THE BEAUFORT WOMAN by Judith Arnopp @JudithArnopp

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

How I discovered this book:  I'd read the prequel, The Beaufort Bride, and wanted to read more!

I liked The Beaufort Bride ~ it was a nicely written piece of historical fiction that got better as it went along, certainly good enough to make me want to read the next book, but I wouldn't have numbered it amongst my favourites.  This book, however, is in a different class.  I don't know how long after the first book it was written, but the writing itself seems to have come on in leaps and bounds.

At first, I wondered if it was simply that I was now reading about the woman, not the young girl, but it's not that; I just felt more passion and depth in this book, far more complex characterisation.  I felt as if I was stepping into the story, rather than just reading about Margaret.   

It's interesting to see different historical writers' take on history, and in The Beaufort Woman, Judith Arnopp had made more of Margaret's involvement with Elizabeth Woodville, the wife of Edward IV, than was probably factual, but I can see why she did this; it's so hard, when writing about a subject as broad as the Wars of the Roses from one point of view, to deliver information, as the key events happened in so many places, with not everyone party to all of them.  I think Ms Arnopp managed to do this masterfully.  As with most books about this complex period, I'd say that it helps if you already know the history before reading the fiction.

But what a story!  I remember commenting after I'd read another book about the period (Jasper, by Tony Riches), that one hardly needs the intrigue of fiction like Game of Thrones, when this stuff all really happened.  This was brought home to me once more.  And something else:  I mentioned, in the Beaufort Bride, that I thought Elizabeth I must have taken certain traits from her great grandmother.  In this, it struck me how Henry VIII took after his grandfather, Edward IV.

Loved it.  Highly recommended.  Now I'm going to see if the third part, The King's Mother, is available yet.