The Red Queen

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Margaret Beaufort is a the last hope of the Lancaster family. If she marries and has a son the Lancaster family has a hope of holding on to the throne of England if not then the Yorks are sure to take over.

Margaret is forced to marry Edmund Tudor when she is little more than a child. Soon widowed and pregnant Margaret determines that her son will one day be king of England. But her child is taken from her and she is married off to another man during the famed Cousins War. She bides her time and conspires with her former Brother-in-law to raise Henry to be King.

Windowed a second time Margaret conspires to marry a man that will help her get in good with the York court and further her agenda to put Henry on the throne. She befriends Queen Elizabeth Woodruff and conspires to marry her son to the Queens eldest daughter to further her scheme of putting her son Henry on the throne

Another great book by Philippa Gregory that brings to life the woman history seems to forget. Margaret Beaufort is not a woman I liked...she was a full of jealous, deceit and bitterness. But despite that (and knowing what happens) you find yourself cheering for the underdog Margaret. She never once wavers from what she sees as her destiny of being the mother to the future King.

These books remind us of the adage behind every great man is a great woman.


View all my reviews