The White Queen by Philippa Gregory continues the story in The Lady of the Rivers. Elizabeth Woodville, Lady Jacquetta’s daughter, takes the magic from where it was left off.
In the ending lines of The Lady of the Rivers the reader had a sunny image of Elizabeth coming home to her mother with the king.

This story starts a bit earlier. It gives details on how Elizabeth lost her husband’s fortune and how she came to live with her parents, her two sons and the rest of her brothers and sisters. She is not pleased with the state things are. She feels robbed by her mother-in-law, who refuses to hand over her late husband’s fortune.

The new king, Edward of the House of York, has won his title in battle and is a self-made king. He distributes justice evenly and this makes Elizabeth think that she should go to him and ask his help for her sons’ inheritance.
Magic happens right from the moment they meet, but as Elizabeth says later in the book, it was not the enchantment as they sought to prove, but merely love. She marries the king in secret. After he wins his battle he comes back to her and together they claim the throne and start the York rule.

Their way is fraught with difficulty. The Rivers family’s opponents consider they rose too high for their status. On the other hand there are plots to bring back the Lancaster family on the throne.

Throughout the book there is a sens of unease and peace seldom lasts more than a few years

Even when things are apparently calm, there are still people preparing for rebellion or conspiring for power. Elizabeth and Edward are never sure who their real friends are, but with the help of the Rivers family they extend their influence.

In the background there are always Edward’s brothers, George and Richard, who consider themselves entitled to the throne and seek to gain enough influence to overthrow Edward.

Up to a point, Edward seems to win all the time. However, from the moment when he realizes defeat is a possibility and is forced to flee to Flanders and gather an army, the way to the throne becomes more entangled. Elizabeth and Edward have two sons, Edward and Richard, and 5 daughters and their reign seems settled.

Edward’s brother George is put to death for treason and apparently there is no other threat because his brother Richard seems loyal. Unfortunately Edward dies suddenly and leaves Richard as the protector of his 12-year-old son.

This gesture which will prove to be the undoing of his family. Richard claims the throne for himself and gives a law that proclaims Edward’s marriage wasn’t legal. In this way he eliminates all his children from the throne. Elizabeth is forced to go into sanctuary at the Westminster Abbey. She manages to send prince Richard away to safety, in Flanders, but Edward is taken to the Tower of London.  From this place he will vanish mysteriously, his death unsolved until the story ends.

In different stages of the battle Jacquetta, Elizabeth or her eldest daughter use magic to help their cause

At one time they bring a dense fog to Edward’s aid, then a storm at sea that causes Lord Warwick to be defeated and George.  Finally they defeat Lord Buckingham by calling up a frightening rain that stops the army in its tracks.

Elizabeth rises from a simple countrywoman to being a queen, then becomes almost a prisoner in sanctuary. In the end she hopes again to be her Royal Highness, by making her daughter the new Queen of England. Intrigue fills every line and it looks like survival in those times was based on wit and cunning.

One false step ends easily in a death without trial or proof needed. Innocence doean’t have much value in the fight for power. Each character sets his or her targets and follows them relentlessly, accepting the casualties on the way. They revenge the wrongs done to their family and sometimes ally themselves to enemies in order to achieve greatness again.

Compromises are everywhere and even the highest positions do not give the freedom to make unquestioned decisions

Each lord changes loyalties depending on who is on the winning side. Success under one rule means failure or exile in another. The story catches the imagination and you can’t help becoming involved in their struggles. You keep wishing that somehow it will all come to light and the injustices are paid for and redeemed.

The solution to any problem never seems to be clear and concise. It brings even more conspiracies, compromises and takes the characters very far from their initial purpose. The book shows the Rivers family’s progress. This is achieved mainly through the women’s actions, as the descendants of Melusina, the water goddess.

They have the gift of foreseeing the future and being close to magic and the nature of water. They flow high or low, but they are never thrown on the shore or taken out of the battle for power. Tact, diplomacy, magic and so many other secrets keep them moving forward. It is a decisive campaign to make a peaceful country. They do not adapt to humble status and don’t accept defeat serenely.

They see through conspiracies and are guided forward, always on to greater things. Every defeat propels them to a more important position. The Rivers become like their namesake, spread like a web through the country. The people and the land can no more be without them than they can live without all the water in the springs, the lakes and the sea.