England is in the midst of chaos in a conflict known as the Wars of the Roses. The Yorkist cause is formulating a case to take the throne’s power from Henry VI and the Lancastrians and replace the king with Richard, Duke of York, whose claim to the throne is a bit stronger. Caught in the middle of the Wars of the Roses was one strong and courageous woman who would fight tooth and nail for her family and the Yorkist cause. Her name was Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, and her story is masterfully told in Anne O’Brien’s novel, “The Queen’s Rival.”
A few years ago, I hosted Anne O’Brien to discuss this book as part of a blog tour for The Coffee Pot Book Club. I will admit that this was the first time I had read a novel by Anne O’Brien, but I had heard amazing things about her writing style, so when I saw this novel at a bookstore, it was an instant buy for me.
We begin in the year 1459 and the house of York is facing a disaster. The Yorkists have lost the Battle of Ludford Bridge and must now separate and go into exile. Cecily can only watch as the Lancastrians lay siege to her home, forcing her and her young children to be imprisoned at Tonbridge Castle. This moment might have broken Cecily’s spirit, but Cecily is a proud Neville, willing to fight until the bitter end to see her family safe and secure on the throne of England. Along the way, she must endure heartache (such as the death of her husband Richard Duke of York) and moments of betrayal, such as George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Earl of Warwick. Cecily’s name and reputation are dragged through the mud on numerous occasions. However, she gets to witness moments of glory, the crowning of her sons Edward IV and Richard III, and the birth of her grandchildren, to create the House of York.
My favorite aspect of this novel is that the chapters are not written like traditional chapters. The chapters are a series of letters to and from Cecily to her family members or those she considers her enemies to convince them to give her and her family leniency. Cecily’s main correspondences are with her sisters, Anne Duchess of Buckingham, and Katherine Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. One of my favorite characters is the author of England’s Chronicle, who reminds me of a gossip columnist, ready to spill all the secrets and rumors to anyone who will hear it.
I had such a fun time reading this novel. Even though I knew the events of the Wars of the Roses and what would happen, I found it refreshing to read it as a series of letters so that you can sense how the historical figure might have felt during that moment. This may have been my first novel by Anne O’Brien, but it definitely will not be my last. If you want a thrilling novel about the Wars of the Roses from the perspective of Cecily Neville, I highly suggest you read, “The Queen’s Rival” by Anne O’Brien.
When we think about the Tudor dynasty, we often think about the famous men and women who defined the era. An era full of change in all aspects of life, from religious and political, to the arts and literature. Throughout these changes, we tend to focus on how they affected the lives of Tudor men, but there is a growing field of interest in the lives of the average Tudor women and how their lives were affected. In her latest book, “Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era,” Amy McElroy explores women’s life stages in 16th-century England and how their roles changed.
The final wife, the one who survived. These words are what people think about when it comes to Katherine (Kateryn) Parr. However, before she even met Henry VIII, she had already lived quite a life, being married twice before meeting the king. She was a scholar, reformer, daughter, stepmother, wife, and mother. A woman who lived a rather intriguing life and happened to marry the King of England, Kateryn Parr’s life has been told in numerous mediums for centuries. Now, Laura Adkins has chosen to write about this famous Tudor wife in the biography, “Kateryn Parr: Henry VIII’s Sixth Wife.”
When we think about travel in the Middle Ages, we often think of wealthy nobles or those who went to war fighting in foreign lands. However, that is merely a misconception. Travel was open to everyone, from the wealthy, the poor, the pious pilgrims, and the merchants. Each group had their reasons for traveling to different countries. Still, they all wrote down their experiences to tell future generations about their encounters and encourage others to explore the world, both the known and unknown parts. Anthony Bale has compiled many of these accounts into one comprehensive book called, “A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages: The World Through Medieval Eyes.”
“I’ll show you what a woman can do.”
The year is 1671 and England is slowly recovering from the horrors of the English Civil War. King Charles II lives lavishly with his many mistresses, including the famous beauty Nell Gwyn. On the other side of London, Nell’s eldest sister Rose Gwyn is caught in the middle of a high-profile robbery that could cost her her life. In the present day, Jess Yates, a librarian and history lover, is dealing with her family’s struggles. When Jess enters Fortune Hall to help her sister Tavy, with a project, Jess begins to follow the clues to discover the connection between the great house and the Gwyn sisters. What secrets does this great hall hold and can the reputation of the Gwyn family be saved in time? The mystery of the past and the present collide in Nicola Cornick’s latest novel, “The Other Gwyn Girl.”
A legendary Queen of both France and England. A wife who went on the Crusades with her first husband and chose her second husband. A fierce mother who defended her Plantagenet children no matter the cost. Eleanor of Aquitaine has been revered and reviled for centuries, some saying she was a powerful woman ahead of her time while others considered her someone who could manipulate those around her by having affairs, including supposedly with her uncle in Antioch. Her story has been told in numerous ways through different mediums throughout the centuries, but now Elizabeth Chadwick has decided to write her interpretation of Eleanor of Aquitaine’s life in a trilogy of historical fiction novels. The first in the series, “The Summer Queen,” explores Eleanor’s early years, her marriage to a young French king, and the man destined to become King of England.
England is in desperate need of a hero. After the Covid pandemic and the Brexit debacle, England is in despair, and only one man can save the day. He does not wield a sword, but a tennis racket and his fair maiden is the badass CEO of the Rose Corp. Ace Penhelagon and Eliza Rose seem like a picture-perfect pair, but every rose has thorns that protect it from a dark past. What dark secrets do these two hide away from the flashes of the paparazzi and can love endure over fate? Olivia Hayfield’s latest novel, “Queen, King, Ace,” is a modern love story that combines the elements of the Arthurian myths with the Tudor dynasty to answer the question of what might King Arthur and Queen Elizabeth be like in the 21st century.
The field of history for centuries has been focused on men and the struggles that mankind has had to endure for society to survive. We tend to get only a mere glimpse at the lives of women when they are next to powerful men. Some will write about women, mostly royal women, who lead extraordinary lives and left an imprint on the past. But what about those who lived ordinary lives? What about the women who lived daily, fighting to survive every obstacle? What can we learn about history through the eyes of ordinary women? Philippa Gregory has taken on the mammoth task of trying to answer these questions and more with her tome, “Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History.”
In southeastern France, there is a region called Provence, known today for its lavender fields and its vineyards. In 13th-century France, Provence would be known as the birthplace of four queens who dominated European politics. The daughters, Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia, and Beatrice were the daughters of Raymond Berenger V Count of Provence, and his wife Beatrice of Savoy. They would become the queens of France, England, Germany, and Sicily. While the sisters were known for their beauty, how they acted as queen consorts for their husbands cemented their legacies in history. Nancy Goldstone tells the tale of these remarkable siblings and how they changed European history in her book, “Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe.”
Adventures of a Tudor Nerd 