The Last White Rose is all about the life of Elizabeth of York. She was the daughter of King Edward and grew up as a true princess. Weir describes Elizabeth's youth and bethrothals and turmoil with vivid detail. After her father died, Elizabeth was forced into sanctuary with her mother and siblings as her paternal uncle usurped the throne from her underage brother (The Princes in the Tower). Unbelievably, her uncle then tried to arrange a marriage between himself and his niece!

Luckily for Elizabeth, Henry VII defeated Uncle Richard and claimed the throne of England and Elizabeth. Their marriage united England and began the Tudor dynasty. Elizabeth was the last York monarch hence the last white rose.

Henry and Elizabeth's life together was filled with happiness and worry, but the drama makes for an amazing historical fiction novel! I learned a lot that I hadn't known about Elizabeth's life such as how many children she actually had. Her most infamous child was Henry VIII, but she bore and lost several others that I had never read about in other books.

The Last White Rose is special because it focuses on Elizabeth. There are a lot of books out there about Henry VIII and all of his marital drama, but this story is all about his mother's life. Weir really takes you through her entire life and tells her story through her own eyes which gives such a unique perspective to the history.

Alison Weir is one of my favorite historical authors because she is extremely educated and knowledgeable on the topics she writes about. It may be a work of fiction, but she researches and studies the subjects thoroughly before she writes. I appreciate and respect this so much!

Elizabeth of York was connected to many intriguing pieces of history, as the sister of the princes in the tower and the mother of Henry VIII, so the time period in which this story took place was very interesting. From my grasp of this time period, Weir stayed pretty true to history with only minor changes. However, because of how little we know about Elizabeth's personal thoughts, reading this mostly felt like reading a fictionalized biography with large amounts of historical facts conveyed over dialog, and this style didn't really work for me for historical fiction. In many places, the book feels very detached from Elizabeth as a character.

I'm very interested in this time period and in Elizabeth of York as a person though, so I was excited to learn in the author's note that she previously wrote a biography on Elizabeth of York. I'll definitely be checking that out, as I think a straight nonfiction is more my style for historical characters like Elizabeth who we don't know too much about.

The Last White Rose A Novel of Elizabeth of York by Alison Weir is a well-researched and brilliantly written story that blends historical facts with the imagined thoughts and feelings of Princess Elizabeth of York.

I went slightly out of my comfort zone for this book. I really love reading Tudor fiction - specifically focusing on Henry VIII and his six wives. Therefore, reading a book about Henry's mother was different for me as I wasn't as familiar with the names and the historical events. However, it was again written by Weir in a way that was easy to consume and follow so I had no trouble keeping up.

I will say - this one did not grip me like the others. I didn't feel excited to pick it back up. But I think that's mainly my own bias for which period in time I prefer and nothing to do with the writing itself. This book is actually really well written (I'm an Alison Weir fangirl for a reason) and I think the emotions she imagined Elizabeth felt during certain events were completely realistic and reasonable.

It might not be my favorite Weir installment, but it was another solid book that was readable and believable.

At some point, I will sit down and read all of Weir's books in historical order. In the meantime, I enjoyed this installment of historical fiction that took me backwards in time to before Henry 8. The events and characters were tactfully written, bringing a very human element to what would otherwise be boring and irrelevant history. In fact, I really wouldn't mind a history class where everyone just reads historical fiction instead of textbooks. Lord knows I've learned more from authors like Weir than Mcgraw-Hill.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader ebook. As usual, Alison Weir writes a historical fiction narrative that weaves actual events with fascinating dialogue and inner thoughts of her characters. Elizabeth is a princess of York when her father dies leaving his bother as her guardian. She, her mother and young siblings flee to sanctuary in the abbey, her uncle sends 2 of her brothers to the tower, and they mysteriously disappear. We follow her trajectory as she attempts to claim her birthright. She finally does by marrying Henry Tudor, and then she becomes the mother of Henry VIII, effectively creating one of the more lasting English dynasties.

If you’re looking for great English historical fiction, don’t look beyond an Alison Weir book. I have been reading Weir’s books for years and can highly recommend her writing.
The Last White Rose is about the life of Elizabeth of York, mother to Henry VIII. What I like about Weir’s writing is she evokes the characters in an engaging manner for readers. They are not flat, stale, creatures of history, but passionate, opinionated players.
The book really honed in, for me, how royal children were parental pawns for strategic alliances and geographical aggrandizement.
It’s a very good book.

What a terrific read for fans of historical fiction! Elizabeth of York is probably best known (if she's known at all to those who aren't well versed in Tudor England) as the mother of Henry VIII but she's so much more. While much attention has been paid to the men and their machinations during this period. Weir is one of the few who has researched the women and brought them to life in a mix of fact and fiction. This moves from Elizabeth's birth to her relatively young death and it encompasses her family and the family she makes with Henry VII, who rescues her. It's a sweeping story and the writing befits the subject. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Highly recommend.

If you enjoy Tudor-era historical fiction, then Alison Weir is the undisputed master, and this book completely lived up to my expectations! Thanks to @netgalley and Ballantine Books for an early copy!
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This tells the full story of Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and wife of Henry VII. This is long and detailed and you will feel like you know Elizabeth inside and out by the end, and all that she had to endure in varying stages of her life. I love that, knowing that this was written by Alison Weir, that I can trust there is thought and a ton of research behind everything presented. Even though it is historical fiction, it is still as true to fact as possible.
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I especially liked the alternative perspectives considered for the events following Edwards IV's death. It is easy to ascribe intent to actions when looking back in time, but I appreciated that she set up several characters who essentially played "Devil's advocate" roles against the accepted norm. That was a unique set-up that was interesting to think about.
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My biggest negative is that I thought the early chapters were a bit clunky with scene-setting (a lot of "let me sit you down and explain the history of these people and their families...which was helpful as a reader but made it a bit slow to get into the actual narrative.)
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Overall I really enjoyed this, but I LOVE reading about this era. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for a casual historical fiction fan, as it is very long and very detailed and I think without some level of passion it could be boring. But it was perfect for me!

Once again Alison Weir hits the ball out of the park. This is a beautiful story surrounding lesser known and lesser understood areas of the beginnings of the Tudor dynasty. This is an area of history that is not as focused upon in historical fiction, in my mind, and just as rich and interesting as the wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Weir brings the characters to life, and gives them attributes and faults just as though they were alive right now, but with the added benefit of tons of well researched information as well. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has previously read and enjoyed her works, but also anyone who enjoys Philippa Gregory books or other historical romance or fiction. You will NOT regret it.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love that with Alison Weir I can trust in the research and just enjoy the novelization. I was very happy with the way she approached the potential betrothal between Elizabeth and Richard as a practical, political decision rather than as though they had any real sort of affair (because gross, people!) And since The Princes in the Tower was the first book of hers I ever read, I knew she wasn't going to pull the prince switcheroo story to suggest Perkin Warbeck was maybe the real prince. Elizabeth of York was a pivot point in history, the fulcrum that balanced the transition from the Plantagenet dynasty to the Tudors, and Weir draws a believable characterization of each point in her life: from the princess in sanctuary whose hand was sought as a stamp of legitimacy, to the queen, to the mother.

The Last White Rose is the story of Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of King Edward IV. This is a lengthy read but well worth it. I love reading fiction based on history. The English Monarchy is a subject that quite interesting to me with their marriages for power and challenges of legitimacy.

When Elizabeth's/Bessy father dies, her world is turned upside down as her uncle Richard III seized the throne, and her younger brothers/princes having gone missing from The Tower., one of which was to be the next King. Elizabeth is promised to Henry Tudor until the usurper suggests she might become his bride. She resists the idea of being her uncles bride, until she has no choice but to agree. Richard III is defeated by Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth. Elizabeth looks forward to becoming the Queen of England. Her marriage with Henry united the families, Lancasters and Yorks. This was signified by the white and red rose emblem. In fact, as the eldest living child of King Edward IV, she was entitled to be The Queen in her own right with a joint coronation. But Henry made it clear that he felt he was the rightful heir and their union strengthened his somewhat weak claim to the throne. Henry was always suspicious and on guard against threats to his reign throughout his life. There were several pretenders that challenged his claim, but Henry fought them off successfully. They would go one to be the parents of most notably Arthur, Henry VIII, and Margaret.

I really enjoyed the in-depth details of their rich history. The families often named their children after members of the family, as they do today. However, it gets confusing with multiple Margaret's, Elizabeth's, Mary's, Katherine's and so on. Hard to keep them all straight at times, not a reflection of the author but of the naming of children.

In the present, the line of succession does not appear to be in challenged as it was in the past. Most reassuring for the Royal Family to not have this to contend with.

Like every Alison Weir book, I could not put this book down! And with that said...

To be honest, I, of course, knew who Elizabeth of York was, but did not know much about her. Though I know this book is historical fiction vs nonfiction, I do believe that there is truth in the representation of Elizabeth of York being a powerful woman in that time, though part of that may be due to her life situation vs what would be for a woman of that time period - in other words, Elizabeth of York was really an exception vs the rule. As you read the book, you can see the development of her personality and her wit, which in my estimation when it comes to this book, is what makes the book flow.

The only part of this book that I didn't quite like but doesn't really change how I feel about the book was the ending - I'm talking about how the ending was written. It seemed all of a sudden and short/blunt. The ending scene itself made/makes perfect sense, but I feel it could have been written differently.

Alison Weir is a master of writing about the history of the Tudors and this one was another great one. I love the time period and am a fan of all things Tudor. The Last White Rose did not disappoint. Weir has a gift for making the characters relatable, her writing is so good. This is a very long book, so prepare yourselves.

I really enjoy reading about this time period in history and I love Alison Weir's writing. This was no exception and I could not put it down.

I have always enjoyed Alison Weir's books and was excited to read her newest, The Last White Rose. Ms. Weir has a great way of telling the story and imagined scenes, secrets and court happenings. Very well done!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC!

The War of the Roses is my historical fiction space; I love this era of British history. I have read countless books on the subject, both fiction and non-fiction. And I have been wanting to read Alison Weir for years, but for some reason hadn’t gotten to her until now. I was incredibly excited to be given this book, and it pushed Weir up on my priority list.
By the time I finished the first chapter I was in emotional turmoil. This is my historical nerd realm, but I was struggling. Something in the writing is grating on my nerves. What makes it worse is that I cannot name specifically what it is that is irritating. So I gave it a break and set it aside for a couple of days. But when I came back to it all I felt was annoyed and irritated when I looked at the page.

This book is the story of Elizabeth of York. It follows her from a young child through her death. As a child, she faced others attempts to steal her father's crown. After her father's death, her uncle reigned and had her brothers imprisoned, then murdered, so as to have no other claimants for the throne. He also had planned to marry Elizabeth, the next heir to the throne, in order to further legitimize his claim.  Then, in swoops Henry Tudor, kills Richard, claims the throne and marries Elizabeth.  They go on to have 7 children together and thus create the Tudor dynasty.

I liked this book a lot. It had the feelings of the show Reign (court drama, changing alliances, etc).  However, this book was LONG (over 500 pages). I wouldn't have minded it, but I didn't feel like it needed to be that long. Some of the details and themes were repetitive and could have been condensed for the sake of promoting a better reading experience.  I received an ebook from Netgalley, but I think this would have been better as a physical book where one could more easily flip to the family tree in the front to better keep track of the lineage.  This may have benefited from a map ( I found myself getting lost by the names of different cities/castles).  An index or directory of other key players would have been extremely helpful. It is easy to get lost in all the names, as there are so many of the same (Elizabeth, Henry, Richard, Katherine, etc).

Overall, I give this book 3.5 stars. It really was a great book, but would have benefited from some further editing down and maybe some maps and more family trees.

I have been a fan of Alison Weir for several years, and always enjoyed her biographies of the Tudor period. I found her biographies well done and bring both the time period and the individual to life. So often biographies can be dry listings of dates and events, but not so with Weir's work. Using letters and records, you get the emotional picture of the lives of Henry VIII and his wives.

This is the first historical fiction I have read by Weir, and I was not disappointed. She brought Elizabeth to life, revealing the intrigue of the time period, constant war, and changing of the reigning monarchy. The details of the plot follow what you would find in her biographies, The fictional aspects include the emotional upheavals, disputes, and internal struggles as a parent.

I enjoyed the book greatly, and have few criticisms. The book seems to skip ahead over events in the later years for the sake of wrapping up the book, including the death of the Queen's mother, Katherine, an important character to not have an actual death scene. I felt like I had missed a section when it was mentioned towards the end of the book. The ending was to be expected, but I still felt it was lacking.

Overall an excellent book, and one that spurs more learning in to the time period.

***ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through NetGalley***

When it comes to historical fiction, there are two types. One type is the emotional, enthralling story of relationships between people involved in the historical events. The other type is one simply devoted to telling the facts through a somewhat narrative-like retelling.

This was the second, and while I do appreciate the immense thought and effort put into this novel, it did not engage me whatsoever. I found myself dragging my eyes across every page rather than racing to finish the next chapter.

Thank you very much to the publishers for sharing this novel with me! It was certainly an insightful and informational read, but in my mind, the story was forgettable due to the disconnect I felt with the characters.