Review: The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth

The King’s Daughter 
by Sandra Worth
Publication Date: December 2, 2008
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Rating: 4 STARS
Challenge met: Historical Romance

BLURB courtesy of author's website 
Fiercely devoted to her beloved father and King, seventeen-year-old Elizabeth of York trusts that his dying wish has left England in the hands of a just and deserving ruler. With a young successor not ready to reign, the power is passed to Elizabeth’s uncle, Richard of Gloucester—a man her mother has never trusted. It isn’t long before Elizabeth fears that her own faith was misplaced. Upon Richard’s rise, her family experiences one devastation after another: her late father is exposed as a bigamist, she and her siblings are branded bastards, and her brothers are taken into the new king’s custody, then reportedly killed. How could her father have believed in a man capable of such treachery?  
But one fateful night shakes Elizabeth to the core and leads her to question all of her prejudices. Through the eyes of Richard’s ailing queen she sees a man worthy of respect and undying adoration. His dedication to his people inspires a forbidden love and ultimately gives her the courage to accept her destiny, marry Henry Tudor and become Queen. While her soul may always secretly belong to another, her heart forever belongs to England . . . 

REVIEW

Elizabeth of York is the daughter of Edward IV, niece of Richard III, sister to Richard V and wife to Henry VII. With a tree of kings in her family you would think that Elizabeth would have been a strong, confident woman. Not so. Elizabeth was a very meek, subservient woman, which frustrated me at times. She deferred to all the men in her life to make her choices and lets her husband’s overbearing mother rule the roost. As you can tell from this passage on page 174:

“Mother, don’t you understand? We are captives, you and I. Though you may roam more freely than I, we are both watched by Tudor spies, and they report back on everything we say or do. I cannot take back the reins of the household from Henry’s mother. I have no influence on him. He hates the House of York. ‘Tis only his mother and Morten he trusts. Their advice has been to give me honorable captivity, but tighter than what Henry received in Brittany, for in the end he escaped. I am not even permitted to write letters—though whom I would write to is a matter for consideration. Everyone I would write to is dead”  

We see Elizabeth grow from a young girl in love with Sir Thomas Stafford, one of the guards, to taking her father’s advice and becoming the queen that he knew she would be by logically marrying Henry VI. Her only joy in life was the birth of her kind, sweet son, Prince Arthur. Elizabeth was much loved by her people and was the only reason that Henry VI was tolerated. We also have a glimpse into young Henry VIII’s early life. Elizabeth knew right away that young Henry would not be a good, kind leader that Arthur would be and feared that he would be cruel to his people. If you know anything about this history and know what happens.

I enjoyed reading The King’s Daughter. It blended fiction with historical facts seamlessly and without overburdening the reader. Ms. Worth’s description of places, people and things bring you right into the folds of the late 1400’s.

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*Book was purchased personally by me