The White Princess is the fifth of Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series, this one focusing on Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, ending the War of the Roses, to become Henry VII. To unite the York and Lancastrian families, Princess Elizabeth was forced to marry Henry VII, whom she believed to be the murderer of her love, Richard III. Henry VII was suspicious of everyone and everything around him, making one wonder how anyone could have had a very satisfactory life.
Ms. Gregory has created fear and suspicion so well in The White Princess that it is almost depressing to read. One does get the feeling, though, of what it would be like to be a royal back in the late 1400s, living in constant fear for not only your own life but also the lives of your children.