Category Archives: Wars of the Roses

Richard III and the Princes in the Tower Novels

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There are three “Princes in the Tower” novels that have intrigued me over the years: To the Tower Born by Robin Maxwell, Figures in Silk and Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Vanora Bennett. All three make use of a background character’s view of events, some fictional–such as Bennett’s Isabel Lambert and Maxwell’s Nell Caxton–and others who were indeed on… Read more »

Eleanor Hibbert: Letter about Jane Shore in The Goldsmith’s Wife

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Just days after the announcement that confirmed Richard III’s remains were found, I received this correspondence (purchased from a document seller on eBay) between Eleanor Hibbert (Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, Philippa Carr, Eleanor Burford, Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, Ellalice Tate, Anna Percival) and a reader from the University of Illinois English Department on Jane Shore, and along with her a… Read more »

review: A Rose for the Crown

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A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith It’s difficult to write a synopsis for this book because it is long and the main character’s situation changes many times. Kate began a poor farmer’s daughter, spent her early years as ward to a wealthy cousin, was wife to two very different men, and finally mistress to Richard of Gloucester,… Read more »

review: The Sun in Splendour

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The Sun in Splendour by Jean Plaidy Elizabeth Woodville is the focus of this detailed account of the Wars of the Roses, beginning with her auspicious meeting with King Edward IV, where she boldly asked him to favor her with the return of her deceased husband’s estate, but ultimately won the crown of England for herself and her family. Cold… Read more »

review: The Queen of Last Hopes

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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 »

review: The White Queen

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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 »

review: The Red Queen

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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 »

review: The Lady of the Rivers

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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 »

review: Figures in Silk by Vanora Bennett

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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 »