N - 199 | Blood Sisters: The Women Behind The Wars Of The Roses by Sarah Gristwood

From best-selling historian, Sarah Gristwood comes the true story behind Philippa Gregory’s recent novels – the women who gave birth to the Tudor dynasty. It is a fiery history of Queens, the perils of power and of how the Wars of the Roses were ended – not by knights in battle, but the sinewy political skills of women.

The events of the Wars of the Roses are usually described in terms of the men involved; Richard, Duke of York, Henry VI, Edward IV and Henry VII. The reality though, argues Sarah Gristwood, was quite different. These years were also packed with women's drama and – in the tales of conflicted maternity and monstrous births – alive with female energy.

In this completely original book, acclaimed author Sarah Gristwood sheds light on a neglected dimension of English history: the impact of Tudor women on the Wars of the Roses. She examines Cecily Neville, the wife of Richard Duke of York, who was deprived of being queen when her husband died at the Battle of Wakefield; Elizabeth Woodville, a widow with several children who married Edward IV in secret and was crowned queen consort; Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, whose ambitions centred on her son and whose persuasions are likely to have lead her husband Lord Stanley, previously allied with the Yorkists, to play his part in Henry's victory.

Until now, the lives of these women have remained little known to the general public. Sarah Gristwood tells their stories in detail for the first time. Captivating and original, this is historical writing of the most important kind.

ID:  N - 199

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N - 198 | Arbella: England's Lost Queen by Sarah Gristwood

An extraordinary life lost in history: the compelling biography of Arbella Stuart spans both Tudor and Stuart courts and encompasses espionage, a clandestine marriage, imprisonment and eventual death in the Tower of London.

Arbella Stuart was the niece of Mary Queen of Scots and first cousin to James VI of Scotland.
Acknowledged as her heir by Elizabeth 1, Arbella's right to the English throne was equaled only by James.

Raised under close supervision by her grandmother, but still surrounded by plots -- most of them Roman Catholic in origin -- she became an important pawn in the struggle for succession, particularly during the long, tense period when Elizabeth lay dying.

The accession of her cousin James thrust her into the colourful world of his extravagant and licentious court, and briefly gave her the independence she craved at the heart of Jacobean society.

At thirty-five, however, Arbella's fate was sealed when she risked everything to make a forbidden marriage, for which she was forced to flee England. She was intercepted off the coast of Calais and escorted to the Tower where she died some years later, alone and, most probably, from starvation.

This is a powerful and vivid portrait of a woman forced to carve a precarious path through turbulent years. But more remarkably, the turmoil of Arbella's life never prevented her from claiming the right to love freely, to speak her wrongs loudly, and to control her own destiny. For fans of historical biography, Arbella is possibly the most romantic heroine of them all. Hers was a story just waiting to be told.

Sarah Gristwood is a journalist and broadcaster, specializing in the arts and women's issues. She is the author of one previous book, Recording Angels, a study of women's diaries through the ages.

ID:  N - 198

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N - 197 | Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth-Century Europe by Sarah Gristwood

Sixteenth-century Europe saw an explosion of female rule. From Isabella of Castile, and her granddaughter Mary Tudor, to Catherine de Medici, Anne Boleyn, and Elizabeth Tudor, these women wielded enormous power over their territories, shaping the course of European history for over a century.

Across boundaries and generations, these royal women were mothers and daughters, mentors and protégées, allies and enemies. 

For the first time, Europe saw a sisterhood of queens who would not be equaled until modern times. 

A fascinating group biography and a thrilling political epic, Game of Queens explores the lives of some of the most beloved (and reviled) queens in history.

ID:  N - 197

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