Cecily: An epic feminist retelling of the War of the Roses

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This book certainly shows that, but I think most of my issues with this book come down to the timeline. The sack of Ludlow is presented as incredibly traumatic and harrowing while the Yorkist victories are remarkably bloodless.

I really loved the take on Margaret of Anjou too – she’s depicted as a wily, very strong and sometimes sympathetic opponent for Cecily. I am a firm believer that York was exceptionally clever when it came to public opinion, and was a ruthless and canny politician.All the while continuing to give birth and maintaining her religious virtue - how did she have the time? The Yorkist propaganda that Edward of Lancaster was a bastard is made fact but at least rather than being “evil slutty Margaret has an evil affair”, it’s depicted as something she had to do to survive so Garthwaite gets a lot of points for not using it as another way to denigrate Margaret.

This is not a “feminist” novel, if by that is meant one with a protagonist who seeks to improve the rights of women, or who overturns convention. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others.I found myself wondering just how much of the holy, childlike amiability was an act to hide behind while he played everyone off each other for his own amusement? I also really enjoyed the moments away from the politics, between her and Richard where Garthwaite wrote this very loving marriage that will probably surprise most readers given the setting. This was a time when the sons and daughters of noble houses were married in childhood in pursuit of dynastic alliances, although such marriages may not be consummated until some years later. It has the immediacy of Mantel - written in first person, the book makes you feel ‘with’ Cecily, throughout her trials and triumphs.