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Overview
Many are familiar with the story of the much-married King Henry VIII of England and the celebrated reign of his daughter, Elizabeth I. But it is often forgotten that the life of the first Tudor queen, Elizabeth of York, Henry’s mother and Elizabeth’s grandmother, spanned one of England’s most dramatic and perilous periods. Now New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir presents the first modern biography of this extraordinary woman, whose very existence united the realm and ensured the survival of the Plantagenet bloodline.
Her birth was greeted with as much pomp and ceremony as that of a male heir. The first child of King Edward IV, Elizabeth enjoyed all the glittering trappings of royalty. But after the death of her father; the disappearance and probable murder of her brothers—the Princes in the Tower; and the usurpation of the throne by her calculating uncle Richard III, Elizabeth found her world turned upside-down: She and her siblings were declared bastards.
As Richard’s wife, Anne Neville, was dying, there were murmurs that the king sought to marry his niece Elizabeth, knowing that most people believed her to be England’s rightful queen. Weir addresses Elizabeth’s possible role in this and her covert support for Henry Tudor, the exiled pretender who defeated Richard at the Battle of Bosworth and was crowned Henry VII, first sovereign of the House of Tudor. Elizabeth’s subsequent marriage to Henry united the houses of York and Lancaster and signaled the end of the Wars of the Roses. For centuries historians have asserted that, as queen, she was kept under Henry’s firm grasp, but Weir shows that Elizabeth proved to be a model consort—pious and generous—who enjoyed the confidence of her husband, exerted a tangible and beneficial influence, and was revered by her son, the future King Henry VIII.
Drawing from a rich trove of historical records, Weir gives a long overdue and much-deserved look at this unforgettable princess whose line descends to today’s British monarch—a woman who overcame tragedy and danger to become one of England’s most beloved consorts.
Praise for Elizabeth of York
“Weir tells Elizabeth’s story well. . . . She is a meticulous scholar. . . . Most important, Weir sincerely admires her subject, doing honor to an almost forgotten queen.”—The New York Times Book Review
“In [Alison] Weir’s skillful hands, Elizabeth of York returns to us, full-bodied and three-dimensional. This is a must-read for Tudor fans!”—Historical Novels Review
“This bracing biography reveals a woman of integrity, who . . . helped [her husband] lay strong groundwork for the success of the new Tudor dynasty. As always in a Weir book, the tenor of the times is drawn with great color and authenticity.”—Booklist
“Weir once again demonstrates that she is an outstanding portrayer of the Tudor era, giving us a fully realized biography of a remarkable woman.”—Huntington News
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780345521378 |
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Publisher: | Random House Publishing Group |
Publication date: | 09/23/2014 |
Pages: | 640 |
Sales rank: | 281,365 |
Product dimensions: | 5.13(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.41(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
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Excerpted from "Elizabeth of York"
by .
Copyright © 2014 Alison Weir.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Illustrations xi
Genealogical Table xvi
Acknowledgments xxi
Introduction xxiii
Prologue: "Now Take Heed What Love May Do" xxvii
1 "The Most Illustrious Maid of York" 3
2 "Madame la Dauphine" 38
3 "This Act of Usurpation" 70
4 "The Whole Design of This Plot" 92
5 "Her Only Joy and Maker" 119
6 "Purposing a Conquest" 142
7 "Our Bridal Torch" 162
8 "In Blest Wedlock" 188
9 "Offspring of the Race of Kings" 223
10 "Damnable Conspiracies" 245
11 "Bright Elizabeth" 260
12 "Elysabeth Ye Quene" 272
13 "Unbounded Love" 287
14 "Doubtful Drops of Royal Blood" 322
15 "The Spanish Infanta" 358
16 "Enduring Evil Things" 383
17 "The Hand of God" 407
18 "Here Lieth the Fresh Flower of Plantagenet" 430
19 "As Long as the World Shall Endure" 446
Appendix I Portraiture 459
Appendix II Elizabeth of York's Ladies and Gentlewomen 471
Select Bibliography 477
Notes and References 503
Index 553
Reading Group Guide
A Conversation with Alison Weir
Random House Reader’s Circle: What inspired you to write Elizabeth of York?
Alison Weir: I have always been interested in women’s histories, especially those of queens, and in the 1970s I did a lot of research on medieval queens and Elizabeth of York. I’m hoping to write three books on the medieval queens, but I felt that Elizabeth deserved a full biography. Over the years many people urged me to write one, but after Sarah Gristwood included Elizabeth in her wonderful book Blood Sisters, about the women who helped shape the Wars of the Roses, I held off. Sarah, most generously, encouraged me to go ahead with the project.
RHRC: What was the hardest part of writing this particular book?
AW: Frustration at gaps in the sources. Sometimes it is just not possible even to speculate. That is the nature of medieval biographies, particularly of women.
RHRC: Do you have a specific writing style?
AW: No, I just do what I do and hope for the best! I think that each book is an improvement on the last in terms of writing style.
RHRC: How did you come up with the title?
AW: The title, Elizabeth of York, was the obvious one; I wanted the subtitle, A Tudor Queen and her World, to sum up the essence of the book.
RHRC: Do you think that historians bring to their work something of their own perceptions and moral codes?
AW: Perhaps, but I think it is important to be as objective as possible, and to look at the subject within the context and moral compass of the age in which they lived. I have been accused, for example, of calling Katherine Howard promiscuous, because she took lovers before and after her marriage to Henry VIII; in modern terms that probably doesn’t make her so, but people in Tudor England certainly made such a judgment. It is tempting to judge historical figures by our own standards, but it should be resisted.
RHRC: What books have influenced your life most?
AW: Possibly the Bible, The Complete Peerage, and Antonia Fraser’s Mary Queen of Scots. Reading that as a teenager, I decided that I wanted to write historical biographies.
RHRC: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
AW: Sarah Gristwood, who has kindly read over the manuscripts of my recent books and offered valuable and constructive comments.
RHRC: What book are you reading now?
AW: Norah Lofts’ Is There Anybody There? She is my all-time favorite author.
RHRC: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
AW: Yes, several, notably Chris Laoutaris, whose new biography, Shakespeare and the Countess, has fully fired my imagination!
RHRC: What are your current projects?
AW: I am writing a biography of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, called The Princess of Scotland; I am completely revising my book The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1991), as I want to update it. I am also planning several novels and a series of books on England’s medieval queens.
RHRC: Can you share a little of The Princess of Scotland with us?
AW: Here’s a tiny taste of this work in progress:
“While the eyes of the world had been focused on Anne Boleyn’s fall, Margaret Douglas, now twenty, had been living in her fool’s paradise with Thomas Howard. For a woman of royal blood to indulge in a clandestine romance was to court scandal and disaster—as the world had just so spectacularly witnessed. Margaret was second in line to the throne, and a valuable counter in the intricate game of diplomacy and power politics; her marriage was in the king’s gift, to be made to his advantage. It was not for her to choose the man she would wed. All the same, when the court moved to Whitehall Palace on June 7, 1536 for the opening of Parliament, she dared to enter into a betrothal, or pre-contract, with Thomas Howard ‘in the presence of witnesses.’ ”
RHRC: Do you see writing as a career?
AW: Yes, absolutely—and a full-time one.
RHRC: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
AW: Getting started. The first paragraph is crucial. Once I have that, I’m away!
RHRC: Do you have to travel much in the process of writing a book?
AW: I visit the important sites of historical interest. It’s very important to immerse yourself in the environment in which events took place.
RHRC: Did you learn anything surprising from writing Elizabeth of York? If so, what was it?
AW: When researching a subject in depth, you always learn a lot about them, even if you thought you were conversant with them beforehand. You never know what the sources will reveal or how they enable you to achieve new perspectives. In researching this book I discovered a link in the royal accounts that literally made my jaw drop. It connected Elizabeth of York with Sir James Tyrell, the man who apparently confessed to murdering her brothers, the Princes in the Tower. No one had made the connection before.
RHRC: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in the book?
AW: Not a thing.
RHRC: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
AW: A huge and heartfelt thank-you for buying and reading my books, and for all the lovely messages and letters that you send me.
1. How important was Elizabeth of York dynastically?
2. Why was the fate of Elizabeth’s brothers, the Princes in the Tower, pivotal to her future? What do you think became of them?
3. Do you think that the Buck letter was genuine? What were Elizabeth’s motives in writing it?
4. How far do you believe that the ballad “The Song of Lady Bessy” portrays real events?
5. What do you think was the significance of Elizabeth’s visit to the Tower in May 1502? Was it connected with Tyrell’s confession?
6. Would you agree that the author has succeeded in discounting assertions that Elizabeth lived under subjugation to Henry VII? Was she a more influential queen than has hitherto been assumed?
7. How much influence did Elizabeth have on her son, Henry VIII? Did her early death have lasting consequences for him?
8. Were you convinced by the theory that Elizabeth died as a result of iron deficiency anaemia rather than puerperal fever?
9. Would you agree that Elizabeth’s relationship with Margaret Beaufort was probably much as it is described in this book? Why do you think Margaret Beaufort is often portrayed as a sinister character? Is there any historical foundation for that?
10. Are you convinced by the author’s assessment of Elizabeth’s character? Did you think she was, as one reviewer suggested, “dull”?
11. Did anything you read about Elizabeth, or the events that took place during her lifetime, surprise you?