So too Edward has become the dominant force of the house of York, and Cecily is his “Captain Mother. The beliefs such as religion and superstition, the difficulties and danger of childbirth are vividly portrayed as Cecily bears 12 (yes 12!

I am a huge fan of history from the 1300s to the 1600s and this book was the perfect read for historical fiction of this period. Cecily’s role in these events seems overplayed (see above, regarding the flight from Ludlow), but perhaps not by much. He had nothing whatsoever to do with Joan of Arc and he was Regent of England while Henry VI was in France for his coronation. This book is about a powerful, ambitious and intelligent woman who broke tradition in so many ways, she took risks to protect and advance her family and I was absolutely sucked into this book from the very first page.

There are two possible reasons for this: a) I have a bit more of a sense of the backstory that went into this book (thanks to the afterword and the talk I attended on Zoom with her and Laynesmith) and it made me appreciate some aspects of it which I might not have otherwise - or at least understand them. It was fascinating to read about two extremely different people trying to strive and survive together. It isn't anti-men, in fact her relationship and alliance with her husband is one of the strongest themes in the book. Look, I’m not a diehard Lancastrian, most of my favourite Lancastrians are dead by this time, and their policies were more aligned with York than Henry VI’s. This way I got to read a narrative more geared towards assessing the individuals one by one, as the author was prevent from falling into the red vs white rose dichotomy plot device, which I have seen swallow up too many of the weaker authors who throw subtlety out of the window because of the dramatic promise a York vs Lancaster story offers.

Her depictions of the heads of state are great, put vivid physical descriptions and personalities to legendary names. She did just that, completing her novel while studying for a creative writing MA at the University of Warwick. The version of Cecily Neville that Garthwaite has crafted is fierce, fearless, inspirational, empowered.Garthwaite clearly knows her stuff, and is happy to leap across the sea to France, show you what’s happening there, leap back, drag you around castles in England, leap over to Burgundy. But when the King is beset by Gloucester on the one hand promoting all-out war against France and her uncle Cardinal Beaufort arguing for peace, whilst also promoting the interests of his brother's sons over Cecily (his sister's daughter), Richard and Cecily are always going to be on the losing side. In the past I have done some reading on the Hundred Years War, but very little on the War of the Roses – I always found it very confusing. The will of God… that any man - or woman indeed - may, according to their courage, shape His will to their purpose.

Together Cecily and Richard make a formidable team with Cecily becoming more involved in events than would normally be expected of a wife.

Perhaps I went into this comparing it to The Sunne in Splendour, which I've said before is the pinnacle of historical fiction for me, and perhaps that coloured my experience with this book. From the opening chapter, in which 16-year-old Cecily - already married for some years to Richard - forces herself to watch the burning of Joan of Arc to prove her husband is loyal to the king in whose name the sentence is carried out, through myriad births and (sadly) far too many infant deaths, and the navigation of the shifting sands of always-changing political alliances, to the final tumultuous scenes, we watch the growth and maturation of a strong and very complex woman through often exquisite, jewel-like prose.