The White Queen centers on Elizabeth Woodville, a widow of a lesser knight, who marries the new King Edward. The story of a commoner rising to royalty is something of a soft spot for us Brits after Prince William's wedding (or maybe that's just me), and is a hint of a brilliant continuity that spans centuries often found in history - something I love about the subject. Within Elizabeth's story is that of Anne Neville, the youngest daughter of the most powerful noble in England, Earl of Warwick - 'the Kingmaker', and Margaret Beaufort, married at 12 and a mother and widowed at 13. These powerful female characters highlight the position of women in the fifteenth century - passed from pillar to post, small pieces in a larger picture. It's almost a dichotomy - powerful women trying to control their own lives and those of the people around them, but always with the overhanging threat (and execution) of patriarchy.
The main problem with this drama is, however, the level of historical knowledge that is needed in order to understand what is going on. I'm no fifteenth century expert and had to wikipedia most of the families in order to understand the lineages and claims to the throne. Henry Tudor, Margaret Beaufort's son, is destined to be King according to his mother, and it took some research to understand why. This is quite distracting when trying to get into the drama from episode one. This could just be a problem I found, as I have an insatiable need to understand who is who ALL the time. But, there is a new series on BBC 2 that looks at this period of history from the point of view of a documentary, presented by Phillipa Gregory. If you're struggling with who's who, I recommend you watch it. They marry well together and explain some of the more intricate historical details (perhaps why they're on at the same time?)
Moreover, it is striking how much time is skipped over, without much notice. Elizabeth was married to Edward for over six years before the Earl of Warwick swapped sides, but this isn't stressed enough. Whilst the drama doesn't have to depict the 'boring' middle years, it's important to understand exactly how long things took in order to fully appreciate the history.
From a production point of view, it has pretty much been slated in the press. There are modern drainpipes in shot, zips on costumes and plastic railings on staircases. I confess I didn't notice them, but I was disappointed to read about them. One would hope that an expensive project like this would have covered all bases.
These mistakes are made up for by sheer captivation. There is so much drama - the fact that it is based on real events over 500 years ago adds to the thrill. The characters are fascinating, portrayed by very talented actors and actresses. Complaints similar to the ones I've highlighted above seemed to have stopped many people enjoying the series, but in my mind, it is important to take historical costume dramas with a pinch of salt. They're bringing alive a time that is poorly documented, and whilst historical novels are a bit too far for the history graduate within me, a historical drama sits perfectly in the middle.
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| Elizabeth Woodville (Rebecca Ferguson) |
