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Elizabeth Woodville: Mother of the Princes in the Tower Paperback – April 21, 2010

by David Baldwin (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 130 ratings
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Elizabeth Woodville is a historical character whose life no novelist would ever have dared invent. She has been portrayed as an enchantress, as an unprincipled advancer of her family's fortunes and a plucky but pitiful queen in Shakespeare's histories. She has been alternatively championed and vilified by her contemporaries and five centuries of historians, dramatists and novelists, but what was she really like? In this revealing account of Elizabeth's life David Baldwin sets out to tell the story of this complex and intriguing woman. Was she the malign influence many of her critics held her to be? Was she a sorceress who bewitched Edward IV? What was the fate of her two sons, the 'Princes in the Tower'? What did she, of all people, think had become of them, and why did Richard III mount a campaign of vilification against her? David Baldwin traces Elizabeth's career and her influence on the major events of her husband Edward IV's reign, and in doing so he brings to life the personal and domestic politics of Yorkist England and the elaborate ritual of court life.
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  1. Print length
    240 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    April 21, 2010
  4. Dimensions
    5 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0750938862
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0750938860
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Baldwin is a medieval historian who has taught at the Universities of Leicester and Nottingham for many years. His historical research has focused on the great medieval families in the Midlands and he has contributed articles to historical journals and lectured regularly to societies and conferences in this field. He is the author of six books, The Women of the Cousins' War: The Duchess, The Queen and the King's Mother, The Lost Prince: The Survival of Richard of York, Robin Hood: The English Outlaw Unmasked, Stoke Field: The Last Battle of the Wars of the Roses, and The Kingmaker's Sisters. He lives in Leicester.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sutton; 2nd ed. edition (April 21, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0750938862
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0750938860
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 130 ratings

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David Baldwin

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
130 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Andromeda
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Biography
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2007
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I've always been looking for a book on Elizabeth Woodville. History hasn't been too kind to her yet she was the mother of the princes in the tower. She went from being a widow with two children among the English class to being Queen of England. Its so rare for that to happen. You can understand the secrecy surrounding the marriage in the beginning because the other nobles weren't thrilled to say the least and most likely tried to find ways to keep the marriage from happening unfortunately that would later be used to declare her marriage invalid. How horrible it must have been to lose her husband, have her marriage invalid and lose her two sons. At least she got to live long enough to see her daughter become queen.
9 people found this helpful
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Galla
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting study of a medieval queen
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2012
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Despite all that Baldwin does to try to give the reader an idea of what Elizabeth Woodville "was really like", he is not able to do so. The lack of letters, diaries, journals that she wrote or that were written about her do not exist or are very rare. Despite this obstacle, Baldwin has been able to write an interesting, at times compelling, study of Elizabeth`s life and the events and movements of which she was a part, either as a player or as a victim. Some events can never fully be explained. What was the exact nature of her relationship with Hastings? Why did she come out of sanctuary and join Richard III's court? Why was she finally banished from the court of Henry VII? (Baldwin makes a logical suggestion but it`s still conjecture.) Baldwin`s study is objective and clear, but it is really sad that in the end we can know so little about what medieval women were really like. Elizabeth herself was the daughter-in-law of Cecily Neville, certainly a strong willed powerful woman. She lived at Henry's court briefly with his mother, Margaret Beaufort, another formidable presence. One can only imagine what the interaction between these women must have been!
4 people found this helpful
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Linda M. Botchlett
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2013
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Historically accurate, but the magic was questionable. I have always been fascinated about this story - especially the princes in the tower.
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Elizabeth Woodwille: Mother of Princes in the Tower
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2014
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This book was okay. I had a little trouble reading it, especially the letters written in Medieval language. I did finish the book.
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Claryce King
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2016
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Interesting reading especially since she is an ancestress of mine.....
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Cammie M. Royce
5.0 out of 5 stars me123
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2009
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If you enjoy reading about history this is a book one should read. I read it in 3 days. I couldn't put it down.
2 people found this helpful
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SC Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars Style and Detail Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2014
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Though I've not yet finished the book my comments may be helpful. Throughout the winter I've been reading a fair number of volumes about 15th and 16th century British history. All the authors have more than adequately researched their subjects, and it has let me become acquainted with the real persons behind the political history I learned right through college. This book is no exception and I selected it since it is about an individual rarely mentioned in standard histories. I gave it 4 stars only because I actually made myself charts to keep track of individuals. Names and titles can get a bit confusing, then add to that the matrimonial issues, executions and other sometimes unsavory details and a method of keeping track of who is who is essential. I would say though, that if you are going to read extensively about this era, this should not be the first book to read on the subject.
7 people found this helpful
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Dave
2.0 out of 5 stars Modernize the spelling!
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2020
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While this book does not read very well, it would not have been such a drag if the author did not insist on including lengthy quotes of original material in the original spelling. It just seems unnecessary and rather pretentious. At times I could not even figure out what was meant and in fact, sometimes the rule was not even applied consistently. Just modernize the spelling. We are readers, not researchers poring over original documents.

Also, the author spends too much time quoting secondary authors. This is not an undergraduate level paper. It is supposed to be a history. Base it on original sources and give us your interpretation of them. Don't over rely on the work or opinions of others.
2 people found this helpful
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nikk pilip
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth it
Reviewed in Canada on June 15, 2020
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Absolutely fascinating!!
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Sourti D
5.0 out of 5 stars Très riche et détaillé
Reviewed in France on October 18, 2017
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Très intéressant et très bien documenté. Parfait pour quelqu'un qui comme moi se passionne pour cette femme et son époque.
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Andyvon
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent biography of a fascinating woman.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2018
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This is a very good biography. Elizabeth Woodville was one of the more important and notable characters in English history and certainly of the Wars of the Roses. Her roller-coaster story of rising against all the odds from being a desperate and impoverished young widow with two young children to being Queen of England, back to poverty, back to riches and then back to poverty again wouldn't be credible in fiction - yet it's all perfectly true.

After Elizabeth Grey (Woodville) was widowed she stood for hours beside the road in Northampton with her two young sons hoping to be noticed by the passing King Edward IV to appeal for his help in regaining her dead husband's property and income which had been seized by her mother-in-law. The result was her secret marriage to the king in 1464 which caused a huge national and international scandal when Edward was sheepishly forced to reveal the marriage to Parliament. Elizabeth was a commoner and Edward had scuppered one of many possible royal marriages and international alliances being finalised by his government. It was the talk of Europe. Secondly, Elizabeth had twelve siblings and a huge family who then received land, titles and wealthy marriages which alienated the established English nobility who would usually have been preferred. The Woodvilles made many enemies, especially Edward IV's outspoken brother Richard of Gloucester. When Edward IV died, Edward and Elizabeth's son Edward V was deposed by Richard who took the throne as Richard III (Richard would have been destroyed by the Woodvilles if he hadn't). Elizabeth's two oldest sons were the 'Princes in the Tower' where they were almost certainly murdered on Richard's behalf. Elizabeth and her daughters then fled to sanctuary in Westminster Abbey where Richard tried to coerce them out - almost certainly to kill them they believed. Richard eventually encouraged Elizabeth out of the abbey to trust him with plans that included him marrying his niece, her eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York (eventual mother of Henry VIII) to unite the Houses of York and Lancaster. Elizabeth would then be Queen Mother to her daughter Elizabeth. There was more scandal about that rumour however as Richard was already married to Queen Anne Neville and the commons and Lords were always uncomfortable about his seizing the throne from Edward V. After Richard was killed at Bosworth by the army of Henry Tudor, Henry united the Houses as Henry VII by marrying Elizabeth of York himself which made Elizabeth Woodville Queen Mother again (grandmother of Henry VIII and great-grandmother of the other Tudor monarchs). However, Henry Tudor placed his mother-in-law in a convent where she lived on a small pension until she died almost penniless.

Elizabeth Woodville's life was a real roller-coaster. From impoverished widow and young mother she secretly wed the king to become Queen Elizabeth of England. She then became Queen Mother to Edward V but her influence and hatred of Richard III led him to seize the throne (from her son and her influence) to save his own neck. Elizabeth was then dispossessed of everything to become a penniless refugee in Westminster Abbey in fear of her life. She was the mother of the two murdered Princes in the Tower. Her eldest daughter then married Henry Tudor to become Queen Elizabeth of York which made Elizabeth Woodville Queen Mother again. She was then stripped of all her power and wealth by Henry and died penniless in a convent.

This book presents this fascinating story very well. It's very readable and the many events, individuals and their relationships are clearly explained in a way which can bog down and lose your interest in other books. Many of the figures are more extensively covered in the huge range of other histories and biographies out there but the central figure here is Elizabeth Woodville and this book presents her very well indeed. I read this book in about three nights and I enjoyed every page. I'm sure you will too.
4 people found this helpful
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ArrowPen
5.0 out of 5 stars Queen Elizabeth der Rosenkriege...
Reviewed in Germany on December 8, 2013
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Elizabeth Woodville galt zu ihrer Zeit als schönste Königin, die jemals auf dem englische Thron saß. Sie entstammte einem sagenumwobenen Geschlecht, verzauberte den damaligen König Edward IV auf Anhieb und verlor später ihre beiden Söhne (die Prinzen im Tower), ihren Mann und den Thron. Ihre Tochter Elizabeth of York aber wurde die erste Tudor Königin.

Man weiß nicht wirklich viel über Elizabeth Woodville. Der Autor, ein renommierter Historiker, zeichnet in seinem Buch ein realistisches Portrait dieser außergewöhnlichen Frau, die während ihrer Zeit als Monarchin zahlreiche Krisen meistern mußte und nach dem Tod des Königs aus ihrem Sanktuarium in der Westminster Abbey heraus um das Überleben der ihr gebliebenen Familie kämpfte.

In einer Zeit, in welcher Politik von Männern gemacht wurde, hatten Frauen nur wenige Möglichkeiten, um Einfluß zu nehmen bzw. zu überleben. Elizabeth Woodville gelingt dies während einer Epoche schlimmster Unruhen mit nicht immer einwandfreien Mitteln, und sie prägt ihre Zeit an der Seite ihres Mannes. Sie ist eine der eher unbekannten Heldinnen der Geschichte, der in diesem Buch ein schönes Denkmal gesetzt wird.
One person found this helpful
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Miss Annette Nelson
1.0 out of 5 stars One Star
Reviewed in Australia on June 4, 2016
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Hard to read, so I gave up on this one.
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