Jacquetta of Luxembourg was a royal duchess who married beneath her for love and became mother of a queen. In this unique presentation Philippa Gregory uses original documents, site visits and even archaeology to create the first biography ever written of the young duchess who survived two reigns and two wars to be the first lady at two rival courts.
Elizabeth Woodville was a widowed mother when she married the young King Edward IV. Her two sons are infamous as ‘the Princes in the Tower’, but little is known of her own life. David Baldwin, established author on the Wars of the Roses, tells her story, that of the first commoner to marry a King of England for love.
Michael Jones, fellow of the Royal Historical Society, writes about Margaret Beaufort, whose official story is powerfully bland. Yet she committed treason against an ordained King of England and her son, Henry VII, became the first Tudor to take the throne.
In an introduction by Gregory, she discusses her life’s work: history, and the writing style she loves: historical fiction. She answers many of the questions posed by her readers and history scholars alike:
What is the difference between writing history and historical fiction? How much of a role does speculation play in each? How much fiction should there be in a historical novel? How are female historians changing our view of women in history?
The Women of the Cousins’ War is beautifully illustrated with rare portraits and source materials. It offers fascinating insights into the inspirations behind Philippa Gregory’s fiction and will appeal to all with an interest in this period.
About the authors:
Philippa Gregory was an established historian and writer when she discovered her interest in the Tudor period and wrote the novel The Other Boleyn Girl which was made into a tv drama, and a major film. Now, six novels later, she is looking at the family that preceded the Tudors: the magnificent Plantaganets, a family of complex rivalries, loves, and hatreds.
She lives with her family on a small farm in Yorkshire where she keeps horses, hens and ducks. Visitors to this site, Philippa Gregory.com become addicted to the updates of historical research and the progress of ducklings.
Her other great interest is the charity that she founded nearly twenty years ago: Gardens for The Gambia. She has raised funds and paid for 140 wells in the primary schools of this very dry and poor African country, and thousands of school children have been able to learn market gardening in the school gardens watered by the wells. The charity also provides wells for womens’ collective gardens and for The Gambia’s only agricultural college at Njawara.
A past student of Sussex university, and a PhD and Alumna of the Year 2009 of Edinburgh university, her love for history and commitment to historical accuracy are the hallmarks of her writing. She also reviews for the Washington Post, the LA Times, and for UK newspapers, and is a regular broadcaster on television, radio, and webcasts from her website, PhilippaGregory.com. (source)
Visit Philippa on Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Philippa Gregory was an established historian and writer when she discovered her interest in the Tudor period and wrote the novel The Other Boleyn Girl which was made into a tv drama, and a major film. Now, six novels later, she is looking at the family that preceded the Tudors: the magnificent Plantaganets, a family of complex rivalries, loves, and hatreds.
She lives with her family on a small farm in Yorkshire where she keeps horses, hens and ducks. Visitors to this site, Philippa Gregory.com become addicted to the updates of historical research and the progress of ducklings.
Her other great interest is the charity that she founded nearly twenty years ago: Gardens for The Gambia. She has raised funds and paid for 140 wells in the primary schools of this very dry and poor African country, and thousands of school children have been able to learn market gardening in the school gardens watered by the wells. The charity also provides wells for womens’ collective gardens and for The Gambia’s only agricultural college at Njawara.
A past student of Sussex university, and a PhD and Alumna of the Year 2009 of Edinburgh university, her love for history and commitment to historical accuracy are the hallmarks of her writing. She also reviews for the Washington Post, the LA Times, and for UK newspapers, and is a regular broadcaster on television, radio, and webcasts from her website, PhilippaGregory.com. (source)
Visit Philippa on Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
My Thoughts:
I love Phillipa Gregory, not only her historical fiction series but her contemporary works as well. I generally like to read the historical fiction versions of these famous ladies portrayed in this book and I am not a great fan of non fiction biographies of the medieval era as they can be pretty dry. This book however was awesome. I especially enjoyed the introduction by Phillipa Gregory as she clarified how she writes and how she researches. My feeling is that all authors of historical fiction sometimes embellish the stories of famous people to keep the story interesting and I as a reader do not find fault with that. I read a book for its entertainment value and if I learn something new, that is great too. This book is full of interesting information about a few of the most interesting ladies of England. Without them history would be totally different than it is now. A very interesting and entertaining book written by three very well informed historians. I will be putting this book next to my other Phillipa Gregory books.
I received a copy of this book as a review copy from Crazy Book Tours and was not monetarily compensated for my review.
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