A Different and Believable Take on the Child Who Becomes Mother of the Tudor Dynasty. Awarded 4 stars on Goodreads.
Margaret Beaufort Tudor is usually depicted as a possessive mother, ruthlessly obsessed with her son’s claim to the English throne. Her keen political acumen is one of the greatest assets her son has throughout his struggle to ascend and then maintain his throne.
But the Margaret of this novel is a much more sympathetic woman. Girl, really. Extraordinarily wealthy, she is married off to Edmund Tudor while still a child, though that does not stop him from immediately consummating the marriage.
Just thirteen when she gives birth to her only child — left with a body badly damaged by the trauma of childbirth while still a child — she mistakenly thinks she might finally become mistress of her own fate. But I’ll skip the spoilers….
Arnopp’s depiction of Margaret is an interesting contrast to typical portrayals. Here she is just a helpless child, trying to make her way in an adult world where she is generally viewed as a mere political pawn. I look forward to continuing to read more about Margaret’s life in Arnopp’s planned trilogy, the Beaufort Chronicles.
You might be interested in my review of the second book The Beaufort Woman. And the third and last book, The King’s Mother.
Or my reviews of other books from Arnopp:
More about Judith Arnopp.
Toby A. Smith 