Customer Reviews

The King's Mother: Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby

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Lady Margaret Beaufort was the Countess of Richmond and Derby and the mother of a king, Henry VII, whose coronation put the finishing touches on the War of the Roses. Looking at her life is a wonderful way to examine this pivotal period in English history as she was a pivotal person, herself, during this period. Sometimes she was a pawn in the plans of others but often she created her own destiny, while all the time remaining a creature of politics and a survivor at a time when very many did not. The authors have done their research well and provide a very detailed account. Often the financial details can be very revealing and occasionally monotonous to the casual historian but always important. This is a very good study of an important woman.

Let's face it, women of the medieval times aren't too well known, and those that are, such Eleanor of Aquitaine, are hidden behind shadows and are really only noticed through the male figure(s) in her life.

That being said, Jones and Underwood did a great job in illustrating just who Margaret Beaufort really was. Not only do they capture the influence that she had and the political maneuvering that she had to do, but they also capture her life after her son became king, showing her role in religious houses and orders as well as the universities.

A great bio for a great woman. Anyone studying the Tudors should read this book. Anyone, for that matter, interested in England in the fifteenth century must read this book. Margaret Beaufort's role was just too important.

This is a thorough and competent study of Lady Margaret Beaufort. Study - not biography. At times it's almost too thorough; it presents a huge amount of information, but doesn't always do so in a lively manner, so that it occasionally reads like a dense catalogue of names, dates and events.

If you're after an easy-to-read biography that rushes along like a riveting novel, this is probably not what you want (Desmond Seward's The Wars of the Roses: Through the Lives of Five Men and Women of the Fifteenth Century might be a better option). But if you're already familiar with the woman and her era and want to read a detailed academic study, or if you're studying fifteenth century England and want reliable academic history instead of popular history of doubtful accuracy, you couldn't ask for more.