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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