📖 Publication Day Review ~ The King's Mother by Annie Garthwaite

Penguin
11 July 2024
Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

1461. Through blood and battle Edward has gained England’s throne – king by right and conquest – eighteen years old and unstoppable. Cecily has piloted his rise to power and stands at his shoulder now, first to claim the title King’s Mother.

But to win a throne is not to keep it and war is come again. As brother betrays brother, and trusted cousins turn treacherous, other mothers rise up to fight for other sons. Cecily must focus her will to defeat every challenge. Wherever they come from. Whatever the cost.

For there can be only one King, and only one King’s Mother.

📖 My Review

The King's Mother takes us into the turbulent world of the War of the Roses when cousins were fighting against each other. Cecily Neville has grieved the loss of her husband and eldest son but has never lost sight of the crown. When her son Edward takes the throne from the beleaguered Henry VI, Cecily, at last, takes her place at the new King's side and proudly stands with him as the King's Mother. 

However, fate is fickle and the crown of England never sits easily especially when Edward's controversial marriage to Elizabeth Woodville only makes more divisions within the House of York. The York brothers are a fascinating bunch. Edward IV by the Grace of God, and the skill of his sword, is King of England, whilst it is his brother, George, Duke of Clarence who is the proverbial thorn in his side. Younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is depicted in a more sympathetic light which I rather enjoyed and with a new slant on a old story it gave me much to ponder over.

In this dangerous Game of Kings we soon become immersed in Cecily's life as she fights for the security of her son and once Edward is recognised as King she does all she can to ensure the stability of her family, often remorseless in her regard for those she considers her enemies. That Cecily was a strong matriarch is never doubted but it is her absolute strength of spirit and stoic determination which keeps this tentative house of York from floundering but even the King's Mother is no match against deadly conspiracy and political unrest which seems to thwart all her attempts to keep the peace. The author captures the unease of the time perfectly and jumping at shadows we become privy to a world of deadly conspiracies and hidden secrets which, if discovered, will blow the House of York wide open. 

The King's Mother follows on from this author's first book Cecily which explained much about Cecily's determined personality and her earlier life as a young wife and mother. This continuation is just as expertly written, beautifully researched and historically accurate it can be read as a standalone however, Cecily Neville is such a fascinating woman that her life, and that of her family, deserves to be discovered from the very beginning of the York story.

About the Author

Annie Garthwaite grew up in a working-class community in the north-east of England. She studied English at the University of Wales before embarking on a thirty-year international business career. In 2017 she returned to her first love, books, and set out to write the story of a woman she had always felt drawn to: Cecily Neville. This became her debut novel, Cecily.

@anniegarthwaite #TheKingsMother

@PenguinBooksUK