By Annie Garthwaite
What a triumph of historical fiction! It’s rare to find a book that is so well-written and engaging yet with a very obvious historical accuracy. Garthwaite has done her research, going back to the primary sources to find what actually happened, and who was where when it did. Gaps in the evidence are filled but in a very believable and cohesive way.
I didn’t really know much about Cecily Neville and Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, other than them being the parents of Edward IV and Richard III, so it was really interesting to get to know them a bit better and see in more detail and a very engaging way how their lives unfolded. It was also interesting to see other characters from Cecily’s point of view. Books featuring Edward IV are usually written from the point of view of himself or Elizabeth Woodville, or in the third person, so it was fascinating to see a mother’s point of view of him growing up and his evolution into a man and king.
I also think that starting the story with the burning of Joan of Arc was a good foreshadowing of the story of Cecily’s life that will be told here, up to her son’s accession as Edward IV. It starts with violence and the violence builds in various stages throughout the book as we go through the conflicts and battles of the Wars of the Roses.
The novel doesn’t shy away from darker aspects, like the battles and looting, though there are minimal first-hand battle scenes as Cecily is at a remove from them, though there are many dark moments as Cecily loses children and other family members, and the ups and downs of the York family through fear, imprisonment, and death.
It’s a hugely engaging and emotional book without being overly complex or people-heavy, as the period known as the Wars of the Roses can be. Some non-fiction books it is difficult to keep people and relationships straight in your head, but Garthwaite does a masterful job here of keeping people in line and not letting the story feel stilted at all. I can’t wait to read ‘The King’s Mother’ now!
