She examines Cecily Neville, the wife of Richard Duke of York, who was deprived of being queen when her husband died at the Battle of Wakefield Elizabeth Woodville, a widow with several children who married Edward IV in secret and was crowned queen consort Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, whose ambitions centred on her son and whose persuasions are likely to have lead her husband Lord Stanley, previously allied with the Yorkists, to play his part in Henry’s victory. In this completely original book, acclaimed author Sarah Gristwood sheds light on a neglected dimension of English history: the impact of Tudor women on the Wars of the Roses. These years were also packed with women’s drama and – in the tales of conflicted maternity and monstrous births – alive with female energy.

The reality though, argues Sarah Gristwood, was quite different. The events of the Wars of the Roses are usually described in terms of the men involved Richard, Duke of York, Henry VI, Edward IV and Henry VII. It is a fiery history of Queens, the perils of power and of how the Wars of the Roses were ended – not by knights in battle, but the sinewy political skills of women. Captivating and original, this is historical writing of the most important kind.From best-selling historian, Sarah Gristwood comes the true story behind Philippa Gregory’s recent novels – the women who gave birth to the Tudor dynasty. Until now, the lives of these women have remained little known to the general public.Sarah Gristwood tells their stories in detail for the first time. She examines, among others, Cecily Neville, who was deprived of being queen when her husband died at the Battle of Wakefield Elizabeth Woodville, the commoner who married Edward IV in secret Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, whose love and ambition for her son knew no bounds. In this completely original book, Sarah Gristwood sheds light on a neglected dimension of English history: the impact of Tudor women on the Wars of the Roses. But these years were also packed with women's drama and - in the tales of conflicted maternity and monstrous births - alive with female energy. The events of the Wars of the Roses are usually described in terms of the men involved: Richard Duke of York, Henry VI, Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII. 'Blood Sisters' is the thrilling history of the noblewomen who endured the Wars of the Roses.

Blood Sisters by Sarah Gristwood