One of the most turbulent and violent periods in Britain’s history.
1461 Henry VI had the throne snatched away by young and charismatic Edward IV – he was helped to the throne by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick – the Kingmaker.
It took Edward 7 years to learn that to save the country a good king must do bad things.
3 months after Richard Duke of York’s death Edward IV takes his revenge on the king.
The bloodiest battle on English soil ends (Towton) and Edward IV succeeds as the king and queen’s forces have been wiped out and Henry VI and his family are forced to flee to Scotland.
28000 men slaughtered in 10 hours, pretty much half of the troops involved in the fight.
Edward declared king in 1461, aged just 18 – 12th plantagenet king of England.
Susan Higginbotham ‘The Woodvilles: the Wars of the Roses and England’s Most Infamous Family’
Higginbotham, Susan, The Woodvilles: the Wars of the Roses and England’s Most Infamous Family (Stroud: The History Press, 2015), Paperback, ISBN 978-0-7509-6078-6
Title: It is clearly about the Woodville family, the most popular members being Elizabeth Woodville and her mother, Jacquetta of Luxembourg. They were very active during the Wars of the Roses, and became infamous when the Lancastrian commoner, Elizabeth Woodville, married the Yorkist king, Edward IV.
Preface: The introduction is short and to the point, outlining the rise of the Woodville family and their time at the top. There hasn’t really been a book about the Woodville family before so this is the first of its kind. It is made clear that the Princes in the Tower won’t really be discussed because there is already a lot of literature on them already. Continue reading “Book Review – ‘The Woodvilles’ by Susan Higginbotham”→
Title/s: Duke of Clarence / Earl of Warwick / Earl of Salisbury
Birth / Death: 21 October 1449 – 18 February 1478
Spouse: Isabel Neville 1451-1476
Children: Anne 1470 / Margaret 1473-1541 / Edward 1475-1499 / Richard 1476-1477
Parents: Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York 1411-1460 & Cecily Neville 1415-1495
Siblings: Henry 1438 / Anne, Duchess of Exeter 1439-1476 / Henry 1441 / Edward IV 1442-1483 / Edmund, Earl of Rutland 1443-1460 / Elizabeth, Duchess of Suffolk 1444-1503 / Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy 1446-1503 / William 1447 / John 1448 / Thomas 1450-1451 / Richard III 1452-1485 / Ursula 1455 Continue reading “Spotlight: George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence”→
Henry VI was the son of the warrior king Henry V, the victor of Agincourt, but he wasn’t a warrior – he was quiet and pious. Later in life it is said that he lost his wits. He was deposed by Edward IV in 1460 and murdered in the Tower in 1471. He was the last Lancastrian king, married to Margaret of Anjou, who ruled in his stead.
Margaret of Anjou from an illuminated manuscript c. 1445 by Talbot Master
Margaret of Anjou was the wife of Henry VI. Part of the marriage agreement was that the English gave up Maine in France. She gave birth to one son, Edward, who was killed in battle in 1471, and she lost her husband the same year. She was the mother-in-law of Anne Neville, through the latter’s marriage to her son, the future wife of Richard III. Continue reading “Potted History of the Key Players in the Wars of the Roses”→
I recently finished reading ‘The Virgin Widow’ by Anne O’Brien, a novel about the life of Anne Neville, up until the birth of her son, Edward of Middleham. I really liked it, and look forward to reading ‘The Kingmaker’s Daughter’ by Philippa Gregory to compare. Below are the discussion questions from the back of the book. You also get lists of questions in historical books by Philippa Gregory and Emily Purdy to help you understand the story. I have posted my answers to the ones from ‘The Virgin Widow’ below, and I hope you’ll post what you think, and whether you disagree with any of my answers.
1. A wife was regarded as little more than a possession of her husband. To what extent does the life of Anne Neville and her family support this view of marriage in the fifteenth century?
Women weren’t thought to be able to think on their own and form their own views. In a lot of ways they were the property of their husband because they were expected to obey him and follow his commands and share his beliefs, even if she didn’t truly believe in them. For example, the Countess of Warwick was expected to support her husband in his rebellion and do what he commanded, though in the novel it is obvious that she doesn’t approve of him upsetting the possibilities for their daughters. The Duke of Clarence marries Isobel and immediately begins summoning her after him when he leaves a room. Isobel is expected to obey. And when he ditches Warwick in favour of his brother, Edward IV, Isobel was also expected to leave her father. Anne’s two marriages were much the same. Her marriage to Edward of Lancaster meant that she was expected to support the Lancastrian cause when she had been a Yorkist her entire life. She was under the thumb of Edward’s mother, Margaret of Anjou, who watched her to make sure she didn’t disgrace herself or disobey and contact the York brothers. She was essentially a hostage for her father’s good behaviour. In her second marriage to Richard, she is still expected to follow her husband’s example, although in the court she is allowed a bit more freedom, and she is willing to follow Richard’s example, rather than being forced. Continue reading “‘The Virgin Widow’ by Anne O’Brien – Discussion Questions”→
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