Cecily Neville: Mother of Kings

by Amy Licence

Known to be proud, regal and beautiful, Cecily Neville was born in the year of the great English victory at Agincourt and survived long enough to witness the arrival of the future Henry VIII, her great-grandson. Her life spanned most of the fifteenth century. Cecily s marriage to Richard, Duke of York, was successful, even happy, and she travelled with him wherever his career dictated, bearing his children in England, Ireland and France, including the future Edward IV and Richard III. What was the substance behind her claim to be queen by right ? Would she indeed have made a good queen during these turbulent times? One of a huge family herself, Cecily would see two of her sons become kings of England but the struggles that tore apart the Houses of Lancaster and York also turned brother against brother. Cecily s life cannot have been easy. Images of her dripping in jewels and holding her own alternative court might belie the terrible heartache of seeing her descendants destroy each other. In attempting to be the family peacemaker, she frequently had to make heart-wrenching choices, yet these did not destroy her. She battled on, outliving her husband, friends, rivals and most of her children, to become one of the era s great survivors.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Medieval, Medieval History, Historical, British Literature

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 2014

About the author

Medieval and Tudor historian, with a particular interest in women's lives and experiences, also dabble in Modernism. I write fiction and non-fiction, also journalism for The Guardian, BBC History website, The New Statesman, The Huffington Post, The English Review and The London Magazine. I appeared in TV documentaries "The Real White Queen and her Rivals" and "The Private Lives of the Tudors." Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Reviews

[Dorothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bogged down by every conceivable piece of research unearthed that doesn't add materially to story and adds innumerable names of questionable value or interest. Lengthy passages describing people and places that Cecily MIGHT have gone to or known and things she MAY have done feel like filler to lengthen the book. While I respect the clear notations that these were surmises and interpretations, it felt like a clumsy device to provide historical context. I ultimately felt that I knew enough of Cecily's story and the Wars of the Roses from other readings that this was just not adding substantially to my knowledge or interest so I put it aside at about 45% completion.

[Toni Kely-Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was such a disappointment. I really should say I DNFed this book because I read until almost half-way and then skimmed until I read the last two chapters. I understand the lack of primary sources is difficult for an author to draw concrete conclusions, but the constant use of likely, possibly, probably, might have, etc. kept jolting me out of the reading experience and left me with so much uncertainty about Cecily herself. I understand the need for it, but it can be done well by an author, but for me Amy Licence did this poorly.

What I didn’t enjoy either was then she would fill pages with detail about people and places that Cecily “might, or possibly or likely” have visited or known - the design and style of the building she “might” have visited and the type of food she “might” have been served.

I learnt nothing new that I didn’t already know from reading other books about the War of the Roses. I know there is a growing demand for books about medieval women (I want to read about them!), and primary resources are a problem, but I feel these kinds of books offer nothing new but rather are filled with unnecessary information to pad them out into a “stand-alone” book.

[David Santiuste]

A readable, sympathetic portrayal of a medieval woman and her world. Amy Licence provides an engaging narrative of Cecily's life and times, incorporating a wealth of fascinating detail.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this was a well-written history of Cecily Neville. An influential woman at a time of influential women—Margaret Beaufort, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Neville, Margaret of Anjou to name a few—Licence has pieced together the life story of Cecily with few constant document sources.

By including several alternatives or shall we say, interpretations, of events, Licence provided the reader with the opportunity to weigh issues him/herself before making judgment. One thing I did not care for was as the text progressed, Licence included much more supposition in her narrative. This is a troubling tendency with historical biography in the last decade or so. Examples would be the idea that Margaret of Anjou asked Cecily for prenatal advice (Licence implied it was due to Cecily’s experience—not perhaps considering the number of unsuccessful pregnancies the Duchess of York endured); the repeated assurances that Cecily played hard politics (pitting one family member against another) then went and prayed for the outcome of each rebellion;

It was interesting as usual to read a writer’s interpretation of Cecily’s complicity with Richard about her own fidelity (or lack thereof). It does cause the student of history to question why a mother would denounce the legitimacy of her own child yet cause a hullabaloo when that son married ‘beneath him.’ One must conclude that Cecily was a pragmatist in a turbulent and violent era and could take the suspected deaths of her grandsons at the hands of her son in stride and continue to pray about it all.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, oh wow. Another stunner from Amy Licence.

Cecily Neville certainly led a life which had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster, however she kept her dignity and regal bearing, which was necessary bearing in mind the turmoil which was to come!

I was very lucky to receive an ARC, and I will treasure this. For a woman who is a direct ancestor of our current Queen, this book brings the world of the Cousins War to a level that even I can understand, and leaves the reader wanting to know more.

Painstakingly researched, written eloquently immersing the reader into an uncertain world where their very life depended on which royal house they fought for.

Brilliant, simply brilliant.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Royal women led lives at the very epicentre of the events that make up the history of this country, but all too often their stories are neglected. Partly, it's true, due to a lack of the records and documentary evidence that form the backbone of history, but partly because their lives are deemed less interesting, less influential, and therefore not of relevance when telling the story of the great events that shaped the history of England. And yet a women like Cecily Neville, mother of kings, a potential Queen of England herself, a figure at the very heart of the Wars of the Roses, connected by marriage or blood to almost all the major players - what a fascinating insight she could give us!

Cecily's life spanned some of the most tumultuous and significant decades in England history - born during the reign of Henry V, mere months before Agincourt, she was a granddaughter of John of Gaunt, great-granddaughter of Edward III, wife of Richard Duke of York, mother of Edward IV and Richard III, grandmother of the Princes in the Tower and Elizabeth of York, great-grandmother of Henry VIII. Her husband claimed the throne himself, and Cecily was within inches of becoming Queen of England before the Wheel of Fortune turned and Richard lost his life (and his head) at Wakefield Bridge, only to see her eldest son Edward IV triumph and become King. It's hard to think of another figure so utterly interwoven through these events, who saw them all and survived to tell the tale.

So Cecily is a figure ripe for biography, and Amy Licence does a decent job - as well as anyone can with such a dearth of resources. We can never know what Cecily truly felt or thought, how she really reacted to events that tore her family apart, how much influence she had on her sons, how much of a hand she herself had in Edward IV's winning of the throne from Henry VI, Richard III's usurpation of the throne. What did she think about the death of Henry VI, or George Duke of Clarence, or the Princes in the Tower? How did she feel seeing her granddaughter Elizabeth of York wed to the man who had invaded the kingdom and killed her son Richard III? We can never know, and to her credit Amy Licence does not overly speculate, in these areas at least. But, as with all historical biography to a greater or lesser extent, there is a large amount of speculation and supposition in this book - particularly as it relates to Cecily's belief in her family's royal destiny and her role in Richard's usurpation.

Licence also spends the majority of this book detailing Cecily's early life as wife and mother during the Wars of the Roses - understandably so - but the later years, particularly those during the reigns of Richard III and Henry VII are somewhat skated over. Richard III's reign is dealt with in one chapter, Bosworth barely lasts a chapter. And there is scarcely anything regarding what to me may be the most interesting chapter of Cecily's life - how she lived under the reign of Henry VII, having outlived her husband and all of her sons, their plans of a Yorkist dynasty come to ruin, and a man with a far lesser claim to the throne as King of England in their place. But alas, we shall never know...

[Carolina Casas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queen by right, Proud Cis, were just some of the many names she was known by. In history Cecily has often been overlooked in favor of her more popular descendants but she deserves a story of her own and Amy Licence retells that story sparing no punches. Putting forward the reasons for Cecily's decisions and her abscence from some of the royal ceremonies, and her flaws. This is a scholarly biography that explores the life of a high born woman through Cecily's eyes, presenting us her world through its customs, moral and religious attitudes towards women.

During her son's reign she began using the moniker "Queen by rights" to emphasize her position above that of his wife, whom she disapproved of, Elizabeth Wydeville. While Cecily never got to be Queen, for the first three years of her son's reign she was the highest ranking woman in England and almost no ambassador would see Edward without seeing her first. In Coppini's words, the papal legate, he would not get to see Edward until he wrote to the Duchess of York first congratulating her for her son's accession. These years saw the rise of the York dynasty, a united front that represented a glorious alternative to the defeated Lancastrians. However Edward's licentious behavior would lead them to a right which they never recovered. It is unclear what were Cecily's exact feelings regarding her son's union. Licence using Mancini as a source, writes that she likely regretted and this could have made her side with George and then Richard when he took the crown from her grandson in 1483. The truth though as Licence writes, is that we cannot know for sure. When she met George at Sandwich port in Kent before he left off with his betrothed Isabel to marry in Calais, she could not have been encouraging a rebellion but instead warned him to be careful not to take things too far. Something that if this was she did, he clearly did not do. With Richard's accession, things become less clear. Mancini was writing from Richard III's period so some of what he said is based on heresay, but actions reveal more than words. The fact that Richard received the news at Baynard's castle which was her mother's property, that they wished to make him king and when he finally accepted, does make you think. Did she encourage both her sons to take the crown, first from Edward, then from his son (in Richard III's case) because she believed it was better to keep the power in their trusted family members? If this was the case, Cecily would have to make a great sacrifice and allow for both her sons to impugn her honor by circulating the old rumor that their brother was illegitimate and the son of a Welsh archer.
Some pop historians and fiction authors have lend credence to this rumor based on the theory that Cecily turned against Edward when he married Elizabeth and encouraged her family's rise to power. However the truth of the matter is that this rumor wasn't employed until 1460, eighteen years after Edward's birth, and as Licence points out, the arguments that validate this rumor are ridiculous. Such as Edward was fair when his father and brother (Richard) were dark. She points out that he could've gotten his looks from Cecily or from his parents' common ancestors -Edward III- who was also reputedly fair and tall. Another thing that nobody factors in is that childbirth was not an exact science. Today we have doctors and machines that can predicate more accurately when a baby is going to be born, back then all women had to rely on were midwives and folk tales. That was the science of the day, now imagine a medieval woman, even a high-born woman like Cecily having nothing but these tools to know when the baby is coming? It was impossible. Babies often came early or late. Women were shut down in their chambers into what was known confinement -which Amy Licence greatly explains to what went on here-, after this they had to wait another month until they could finally be free to wander about. It was a rigorous life-style but one all women had to follow. The other tools that apologists of this theory use to prove Edward was not Richard's son is that he was baptized early or unlikely to have been conceived when Richard, Duke of York was campaigning at Pontoise on August. Both of these prove nothing. As the author cleverly explains, Richard was fight yes at Pontoise but Pontoise was not extremely far from Roue where Cecily was staying. It was fifty miles away. He could have made a brief visit and conceived Edward then, or he was conceived days before he left, or he was conceived right after he came thus making Edward premature which would make then a lot of sense why he was christened so early. If he was born weak or he was born ahead of time, his parents would have been concerned for his immortal soul, they probably didn't believe he would make it and in the belief that infants who weren't baptized would be condemned to eternal stagnation in limbo, they needed to act right away. Another factor was that the previous year in 1441, Cecily and Richard had lost their first son Henry. It was a terrible blow for the both of them. They had known each other since he became a war of her mother's when he was fifteen and she eleven, they married young and were probably shy on the first years of their marriage (1429), but as the years passed they came to love and respect each other. The death of their firstborn son was a harsh blow. But they were also practical, if they wanted to continue the family line, they had to have a son. This was how medieval society worked and it is something that we often don't understand because we are not provided with enough background into the society the subject lived in. Amy Licence starts the book by providing you with background regarding Cecily's family, when the Nevilles first came to England with William the Conqueror, from where they got their name. And also providing background on Cecily's mother, Joan Beaufort, only daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and Katherine Swynford. And why religion was so important for her. Her mother had to bare the stigma of illegitimacy being John of Gaunt's mistress' daughter. (Although parliament legitimized her and her brothers after her parents' marriage, it couldn't have been easy, knowing she had to bare with her mother's previous reputation). She spent countless times teaching her youngest child (Cecily) the value of fidelity and other virtues expected of young girls. So with all this taken into account, it makes even less sense that a woman of high religious moral values and of proud lineage, and well aware of it, would go behind her husband's back.
Nevertheless, slander was a common tool used by political enemies against someone through the women in their family. Women were the ones that carried the family line through this logic, shaming them was a way of tarnishing their families' reputation. It was rumor nonetheless that resurfaced every time someone was in discontent with Edward, nicknamed the "Rose of Rouen" and if Cecily had indeed use the weapon her enemies had once used against her to shame her husband, she might have done so if she believed her son and her nephew were a threat to their family name. We can think this is something cruel of a mother and grandmother to do, however this was a far complex society than the one we live in now. Dynasties had the important responsibility to look after the family name. The family name was what mattered the most. And Cecily also had her fair share of misfortune. By a cruel stroke of fate she never got to be Queen. Her husband was recognized by parliament in the autumn of 1460 after he and Cecily were together to rejoice his triumphant entrance in London, as King Henry VI's heir and was given the titles of Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, and Earl of Chester in the addition to the ones he already had. By this logic, Cecily was Princess of Wales and married to the King-to-be. He and their second son, Edmund, the Earl of Rutland were killed during an ambush outside of Sandal Castle that very same year. While the Wydeville family had replaced the Nevilles and other family members in Edward IV's inner circle, Cecily was still one of the highest ranking women in England and she began to use the moniker "Queen by rights" to emphasize this position.
After her son's defeat in August 22, 1485, Cecily chose to retire from the public sphere and lead an ascetic life. She was by no means finished. At her old age she was still as active she had been many years before ruling over her states and Henry VII continued to renew her licence over the exports of wool where she gained a lot of her income. The year that her daughter in law, Elizabeth, died, she began making her will and three years later she died. She was laid to rest in Fotheringhay Castle where her husband and son lay. She is the ancestress of every monarch to date. As a Duchess she worked alongside her husband, perhaps plotted with him, shared her joys and together they also shared their loss and misfortunes, as a mother she had to mourn the loss of so many children and grandchildren products of miscarriages, war, or illnesses. She safe-guarded Richard and George, her two youngest sons by sending them to Burgundy, she saw to her youngest daughter's religious and formal education as her mother had overseen hers. As a pragmatic woman however, she understood the importance of dynastic ties. And she was not above using questionable means to promote her own ambitions. In Amy Licence's words, Cecily Neville was a complex figure whose story often gets neglected in favor of her descendants. As a Duchess, she lived up to the expectations of the day, she proved an excellent administrator and tradeswoman, as a woman however she is harder to decipher. She waded through blood and loss to see two of her sons become kings and afterwards bire witness to the destruction of her dynasty. It is impossible to know what Cecily thought in each of these events and what role she played in any, if she did at all. It would be irresponsible to put thoughts and words in her mouth when we have yet to know more of her story. Her story has just begun and it is far from over and Amy Licence brings the facts to the table without making any big suppositions that are not based on evidence, and tells us once more through her work that it is the job of a good historian to present the evidence without making arrogant assumptions he or she will solve a puzzle that is unlikely to be solved now or ten years time, and let the reader decide for him or herself.

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not very good.
There's too much supposition and not all of the facts are even addressed.
Richard III wasn't the heir after his brother Edward's kids. The children of his older brother, George, Duke of Clarence would've been the inheritors of the throne if Edward's sons were deemed unfit.
Also even if Edwars had a bigamous relationship with Elizabeth Woodville, that only impacted their eldest daughters. In the time period this is set, a bigamist marriage becomes valid once the other spouse has died. The suspected true wife of King Edward IV died before the birth of the boys so they'd have been legitimate.
Richard stole the throne and killed those kids in the Tower. Historians don't have to agree with my conclusions but they can't just fudge facts to support this weird obsession about Richard III being wronged in history.

[Elena · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one I've read a while ago, but I realized I hadn't rate it. Here we go, after this I decided I would never deal with another of Licence's book again. As it's usual with her, also Cecily Neville's biography is riddled with mistakes, assumptions and fillers. Nothing new. I don't know why this author insists in writing biographies. Suffice to say the book opens with giving Cecily's nickname as The Rose of Raby. End of. If you want to read something that's History find John Ashdown Hill's book Cecily Neville Mother of Richard III, where he also corrects some of Licence's mistakes.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

License is determined to drag Cecily Neville out of the historical shadows and into the light. She acknowledges going in there is not a lot to work with – evocatively describing trying to illuminate this woman’s long and busy life as “lighting matches in the dark” as she very occasionally pins her down to a specific moment in time over the course of nine decades, but overall has to work largely with conjecture.

License, besides admitting to her handicap of lack of direct primary sources, also is pretty forward with her bias in the belief that Cecily could, nay SHOULD, have gone down in the history records as Queen Cecily, calling her the greatest queen England never had. So yeah, she’s just a tiny bit biased in favor of “proud Cis,” constantly defending and championing things like her financial, sexual, and spiritual reputation.

She starts at the moment of Cecily writing her will, covering all the worldly possessions she was giving up, then shuttles back to when she was born, focusing lot on how it was the same year as the Battle of Agincourt, then, showing how intertwined everyone was, traces back her and her husband’s linages for 400 years before their births, showing how they were both so close to the throne (but more on that later).

With the motley backstories established, she dives into the childhood of Cecily and her husband-to-be, Richard, Duke of York, and shows how the seeds were already well sown and growing for the upcoming War of the Roses. There are several gatherings of the various noble families and royal branches and you just see the strained smiles on some of the noble faces and think: ‘oh God they are going to be literally trying to kill each other in just a few years.’

With studied speculation, License does her best to give a conservative estimate as to how Cecily spent her childhood and young adulthood, and, more importantly, where she was, sometimes having hard evidence of Cecily traveling from A to B, sometimes guessing based on factors like other family members’ movements, the season, the political climate, or where she was recorded a few years earlier or later.

She spends a lot of time documenting when and where Cecily had her children, clearly frustrated by the lack of records, but as Cecily and Richard’s family grows, so does the political tension at court, building in the pressure cooker of an extremely small group of people who were all related somehow by blood and or marriage, all getting ready to tear each other’s throats out – but at the same time still attending things like each other’s families christenings and holiday celebrations.

Also, she speculates that while things broke down completely between the men of the various factions, the women of the War of the Roses all stayed fairly close, or at least they were better at keeping emotions in check and being able to negotiate and compromise as various fortunes rose and fell throughout the tumultuous period.

Henry VI goes into his mysterious catatonic sate and Cecily’s husband takes the resigns of power, and here License sees this political period through the lens that Cecily was queen in all but name only, which strikes me as a bit of stretch.

Unfortunately, as the War of the Roses takes off, there is less information about Cecily, since sources at the time were more interested in chronicling the battles where thousands of men were dying then recording where and when the women were hanging out. So we get a lot of rehashing about the battles and other people.

She is more prominent when things calm down, militarily, but there is still a lot of time spent on other people, mostly because the people around her have more recorded than her.

However, after recounting her living through almost becoming king and then watching her son become king, the speculation gets quite interesting when Richard III comes to power, and License points out a lot of previously overlooked evidence that she may have been in the thick of it. But when the Tudors come to power, the last decade of her life is either admirable or sad, or both, as we see her devote herself to a life of rigid piety, appearing to wash her hands of politics after seeing the political events of her lifetime destroy so many family members.

An excellent attempt to give us a look at the life of Cecily Neville, but, as the author admitted upfront, there just isn't enough available to fill in the whole picture, and while the speculation was well thought out, all the other information about other people of the era felt like padding things out to make up for the scarcity of sources about a woman who was, even with as little we know about her, undoubtedly remarkable.

[Christopher Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is scrupulously honest in her introduction and admits that there are precious few sources for a fully-fledged biography of someone who must have been a fascinating and powerful person during pivotal times in British history - if not a major player herself, certainly at the centre of the action as it were. Licence's research into and knowledge of the political and social fabric of the time is extraordinary and she uses same to pad out this biography. For me, however, the plethora of words and phrases such as "perhaps", "probably", "possibly", "may have", "presumably", "must have" etc., while well-founded I'm sure, give the whole feeling of the text devoted to Cecily a less than certain tone. Much attention is given to her husband, Richard and two sons, Richard III and Edward IV about whom much more is definitely known. Might have been better as a historical novel because it's well written. Pity.

[Andrew Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very readable account of the life of Cecily Neville. The author admits that, considering there is very little factual historical evidence to work with, there are numerous episodes in Cecily's life that are conjecture and speculation. This, however, is not always a bad thing because it leads the reader to think about the events and form his or her own opinion. For example, was Cecily complicit in assisting Richard to usurp the throne from Edward V or how much was she aware of Richard's intentions?

[Gina Basham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, not loved it. I realize there would be holes and suppositions because of the lack of historical data, but, I felt like it was a lot of the same old, same old. It often felt like bits of other books and too much info about all of the other characters. I enjoyed it, but there is not a lot of new info on Cecily. If you are a history fanatic you may want to try it to see if you can glean any new info. gbash

[Kelly Obernuefemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of detail. This is the best you will get for a biography of Cecily. The author admits that there is so much we can never know, but she does a great job explaining various theories. I like how she discusses where some novelists stray from the truth. I also never realized how much Cecily had to do with son Richard's takeover from her grandsons -- the princes in the tower.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oddly disappointing. Maybe I was hoping for too much from it because I'm sort of a White Rose partisan and I wanted to know more about this woman; there isn't much known for sure about the details of Cecily's life. The current approach to this problem by the authors of biographies seems to be to throw everything else and the kitchen sink onto the page to make up for it. "We don't have any details about the festivities surrounding the coronation of Queen X, but at the feast for Queen Y..." followed by several pages listing every dish and entertainment at the feast for Queen Y who is not part of the story we're trying to follow. I have to confess I skimmed when I came to things like this.
I'd like to suggest to Amberley Press that they slow the roll of their cranking out of these books enough to have a good copyeditor read them (this is not the first one I've read, and I have had the same reaction each time). Someone born in 1415 was not 70 in 1475. "Angus Dei" is not a thing. If someone is Katherine in one sentence, she probably should not be Catherine in the very next sentence. Watch your antecedents. Someone who is a good historian ought not to mind having their presentation improved by catching these mistakes, and people who are ravenously snapping up books about 15th and 16th century English history will not mind waiting a couple of extra weeks.
I don't know if it's me, or if British syntax is different, but there were SO MANY sentences in this book and others I've read recently, like the following: "Cecily spent X years at X Castle. Having a high crenellated tower at each corner, she had her entire family with her for the first time in years." This is not one of the author's sentences and I wish I could invent a better example, but when you start a sentence with a clause like that, the subject of the other clause has to be whatever it is that has the high crenellated tower, i.e. the castle. Cecily did not have a tower at each corner of herself. Every time I read a sentence like that, it felt like driving over a syntactical speed bump. How hard would it have been to have written, "Having a high crenellated tower at each corner, X provided ample room for her to have her entire family..."?? COPYEDIT I say! Amberley Press, hire me! I'm experienced and really good at it!

[Ken Sampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

[2 Mar 2020] This is a biography of Cecily Neville (1415-1495), a women who achieved a high position in the British Royal family and had, arguably, much influence in the political events of the time. It is relatively short 277 pages and is structured in manageable chronologically arranged chapters - each describing various stages of her life. It is well written, informative and engaging. It succeeds in giving you a real sense of the women and her life.

However, as other reviewers have commented, there is a relative paucity of source material and much speculation about her. There seems to be a balance between the primary and second sources and the imaginative interpretation of the facts to create a meaningful narrative. I would have liked more analysis of previous biographers conclusions and slightly more balance in regards to 'bridging the gaps'. There is the inevitable focus, possibly over focus, on the lives of her husband, her sons and the men in the Kingdom, perhaps indicating just how things were for Cecily too, but none the less we hear a lot about the exciting political times of the men and every so often, almost as an aside 'and Cecily was pregnant again'. There is also not too much about the social history of the fifteenth century - her food, her day-to-day life, her values, etc

There are a couple of episodes when the language becomes verbose and where the meaning becomes more difficult to extract. Then there is the factual error when she describes Abingdon as in Oxfordshire, however it is in fact in Berkshire and was then and is now (although it was 'moved' for local government purposes in 1974).

A useful book giving a grounding in the life of an often overlooked Royal family member. Definitely worth a read.

[GBL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amy Licence focuses on the life of one of the most significant female characters involved in The War of the Roses.

Throughout her life, Cecily Neville, wife of the Duke of York, was at the centre of national events with links through her birth family, her marriage and children to the highest levels of English society. Her marriage to Richard, Duke of York who was heir to the throne brought her close to the Royal family. However, as the country descended into civil war she saw the division and conflict affect all the members of her family as people fought against each other in support of either the House of Lancaster or the House of York.

Licence admits in her introduction that at times there is little evidence on what Cecily was doing or thinking, but she does succeed in creating a perspective of events from Cecily’s position although at times she can only suggest or suppose or infer.

(My one concern is that Licence muddles the description of those descended from Cecily eg describing Elizabeth the First as Cecily’s “great-granddaughter” when in fact there is a four generation gap.)

[Pam Shelton-Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read a lot about this era, I will be honest that there was not new information for me here, nor did I really expect it. However, I have always had an interest in Cecily Neville. This author used the available resources and was very knowledgeable about them when discussing the various pieces of information. This is extremely important as some sources can present the same event, differently. As with most women in the medieval period, much of Cecily's life is viewed through the lens of the men in her life. We are fortunate that some Cecily-specific data does exist. While we can expect a certain amount of speculation about her education and routine which must be based on what we know of typical women of her rank, and some speculation about what she must have felt about the events that so profoundly affected her life, there was at times, an excessive use of "guesstimation." I was a bit put off by a few errors, like referring to Edward of Langley instead of Edmund of Langely, but for the most part, the information presented was accurate. The author's writing style is very easy to read, flows well and she kept focused on Cecily when possible. I did enjoy this book.

[me · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay but more of a general overview of the Wars of the Roses so I didn't get much from it. A lot of "she might have" and "she must have" speculation whenever it actually deals directly with Cecily Neville and her actions. This is common in biographies of medieval people, especially women, and perhaps unavoidable but at a certain point maybe you have to just ask yourself "is it worth attempting a dedicated biography of this person?" when you'll have to pad the book out with dull lists of seasonal gifts and tangentially related quotations of sumptuary laws. Licence does a lot of these slender biographies and I assume they make money but I'd rather there were fewer books with more substantial - and less generic - content in them.

In terms of research, one thing that leaped out at me was the occasional mention of where a specific source is currently held, oddly phrased as if that work has always existed as one copy in a prestigious location that will transfer its own magic to the current author and book. There's also a few times in the book where something is suggested, then ruled out, then later on treated as fact, like whether Cecily herself had any role in spreading the rumours of Edward IV's illegitimacy.

It'd probably suit a reader who wants a quick historical biography without having to read up on the period, but if you already know how the Wars of the Roses went down this doesn't offer enough about the supposed subject herself to give you anything new.

[Lyn Sweetapple · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became interested in the War of the Roses when I read The Sunne in Splendour, by Penman. I then followed up with the Sister Frevisse mystery series by Margaret Fraser. Turning to straight biography, I found this book in Glasgow. I always was curious as to how Cecily Neville was related to John of Gaunt. She is his granddaughter. This book includes fantastic family trees. The writing is very clean yet wonderful to read with a flowing style. When Licence is not quite sure of a conclusion she presents both sets of primary sources to let you decide on your own. Her use of quotes from the few existing letters of Cecily Neville are very effective.
I did get stuck before starting the chapter headed 1459-1460 as I knew of Wakefield. What I did not know was that Wakefield was not a set battle, but an ambush undertaken during the Christmas truce.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to others.

[Ginger Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prior to this book I read a factual/fictional book called Red Rose White Rose about Cecily Neville which gave me an interest in the topic and then was satisfied to read the actual historical account of her entire life. It's sometimes challenging to keep up with all the names and figures presented, especially when there are several with the same first name, nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Despite her wealth and power, Cecily was also a pious woman of devotion and I could empathize with the challenges she faced to try to bring harmony within her extended families, an almost impossible task it seems when you're dealing with those vying for position and power in the royal dynasties. Being an American who lives in the UK, I've never been very interested in the royal families, however, I gained a new appreciation for British history.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was reading a different novel about the Plantagenets when I encountered the name Cecily Neville and subsequently became very interested in her life. Cecily Neville: Mother of Kings provided a detailed look into the life of the Duchess of York. The facts were supported by contemporary works and letters, and Cecily's actions on several major historical events were interpreted by the author based on Cecily's known character. Aside from the extravagance associated with the Yorks, Cecily's life must have been action-packed and incredibly dramatic. This book helped in briefly narrating the life of Cecily, from her childhood up to her old age, and is a good read for anyone interested in an overview of Cecily Neville's life.

[The Bookbutterfly's Quotage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading about the life and times of the Women of the Wars of Roses has always been a delightful experience for me; especially about tragically beautiful Elizabeth Woodville - a widow commoner who married the King of England for love, her daughter who united the both houses of Lancaster and York, her mother who was a headstrong fascinating noble woman and her mother in law; the stout Duchess (about whom I've been wanting to know about since the last few years) and even though this book might not have been exactly written in the style that appealed to me, and i might have skimmed through the later half of it yet still I really appreciate how the author put in all these efforts to gather all this information.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering there is very little for an author to work with in terms of documentation for this period, I think this is a very readable account of Cecily Neville's history. It could have been very easy to turn it into a work of fiction in order to make it a more attractive read because there is so much supposition. There are huge chunks which are difficult to concentrate on but towards the end of the book when there is much more anecdotal and written information to help the account becomes much more lively and easy to read.

[Helen Birkbeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tantalizing glimpse into the life of one of English history's most important but unknown royal women. It showed great research but too much of the detail relied on supposition - not the author's fault, as there aren't enough solid records. It certainly made me want to read more about the people involved in the Wars of the Roses and didn't answer the age-old dilemma over was Richard III evil or not!

There were quite a few errors in titles and numbers, which should have been dealt with by a copy-editor!

[Marilyn Boyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started this book, I felt Amy Licence was on to something, and it would be a wonderful historical read. Unfortunately, she uses a fair bit of supposition as she goes along and jumps around in the telling , going forward a bit and then back tracking to a few previous years. Lots of history and research here. I will keep it on my shelf, but can’t use it as a reference when she guesses at what her ancient subject was thinking or feeling.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars rounded up.
A very scholarly book with a great deal of detail on Cecily Neville and her family. It was, of course a heavy read but a worthwhile one. The author had indicated that not much was known definitely and she provided what was available and made very good surmises.
Enjoyable.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good read, and supplied amazing knowledge on Cecile Neville. Quite how she’s never had her own biography before is beyond me. There is speculation in the book but that is the nature of history. I did feel the Edward IV and Richard III chapters felt a little rushed...

[Kate Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a fan of Amy Licence’s writing style. A gentle approach to historical narrative with refreshing honesty when conjecture is required to interpret the available evidence. Cecily was formidable and Licence rightly gives her long overdue flowers.

Easy read for a cozy weekend

[Donie Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent history of this important historical figure, whose sons, Edward IV & Richard III, held pivotal roles in England's history...and she is the ancestor of Great Britain's current monarch.