Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses

Most accounts of the Wars of the Roses have focused largely on the men involved. Here British journalist and biographer Gristwood (Arbella: England's Lost Queen) concentrates on the women tied to those men and their roles in the conflict during the second half of the 15th century. By exploring the lives of seven women—Marguerite of Anjou (wife of Henry VI), Cecily Neville (mother of Edward IV), Elizabeth Woodville (mother of the princes in the Tower), Anne Neville (wife of Richard III), Margaret of Burgundy (sister of Edward IV and Richard III), Elizabeth of York (Edward IV's daughter and wife to Henry VII), and Margaret Beaufort (mother to Henry VII)—Gristwood shows their strongly interconnected roles during the wars. Naturally, each woman's primary role was to marry and produce an heir, but Gristwood shows how they also exuded influence by directing public opinion, conspiring for power, and acting as regents in both official and unofficial capacities.