The Dragon & the Rose

The Dragon & the Rose by Roberta Gellis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Had it not been for the note at the end claiming that the book was accurate, I would have given it 4 stars. As far as writing is concerned, the story is great, progresses wonderfully and I literally could not put the book down until I finished it (8PM in the evening till 3 AM in the morning is what it took me). BUT this book is not accurate. Example of inaccuracies: the Gray that was executed by Richard III was not Elizabeth Woodville's brother, but her second son. Elizabeth of York was 19, not 22 when she married. Henry Stafford died in 1471, not 1482. Letters between him and Margaret show that their marriage was based on mutual affection (although I'll grant you that that could all be for show). If one of Margaret's marriages was a simple arrangement on both sides, that was Thomas Stanley, since she ended up taking a chastity vow while still married to him. Francis of Brittany's first wife died in 1469 and never met Henry Tudor. I could go on and on. Does this affect the story in any way? No, the basic story between Henry and Elizabeth is believable and based on historical evidence it is believable that their relationship evolved as in the book. But these little things mentioned will be annoying for someone who is very passionate about history, such as I. Also please note that some prior knowledge of what is happening in this period would help, since many times the author simply mentions a person without stating why that person is important (For example the earl of Lincoln was Elizabeth of York's cousin and was named as Richard III's heir - which was why it was shocking that Henry placed him in his council and not so shocking when he rebelled. None of this was clarified in the book, imo). If you can get passed all the above and just read it as a nice story, you will like it. If historical inaccuracies have you gritting your teeth, you might steer clear of it.

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