Daughter of the White Rose

by Diane Zahler

Can a common girl save a prince trapped in the Tower of London?

April. England. 1483. The king is dead. Long live the king.

Nell Gould is the daughter of the royal butcher, a commoner, but she has been raised as the playmate of King Edward and Queen Elizabeth's royal children: Princess Cecily, Princess Bess, Prince Dickon, and Prince Ned, heir apparent and Nell's best and closest friend. They think alike, her and Ned, preferring books and jousts to finery and gossip and the sparkle of the court. But when King Edward dies, Prince Ned is imprisoned in the Tower of London by his scheming uncle, the evil Richard III—and Nell with him. Can they escape? Is Nell the key?

Based on the real royal scandal of the Princes in the Tower, Daughter of the White Rose covers a shocking episode in medieval history that has captured the imagination for 530 years. A story of murder, betrayal, resilience, and growing up, this girl-led medieval middle-grade novel will make a perfect companion to Catherine, Called Birdy and The Mad Wolf's Daughter.

A Mighty Girl Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fantasy, Fiction, Juvenile, Historical

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 16, 2021

About the author

I grew up reading children's books and never wanted to do anything but write them. I'm the author of nine middle grade novels, and my newest book is a historical novel called WILD BIRD. I live in the country with my husband and very enthusiastic dog Jinx. Visit my website at www.dianezahler.com.

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

The twin of a prince, but with no royal kin;
A witness to murder, though no blood was shed;
She once saved two kings, through both courage and fear,
And one still lives on, but the other is dead.
Who is she?

Set in the midst of the War of the Roses, this new middle grade title by Diane Zahler has a classic feel with a fresh twist. Like the classic 'The Door In the Wall,' there is royal intrigue, illness, and a young person finding their way. The narrative gives us glimpses into many aspects of late 15th century living including a butcher's work, life in the palace, a print shop, the Tower of London, a convent, and even a crucial battle. The character building and sense of place are so well done. Includes a helpful timeline at the end of the book along with The Historical Facts(and Some Rumors) and A Note on Events. Highly recommended!

Thank you to Holiday House and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kirsten Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t expect to cry so much, despite some of the reviews stating it was sad - I thought this was just going to be a cutesy, lighthearted read 😭 it’s been a while since my heart has ached after reading a book and has longed to see how the characters continued life; the ending feels quite bittersweet and I wish could hug Ned, Toby, Jacob, Dickon, and Nell <3

[eve.lyn._.reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

⚔️🩸🍃𝒟𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒲𝒽𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝓈𝑒🍃🩸⚔️
     3.75 Stars
     An epic story begins about a forbidden love and a prince struggling to reclaim the throne that rightfully belongs to him. Nell grew up with Ned, a butcher's daughter and the future heir. The two grow more distant as they grow older, meeting each other every couple of years and exchanging letters. As the two grow, Nell is pressured to marry someone, yet her heart belongs to the one she can never be with. When the king is killed and Richard III takes the throne for himself, Ned and his brother Dickon are locked in a tower. Nell, desperate to save her best friend, her king, is caught in the crossfire. Diane Zahler's Daughter of the White Rose is a hidden gem of a story based on true events.  

    Daughter of the White Rose is an epic tale about love, rivalry, grief, heartache, and greed. The cover gave me the impression that this would be a fun time, a book that would be simple and cheerful. It was quite the opposite. The first half flounders a bit before it finds its footing, carving a path towards a significantly darker story than I expected. A warning for any middle-grade lovers looking for a new book to read: this one does not gloss over certain topics, such as young girls getting married young, and it doesn't shy away from using swear words. The ending is what really left an impression on me—it was tragic, painful, and visceral.

        Despite Ned and Nell being only 12, they felt a lot older. This book felt formulaic in the beginning, only to push forth with something new. The way historical events are tied to the author's own creative take was well done. I would have wished that the characters ages were older because they just didn't feel like twelve-year-olds from my perspective! I also wished that the tone would have been more consistent because it was a lot like this:
                                                                   /The ending
                                                                 /
                                           __tragedy_/
                                        /
                                  angst begins
_Happy Moments___/

           The writing style was one in particular that stood out to me. It felt as if this was Nell's biography in a sense, not like a story from her perspective. Nell was a very compassionate, brave, and likeable protagonist. I loved getting to see Nell and Ned's relationship established through the first half before things started to go downhill for them both. I found myself getting invested in the story and in the tale that Diane Zahler had to tell. Ned was such a valiant, empathetic, and intelligent boy who seriously deserves happiness😭. Toby and Dickon were good too, but I would have loved to see more complexity from them and a strong bond between Nell and Toby.

        The setting was easy to get immersed in, with little details that set the story. The emotion in the story is what mattered to me the most, as well as the characters growth, and for that, it was well done. In conclusion, this was such an amazing story that surpassed my expectations.
✅PLOT
✅CHARACTERS
✅PLOT TWISTS

[BooksNCrannies · Rating 2 out of 5]

"'The twin of a prince, but with no royal kin;
A witness to murder, though no blood was shed;
She once saved two kings, through both courage and fear,
And still one lives on, but the other is dead.
Who is she?'"

✏️ Review ✏️

Mleh. *shrugs* Daughter of the White Rose was kinda boring. While it is historically intriguing, this book is lackluster most of the time. The plot doesn't have much to offer by way of keeping the reader interested. I did enjoy like 10% of the plot, though. But the other parts I had to struggle to get through them.

I'm not going to write an essay on everything else either. I'll just say that the characters are average and the writing style, while it does tell a good story, didn't impress me at all. And the ending (ugh!) is sad and incomplete (like, why couldn't she just marry Jacob for crying out loud! 🤦🏼).... Two stars for the historical intrigue.

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📊 A Quick Overview 📊

👍🏼 What I Liked:
• The historical intrigue.
• A very few parts of the plot — did keep me turning the pages.

👎🏼 What I Did Not Like:
• The majority of the plot — it's pretty uneventful and boring.
• The flat characters.
• The ending — it's incomplete and kinda sad.

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❓ To Read or Not To Read? ❓

— Would I recommend this book? Maybe.*

— To whom? To those who like 1400s England historical fiction that doesn't have the best plot or characters. And if you don't mind prominent romantic subplots.

*(Note: I leave it up to each individual to decide the maturity and discernment level required to read the books I recommend, based on my content warnings below [in my Book Breakdown]. My content warnings [if any] should always be considered alongside my recommendations when deciding who these books are best suited for.)

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📖 BOOK BREAKDOWN 📖 (Overall: 2/5)
~Fundamentals: (1=worst; 5=best)
— 📈 Plot: 2/5
— 📝 Writing: 2.5/5
— 👥 Characters: 2.5/5

~Content: (0=none; 1=least; 5=most)

— 🤬 Language: 0/5

— ⚔️ Violence: 0/5

— ⚠️ Sexual: 1/5

• One scene where the FMC and MMC briefly kiss.

• A few vague references to adulterous relationships and several mentions of illegitimacy.

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📣 Random Comments 📣

• (None)

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💬 Favorite Quotes 💬

• (None)

[Addison Schauske · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is definitely not my favorite genre to read, and probably never will be. It was kind of boring up until the last like 40 pages, so it really wasn't worth the read in my opinion, although it did help me get more pages.

[Kasey Giard · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been a long time since I read CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY, but I can definitely see why this book is compared to that one. Though DAUGHTER OF THE WHITE ROSE isn’t told in diary entries, it has the feel of someone recording a memoir. At first I thought that only the beginning might be that way since the first chapter is about Nell’s birth, but it’s a style that stays through the whole story.

I liked that the story followed Nell and her connection to the royal family. I also liked that though there are some dark moments, Nell doesn’t witness things, like murder, directly in front of her. I liked her character, too. She’s smart and determined, and won’t allow herself to be pressed into a mold based on anyone else’s expectations for her. I also loved that she was so inspired by other female writers.

I think readers who are interested in historical fiction will enjoy this book. Readers who liked CLIFTON CHASE AND THE ARROW OF LIGHT by Jaimie Engle should give this one a read.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Arheldyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

If it didn't have a tragic ending, I would put a 4 to 5 stat rate.

I was so hooked on reading the 3/4 part of the novel.
I loooveee medieval fiction stories woven with an "out of the ordinary" kind of friendship. Nell and the prince were surely more than great friends. They both believed in ideals out of the era they were living. (Wonderful!)

But here comes the "but"...
We all know the story laid upon the Tower of London:
Prince Edward the V and his younger brother Richard were accommodated in this luxurious building before Edward's coronation. (That happened after their father's death).
All until they were locked inside by their uncle also called Richard (this is what history believes).
Some time later, when this uncle himself got killed during a battleship, the two youngsters dissappeared.

A) Some offer today an optimistic theory in this regard, wanting to believe that the princes (or at least one of the two) may have escaped and grew up elsewhere anonymously (or with a pseudonym).
B) But many are more pessimistic. They think their uncle, who was known to be greedy, planned and did murder them while sleeping.
C) Still others are realists, saying that they simply died in the Tower after a long time of isolation.

But the truth is, nobody really knows the truth. Nobody can confirm the verity behind every hypothesis. (Though it has always seemed that option B was the most possible answer.)

And sadly, that's what the author wrote, just adding a few more colors and details that is beyond expectations.
Nevertheless, I hoped that the author would have been more optimistic in her story.
Tragic stories do exist, yes, but it depends on the setting. These happen for a strong, unbreakable reason. For example, a war brought ten years of famine; An awful and merciless ruler caused curruption and violence to the whole nation; There was a sudden earthquake and a man lost his wife and children under their crashed house... (Etc.)

But in historical events such as the Princes of the Tower, where nobody knows for certainty the fact that destined their dissappearance, fictional stories would have been created to make it more... Joyful.

In other words, I expected it to be a happy novel. (The cover itself is telling readers "We had a great adventure!")
For this reason, I decided not to finish reading it.

Despite all of this, when it comes to hooking the readers, the author is amazing. Her writing talent is beyond normal ☺️

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on events related to the throne of England from 1470 and 1485, this historical fiction imagines what might have happened if one of the two princes, sons of Edward IV, had survived rather than dying while in captivity. The boys' uncle, Richard III, has imprisoned them and seized control of the throne. With them are two childhood friends, commoners Eleanor (Nell) Gould and her brother Toby, who have been brought to the Tower in order to distract the young princes. Twelve-year-old Nell and the prince, the would-be heir to the throne, were born on the same day and have maintained a friendship over the years even when he was sent off with another relative to learn his duties as future king. Nell has a crush on Edward (she calls him Ned) even though she knows they can marry since she's the daughter of a butcher. She learns to read and write and even helps out at a printing shop. Although readers know from the beginning that things will not turn out well for those princes, having the story told from Nell's naive perspective only makes the betrayal of Richard even more reprehensible. The author admittedly has taken liberties with various elements of the story, but doing so makes it more accessible to middle grade readers. Nell is understandably traumatized by the deaths of her brother and her friend, and she blames herself for not acting to stop the murder, and it takes her quite some time to heal. Her story makes it quite clear that allegiances often shifted quickly, and that this was a violent and uncertain time in her country's history. It often seemed that many individuals, especially the children of royalty, were mere playing pieces in a game of power.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed the book quite a bit. (P S There are spoilers in this review.) It was a cool new experience to step into the shoes of a butcher's daughter, who was friends of a prince, and who played with princesses in her youth. I enjoyed reading about that time period and impressed to realize that most of the story was based on history.

I didn't quite understand the young romance. The main character only being 12, I thought it was a bit too young to be talking about marriage and such, but this is the year 1483 so things are different.

I knew there would be murder, as the introduction implied, but it was still quite shocking to read about it. It's a very traumatic thing to witness at age 12. My heart breaks for Nell Gould but I hope she can start a new chapter in her life as Alice Gold, as the ending suggests.

It pleased me that Nell, as the main character, was brave, selfless, kind, and caring. These are great qualities that I myself would like have.

I wish there was quote a bit less swearing and I wish the characters were a bit older before they kissed. Anyways, Well done Diane, great book!

I wouldn't necessarily read it again, but I liked it a lot.

[Ramona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this story in one evening! This is the writer's unusual and imaginative take on the short and fragile lives of the two Princes of England, Edward (Ned) and Richard (Dickon), his younger brother, who were in line for the Kingship if their father, King Edward IV died. A young commoner, Nell, daughter of King's Butcher, is born the same day as Ned and is allowed association with the King's children. History begins this story with the first battle in the Wars of the Roses, in 1455. Edward IV is crowned. He marries Elizabeth Woodville, who is not royalty. She bears 6 daughters and 2 sons. Many books have been written about the daughters. Palace politics is fickle and dangerous as young Ned and Nell soon learn. Their unlikely friendship is the basis of this story. Henry VII is crowned king in 1483, but not soon enough to save the young and old who were considered threats to the Duke of Glouster and his usurping of England's throne.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

And so continues my habit of judging a book by its cover and getting something I didn’t expect. The cover gives the impression of a sweet, fairly light middle grade read, with most likely some nice historical notes. I might have known from another review saying they cried so much that wouldn’t exactly be the case, but I thought “It can’t be that sad” because I was thinking of the cover.

But I get why the author might’ve learned about these historical princes and went “I gotta invent some friendly OCs to keep them company in their time of need,” because… dude. Anyway I really liked it. Some aspects of it would’ve gone over better if I was 12, but then again watching these preteens have a serious and hopeless discussion about the fact they can’t get married and may not actually live to adulthood is so tragic no matter what age you are.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical fiction set during the War of the Roses. Makes me want to read Richard III again. Great for anyone interested in medieval stories. Would pair nicely with Avi's The Player King or Cushman's Catherine, Called Birdy.

[Renn · Rating 5 out of 5]

CWs: classism, death, death in childbirth, fatphobia, murder, physical assault (bruising), self-blame, self-harm, unhealthy guilt, war

I’m a sucker for middle-grade historical fiction, this is worth a read not only for its excellent storytelling but its exceptional twist! It was so much fun watching Nell’s story unfold.

Pairs well with Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix, which also tells the story of young King Edward and Prince Dickon with an intriguing twist.

[joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story definitely did not go the way I expected it to. There are murders that happened that completely took me by surprise. I expected this book to be about a girl saving her friend and possibly falling love. Instead, it took a weird turn in the last few chapters, and is actually about a girl overcoming grief and guilt. I enjoyed learning about a part of medieval history that is rarely written about, as most medieval historical fiction books take place about 100 years later than this one, and are about Queen Elizabeth I. This was a nice story from history, but it didn't translate so well into fiction.

[Osmar Piza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think most young readers go through a phase of truly diving deep into renaissance era stories. And stories of European royalty. This book for me was not my favorite but I would agree that is a good read. There's definitely a lot of name drops and historically accurate events that happened and this could definitely be a really good introduction to young readers that want to expand their knowledge on medieval history and what it was like before the modern privileges we have now

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book based on the subject matter alone. The story of the princes locked in the tower has always fascinated me - such a tragic and terrifying piece of history. DAUGHTER OF THE WHITE ROSE had me captivated from the first page to the last. Rich with historical detail without sacrificing story or character, I absolutely loved it.

[Hannah P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me some time to think about this book and if I really did like it, and I really do! I may not be a big fan of the ending and Nell at the end of the book. But at the end of the day she was a child and she and her family and of course the prince deserves better! And yes this book made me cry, and yes this book feels slow, but the story is good if you like stories like this!

[Kate Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle Grade/early YA historical fiction at its best - I really enjoyed this fascinating and dramatic glimpse into British royal history through the eyes of a female protagonist. The author gives a good mix of documented history, as well as some imagined history! Easy read for middle grades, however deeper themes would also appeal to older readers.

[Theresa Cumming · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite a difficult read for primary school, and the storyline is complex. It follows the actual story of Edward the fourth and his brother, Richard Duke of Gloucester. It’s heavy on historical detail and you have to like this genre but if you do there are lovely descriptive paragraphs good character and plot to follow. Recommend for 12 and above

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice historical fiction for introducing the War of the Roses period of English history. It is also nice for those who enjoy this genre in general. I liked looking at this through a non-Royal tween eye. Could lead to reader doing more research into the period.

[Shane Fritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember hearing the story of 2 princes murdered [perhaps] in the Tower of London? Bones of 2 boys were discovered during a renovation. This story with a fictional main character is woven out of the rich history of that violent time.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

While only the daughter of a butcher, the main character spends lots of time in the castle and is a playmate of teh royal prince. Will they always be friends? Or will the reality of their stations in life pull them apart. Adventure, political drama and romance.

[Wendy MacKnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spirited MG RE-telling of the mysterious disappearance of the two princes when Richard the III ascended the throne. Wonderfully written and a page-turner!

[Lindsay Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this historical time period is fascinating and I was really looking forward to this book. Despite knowing the history behind the princes in the tower (Thank you, Starz) I still wasn't really expecting the ending.

[Cherie Bush · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book club read. JF fictional account of the death of the two princes in the Tower of London. Well done.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This takes place in the 1480's. The story is fiction based on fact involving the two princes who were locked in the Tower. It's a slow story. The ending was the most interesting part.

[Silas N · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a splendid historical fiction novel, with ups and downs, and bouts of excitement that keep the reader turning the pages! I highly recommend it!

[Tina Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. Interesting time period and I enjoyed the development of the main character through the book. A quick but engaging read.

[Stefania B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book, confusing sometimes but the ending legit made me cry. I love this book so much

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just outstanding in every way!