The Women of the Cousins' War
The Real White Queen and Her Rivals
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Elizabeth Woodville, The White Queen(2009), Margaret Beaufort, The Red Queen(2010), and Jacquetta, Lady Rivers, The Rivers Woman(2011) are the subjects of the first three novels in Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series, and of the three biographical essays in this book. Philippa Gregory and two historians, leading experts in their field who helped Philippa to research the novels, tell the extraordinary 'true' stories of the life of these women who until now have been largely forgotten by history, their background and times, highlighting questions which are raised in the fiction and illuminating the novels.
With a foreword by Philippa Gregory - in which Philippa writes revealingly about the differences between history and fiction and examines the gaps in the historical record - and beautifully illustrated with rare portraits, The Women of the Cousins' Waris an exciting new addition to the Philippa Gregory oeuvre.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This tripartite account treats three formidable women for their roles in the dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Bestselling historical novelist Gregory tells the story of Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Henry VIII's great-grandmother. The staunch Lancastrian made her peace with Yorkist Edward IV when he seized power and saw her fortunes soar after he married her daughter Elizabeth Woodville. But later her second husband and their son were executed by the rebel leader earl of Warwick, who tried Jacquetta for witchcraft. University of Leicester historian Baldwin relates the life of Jacquetta's plucky daughter, Elizabeth Woodville, Henry VIII's grandmother, who did her utmost to secure the throne for her son Edward and may have been involved in a rebellion against son-in-law Henry. British historian Jones recounts the story of Margaret Beaufort, a formidable plotter whose personal piety never interfered with her ambition for her son who became Henry VII despite a tenuous claim to the throne. Although this collection is often repetitious and lacks a consistent voice and cohesive overview on the origins of the Wars of the Roses, it's an engrossing introduction to three courageous matriarchs who shaped English history. Illus.; maps.
