Book Review – ‘The Women of the Cousins’ War: the Duchess, the Queen and the King’s Mother’ by Philippa Gregory


Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory, David Baldwin and Michael Jones, The Women of the Cousins’ War: the Duchess, the Queen and the King’s Mother (London: Simon and Schuster Ltd, 2011), Hardback, ISBN 978-0-85720-177-5

Title: Although the book is called The Women of the Cousins’ War, the book only examines a few of them – Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. It doesn’t look at Margaret of Anjou or Anne Neville in a lot of detail. Nevertheless, a good study of those it does examine in detail.

Preface: The preface discusses several important questions, like why write about these women? What’s so important about them? It also goes a lot wider, looking at what history is, and what fiction is, and how they can go together. There is also a sub-section on women’s place in history. The introduction is a little long, almost as long as a chapter. Continue reading “Book Review – ‘The Women of the Cousins’ War: the Duchess, the Queen and the King’s Mother’ by Philippa Gregory”

Book Review – ‘The Woodvilles’ by Susan Higginbotham


Susan Higginbotham 'The Woodvilles: the Wars of the Roses and England's Most Infamous Family'
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”

Spotlight: Jacquetta of Luxembourg


Name: Jacquetta of Luxembourg

Title/s: Duchess of Bedford / Countess Rivers

Birth / Death: c.1415 – 30 May 1472

Spouse: John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford 1389-1435 / Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers 1405-1469

Children: Elizabeth, Queen of England 1437-1492 / Lewis 1438-1450 / Anne, Countess of Kent 1438-1489 / Anthony, Earl Rivers 1440-1483 / John 1444-1469 / Jacquetta, Baroness Strange 1445-1509 / Lionel 1446-1484 / Eleanor d.1512 / Margaret, Countess of Arundel 1450-1491 / Martha d.1500 / Richard, Earl Rivers 1453-1491 / Edward, Lord Scales 1454-1488 / Mary, Countess of Pembroke 1456-1481 / Catherine, Duchess of Bedford 1458-1497

Parents: Peter I of Luxembourg 1390-1433 & Margaret of Baux 1394-1469

Siblings: Louis 1418-1475 / Thibaud d.1477 / Jacques d.1487 / Catherine d.1492 / Isabelle d.1472 Continue reading “Spotlight: Jacquetta of Luxembourg”