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Tudor Rose #0.5
Firstborn
FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES-BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SIX TUDOR QUEENS SERIES.
In this short prequel to Alison Weir's new novel, Elizabeth of York, The Last White Rose, the young princess is born - and the future of England hangs in the balance.
The Palace of Westminster, 1466. As the Queen of England lies in her chamber, exhausted from childbirth, the court awaits news of the longed-for heir...
The King
Edward prays for a son to ensure the succession of his line.
The godfather
Warwick knows his influence over the King cannot last.
The grandmother
Cecily hopes her new grandchild will one day bring great fortune to England.
The friend
Lord Hastings fears the growing hostility within King Edward's inner circle.
The young rival
The boy Henry does not yet know his own significance.
The uncle
Richard visits the new baby - and dreams that night of a golden crown.
**Includes a preview of the spellbinding first novel in the Tudor Rose trilogy - Elizabeth of York, The Last White Rose**
In this short prequel to Alison Weir's new novel, Elizabeth of York, The Last White Rose, the young princess is born - and the future of England hangs in the balance.
The Palace of Westminster, 1466. As the Queen of England lies in her chamber, exhausted from childbirth, the court awaits news of the longed-for heir...
The King
Edward prays for a son to ensure the succession of his line.
The godfather
Warwick knows his influence over the King cannot last.
The grandmother
Cecily hopes her new grandchild will one day bring great fortune to England.
The friend
Lord Hastings fears the growing hostility within King Edward's inner circle.
The young rival
The boy Henry does not yet know his own significance.
The uncle
Richard visits the new baby - and dreams that night of a golden crown.
**Includes a preview of the spellbinding first novel in the Tudor Rose trilogy - Elizabeth of York, The Last White Rose**
55 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 17, 2022
28 people are currently reading
452 people want to read
About the author
Alison Weir
80 books8,422 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Alison Weir is an English writer of history books for the general public, mostly in the form of biographies about British kings and queens, and of historical fiction. Before becoming an author, Weir worked as a teacher of children with special needs. She received her formal training in history at teacher training college. She currently lives in Surrey, England, with her two children.
Alison Weir is an English writer of history books for the general public, mostly in the form of biographies about British kings and queens, and of historical fiction. Before becoming an author, Weir worked as a teacher of children with special needs. She received her formal training in history at teacher training college. She currently lives in Surrey, England, with her two children.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 27, 2022
I love these little novellas that are additions to Alison Weir's series. I hoped she'd do it again when I heard she was doing the Tudor Rose series and she has! I hope there are more to follow. They just add lots of little details to the main stories about characters on the fringes or, in this case, a prequel to the series.
I love the multiple perspectives here. The first book in the Tudor Rose series is about Elizabeth of York and this novella sees her mother, Elizabeth Woodville, giving birth to Elizabeth of York, and various people giving their reactions to her birth, including Edward IV, Richard III, Lord Hastings, Henry Tudor, and the Earl of Warwick.
I love the multiple perspectives here. The first book in the Tudor Rose series is about Elizabeth of York and this novella sees her mother, Elizabeth Woodville, giving birth to Elizabeth of York, and various people giving their reactions to her birth, including Edward IV, Richard III, Lord Hastings, Henry Tudor, and the Earl of Warwick.
May 4, 2022
Prequel to new Tudor Novel
I really enjoyed this short story, setting the scene for the upcoming novel about Elizabeth of York. Plus the first chapter of said new novel is included.
Based on what what I have read, I very
much look forward to reading the book when it is released.
I really enjoyed this short story, setting the scene for the upcoming novel about Elizabeth of York. Plus the first chapter of said new novel is included.
Based on what what I have read, I very
much look forward to reading the book when it is released.
April 13, 2022
A very short book, introducing the main characters who will play apart in the new book, The Last White Rose. Each character has a chapter and we learn how Elizabeth and King Edward meet, and of those or support or opposed the match.
A good introduction, plus I very much enjoyed the first chapter included of The Last White Rose.
A good introduction, plus I very much enjoyed the first chapter included of The Last White Rose.
March 17, 2022
The Queen of England has given birth to a girl but King Edward wanted a boy. Nobody wanted him to marry the Queen and a son would have helped to heal things.
This is the second novella that I have read by Alison Weir and I found this to be interesting. Well written and informative. This book is a short prequel before the release of Elizabeth of York, The Last White Rose.
This is the second novella that I have read by Alison Weir and I found this to be interesting. Well written and informative. This book is a short prequel before the release of Elizabeth of York, The Last White Rose.
September 18, 2022
I love Alison Weir's books - I had saved this book and it was a pure delight to read
I read it last night in one sitting (it is only a short novella) but I loved it and I went straight on to Amazon and ordered the full book that this is the prequel too.
I loved the writing style, the layout and being able to catch up with some of my favourite historical figures, I love this period of history and find it all fascinating and I love that cover too
It is only a quick read but it is 5 stars from me, it is well written, had a lovey flow and it captivated my imagination and can't wait to get cracking now on Elizabeth of York, the Last White Rose
I read it last night in one sitting (it is only a short novella) but I loved it and I went straight on to Amazon and ordered the full book that this is the prequel too.
I loved the writing style, the layout and being able to catch up with some of my favourite historical figures, I love this period of history and find it all fascinating and I love that cover too
It is only a quick read but it is 5 stars from me, it is well written, had a lovey flow and it captivated my imagination and can't wait to get cracking now on Elizabeth of York, the Last White Rose
June 26, 2022
An okay (very) short story but a bit bland
March 3, 2024
Good. Ebook Prequel to Elizabeth of York The last white rose. Nice little book shows the reaction to her birth.
April 9, 2025
‘Firstborn’ is a shorter short story than I expected, as tagged on the end is a large sample of the book this precedes, namely ‘The Last White Rose’, so you get little for your money.
What we have with ‘Firstborn’ is a several brief segments focusing on the main characters that are in one way or another involved in Elizabeth of York’s life. It’s set after her birth in 1466.
I’m unimpressed with the dry approach to this tale. It’s devoid of action and drama, instead reading like a collection of character backstories. Most open with the respective character during 1466, only to go on to recount their backstory. It’s all, ‘He had done this,’ ‘She had said that,’ ‘That had happened,’ etc.
A pet hate of mine in the overuse of ‘had’ in the past perfect because it reports on what’s happened rather than taking the reader through events as they occur. Most speech is reported as well, as opposed to the more active use of dialogue, which does a much better job of bringing characters to life.
As someone familiar with the period covered, I didn’t want to read a dry recounting of facts I already knew. I expected a dramatized recounting of events, not a series of fact files.
I like most of Alison Weir’s books, fiction and non-fiction, but this and the subsequent ‘The Last White Rose’ are for me her worst works of fiction that I’ve read to date. She's published a lot in the past few years, which makes me wonder how much time she’s putting into revising and polishing her manuscripts. 'Firstborn' feels like an idea for a story rather than an actual story, while 'The Last White Rose' feels like a third or fourth draft. I prefer quality writing over quantity of titles every time.
What we have with ‘Firstborn’ is a several brief segments focusing on the main characters that are in one way or another involved in Elizabeth of York’s life. It’s set after her birth in 1466.
I’m unimpressed with the dry approach to this tale. It’s devoid of action and drama, instead reading like a collection of character backstories. Most open with the respective character during 1466, only to go on to recount their backstory. It’s all, ‘He had done this,’ ‘She had said that,’ ‘That had happened,’ etc.
A pet hate of mine in the overuse of ‘had’ in the past perfect because it reports on what’s happened rather than taking the reader through events as they occur. Most speech is reported as well, as opposed to the more active use of dialogue, which does a much better job of bringing characters to life.
As someone familiar with the period covered, I didn’t want to read a dry recounting of facts I already knew. I expected a dramatized recounting of events, not a series of fact files.
I like most of Alison Weir’s books, fiction and non-fiction, but this and the subsequent ‘The Last White Rose’ are for me her worst works of fiction that I’ve read to date. She's published a lot in the past few years, which makes me wonder how much time she’s putting into revising and polishing her manuscripts. 'Firstborn' feels like an idea for a story rather than an actual story, while 'The Last White Rose' feels like a third or fourth draft. I prefer quality writing over quantity of titles every time.
August 30, 2022
I mean...It's a little bit much paid for what is essentially 20 pages of new material, and 40 pages of the main book about Elizabeth.
I read the compilation of short stories that accompanied the six tudor queens series AFTER i'd read them all, and kind of wished I had read them chronologically, so this time I felt like I needed to read firstborn as I read the main book (I mean I realized Firstborn existed within 100 pages of the last white rose so I quickly read the novella, which took me less than an hour)
I mean, whether you want to put in the money for 20 pages or not is up to you. personally I think it should have just been added to the last white rose. Still enjoyed it relatively well.
I read the compilation of short stories that accompanied the six tudor queens series AFTER i'd read them all, and kind of wished I had read them chronologically, so this time I felt like I needed to read firstborn as I read the main book (I mean I realized Firstborn existed within 100 pages of the last white rose so I quickly read the novella, which took me less than an hour)
I mean, whether you want to put in the money for 20 pages or not is up to you. personally I think it should have just been added to the last white rose. Still enjoyed it relatively well.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews