Marguerite: Queen of
England
From the moment Henry
VI's new queen, Marguerite of Anjou, sets foot on English soil she is despised
by the English as a foreigner, and blamed for the failures of the hundred years
war in France.
Her enemies impede her
role as the king’s consort and when Henry sinks into apparent madness her bid
to become regent is rejected. Marguerite must fight, not only for her own position
but to maintain Henry’s possession of the crown.
The ambitious Duke, Richard
of York seizes control of the country, thrusting Marguerite aside and inflating
the mutual hatred between the houses of York and Lancaster. But the queen
refuses to relinquish power and fights determinedly for the rights of her son, Edward
of Lancaster.
The long and bitter
civil conflict, that has come to be known as the war of the roses, commences.
Purchase
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Excerpt
1481 - Dampierre-sur-Loire, Anjou
I am the dowager queen, and I should be in England, housed in splendour, lauded, pampered, surrounded by royal grandchildren but instead I am exiled, confined to this backwater in France. Queen of obscurity, of notoriety. I curse each day as it dawns, bringing another unendurable four and twenty hours in which to think … to remember. Little more than a pauper, I am a pensioner of King Louis. I am exiled, ousted and excluded from the country over which I once ruled. Defeat sits heavily on me. My body pains me, my heart aches and my mind is tortured. How did it ever come to this?
I am a victim of
treason, betrayal and regicide. Yes – regicide, the cold-blooded murder
of an anointed king and the theft of his crown. Gentle Henry, my husband was
brought low by the ambition of the cursed Duke of York and his devil-spawned
son.
Even while serving the
fifth Henry in France, York chafed against Lancaster, smarting each time a
better man was shown greater favour than himself. He coveted riches, he coveted
power, no matter the cost, and he sneered at Henry’s efforts to reign
peaceably.
The moment I arrived in
England as Henry’s queen, I became the focus for York’s hatred. He despised me
as a foreigner and a woman, and believing their claim superior to that of
Lancaster, the House of York coveted the crown for years. They misliked the way
Henry heeded my advice. My directives influenced the king more often than
York’s and oh, how that wounded him!
For a long time, our
mutual dislike simmered, increasing and spreading like bubbles in a boiling pot
until it became so hot, so virulent that it overflowed, splitting the court
asunder and forcing cousin to side against cousin.
As England’s noble
houses wrought violence against themselves and kin slaughtered kin, dark clouds
gathered over England and the rivers ran with blood. With York so close to the
crown he could almost grasp it, civil war was inevitable. Spurred on by his
kinsmen and his litter of flea-ridden pups, York reached out for what was mine,
and in the end, he took it.
On the day we slew York
and his son at Wakefield I thought we had won, but his spawn soon replaced him.
The repugnant Edward took up his father’s banner. Edward the regicide, the
usurper who killed my son, and murdered my king. They locked me
away but even when I begged to be allowed to die, he forced me to live.
My life since has been
worse than a thousand deaths.
I can barely recall the
young, green girl I once was, unskilled in policy, and a stranger to the
country I would come to love.
A lifelong history enthusiast and avid reader, Judith holds a BA in English/Creative writing and a Masters in Medieval Studies. She lives on the coast of West Wales where she writes both fiction and non-fiction. She is best known for her novels set in the Medieval and Tudor period, focussing on the perspective of historical women but recently she has written a trilogy from the perspective of Henry VIII himself.
Judith is also a
founder member of a re-enactment group called The Fyne Companye of Cambria
which is when and why she began to experiment with sewing historical garments.
She now makes clothes and accessories both for the group and others. She is not
a professionally trained sewer but through trial, error and determination has
learned how to make authentic looking, if not strictly historically accurate
clothing. A non-fiction book about Tudor clothing, How to Dress like a Tudor,
was published in 2023 by Pen and Sword.
She runs a small
seaside holiday let in Aberporth, and when she has time for fun, she likes to garden and restore antique doll houses. You can find her on most social media
platforms.
Her novels include:
A Song of Sixpence: the
story of Elizabeth of York
The Beaufort Chronicle:
the life of Lady Margaret Beaufort (three book series)
The Henrician Chronicle:
comprising of:
A Matter of Conscience:
Henry VIII, the Aragon Years (Book One of The Henrician Chronicle)
A Matter of Faith: Henry
VIII, the Days of the Phoenix (Book Two of The Henrician Chronicle)
A Matter of Time: Henry
VIII, the Dying of the Light (Book Three of The Henrician Chronicle)
The Kiss of the
Concubine: a story of Anne Boleyn
The Winchester Goose: at
the court of Henry VIII
Intractable Heart: the
story of Katheryn Parr
Sisters of Arden: on the
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Heretic Wind: the
life of Mary Tudor, Queen of England
Peaceweaver
The Forest Dwellers
The Song of Heledd
The Book of Thornhold
A Daughter of Warwick:
the story of Anne Neville, Queen of Richard III
Marguerite: Hell Hath No
Fury!
Author Links:
Website: http://www.judithmarnopp.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudithArnopp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetudorworldofjuditharnopp
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/judith-arnopp-ba999025
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Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jarnopp.bsky.social
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/judith-arnopp
Amazon Author
Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Judith-Arnopp/e/B003CGLWLA/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4088659.Judith_Arnopp
