Happy New Year, everyone! If you had a bad 2012, I hope 2013 is much better, and if you had a good 2012, I hope 2013 outdoes it! As you probably know, in medieval and Tudor England, the gift-giving day was not Christmas Day but January 1. The Ryalle Book, a manual for royal practices […]
I put this on Facebook a couple of days ago, but for those of you who aren’t there, here’s Margaret of Anjou! By the way, I’m finally winding down my blog tour. (You can find links to all of my stops on the bar on top of this page.) Now that things are relatively quiet
Margaret of Anjou on Cosmo Read More »
I have long admired artist Mark Satchwill’s portraits of historical figures, and I was delighted to be able to commission one of Margaret of Anjou, just in time for the publication of The Queen of Last Hopes! Here it is! If you visit Mark at his website, you can see (and order) portraits of Edward
Mark Satchwill’s Portrait of Margaret of Anjou Read More »
If you happened to visit your local bookstore on January 1, you might have asked yourself this question, “Where, pray tell, is The Queen of Last Hopes, which Susan has been saying for the last nine months or so would be published on January 1?” I was experiencing rather similar emotions this weekend: So where
The Queen of Last Hopes in LOL Cats: A Preview While You’re Waiting Read More »
It’s stated as fact in the Wikipedia article on Margaret of Anjou, and elsewhere, that Elizabeth Woodville served as a lady-in-waiting to Margaret of Anjou. Fact or fiction? Unfortunately, the answer is uncertain. The assertion that Elizabeth was one of Margaret’s ladies comes from Tudor sources. Sir Thomas More in his History of King Richard
Was Elizabeth Woodville one of Margaret of Anjou’s Ladies? Read More »
As I mentioned on Margaret of Anjou’s Facebook page, a number of novels set during the Wars of the Roses have a scene where Margaret of Anjou’s troops sack the town of Ludlow, usually resulting in carnage that makes the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre look like a minor street brawl. To top things off, few
The Sack of Ludlow: The Margaret/Cecily Face-Off Read More »
Here are two letters written from Margaret of Anjou’s court in exile in December 1464: one by John Fortescue, the other by Edward of Lancaster. Fortescue, Henry VI’s chancellor in exile, was about sixty-seven when he wrote his letter and was living in Margaret’s household at Koeur Castle, near St Mihiel in the duchy of
Letters from Koeur to Portugal: 1464 Read More »
A comment on Margaret’s Facebook page (thanks, Marilyn!) reminded me that I’ve never posted in detail about Margaret’s captivity following her defeat at Tewkesbury. So now I’m going to remedy this situation. Edward IV left Tewkesbury on May 7, 1471, heading toward Worcester. On his way, he was told that Margaret had been found not
The Captivity of Margaret of Anjou Read More »
In 1456, Margaret of Anjou took up residence in the midlands, where she and Henry VI would spend much of 1456 and 1457. Their base was the city of Coventry, which would become known as “the queen’s secret harbour.” Henry and Margaret’s visits to Coventry were recorded in The Coventry Leet Book (available on Google
Scenes from Coventry Read More »
A couple of weeks ago on e-Bay, I came across a book called Infamous Women Paper Dolls, featuring, among other women, Margaret of Anjou. Naturally, I had to see a copy, and it arrived in my mailbox today. Infamous Women was published in 1994 by Bellerophon Books, which has produced a number of other books
In Which We Review a Paper Doll Book for the First Time Read More »