Simon & Schuster
Featuring: Henry Tudor (Henry VII); Margaret Beaufort; Thomas Stanley
448 pages ISBN: 1416563725 EAN: 9781416563723 Hardcover Add to Wish List
Even by the age of nine, the young Lady Margaret Beaufort's
desire was to save England. Her idol was the young maiden of
Orléans, Jeanne d'Arc, who had ridden on her white horse
with banners flying in the sunshine to save France. Her
imagination, while vivid, could not prepare her for the
harsh realities of the world. Like Joan of Arc, Lady
Margaret would eventually come to realize that battles and
wars are brutish affairs, and victory is not certain.
While her mother might have prepared her better or been
kinder, neither Lady Margaret, her mother, or any woman
controlled her future. They were "wedded and bedded" and
treated like chattels of the lords and masters whose
political interests were paramount. Despite this, this
young, unprepared girl, with little training and skills,
managed to learn to ride into her future and outwit the men
who blocked her way.
Heavily sustained by her faith and her personal conviction
of God's will, Lady Margaret insisted her son have a king's
name as she never wavered in her belief that he would be
King. One day, she would be the King's Mother, Margaret
Regina, and could do what she wanted! Despite barely seeing
her son for most of his young life, Henry Tudor and his
future were never far from her thoughts. She plotted,
conspired, and formed alliances to thwart her Yorkist
enemies and bring about the future she had envisioned.
The renowned historian and storyteller, Philippa Gregory,
has written a poignant and enthralling account of a lonely,
pious, and bitter woman who was never allowed to marry for
love. A woman who, through her unwavering devotion, ruthless
alliances, and plotting, was able to secure a future for her
son. Told in the first person, Gregory pulls you into this
tender young girl's heart, and we experience her life and
emotions as never told before. This incredibly engrossing
account is a terrific read on its own, however, I am sure
the reader will find it even more satisfying when read with
the first book, The White Queen, in Gregory's
newest series, The Cousins' War (the original name for the
famous "War of the Roses" between the Houses of Lancaster
and York). Whether you are a lover of English history or
not, this is an amazing story you will not want to miss!
Heiress to the red rose of Lancaster, Margaret Beaufort
never surrenders her belief that her house is the true ruler
of England and that she has a great destiny before her. Her
ambitions are disappointed when her sainted cousin Henry VI
fails to recognize her as a kindred spirit, and she is even
more dismayed when he sinks into madness. Her mother mocks
her plans, revealing that Margaret will always be burdened
with the reputation of her father, one of the most famously
incompetent English commanders in France. But worst of all
for Margaret is when she discovers that her mother is
sending her to a loveless marriage in remote Wales.
Married to a man twice her age, quickly widowed, and
a mother at only fourteen, Margaret is determined to turn
her lonely life into a triumph. She sets her heart on
putting her son on the throne of England regardless of the
cost to herself, to England, and even to the little boy.
Disregarding rival heirs and the overwhelming power of the
York dynasty, she names him Henry, like the king; sends him
into exile; and pledges him in marriage to her enemy
Elizabeth of York’s daughter. As the political tides
constantly move and shift, Margaret charts her own way
through another loveless marriage, treacherous alliances,
and secret plots. She feigns loyalty to the usurper Richard
III and even carries his wife’s train at her coronation.
Widowed a second time, Margaret marries the ruthless,
deceitful Thomas, Lord Stanley, and her fate stands on the
knife edge of his will. Gambling her life that he will
support her, she then masterminds one of the greatest
rebellions of the time—all the while knowing that her son
has grown to manhood, recruited an army, and now waits for
his opportunity to win the greatest prize.
In a novel
of conspiracy, passion, and coldhearted ambition, number one
bestselling author Philippa Gregory has brought to life the
story of a proud and determined woman who believes that she
alone is destined, by her piety and lineage, to shape the
course of history.
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