The history of the white queen, and the connected Wars of the Roses, is a fundamental period in the history of England. I loved the series and its quality, especially the character of Elizabeth Woodville. It's a sort of fable, since she was just a girl not coming from a strong dinasty. The series is well built on the book written by Philippa Gregory, one of the best historical authors in the world. I was waiting for a sequel and I am happy to know a series about her daughter Elizabeth has been realized!

Not sure how accurate the characters are to their historical detail but they are believable and their actions and interpretations of the events that cause their reactions and responses seem plausible. I must however say this: one of the best TV shows I've ever seen. The pace is relentless and the show does not get bogged down with elaboration -- you get just enough information to push onward into the next scene. The characters, the quality of the direction, the writing, the acting, the ambiance (settings), and cinematography is all top notch. I just tried to watch The Astronaut Wives Club which made me physically sick; it rings so false. It was 180 degrees from The White Queen in all these attributes. Also, in the White Queen, sorcery may have played a role in the psychology of certain roles; this notion was used to dramatic effect but undermined the willfulness of some characters. I mean, it is possible for some things to be believed because of the occasion of mental illness or the like...but to suggest instead that it was the conviction of dark arts that actually caused certain events to unfold that then had any real consequences for any of these tragic characters is over-the-top. Politics is just that and it's likely that it has changed little in 600 years let alone 5000. If you are not liked or trusted or loyal, there is a thorny route for you whether you are in 15th century England or 21st century England.

Ostensively, this is based on three books written by Philippa Gregory; The White Queen, The Red Queen, and The Kingmaker's Daughter.First, the White Queen/Queen Elizabeth (Rebecca Ferguson) who marries Edward IV (Max Irons) after his overthrow of the old ineffective King Henry VI and the cruel Bad Queen/Margaret of Anjou. Elizabeth had lost her husband defending the old King. Edward won the crown with his brothers Richard (Aneurin Barnard) and George (David Oakes) and cousin Warwick (James Frain). Neither the mother of the three brothers nor Warwick like the new queen claiming she practices witchcraft which she does.The second is the Red Queen/Lady Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale) who is the mother of Henry Tudor. She burns with the conviction that her son will one day be King. She chaffs at all the slights imparted on her son and stays close to court waiting for an opportunity.The third is Anne Neville (Faye Marsay), the daughter of Warwick and eventual wife to Richard. Her mistrust of Queen Elizabeth would ignite a whole series of internal family struggle after the death King Edward.This is kind of like a prequel to The Tudors. If you like scheming and backstabbing, this has loads of that. This series likes to go with more the point of view of the women of court. It doesn't have any big battles or big set pieces. That's perfectly fine. There is still plenty of drama to be had. Rebecca Ferguson is quite good at the center stage. It is James Frain who steals much of the scenes. His presence is overwhelming and rises above everybody. He also has a great part. In fact, there are a lot of great performances from everybody. It helps that the Royal soap opera is so rich.

Such hate for an enjoyable series. Last time I checked, Philippa Gregory has never claimed she was Doris Kearns Goodwin. She writes historical fiction. Did anyone really tune in to The White Queen expecting a historical documentary describing the latter years of the War of the Roses? Admittedly, I am not an expert on English history but I have watched the documentary series "History of Britain" and did check the biographies of many of the main characters in TWQ in Wikipedia. I watched the first 8 e4pisodes as they were broadcast in August and September and the last two on DVD this week. While I may have forgotten some points, as near as I can see, TWQ does more or less follow the general course of historical events of the period. Gregory didn't invent any key characters that had a significant impact on events and she didn't make major changes in history such as having someone win a major battle that they actually lost in real life.There was an Edward IV, he did marry Elizabeth Woodville, a widow with children, and have a bunch of kids with her, one of whom, Elizabeth, does go on to marry Henry VII as well as two sons who were imprisoned in the Tower during the reign of Richard III and who, after a while, were never seen again. Given that there is no conclusive evidence of who was responsible for their disappearance is it really such a crime to write the story with Richard III being innocent? And is having Edward meet Elizabeth under an oak tree rather than in a room that big a deal? And Edward did die in his bed, probably of pneumonia, and there was a Richard who was Edward's brother and who succeeded him and who lost his crown and died at the Battle of Bosworth. And there really was a Lord Warwick who was referred to as the kingmaker and who originally supported Edward and ultimately turned on him whose daughter Anne did marry Richard.And there really was a Henry Tudor, son of Margaret Beaufort, whose first attempt to return from France was prevented by a storm and who defeated Richard to become Henry VII and who did marry Elizabeth, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Woodville. And the real Lord Stanley did sit on the sidelines until it became clear Henry was going to win.Now, one can quibble about the prominent place witchcraft has in the story, but the reality was that "witches" were commonly blamed for anything bad that happened and an accusation of witchcraft was often used to discredit an enemy, particularly a woman. And Jacquetta Woodville and Elizabeth were, in fact, accused of witchcraft.And you can quibble about Princess Elizabeth canoodling with Richard before his last battle. Not because it couldn't have happened, but because it would have been very stupid of her. Recall the conversation with Margaret in the last episode, roughly, "This is the last time you will sit in my presence. Whatever happens I will be Queen of England." She is already engaged (in the series and in real life) to Henry and with Anne dead (also in the series and in real life) if she believes Richard will marry her, she wins no matter the outcome of the battle. So why risk the Henry part of the deal by sleeping with Richard before the battle. Assuming it was consummated and given the extreme importance of virginity, she probably would fail the "blood on the sheets" test which would then quite possibly lead to an annulment.So enjoy TWQ to get a sense of the story, albeit with handsome actors with perfect teeth. If you want a documentary, get the DVD series "History of Britain."