Review: The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham

by Susan Higginbotham

Release Date: January 1, 2011
Sourcebooks Landmark
368p


SYNOPSIS: What would happen if this king suddenly went mad? What would his queen do? Would she make the same mistakes I did, or would she learn from mine?

Margaret of Anjou, queen of England, cannot give up on her husband-even when he slips into insanity. And as mother to the House of Lancaster's last hope, she cannot give up on her son-even when England turns against them. This gripping tale of a queen forced to stand strong in the face of overwhelming odds is at its heart a tender tale of love.

Award-winning author Susan Higginbotham will once again ask readers to question everything they know about right and wrong, compassion and hope, duty to one's country and the desire of one's own heart.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Much of my readings on the War of the Roses have been from the Yorkist point of view, painting the matriarch of the Lancaster faction, Margaret of Anjou, as the devil incarnate, a she-wolf capable of devouring small (preferable Yor! kist) ch ildren. So, when I saw that Susan Higginbotham was coming out with a novel on Margaret, I knew this would be my opportunity to read about the real woman behind the myth.

Born to Queen Rene and Queen Isabelle of Anjou, Margaret was betrothed to King Henry at age 14 as a way to bring peace to the conflict between England and France. Though it was a union bred by politics, Henry and Margaret would grow to love each other and when Henrys intermittent fragile mental state threatens his crown, its Margaret who fights the hardest to keep it. Shes not one to sit idly back and watch the throne that belongs to her son Edward be snatched up by the Yorkists, shell fight like her mother and grandmother before her. And dont we all know that any woman bold enough to stand up to the world of man is instantly labeled a bitch, or in the case of the 15th century a she-wolf!

But Margaret was so much more and I really enjoyed getting to know her. Her strength and tenacity when affronted with adversity, and with an entire country against her, was inspiring and I will forever look at her in a different light.

In The Queen of Last Hopes Higginbotham successfully gives a voice to one of the most maligned women in history and in usual fashion, with spot-on historical accuracy and skillful writing, its one you wont want to miss!


For more information, please visit Susan Higginbotham's WEBSITE and BLOG.

FTC DISCLOSURE: A review copy was sent to me by the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.

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