Cecily: An epic feminist retelling of the War of the Roses

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I wanted to see her watch Elizabeth Woodville take everything that Cecily believed was going to be hers.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Above all I wanted her reaction to Richard III's usurpation, when her youngest son spreads the rumour that Edward was a bastard. There are times when one may feel a little distant from the 'action', which perhaps is only to be expected when one is reading a woman's point of view on what is very much a politics-and-battles era of 'traditional' history (as opposed to 'herstory'), with some major incidents related through messenger or letter, when Cecily herself wasn't/couldn't be present. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others.So begins this biographical novel of Cecily Neville which follows her and the fortunes of the House of York for 30 years until the ascendency of her son, Edward IV, in 1461. I want to see this Cecily having to deal with her golden son of York when he stoops to marry the daughter of the vacuous Jacquetta and her golden Woodville. A thirty-year international business career made me even more interested in women’s relationship with power. The perils of childbirth are vividly depicted and, in fact, Cecily’s involvement in the political manouverings provides a distraction from her grief.

As someone who is not particularly interested in England’s royal lines, I was drawn to this book by its focus on an influential female who is severely underrated and left out of books/teaching. It was interesting to see her influence and manipulation on all aspects of her life: including the children, her husband and her household. It’s what suggested by the historical record and the work of Matthew Lewis, who she cites as an influence in her acknowledgements. I think if you were unfamiliar with that period of history you may struggle a bit, but if you get through the first few chapters you're richly rewarded.Image: Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland, and her six daughters, from the Neville Book of Hours. I am a relative newbie to historical fiction but I often watch films and programs set in the period of The War of the Roses, so when I saw this book about Duchess Cecily, I jumped to read it. There were however a couple of occasions when she gives direction, not advice, and I did think that a tad strong, given the era.

It doesn’t make the story better, Margaret’s already the villain and Cecily’s hated her for most of the book. I was alerted to it by my friend Brian Wainwright, a fellow historical novelist and Ricardian and without his recommendation I might have passed it by -- scarred by trying to read (not recently) 2 terrible novels about Cecily Duchess of York.

Cecily’s role in these events seems overplayed (see above, regarding the flight from Ludlow), but perhaps not by much.