Margaret of Anjou: Queenship and Power in Late Medieval England [Paperback]

Helen E. Maurer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2005

Margaret of Anjou was a vengeful and violent woman, or so we have been told, whose vindictive spirit fuelled the fifteenth-century dynastic conflict, the Wars of the Roses. In Shakespeare's rendering she becomes an adulterous queen who mocks her captive enemy, Richard, duke of York, before killing him in cold blood. Shakespeare's portrayal has proved to be remarkably resilient, because Margaret's queenship lends itself to such an assessment. In 1445, at the age of fifteen, she was married to the ineffectual Henry VI, a move expected to ensure peace with France and an heir to the throne. Eight years later, while she was in the later stages of her only pregnancy, Henry suffered a complete mental collapse that left him catatonic for roughly a year and a half: Margaret came to the political forefront. In the aftermath of the king's illness, she became an indefatigable leader of the Lancastrian loyalists in their struggle against their Yorkist opponents. Margaret's exercise of power was always fraught with difficulty: as a woman, her effective power was dependent upon her invocation of the authority of her husband or her son. Her enemies lost no opportunity to charge her with misconduct of all kinds. More than five hundred years after Margaret's death this examination of her life and career allows a more balanced and detached view.

Editorial Reviews

Review

We are in Maurer's debt for providing new perspectives on her subject, which no student of later Lancastrian politics or medieval queenship should neglect. Maurer tells a very readable and engaging story.... Such a significant and long overdue reappraisal must be welcomed. --Reviews in History

Maurer illuminates medieval queenship in a male-dominated world, and convincingly re-interprets the full records of Margaret that have survived, including a wonderful cache of her letters... She draws a picture of a highly intelligent, conscientious woman, powerless without her husband's authority, and much maligned in contemporary rumour. --BBC History

About the Author

HELEN MAURER has taught at the University of California, Irvine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Boydell Press (February 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184383104X
• ISBN-13: 978-1843831044
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,837,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Analysis, not biography, November 5, 2003

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Margaret of Anjou: Queenship and Power in Late Medieval England (Hardcover)

First off, let me say that this book is not a biography of Margaret of Anjou (1492-1549). What this book is is a look at what it meant to be Queen of England in the Middle Ages, and how Margaret worked within and around the roles of woman and queen. The book defines the queen's prescribed roles as bringer of political advantages, impartial intercessor with the king, and bearer of an heir to the throne. The author shows that Margaret was careful to live up to these roles, to the best of her ability, and only found herself forced out of them by the power politics surrounding her husband's incapacity and the subsequent War of the Roses.

Overall, I found this to be a good book, but not a great one. The author does not give any unnecessary background on any of the people she discusses, and indeed the academic analysis nature of the book gives it a choppy, uneven feel. The lack of background means that you *must* be familiar with the history of Margaret of Anjou, or you will quickly find yourself lost amid the analysis. Also, as this work is written as a scholarly analysis, it is very dry and makes poor bedtime reading.

So, if you are looking for a history of Margaret of Anjou, then I recommend that you look elsewhere. But, if you know about Margaret and want to understand her better as Queen of England, then you should read this book. Overall, I give this book a rather guarded recommendation.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent analysis of an active queen, beyond the biographical details, July 30, 2005

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Margaret of Anjou: Queenship and Power in Late Medieval England (Hardcover)

Married off at fifteen to the weak-minded and ineffectual Henry VI, Margaret -- daughter of the glittering Duke René of Anjou -- was one of the most powerful (and complex) personalities of the period called the "Wars of the Roses." Shakespeare's depiction of her as the "she-wolf of France" probably was closer to the truth than many of his characterizations. But in addition to explaining the details of her life, Maurer is interested in exploring the motivations that drive a woman placed in power by circumstances -- and she's careful to distinguish "power" from "authority," for Margaret's world depended on hierarchy and rank; public power wielded by a woman required subtlety, even in a queen. A first-rate, thoughtful analysis of the circumstances under which "queenship" becomes "kingship."