The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Now this is what one would call fiction-lite; nothing too strenuous, extremely entertaining and you manage to learn a little bit about history without having to think too hard. The White Queen of the title is Elizabeth Woodville, wife to Edward IV; the story covers the infamous war of the roses between the red roses of Lancaster and the white roses of York. The sudden marriage between Edward and Elizabeth leads to rumors and gossip at court and causes trouble down the road. George, Edward’s brother, tries to take his power from him and leads to a war pitting brother against brother. Unfortunately, not a lot is known about the specifics of this time period, but Gregory does an excellent job of filling in the blanks with plausible scenarios and she writes a hell of a story to keep you entertained along the way. Plus, as a bit of an Elizabeth I buff, it is always interesting for me to learn more about the history leading up to her reign.