The Lady of the Rivers
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First UK edition cover
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| Author | Philippa Gregory |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Bianca Amato |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Cousins' War |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Published | 2011 |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 512 |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | The Red Queen |
| Followed by | The Kingmaker's Daughter |
The Lady of the Rivers is a 2011 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, part of her series The Cousins' War. The story is narrated by Jacquetta of Luxembourg, mother of Elizabeth Woodville, and covers the reign of the Lancastrian King Henry VI. The novel serves as a prequel to Gregory's The White Queen (2009), the story of Elizabeth's reign as Queen of England.
Fourteen-year-old Jacquetta, whose noble family claims descendance from the water goddess Melusine, learns the secrets of her inherited powers from her great aunt Jehanne, the Demoiselle of Luxembourg. Jacquetta befriends Joan of Arc, who is a prisoner at her uncle's castle, but later watches in horror as Joan is burned at the stake by the English-backed church. Several years later at age 17, Jacquetta is given in marriage to John, Duke of Bedford, the uncle to King Henry VI and the English regent in France. On their wedding night, however, the Duke explains that he wishes to keep her a virgin so that she may use the powers of her family in their purest form in his alchemical experiments seeking the ability to turn iron into gold. He later dies and leaves Jacquetta a wealthy widow at 20. She and the Duke's handsome squire, Richard Woodville, realize that they have fallen in love, and become lovers. Returning to England, they marry in secret before the king can remarry her to someone else. Jacquetta is disgraced doing this, and the couple are exiled from court. She soon gives birth to their first child, Elizabeth.
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