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"In 1485, Henry Tudor triumphed over staggering odds to become the first Tudor King of England. His victory owed much to his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. Born a Lancaster during the War of the Roses, which saw her house fighting with the Yorks for supremacy, Margaret was caught up in male relatives' plans for the fate of England. She was married to Edmund Tudor, half-brother to the Lancaster King Henry VI. At thirteen, with her husband dead from plague, she gave birth to her only child: a son she named Henry. Over decades and across countries, Margaret schemed to install her son on the throne and, once he was in place, she orchestrated the union that would at last put an end to over thirty years of war, Henry's marriage to Elizabeth of York. Once Henry was crowned, Margaret's extraordinarily close relationship with her son, coupled with her active role in political and ceremonial affairs, ensured that she was treated-and behaved-as a queen in all but name. She is remembered as a severe and shrewd woman-even murderous, for her rumored role in the disappearance of the princes in the Tower of London. But against a lavish backdrop of pageantry and passion, court intrigue and war, Tallis dispels these myths, revealing a woman far more complicated and contradictory than our popular conception. Frequently stereotyped as overly pious and dour, Uncrowned Queen introduces us to a woman who can also be wildly extravagant and materialistic, one funny and indefatigable. She was iron-willed, but it was her charm that ultimately was her greatest weapon-essential in ingratiating herself to Richard III at court even as she was planning to overthrow him by installing her son, and in courting the Yorks to offer their child as her daughter-in-law. Drawing on fresh readings of primary sources, Tallis rehabilitates Margaret as a dynamic political operator and devoted mother, asking what it means for women to hold power and how they wield i.t"--… (more)
User reviews
After two months Margaret goes with her brother in law Jasper Tudor to the Duke of Buckingham to arrange a marriage between herself and his second son. She is STILL thirteen. She marries her third husband and this marriage is happy and there a many ups and downs due to the Wars of the Roses. The author dies a great job explaining who is who but the explanations are short. Not a lot of depth. This book is about Margaret, not the Yorks and the Lancasters. There is a fabulous bibliography at the back of this book if you want to read more about the War of the Roses and the cousins who fought it, the battles, and the complicated relationships of all personages involved. It really is a fascinating study. To make a long story short, Margaret sees little of her son as he goes up as his guardianship is given to others. It seems back then you were not allowed to raise your own child if your hub and died and there was money involved. By the way, Henry VI is dead and Edward IV is king but the wars rage on. Margaret's third husband dies of his wounds after a battle. Margaret buries her husband and hustles out and gets married a fourth time. She is still rich and needs a protector.
Margaret marries Thomas Stanley, Edward IV is in a bad mood and wants to do away with Margaret 's son Henry so Henry and Jasper go into exile on the continent for fourteen years. Edward IV does and Richard I I I usurps the throne from Edward V. The author makes a compelling case that Richard III killed the princes in the tower. I say he was in charge of the kingdom and the buck stops with him. He should have taken better care of his prisoners. I mean "Where are they?" Richard III and Henry fight it out at Bosworth for the throne Richard loses and Henry is king.
Henry is now Henry VII and Margaret is "My lady the king's mother." Henry married well has kids one being Henry VIII and rules England with the help of Margaret. Today Margaret does not have a great reputation. She is thought of a cold, conniving, fanatical about religion, and putting Henry on the throne. Contemporaries describe her as loving, King, and generous. She kept almshouses for the poor, gave generously to the church and the poor, cared for the sick, and patronized higher education. She also liked music, fine clothes, and jewelry. She was pious, fasted, heard mass 4-5 times a day, and spent long hours on her knees in prayer. She was wealthy and kept her own books. She had a large family and looked out for them. She loved her son and her grandchildren and was very close to them. She sadly outlived her son and several grandchildren including her first grandchild Arthur. I enjoyed this book and I would like to the Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.
I applaud the author's way of telling Margaret's story. It's very easy to read, and you don't get bogged down in the nitty-gritty of minutiae. Margaret was a power player. She worked to advance her son's cause when he was banished from England. Her actions during that time could have cost her her very life. I took away half a star because the only illustration we have in the entire book is on the cover. I wish the author/publishers would have included pictures of the ruins of Margaret's home, her tomb (which is described in great detail and still survives today), her rooms at the educational institutions she patronized. It would've gone a long way in helping to tell Margaret's story.
Still, this was an excellent read, and provides us with accessible coverage of the life of an underrated lady.
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