The Reluctant Queen (Isis Series)

Rating:
Summary: FASCINATING STORY OF A MOST RELUCTANT QUEEN...
Review: This eighth book in the "Queens of England" series by the author, a master storyteller also known to her legion of fans as Victoria Holt, focuses on the life of Anne of York, the daughter of the Earl of Warwick. She went on to become Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III. Her story, told in a first person narrative, is an absorbing work of historical fiction.

The War of Roses had ended and the great Earl of Warwick, the richest and most powerful lord in England, was known as "The Kingmaker". The Earl had ensured the coronation of the former Duke of York as King Edward IV, after having deposed mad King Henry VI of the house of Lancaster. The Earl of Warwick's family, the Nevilles, was in a position of power. Then, the King married Elizabeth Woodville, and it was the Woodvilles who were in the ascendant and the Nevilles in decline. The Earl of Warwick, who had thought himself to be the power behind the throne, suddenly realized that he had supported a King who had every intention of being his own man. This was a notion that was anathema to Warwick, and he used his two daughters, Isabel and Anne, as pawns in a dangerous game of political intrigue.

After her father's death in battle during a political falling out with King Edward IV, Anne went on to marry the love of her life, the King's younger brother, Richard. Through her eyes the reader sees all the political intrigues of the day and the rise and fall of various personages, as the political winds shifted. Despite all of the turbulence around her, Anne and Richard lived many happy years in Northern England, far from the Court of King Edward IV.

When the King died, her world radically changed. Richard, who was chosen to be Lord Protector of the Realm by his brother, chose, instead, to declare his nephew, Edward V, illegitimate, and himself the King. What happened to his nephew, Edward V, as well as Edward's younger brother, remains a mystery to this day. Through Anne's eyes, the reader sees Anne view her changing world with dismay and trepidation, as her husband transformed into someone she barely recognized, and she was thrust into a role for which she had no desire, that of Queen of England.

This is a wonderfully told work of historical fiction by a superlative storyteller. The reader need not have read the prior volumes in the series before reading this one. Each book in the series stands on its own. The entire series, however, is a must read for all those who enjoy well written, historical fiction.

Rating:
Summary: FASCINATING STORY OF A MOST RELUCTANT QUEEN...
Review: This eighth book in the "Queens of England" series by the author, a master storyteller also known to her legion of fans as Victoria Holt, focuses on the life of Anne of York, the daughter of the Earl of Warwick. She went on to become Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III. Her story, told in a first person narrative, is an absorbing work of historical fiction.

The War of Roses had ended and the great Earl of Warwick, the richest and most powerful lord in England, was known as "The Kingmaker". The Earl had ensured the coronation of the former Duke of York as King Edward IV, after having deposed mad King Henry VI of the house of Lancaster. The Earl of Warwick's family, the Nevilles, was in a position of power. Then, the King married Elizabeth Woodville, and it was the Woodvilles who were in the ascendant and the Nevilles in decline. The Earl of Warwick, who had thought himself to be the power behind the throne, suddenly realized that he had supported a King who had every intention of being his own man. This was a notion that was anathema to Warwick, and he used his two daughters, Isabel and Anne, as pawns in a dangerous game of political intrigue.

After her father's death in battle during a political falling out with King Edward IV, Anne went on to marry the love of her life, the King's younger brother, Richard. Through her eyes the reader sees all the political intrigues of the day and the rise and fall of various personages, as the political winds shifted. Despite all of the turbulence around her, Anne and Richard lived many happy years in Northern England, far from the Court of King Edward IV.

When the King died, her world radically changed. Richard, who was chosen to be Lord Protector of the Realm by his brother, chose, instead, to declare his nephew, Edward V, illegitimate, and himself the King. What happened to his nephew, Edward V, as well as Edward's younger brother, remains a mystery to this day. Through Anne's eyes, the reader sees Anne view her changing world with dismay and trepidation, as her husband transformed into someone she barely recognized, and she was thrust into a role for which she had no desire, that of Queen of England.

This is a wonderfully told work of historical fiction by a superlative storyteller. The reader need not have read the prior volumes in the series before reading this one. Each book in the series stands on its own. The entire series, however, is a must read for all those who enjoy well written, historical fiction.