Queen of Trial and Sorrow by Susan Appleyard is a historical fiction set in one of the most fascinating periods of English history, the late Plantagenet Dynasty. Writers like Phillipa Gregory and Alison Weir have been mining this territory for a while. Ms. Appleyard is certainly qualified to be listed in the same company. In fact Queen of Trial and Sorrow is a better book than Gregory’s White Queen.

The story is told from Elizabeth Woodville’s point of view. It covers briefly her time before she met King Edward IV. Ms. Appleyard gives Elizabeth a believable voice for an educated woman of her time. She also gives her some of the pride that many authors feel was Elizabeth’s fatal flaw. The entire book was good but the last chapter was excellent. Elizabeth, facing her death, looks back over all that has happened and all that she has lost. She has come to terms with all of it. But the most wrenching sentence of the book is lurking there, “How long did my poor sons suffer the anguish of knowing that their lives were being snuffed out before they had really lived?”

This is where Ms. Appleyard excels with creating Elizabeth’s character. She creates a powerful but haunted woman who ultimately wakes and sleep with the death of her loved ones as a constant companion. I highly recommend Queen of Trial and Sorrow for any lover of historical fiction. Even if you are not familiar with the time period, the story is so well written you will find yourself transported by it.

"I was provided with a free copy of this book by Reading Deals Review Club so I could give an honest review."

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