The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves of France… Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible; Thou stern, obdurate, flinty, rough, remorseless. ~Henry VI, part III Shakespeare is just one of the sources that has maligned Margaret of Anjou throughout history, and so we have a very interesting protagonist in The Queen… Read more »
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory Imagine an Elizabeth Woodville who is not a vindictive harpy; a cold and calculating queen. Imagine a woman who set out to restore her deceased husband’s titles and lands to her sons and got caught up in a relationship with the king. She never set her eyes to the throne. She loved the king… Read more »
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory This highly anticipated second novel of the Wars of the Roses from Philippa Gregory, though perhaps not sensational, definitely does not disappoint in terms of intrigue, timelines and historical detail. Gregory’s Margaret Beaufort begins life having visions of Joan of Arc and so dedicates her life to what she believes is her calling. At… Read more »
The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory The third installment of the Cousins’ War series, The Lady of the Rivers features a little known character at the forefront–Jacquetta of Luxembourg, mother of Edward IV’s queen, Elizabeth Woodville. Born the daughter of a French count and supposedly a descendant of the legendary goddess Melusina, she first married the Duke of… Read more »
The Queen’s Vow by C. W. Gortner Isabella of Castile is classically remembered as an indomitable queen and a byword for the Spanish Inquisition. Many readers have only a vague sense of her character from reading novels in which she was mentioned by name or played a small role. C. W. Gortner takes this enigma and breathes life into a… Read more »
Figures in Silk by Vanora Bennett Having read her previous novel, Portrait of an Unknown Woman, I was expecting a bit of a conspiracy theory with this novel. There was a slight twist to the Richard III/Henry Tudor/Elizabeth of York events that I have not seen before, but not quite as surprising as her other novel (though it does tie… Read more »
