I’ve been looking forward to reading Anne O’Brien’s new novel as it’s set in one of my favourite periods of history, the Wars of the Roses. O’Brien has written about this period before, from the perspectives of Anne Neville in Virgin Widow (which I haven’t read) and Cecily Neville in The Queen’s Rival, but this book is slightly different because it focuses on not just one woman but two: Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI, and Anne Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick.
The two women take it in turns to narrate their story, alternating chapter by chapter throughout the book and beginning in 1458 with the Loveday Parade – a procession through London intended to promote peace between York and Lancaster, the two feuding branches of the royal House of Plantagenet. In the parade, Queen Margaret walks hand-in-hand with the powerful Duke of York, while Anne watches her husband, Richard, Earl of Warwick, walk with his rival nobleman, the Duke of Exeter. The peace is very short-lived, however, and the following year York and Lancaster are at war again.
As the mental health of the Lancastrian king, Henry VI, goes into decline and he gradually retreats from real life into a world of prayer, Margaret does her best to rule in his place, aiming to keep the throne safe for Prince Edward, their young son. When Margaret’s army is defeated in battle and Warwick helps to put the Yorkist heir, Edward IV, on the throne, it seems that her life is in ruins, but it’s not long before Warwick falls out of favour with the new king and comes to her ready to form a new alliance with Lancaster. Meanwhile, Anne stays loyal to her husband throughout all of this but, with no real influence over his decisions, she can only hope that he’s picked the right side this time…
I was intrigued by O’Brien’s decision to pair Margaret of Anjou’s story with the Countess of Warwick’s in this book. There are so many other interesting women from this period – Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry Tudor; Edward IV’s wife Elizabeth Woodville and her mother Jacquetta, to name a few – it seemed like a bit of an arbitrary choice to put these two together, but as I read on and saw the shape the novel was starting to take it did make sense. Margaret and Anne are at first on opposite sides of the conflict, then on the same side, but in the difficult position of never fully being able to trust each other, which is an interesting dynamic for O’Brien to explore. Although they are two very different women, there are some parallels between them which begin to emerge as the novel progresses.
This is an eventful and dramatic period of history, so there’s always something happening in the novel – a battle to be fought, a marriage to be negotiated, a plan for invasion to be put into place. Using two narrators rather than one gives O’Brien a wider scope instead of being limited to one character’s personal experiences. However, the two threads of the story come together now and then through a series of fictional letters sent between Margaret and Anne. I’ve no idea if they really corresponded or not (I don’t think there’s any evidence of it, and if they ever did, I doubt it would have been as often as depicted in the book) but it’s a nice touch and makes the lives of the two characters feel less separate and disconnected.
The narrative voices of the two women sound almost identical, so I had to pay attention to the section headings, otherwise it sometimes took me a few paragraphs to decide which of them was narrating. Margaret of Anjou never really seems to be portrayed in a very positive light and she’s not very likeable here either, but I could at least have some sympathy for her. She was in a very challenging situation, trying to hold onto the throne for Lancaster with a husband who didn’t understand what was going on and who was by now completely incapable of ruling. Anne is a much easier character to like, but then, she doesn’t have the difficult decisions to make that Margaret does. Things aren’t easy for Anne either, though, as her fate is determined by the actions of her husband, Warwick, and while she does involve herself in politics to a degree, she has very little say in the course her life will follow.
This is ultimately quite a sad story – anyone familiar with the Wars of the Roses will know what happens to Margaret, her husband and her son, and how Anne’s later life plays out (at one point she’s declared legally dead while still alive in order to settle an inheritance dispute) – but I enjoyed reading it. It was nice to see some links to O’Brien’s previous novel, A Court of Betrayal, whose heroine, Johane de Geneville, was an ancestor of Anne Beauchamp’s – something I wasn’t aware of until I started reading this book and Anne mentioned her great-great-grandmother! I’ll look forward to O’Brien’s next book, whatever it may be, but I should probably try to find time to go back and read the earlier ones that I’ve missed as well.
Thanks to Orion for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
She Reads Novels 
It’s on my Amazon wishlist, but I’m not paying £18 so will wait till the price comes down 🙂 . Thanks for thr review: it sounds good.
I enjoyed it, but it’s not worth paying that much! I hope the price comes down soon.
Reading this one soon. I’m interested in seeing how the points of view of the two protagonists are crafted. And I love the era, of course! Thanks for the review.
I thought the two points of view were handled very well, showing the differences and similarities between the two women. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
This one looks so good! Thanks for the review. I’m going to have to find a way to get it without breaking the bank though 🙂 I can’t get a lot of her books for a good price so it’s good you are faithful about using NetGalley, I’m so bad about remembering to request books. Great review Helen!
I hope you’re able to read this one soon. I have the opposite problem with NetGalley and keep requesting more books than I realistically have time to read!
That is an interesting pairing, but it sounds like she pulled it off. 😀
Yes, she did. I really enjoyed it!
I always think that the Wars of the Roses must have been horrible for everyone involved, from the citizens up to the most powerful.
Yes, I’m sure it must have been.
I had the same with the two perspectives being too similar. I also need to read a lot of her older books, she has so many!
Her older books all sound interesting, but it’s difficult to find the time to read them when she keeps writing new ones!
This makes me realise I’ve read so many Tudor historical novels but nothing on the Wars of the Roses, except for starting and giving up on Philippa Gregory’s series. My knowledge of late medieval/early-early modern history is also terrible…
I actually find the Wars of the Roses a lot more interesting than the Tudor period, which I think has been overdone in historical fiction now.
100% agree about Tudor novels being overdone! Is there a Wars of the Roses novel you’d particularly recommend?
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman is excellent, though very long. I also liked Cecily by Annie Garthwaite, a more recent book which covers the period from a female perspective.
Thank you! I’ve had my eye on Cecily.
I’m pretty sure this is already on my TBR but I’m definitely going to have to check now. Besides the similiar feeling to the two voices this sounds fantastic. Although I also kind of got the impression that I may be better off reading some of the authors earlier books first? I hope you have fun catching up on the others on your TBR. I’ve loved what I’ve seen set around this period of time but definitely need to learn more about it.
It’s a really interesting period of history, with some fascinating characters. I’ve read a lot of books set in this period now but am still learning new things about it. You can start with any of Anne O’Brien’s books, really – most of them are standalones but some are linked through characters or their ancestors. I’ve enjoyed most of the ones I’ve read so far.
If that’s the case I’ll probably check out a few blurbs again sometime and figure out whose story intrigues me most 😅 this definitely sounds like ab interesting one though. And it’s fascinating how much there is to discover.
I am interested in reading more from this time period, so I will be adding this to my TBR! 😊 Is this book part of a series?
Happy reading! 📚
This isn’t part of a series but some of the characters appear in other books. You can read them in any order. It’s a fascinating time period!
Amazing, thank you! 🙂
Hello Helen,
I am pleased to hear you enjoyed this one, even though it is a sad one! I will be sure to have my handkerchief on hand – I am hoping to read it next – but as you know I am a sensitive soul! 😅
Blessings, Jessica 💌
I’ll be interested to hear what you think of it – I hope it’s not too sad for you!
There are so many interesting women in that period of history. Well, in every period, but particularly then!
Thanks for sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Yes, that’s one of the reasons I love reading about this period! So many fascinating women for authors to write about.