Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.89 (569 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0465018319 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 432 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-03-30 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
It's complicated jem I began this book excited by Gristwood's very worthy concept to use old manuscripts to explore the roles of key women in the 15th Century wars between the Lancaster and York contenders to the English throne. To date, historians -- and literary storytellers like Shakespeare -- have described this important conflict strictly in terms of the male contenders. The roles of wives, mothers and sisters were significant but little known.Despite the book's genealogical chart, I had trouble being forced again and again to separate Marguerite (Margaret) of Anjou, Margaret Beufort, Margaret of Burgundy, Margaret Tudor (Que. Five Stars shipped in good shape. "Strong Women" according to jaffareadstoo. The War of the Roses shook the very foundations of England, when cousin armed against cousin, fought for power in a domestic drama on a grand scale. The ruling Plantagenets had two warring factions; the House of Lancaster and the House of York, both had equal and valid claims to the English throne as descendants of Edward III. Taking their symbols as red and white roses, the royal houses of Lancaster and York not only divided their family, but also alienated England.Generally overlooked by their more war worthy male counterparts, the women behind the men who fought in this protracted dispute, have a fascinatio
As acclaimed historian Sarah Gristwood reveals in Blood Sisters, while the events of this turbulent time are usually described in terms of the male leads who fought and died seeking the throne, a handful of powerful women would prove just as decisive as their kinfolks’ clashing armies. In a captivating, multigenerational narrative, Gristwood traces the rise and rule of the seven most critical women in the wars: from Marguerite of Anjou, wife of the Lancastrian Henry VI, who steered the kingdom in her insane husband’s stead; to Cecily Neville, matriarch of the rival Yorkist clan, whose son E
--Margaret Flanagan . From Booklist Everyone knows about the Wars of the Roses; but what about the women behind that fight over the English throne? This question is asked and answered by Gristwood in this multiple biography of the Plantagenet women—wives, daughters, and mistresses—who played often pivotal behind-the-scenes roles in the “cousins’ war.” As the York and the Lancaster men prepare to square off, the lives, loves, loyalties, and fortunes of the major female family members are chronicled in juicy detail. Recommend this digestible collective biography to Philippa Gregory fans who want to delve deeper into the tangled Plantagenet-Tudor world. Seven women (Marguerite of Anjou, Elizabeth of York, Margaret of Burgundy, Cecily Neville, Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort, and Anne Neville) make the final cut, as a delicately spun dynastic web is irrepa