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2:33 pm
March 26, 2011
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I've recently watched the documentary by David Starkey on 'Romance and the Royals' and he claims that when King Edward first met Elizabeth Woodville he held a knife to her throat to try and force her to sleep with him, to which she responded by saying 'you can kill me, but if you are to have me then you must marry me'. If this really happened in this way then I feel Elizabeth Woodville is misjudged as a manipulative gold-digger. What an awful situation to be in! and wasn't she rather courageous to react like that?
I must confess that my knowledge on Elizabeth Woodville is limited and I am really interested in finding out more about her, but from what I have learnt from other documentaries, Elizabeth is viewed as a schemer who used her looks to get what she wanted. However, perhaps Elizabeth could be seen as someone who simply made the best out of what was initially a bad situation! What does everyone else think about her? and can anyone recommend a good book about Elizabeth?
2:36 pm
March 26, 2011
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Oops! just realised I posted this in Tudor Personalities when I meant to put it in Historical Debates. Silly me! Sorry about that everyone! 
4:18 pm
April 11, 2011
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Hello Claire-Louise, Yes the modern viewpoint of Elizabeth shows her in a better light than previous historians did, showing her actions as being somewhat more complex than that of a gold digging schemer. Two biographical books that demonstrate this are: Elizabeth Woodville by David Baldwin and Elizabeth – England's Slandered Queen by Arlene Okerlund. As the title of the second book suggests, Elizabeth is now viewed in a far more sympathetic manner than many other accounts of her life have previously given. Hope this is of some help and perhaps aids your quest for a balanced viewpoint regarding EW. Cheers.
4:45 am
April 9, 2011
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I'm currently in the middle of Alison Weir's The Princes In The Tower. At the moment, it is more Elizabeth's family that are being depicted as the power hungry people, with the opposers to the Woodville clan projecting a lot of distrust onto Elizabeth cause she is/was the Queen. I have also learnt that apparently according to Weir her true surname was spelt Wydville. But then today I was told by a student that Weir's book on this subject is crap and old and I should stop reading it.
1:17 pm
March 26, 2011
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Neil Kemp said:
Hello Claire-Louise, Yes the modern viewpoint of Elizabeth shows her in a better light than previous historians did, showing her actions as being somewhat more complex than that of a gold digging schemer. Two biographical books that demonstrate this are: Elizabeth Woodville by David Baldwin and Elizabeth – England's Slandered Queen by Arlene Okerlund. As the title of the second book suggests, Elizabeth is now viewed in a far more sympathetic manner than many other accounts of her life have previously given. Hope this is of some help and perhaps aids your quest for a balanced viewpoint regarding EW. Cheers.
Thanks Neil, this is really helpful, I will definitely be getting one of these books! 
2:11 pm
June 7, 2010
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Neil Kemp said:
Hello Claire-Louise, Yes the modern viewpoint of Elizabeth shows her in a better light than previous historians did, showing her actions as being somewhat more complex than that of a gold digging schemer. Two biographical books that demonstrate this are: Elizabeth Woodville by David Baldwin and Elizabeth – England's Slandered Queen by Arlene Okerlund. As the title of the second book suggests, Elizabeth is now viewed in a far more sympathetic manner than many other accounts of her life have previously given. Hope this is of some help and perhaps aids your quest for a balanced viewpoint regarding EW. Cheers.
Neil, thanks for more books to read! Elizabeth Woodville is an interesting and mysterious figure in the medieval period. I do feel she has suffered a fate similar to Anne Boleyn, but these biographies show hope for a renewed interest in her life.
I am rereading Starkey's Virtous Prince and he writes about EW in the first bit. He is not overly sympathetic of her, but does display her terror and fear in the insecure reign of her husband, the death of her children, and the reign of Richard III. From reading Starkey, I feel EW did what she needed to survive and make sure her children, especially Elizabeth of York, succeded. Frankly, Elizabeth is her greatest legacy, and in turn, she contributed to the House of Tudor.
"By daily proof you shall find me to be to you both loving and kind" Anne Boleyn
5:13 pm
April 11, 2011
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DuchessofBrittany said:
Neil, thanks for more books to read! Elizabeth Woodville is an interesting and mysterious figure in the medieval period. I do feel she has suffered a fate similar to Anne Boleyn, but these biographies show hope for a renewed interest in her life.
I am rereading Starkey's Virtous Prince and he writes about EW in the first bit. He is not overly sympathetic of her, but does display her terror and fear in the insecure reign of her husband, the death of her children, and the reign of Richard III. From reading Starkey, I feel EW did what she needed to survive and make sure her children, especially Elizabeth of York, succeded. Frankly, Elizabeth is her greatest legacy, and in turn, she contributed to the House of Tudor.
Duchess, I think what you say is very true regarding EW and we must always remember to view the actions of people in history in the context of the times they lived in, something that we can all forget occasionally (I know I'm guilty sometimes of viewing events through 21st century eyes!). This, coupled with some nasty propaganda at the time, has I believe given EW a somewhat unfair reputation.
3:44 pm
March 26, 2011
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DuchessofBrittany said:
Neil, thanks for more books to read! Elizabeth Woodville is an interesting and mysterious figure in the medieval period. I do feel she has suffered a fate similar to Anne Boleyn, but these biographies show hope for a renewed interest in her life.
I find Elizabeth Woodville such a fascinating figure, and I'm really pleased that these biographies are more sympathetic towards her. I certainly am looking forward to reading more about her and hopefully discovering the 'real' Elizabeth Woodville rather than the stereotype of a pretty, gold-digging upstart. It would be great to see a renewed interest and more research done into such a mysterious (as you pointed of DoB) and misunderstood figure in medieval history.
2:57 pm
July 11, 2011
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Hello,
If you are interested in Elizabeth Woodville you would enjoy reading Phillipa gregory's new novel 'The White Queen'. I am half way through it and it is very good. 
12:07 am
January 17, 2011
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SophieElizabeth said:
Hello,
If you are interested in Elizabeth Woodville you would enjoy reading Phillipa gregory's new novel 'The White Queen'. I am half way through it and it is very good.
I read this book recently and although I enjoyed it I found it left me not knowing anything much about Elizabeth, I felt disappointed. I wanted to know much more about Elizabeth and I felt the book missed alot of this out in my opinion. Still a very enjoyable read though.
8:45 am
May 19, 2011
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She is mysterious isn't she? It appears that any strong willed, intelligent, attractive woman who attempts to look after herself and family has at some point been referred to as a gold digger- Usually by men! What a shame!
"A fresh young damsel, who could trip and go"
9:02 am
November 18, 2010
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It wasn't unknown for the families of queens and favourite courtiers to be given large amounts of goods in those times. See Piers Gaveston. He was seen as a gold-digger amongst other things.
Family as faction was rife in medieval courts and needed a powerful king to balance out the factions.
It's always bunnies.
7:31 am
May 19, 2011
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Piers Gaveston- what satisfying end came to him! What a way to treat your queen, give your favorite all her Jewell's. Sigh, I guess she had the last laugh in the end..
"A fresh young damsel, who could trip and go"
8:16 am
March 26, 2011
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SophieElizabeth said:
Hello,
If you are interested in Elizabeth Woodville you would enjoy reading Phillipa gregory's new novel 'The White Queen'. I am half way through it and it is very good.
Hi Sophie Elizabeth,
I've read this novel and found it very enjoyable- the best Phillipa Gregory novel I've read I think-liked the way the legend of Melusina the water goddess was interwoven in it
8:17 am
March 26, 2011
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E said:
She is mysterious isn't she? It appears that any strong willed, intelligent, attractive woman who attempts to look after herself and family has at some point been referred to as a gold digger- Usually by men! What a shame!
Yes that is so true!
