldn't have understood otherwise. Worth also has a way of pulling you into the time period and making you feel as though you are experiencing events firsthand. If at times her writing is overly flowery and her villains way too one-dimensional, it can be forgiven because her novels are always well written and vibrant. The King's Daughter is no exception.

For anyone who loves tales of The Wars of the Roses, or just plain ol' good to read English history, this is for you. Elizabeth Tudor is seen by the author from childhood to her death in a kindly way and the author presents a new take on Richard, the supposed killer of the Two Princes. Elizabeth wouldn't be a heroine to "women-libbers" perhaps, but as she was known as "Elilzabeth the Good," she was beloved by her countrymen. Daughter of a King, niece of a King, wife to a King, Mother to a King, and if I read my history correctly, the grandmother of Elizabeth I, this is an exciting addition to my own library of ancient history. Highly recommend it.

Having just read several books about this period, I found it very interesting to revisit many of the main historical figures and events from the viewpoint of Elizabeth, the first daughter of Elizabeth Woodville. The story moved along swiftly and covered Elizabeth's entire life. I enjoyed all the colorful details that made the characters and the setting come alive.After reading this book, you have to admire the main character's courage and tenacity. I found the book to be an enjoyable read and well written.

Sandra Worth is very well documented and I became a big fan of her work. She makes the reader feel the story and the people she writes about come back to life. I have read several novels about Elizabeth of York and this one is by far the one I prefered. I'd even say that Sandra Worth is my favorite historical novels author. Her books are hard to put down and I enjoyed every page.

I loved this book. It is the story of Elizabeth the daughter of Edward 1V and extends from Edwards reign through Richard111's to the later years of Henry V11's reign. I have read little about Elizabeth of York or indeed Henry V11 so I was soon immersed in it. Clearly the author is pro Richard 111 so this was a bonus for me but nevertheless she raises pertinent points that Richard was not as bad as is believed. She deals with the mystery of the two princes exceptionally well.At times I wanted to weep with Elizabeth and often felt anger at the true frustration she must have felt. Ms Worth writes well and knows how to draw the reader into the story. I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone who enjoys history. It's easy to read style means it can be read anywhere and the author's point of view is well argued.

I have given this book four rather than five stars because one of the most important characters was left out. Margaret Pole, nee Princess Margaret of Clarence, sister to Edward of Warwick. Margaret Pole was missed out when Richard was still on the throne, nor does she get a mention at all when Henry VII is on the throne. I thought she was Elizabeth of York's confident during her difficult years married to King Henry. But it seems in this historical novel, her younger sister Kate fulfils that role instead.Having said that, the book was good, well written and sympathetic towards Elizabeth's position as King Henry's queen, but playing second fiddle to Henry's mother Margaret Beaufort. Fortunately, it seems she is not around so much later in their marriage.The novel begins when Elizabeth's father, Edward IV, is still on the throne and she has a close relationship with him.She also has to endure sanctuary after her father is temporarily deposed and in exile when she is five years old and then later after her father's death. She has a love hate relationship with her mother Elizabeth Woodville who desires money and power above love while Elizabeth yearns affection and she finds it with a man called Thomas Stafford while in sanctuary for the second time. At first it seems she is in love with him but once out of sanctuary, she falls for her uncle Richard, now king while Thomas is up north, helping to prevent more invasions from the Scots.The novel describes the threats to Henry VII's throne and Elizabeth is torn between her Yorkist past and protecting her beloved son's future as King of England.She tries to raise him to become a just ruler for her people in the tradition of the Plantagenet kings which died with King Edward IV and Richard III. Elizabeth's Prince Arthur it seems would reign differently from his father. But his younger brother, the future Henry VIII has other ideas and as Prince Harry grows up, is increasingly jealous of his brother and longs to be king himself one day, encouraged by his scheming tutor who is encouraging him to usurp the throne from his older brother. When their father the king learns of this, he dismisses the tutor and sends him to the Tower.Not in love with her husband, Elizabeth is devoted to her children and her hopes that a king who is both fair and just would once again rule England and has invested this in her son Arthur. But then tragedy strikes.I won't say any more for most people know the rest anyway.If you love historical novels and want to know what happened between 1485 and 1509, I recommend this book.

Using her knowledge of human nature backed up by refined historical knowledge and research into the life and times of the 15th century, I think that Sandra Worth is most likely to be correct in her view of what exactly happened to Elizabeth of York, Richard lll, Perkin Warbeck and Henry Vll.

I've been reading different historical novles from a variety of writers about the The War of the Roses and the Yorkist and Tudor courts. I never write reviews since I find most of them quite accurate and useful, but this time I felt I had to. This book is by far the one that lacks most credibility. More like a total fiction book than a historical novel. To begin with, the relationship between Elizabeth and her father, King Edward IV. The author tries to portray a warm and loving relationship father-daughter that one can dream of, but which is absolutely difficult to transpose to the story. Firstly because of the well known personality of King Edward IV (great warrior also known for his tendency to excesses and lechery)and secondly, for a time where female children were considered useless and only male heirs were valid.The familiarity of the dialogues and the hideous nick names were unbearable for me, especially at the beginning of the book (the author transforms them gradually towards the second half of the story). Elizabeth Wydeville is awkwardly portrayed as a witch in a part that gives the feeling to had been added up in a hurry once the book was finished.Similar feeling about the two romances in Elizabeth's life: the author precipitates into them out of nothing. Especially the romance with King Richard. Instead of accepting the implicit cheating and its incestous nature, she strives uselessly for presenting it the purest way possible that finds its climax in a familiar cheek to cheek embrace whose impact lasts forever!!!The evil ones are too evil, the good ones are almost saints...and at the end you keep quite a pathetic portrait of Elizabeth of York. Skimmed a good deal of the pages, especially the endless descriptions.Really hoping Philippa Gregory or at least A. Weir write a more accurate account about this queen that is indeed, poorly known.