Set in the time of the Tudors, Margaret Beaufort is married off at an early age and is a mother by the time she is 14. A headstrong and pious woman who believes she should take inspiration from Joan of Arc and that her son is the true and only heir to the throne. She does not care for the fact that she is to "wed, bed and breed" (i.e. the only reason for her existence is to have children to perpetuate the line). She feels thwarted at every turn that people cant recognise her piety, brains and wealth but doesnt recognise that many of the faults she sees in others are also significant faults in herself. [return][return]This does cover a large swathe of English history where the houses of York and Tudor are constantly fighting to rule the country. It's less than 400 pages long and part of a trilogy that presumably covers the same time from different angles. As a stand alone book it's reasonable if a little lightweight. However I dont know that if the three stories were brought together in the same book that it would necessarily work better - it certainly wouldnt be able to be written in the same voice ( )

Set in the time of the Tudors, Margaret Beaufort is married off at an early age and is a mother by the time she is 14. A headstrong and pious woman who believes she should take inspiration from Joan of Arc and that her son is the true and only heir to the throne. She does not care for the fact that she is to "wed, bed and breed" (i.e. the only reason for her existence is to have children to perpetuate the line). She feels thwarted at every turn that people cant recognise her piety, brains and wealth but doesnt recognise that many of the faults she sees in others are also significant faults in herself. [return][return]This does cover a large swathe of English history where the houses of York and Tudor are constantly fighting to rule the country. It's less than 400 pages long and part of a trilogy that presumably covers the same time from different angles. As a stand alone book it's reasonable if a little lightweight. However I dont know that if the three stories were brought together in the same book that it would necessarily work better - it certainly wouldnt be able to be written in the same voice ( )

Margaret Beaufort couldn’t be more different from Elizabeth Woodville. Yet they are both Queens in their own right and helped to shape history. The Red Queen enforces that and without her encouragement it makes you wonder if the birth of the Tudor dynasty would of happened had it not been for her. ( )

An interesting tale of how people will stop at nothing to get power. ( )

The rise of Henry VII and the beginning of the Tudor reign, as told through the eyes of his mother, Margaret Beaufort. I always love Phillipa Gregory’s take on history, and I accept it for what it is--not history, but historical fiction. Who knows what I would have thought of Margaret if I had known her, but I found her a bit unlikable. Having really liked Elizabeth Woodville in Gregory’s The White Queen, perhaps it was more difficult to like this woman who imagined herself so holy and above others.

I am one who believes you can never go wrong with Gregory if you want to explore a little English history but have an emotional attachment to the story that was once someone’s life.
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