Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses - Softcover

Gristwood, Sarah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0465060986 ISBN 13: 9780465060986

Publisher: Basic Books, 2014

Synopsis

The Wars of the Roses that convulsed 15th-century England sprang from a family quarrel as fraught and intimate as any before or since. It is often viewed in terms of its male protagonists but, as this rich, epic history makes clear, women played a key role, among them the Yorkist matriarch Cecily Neville; Margaret of Anjou, formidable wife of the mad King Henry VI; and Margaret Beaufort, whose ambition for her son ushered in the Tudor dynasty.

About this title

Review:

"Gristwood's sensitive approach marks out Blood Sisters as much more than the narrative of an age.... It is an exploration of what it meant to be a medieval queen.... A compelling portrait of this bloody age, complete with the heartbreak and triumphs that went with it."--The Spectator

"A new and welcome perspective on the Wars of the Roses."--Sunday Times (London)

"Entertaining and vividly drawn."--Literary Review

"A revolutionary approach. For too long, history has been the purview of men, of kings and their battles, wars, conquests, murders and thirst for power.... Gristwood's perspective and lively writing are refreshing."--Toronto Star

"Arguing persuasively for the existence of a 'female network, '... Gristwood details the paths of seven royal women who transcended their roles as diplomatic pawns and heir producers."--The New Yorker

Book Description:

"[A] gem of a book... enlivened by incisive analysis, exquisite detail and an elegant and witty style."-Alison Weir, BBC History Magazine

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0465060986
• ISBN 13: 9780465060986
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432