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Margaret of Anjou: She-Wolf of France, Twice Queen of England Hardcover – 15 April 2023

by Joanna Arman (Author)
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In 1445 a fifteen-year-old French girl left her homeland to marry the son of the great warrior Henry V. Sixteen years later, her husband had lost his throne and she had fled into exile. For a decade, she struggled to reclaim the throne of England before her final and shattering defeat at the Battle of Tewkesbury. It marked the final destruction of the House of Lancaster by Yorkist King Edward IV and his brothers. Margaret lost more than her family: she was also vilified. Shakespeare cast her as a sadistic killer who murdered the noble Richard, Duke of York. History cast her as a manipulative seductress whose destructive ambition was a major cause of the Wars of the Roses. Margaret of Anjou remains one of the most notorious consorts in medieval history, the queen we love to hate. But is her reputation deserved, or was she simply caught between the machinations and rivalries of powerful men? By examining Margaret’s life and actions in detail, this biography reveals a new side to the last foreign-born queen of medieval England. Margaret came from a family of strong women. Faced with hardship in the first years of her marriage, Margaret’s choices arose from a conviction that it was natural for a woman to take control in the absence of male leadership. A wealth of records have been left behind, allowing historians to investigate Margaret’s career as a beloved wife and, later, as the leader of a political faction struggling to secure the crown for her family. If the course of history had run differently, would she instead be considered a heroic warrior queen today – perhaps even England’s Joan of Arc?
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Amberley Publishing
  4. Publication date
    15 April 2023
  5. Dimensions
    15.6 x 3.3 x 23.39 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    144568358X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1445683584
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
9 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Gareth B Streeter
5.0 out of 5 stars An important book about a maligned Queen
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 June 2023
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Recent years have seen a sharp reassessment of the leading figures from the Wars of the Roses. While we may dispute some of the conclusions, history lovers will generally agree that there's two sides to every story.

But for too-long, Margaret of Anjou - the real "red Queen" and leader of the Lancastrian faction from at least 1455 to 1470 - has either been ignored or maligned. She faced impossible circumstances and too little is made of the things she got right.

This book is a welcome chance to look at events from the "she wolf's" perspective. While sympathetic to Margaret, it does not treat the Lancastrian Queen with sycophancy. Instead it delivers a balanced critique.

It is easy to read and logically thought out. I recommend it to anyone interested in this era. And if you're not interested in this era, you probably should be :-).
2 people found this helpful
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Kirsty
4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly sympathetic look on the Lancastrian queen
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 July 2023
Margaret of Anjou, known to history as a She-Wolf, vilified, and much maligned for centuries.

As wife to King Henry VI, she became embroiled in the Wars of the Roses, the powerhouse behind the Lancastrian faction only to be cruelly judged, sharply criticised or simply ignored for every action she took.

In this new biography by Joanna Arman, readers can comprehensively re-examine the Lancastrian queen which presents a flipped perspective on the life of Margaret. Refreshingly sympathetic, Arman's research allows the reader to understand the Lancastrian queen's motives along with that of the actions that surrounded her in the face of turmoil.

No longer is Margaret simply remembered for the troubles and rumours that many surrounded her with, but instead the reader is able to gain a much deeper insight into her character, her strengths, and her successes.

While this is indeed a more positive outlook on the Lancastrian queen, the author remains balanced in their approach that will therefore allow the reader to form their own justified opinion of Margaret.

A thoughtfully written biography, Arman's comfortable writing is easy to follow that made this a book that I devoured at a rapid pace. This biography will be sure to please history fans.
One person found this helpful
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Lubu
3.0 out of 5 stars So so
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 December 2023
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The book seems rushed (more an overview of other sources) and the proofreading errors make this an unrecommenable book. A real pity as I was looking forward to learning more about Margaret of Anjou
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Sharon Connolly
5.0 out of 5 stars Balanced, critical and empathetic study
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 May 2024
At last! A balanced, objective biography of Margaret of Anjou. Peeling away the centuries of misunderstanding, rumours and misinformation, Joanna Arman takes a new look at the historical record and presents a version of Margaret of Anjou, the long-suffering wife of the mentally-fragile king, Henry VI, that is much closer to the living, breathing woman she was. This does not mean that Margaret’s actions are excused away, that she is suddenly assessed as a saint. Rather, Joanna Arman presents Margaret of Anjou’s actions against the backdrop of the times; the challenges she was facing, and the actions she had to take in order to preserve her husband’s crown and her son’s inheritance.

Margaret is presented as a human being, prone to making mistakes just like the rest of us. She is also a woman, challenged with holding her own in a man’s world – and in a time of war. Joanna Arman presents the complete queen; a woman, a wife, a mother. And a leading protagonist in the Wars of the Roses. The book is a fascinating analysis of this influential queen, of her life, decisions and struggles that eventually led to her losing everything; her son, her husband and her crown.

Told with empathy, balance and passion, I defy anyone to not feel moved and invigorated by this fascinating study of a woman who had fought hard to hold on to everything, but lost it all. Faced with her husband’s mental illness and military ineptitude, Margaret tried to fill the void, to be king and queen. The male dominated society of 15th century England would not permit it. One wonders what Margaret might have achieved had she been allowed to take the reins of government. Her deadly rivalry with Richard, Duke of York, however, meant court factions would always manoeuvre against her, even after York’s death at Wakefield.

Joanna Arman has taken great care to ensure that Margaret of Anjou: She-Wolf of France, Twice Queen of England, is a biography of the queen. It is not a Lancastrian whitewash, nor a Yorkist hate-filled pamphlet. Margaret of Anjou is the centre of attention, the woman held out for appraisal, for assessment, for praise and criticism. That it is at once balanced, critical and empathetic is testament to Joanna Arman’s skill as the queen’s biographer.
One person found this helpful
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Anonymous
2.0 out of 5 stars Ok
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 June 2023
Not great I didn’t enjoy this one.
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