In 1445 a fifteen-year-old French girl left her homeland to marry the son of the great warrior Henry V. Sixteen years later, her husband had lost his throne and she had fled into exile. For a decade, she struggled to reclaim the throne of England before her final and shattering defeat at the Battle of Tewkesbury. It marked the final destruction of the House of Lancaster by Yorkist King Edward IV and his brothers. Margaret lost more than her family: she was also vilified. Shakespeare cast her as a sadistic killer who murdered the noble Richard, Duke of York. History cast her as a manipulative seductress whose destructive ambition was a major cause of the Wars of the Roses.
This is a book I've been wanting to read for many years. I began trying to understand the complex life of Queen Margaret of Anjou when I wrote about Sir Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, known of as the 'Kingmaker'. Her sworn enemy, in an amazing change of heart, he risks everything to fight for her cause.
I can now begin to understand this enigmatic woman. Joanna Arman's style is highly readable and conveys a far more nuanced account of Margaret of Anjou's life than other biographies I've read.
It is hard not to feel sorry for Margaret. Forced into marriage to King Henry VI, her critics were ready to seize any opportunity to attack her reputation. Worse still, Margaret is remembered by many as Shakespeare's pejorative 'She-Wolf', and I hope this book will help to go a long way towards a more balanced view.
Margaret of Anjou in Manuscript illuminated by the Talbot Master
British Library (Wikimedia Commons)
Joanna Arman concludes that Margaret of Anjou was a woman who stepped beyond traditional expectations of her role, and defied social norms. Margaret was on the losing side of history, but that means we must take particular care to understand the truth of her story.
Tony Riches
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About the Author
Disclosure: A review copy of this book was kindly provided by the publishers, Amberley
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