Virgin Widow

A Sunday Times Bestseller

England’s Forgotten Queens

‘O’Brien cleverly intertwines the personal and political in this enjoyable, gripping tale.’
-The Times
'I was a penniless, landless petitioner, my Neville blood a curse, my future dependent on the charity of those who despised me…’

Anne Neville is the heiress and daughter of the greatest powerbroker in the land, Warwick the Kingmaker. Trapped in a deadly tangle of political intrigue, she is a pawn in an uncertain game, used by the houses of Neville, York and Lancaster alike.

In England’s glittering, treacherous court, not all wish to see the Nevilles raised high. The Earl of Warwick’s ambition and pride lead him into an attempt to depose the Yorkist King; his treason forces his family into exile.

Humiliated and powerless in a foreign land, Anne must find the courage and the wit to survive in such a dangerous man’s world.

Compulsively readable, Anne O’Brien vividly evokes the story of Richard III’s queen with a passion and vibrancy reminiscent of Phillipa Gregory and Alison Weir.

Praise for Anne O’Brien

‘O’Brien cleverly intertwines the personal and political in this enjoyable, gripping tale.’
- The Times

‘A gem of a subject … O’Brien is a terrific storyteller’
- Daily Telegraph

‘Joanna of Navarre is the feisty heroine in Anne O’Brien’s fast-paced historical novel The Queen’s Choice.’
-Good Housekeeping

‘A gripping story of love, heartache and political intrigue.’
-Woman & Home

‘Packed with drama, danger, romance and history.’
-Pam Norfolk, for the Press Association

‘Better than Philippa Gregory’ – The Bookseller

‘Anne O’Brien has joined the exclusive club of excellent historical novelists.’ – Sunday Express

‘A gripping historical drama.’
-Bella

@anne_obrien

Reviews

Praise for Anne O’Brien

‘Joanna of Navarre is the feisty heroine in Anne O’Brien’s fast-paced historical novel The Queen’s Choice.’
-Good Housekeeping

‘O’Brien is a terrific storyteller’
- Daily Telegraph

‘A gripping story of love, heartache and political intrigue.’
-Woman & Home

‘Packed with drama, danger, romance and history, The Queen’s Choice is the perfect reading choice for the long winter nights.’
- The Press Association

‘A gripping historical drama.’
-Bella

About the author

Anne O’Brien was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire. After gaining a BA Honours degree in History at Manchester University and a Master’s in Education at Hull, she lived in the East Riding for many years as a teacher of history.

She now lives with her husband in an eighteenth-century timber-framed cottage in depths of the Welsh Marches in Herefordshire on the borders between England and Wales.