Review: The Queen of Last Hopes: The Story of Margaret of Anjou

Anyone who had tried writing historical fiction will tell you how challenging it is to find the right balance between carefully researched facts and the fiction necessary to ‘fill the gaps’.  The Queen of Last Hopes achieves this perfectly – and really makes you want to find out more about Margaret, who shines through as a strong woman with the same vulnerabilities we all have.

I’d been saving this book to read on my recent holiday, as my current work-in-progress is set during the reign of Shakespeare’s ‘She Wolf’, Margaret of Anjou, and I needed to learn more about the real woman behind the caricature we so often read about.  Susan Higginbotham’s book proved to be a great place to find that new perspective, as she is up there with the best historical fiction authors and has a refreshing attitude to rule breaking.  When did you last read a book where the narrator switches to a different character who proves to be writing from the grave, having described their own death?  Susan has chosen to apply her creative licence to the character of the Duke of Somerset, Henry Beaufort, as Margaret's lover - but the book is better for it – and I am sure he would have approved!

The Queen of Last Hopes: The Story of Margaret of Anjou
 on Amazon UK and Amazon US