The Letters of Margaret of Anjou - by Helen E Maurer & B M Cron (Paperback)

About the Book

New study and edition of the remarkable letter collection of Margaret of Anjou, bringing all her correspondence together in one volume for the first time.

Book Synopsis

New study and edition of the remarkable letter collection of Margaret of Anjou, bringing all her correspondence together in one volume for the first time.

2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award Winner

Margaret of Anjou remains a figure of controversy. As wife to the weak King Henry VI, she was on the losing side in the first phase of the Wars of the Roses. Yorkist propaganda vilifying Margaret was consolidated by Shakespeare: his portrait of a warlike and vengeful queen - "a tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide" - became the widely-accepted view, which up until recently had been little questioned.

However, Margaret's letters, collected here in full for the first time, have their own story to tell - and present a rather different picture. In her words and the words of her contemporaries, both friend and foe, they reveal a woman who lived according to the noble standards of her time. She enjoyed the hunt, she practised her faith, and she tried to help or protect those who called upon her for assistance, as was expected of a queen and "good lady". Henry's mental breakdown, the birth of their son and growing tensions among the lords of the land forced her to step outside the life she would have expected to live. This study of Margaret's letters establishes the scope of a late medieval queen's concerns, while providing a unique account of this extraordinary woman.

HELEN MAURER and B.M. CRON are both independent scholars; their work has focussed on Margaret of Anjou for many years.

Review Quotes

The very commendable volume demonstrates highly skilled and meticulous in-depthresearch...[it]proves a rich and invaluable source, complex in its substantial details, at times highly entertaining, to thoseworking with fifteenth century Anglo-Frenchnetworks, politics, and power.-- "H-SOZ-KULT"

[This book] will become the standard reference work for Margaret's letters. . . . The editors have succeeded in their aim of providing a counterpoint in the normalcy of Margaret's activities as queen, certainly before Henry VI's collapse in 1453, to her more-studied role as a leading player in the struggle for the English throne between 1455 and 1471.--James Ross, University of Winchester "Speculum"

Will be useful primarily to scholars focused on research related to Margaret of Anjou, queenship, and epistolary writing.--Michele Seah "Parergon"

Helen Maurer and Boni Cron are to be congratulated on such a scholarly and complete edition of this hitherto scattered material which will provide a useful resource for all future studies of Margaret of Anjou.-- "THE RICARDIAN"

It is difficult to think of two more qualified historians to provide a much-needed new edition of letters to, from, and about Margaret. . . . [T] letters in this critical edition are not new, but the new editors' detailed and knowledgeable commentary on each are alone a strong recommendation for this edition.--Peter Russell "Journal of British Studies"

This meticulous compilation of the 15th-century English queen's letters is much more than just a collection of texts. . . . The extensive research makes this a valuable resource for understanding the people and institutions of medieval England at a time of civil disturbance. Highly recommended.-- "CHOICE"