Publisher's Synopsis
The first comprehensive biography in three decades of Margaret Beaufort, the mother of the Tudor Dynasty. During the bloody and uncertain days of the Wars of the Roses, Margaret Beaufort was married to the half-brother of the Lancastrian king Henry VI. A year later she endured a traumatic birth that brought her close to death. She was just thirteen years old. As the battle for royal supremacy raged between the houses of Lancaster and York, Margaret, who was descended from Edward III and thus a critical threat, was forced to give up her son. But few could match Margaret for her boundless determination and steely courage. Surrounded by enemies and conspiracies in the Yorkist court, Margaret remained steadfast, only just escaping the headman's axes as she plotted to overthrow Richard III in her efforts to secure her son the throne. "A pacy narrative, written with a clear love for and detailed knowledge of her subject" - THE SPECTATOR
