Red Roses: Blanche of Gaunt to Margaret Beaufort

by Amy Licence

This is an alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780750970501

The Wars of the Roses were not just fought by men on the battlefield. There were daughters, wives, mistresses, mothers, and queens who helped shape the most dramatic of English conflicts. This book traces the story of women on the Lancastrian side, from the children borne by Blanche, wife of John of Gaunt, through the turbulent 15th century to Margaret Beaufort’s son in 1485 and the establishment of the Tudor dynasty. From the secret liaisons of Katherine Swynford and Catherine of Valois to the love lives of Mary de Bohun and Jacquetta of Luxembourg, to the queenship of Joan of Navarre and Margaret of Anjou, this book explores their experiences as women. Faced with the dangers of treason and capture, defamation and childbirth, these extraordinary women survived in extraordinary times.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Medieval, British Literature, Medieval History, Tudor Period

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2016

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

[Annika Hipple · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone who has read a lot about this time period, I liked the idea of exploring it from a new perspective, by tracing the history of the Lancastrian dynasty through the lives of its women. There were some interesting bits - for example, I enjoyed learning more about Blanche of Lancaster, Mary de Bohun, and the two Joan Beauforts - but unfortunately, the overall reading experience suffered due to the writing style and sloppy editing. The book is riddled with grammatical errors and awkward sentences, to the degree that I often had to reread entire paragraphs to figure out who the author was talking about (despite my familiarity with the period). There are also frequent errors when it comes to relationships between key figures. For example, Licence correctly identifies the two Joan Beauforts as aunt and niece, but later refers to them as cousins. She calls Edmund Tudor Margaret Beaufort's first husband, but later refers to him as her second husband. (Technically, you could make an argument for either one, since Margaret was married as a baby to John de la Pole, but that marriage was annulled within a few years, and she herself seems not to have counted it.) Licence identifies Henry, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, as the great-grandson of Eleanor de Bohun and Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, writing that Eleanor and Thomas's "eldest daughter Anne married into the Stafford family and their son Humphrey was the father of Duke Henry." This actually skips a generation, since in fact it was Humphrey's son, another Humphrey, who was the father of Duke Henry. This second Humphrey predeceased his father, the 1st duke, so it was his son, Henry, who inherited the title. There are other similar mistakes throughout the book that, if nothing else, ought to have been caught by a good copy editor.

Red Roses also suffers a bit from the lack of available information about some of the women, leading to a few too many "would haves" and "probablys." But it's the awkward writing and sloppy editing that seriously marred my enjoyment of what could have been a fascinating book.

I also wish the author had included family trees for easy reference, as well as a better selection of photos. The photos included are mostly pictures of castles, but I would have preferred to see at least some photos showing depictions of the women in question. Surely at least a few relevant portraits or tomb effigies must have survived? (I know I've seen images of at least a few of these women in other books.)

A more complete and useful index would also have been helpful.

[Carole P. Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Rose is a terrific "Who's who?" of the Lancastrian dynasty starting with John of Gaunt's three wives and finishing with the birth of the Tudors. Licence explores the lives of the women "behind the men," who were responsible for birthing the next generation of royals and their courts. She describes the alliances made through marriage, touching on the vast network of complicated relationships that would eventually end up in conflict over the throne. Each marriage is detailed, the lives and relationships of girls carrying the vast weight of their family responsibility on their shoulders. One wonders if they understood the impact of their influence as they navigated the treacherous shoals of politics, often having to choose sides between their husband and their parents. Licence brings history alive, managing to fill the outlines of people often relegated to the shadows. Filled with interesting details, this is readable as it is relatable history.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Roses explores the Lancastrian dynasty through the lives of its women, from the dutiful, supportive wives to the scandalous mistresses to the driven queens and mothers. Touching on the deposition of Richard II, Agincourt, the Wars of the Roses and the rise of the Tudor dynasty, it offers relatively rare insight to the roles and lives of women during that time.

It’s simply an awesome subject for a book and I truly enjoyed that Amy Licence didn’t a bunch of separate biographies, but instead wove the lives of the women together, finding parallels and common themes in their lives.

The writing is generally clear, though it can get a bit clogged up with dates and names (generally, however, these sections are only when Licence is attempting to work out something that isn’t in the historical record and these are only really common in the early chapters). It is a fairly dense read and although I did enjoy reading it, I found that at the end of a chapter I needed to take a break before starting the next one. There is a degree of speculation – possibly-felt-this, may-have, would-have, might-have, must-have-thought-this – which can be frustrating, but also allows for a more human side of the women to appear.

There are photos included, but I found them disappointing as they were mostly photos of the castles and it was annoying when the text would refer to portraits of the women, but these portraits were not included. A family tree would have also been helpful, just to keep track of the relationships.

I picked up Red Roses after reading the Wikipedia entry on Joan of Navarre, Henry IV’s queen, and wanting to find out more. Oddly, a lot of the stuff that I was interested in – her good relationship with Henry IV’s earlier children, including Henry V who she apparently served as regent, and her attempt to have her son freed when he was taken prisoner by Henry V – wasn’t mentioned in Red Roses. I don’t know enough about the history to know whether it was an oversight, if the stuff on Wiki isn’t accurate or anything else, but it was odd.

3.5 stars.

[Margaret McCulloch-Keeble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my, this had me so muddled at times, not through any fault of the author, but because everyone was called Blanche. Cats, dukes, ladies, dames, countesses of Hainhault, mothers, daughters, sisters of the king............everyone, they were all called Blanche. Until they were all called Phillipa. Then Elizabeth, then Jacqueline or Jacquetta. Till then, they were all called Blanche. Unless they were called Henry.
Once I'd got the hang of which Blanche was which (and I believe one of them ended up being tried as a witch) via several pieces of paper and jotting family trees down, I enjoyed this look at the largely forgotten women of the wars of the Blanches, sorry roses. I get the impression that the author views her work as serious and a little more worthy than some of the faction novels featuring some of the same women, which is a bit of a shame as both have the same aim in mind- to remember those who would otherwise be ignored.

[Helen Carolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read looking at the lives of women from the house of Lancaster from medieval times to the war of the roses and through to the succession of the house of Tudor. Some of the women I'd barely heard of so it was interesting to see them in the spotlight. A great read.

[Jane Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has become popular to recount periods of history through the lives of the women who were there rather than the men. In this case, the approach fails to add much to our understanding. Licence covers a long and complex period and, certainly in the early stages, there is a great deal of "would have" in the absence of real knowledge. Too much ground is covered, and the confusion isn't helped by the fact that the characters share a small number of given names. It's a brave attempt, but not great success.

[Neeuqdrazil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting, and mostly well written, although there were a few sentences where the object became confused, particularly when describing who someone was in relation to other people.

Also, and this is something that's a danger of most histories of England, the numerous people with the same name, and the multiple names that some people used, make knowing which Henry, or John, or Margaret, is being referred to, somewhat difficult.

[Toni Kely-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book about the women of the 14th and 15th centuries who were linked to house of Lancaster. Having a lot of knowledge of this time period and the War of the Roses I enjoyed learning new information in this book if only for the fact it focused on women of who we know little about (except giving birth to the next generation of Lancaster's). There is a lot of family connections which shows the impact of the War of the Roses and how it was literally cousin again cousin. One thing I am grateful living 500 to 600 years later is that I live in a time where I don't have marry at 14 or 15 and give birth to 5 or 6 children by the age of 20 only to sadly die in child birth by the age of 21 or if I did survive childbirth was perpetually pregnant giving birth to a dozen or more children - many of who didn't survive childhood anyway. The mental toughness and resilience of previous generations is something I can only admire!

[Rosie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read as always sorry it ended so quick

[Mercedes Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is refreshing to see a book dedicated to the women of the Middle Ages who are so frequently given short shrift—even the queens, unless they were very, very bad. Amy Licence has given us a balanced look at the women related to the Lancastrian dynasty, starting with Blanche, who passed her father’s legacy to her husband John of Gaunt who became the second Duke of Lancaster. That was the blessing and curse of the great heiresses; they may have been greatly sought after but their husbands got all the glory; they weren’t seen as fit to inherit the titles in their own right. The custom of primogeniture in tail male had really taken hold in late medieval England. If they were lucky, these womens' lives were taken up with child bearing and rearing. If unlucky, like the unfortunate Margaret of Anjou, Queen of Henry VI, she had to take an active role in defending her very crown—and, in the process, acquire the moniker She-Wolf or something equally disparaging. As ever, a strong woman was castigated; some things never change.

Even a queen’s status did not necessarily protect her, as could be seen in the strange case of Joan of Navarre, widow of Henry IV. When her stepson Henry V was desperate for money, he resorted to accusing the queen dowager of witchcraft and locking her up in order to acquire her wealth: “In Joan’s case, the deciding factor was that she lacked the support of a powerful husband. No one would have dared level such accusations during the life of the previous king, but now, as a widow far from her home country, speaking with an accent of one of England’s enemies, Joan was vulnerable.” It wasn’t until the end of his life that Henry V released her.

This was an interesting book. However, I think the author tried to take on too much. When I read the section about Richard II, which is my especial study, I stumbled across many errors while she tried to gloss over the background story. (She got the Lords Appellant wrong; she said Richard took the sons of Henry of Derby and Roger Mortimer to Ireland, when the latter was the son of the Duke of Gloucester.) I don’t need to make a list here, but there were several little blunders that made me take everything else with a “grain of salt”. The errors I saw were minor and unrelated to the women of the book, but on the other hand, I don’t know enough to comment on the rest. Nonetheless, I got a lot of information and found the book quite readable.

[Carolina Casas · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the many things that makes this a great read is that the author talks about the different books that were used for women of different status during this period, and how despite social hierarchy, these women often formed a bond with other women who weren’t highborn as them. One example is Kathryn Swynford and how close she seemed to be with her lover and then her second husband’s first wife, Blanche of Lancaster. Or even Richard II’s first queen, Anne of Bohemia with some of her lesser women. And that brings me to my last point. While this book focuses on all the women from the Lancaster dynasty, including those who switched sides due to their unions and their sons (in the case of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, aka “Queen by Rights”), it also reads as a study of gender and socio-politics of the 14th and 15th centuries and in the case of Margaret Beaufort, beginning of the 16th century.

It tears down through the myths that surround these women. Margaret Beaufort, along with Margaret of Anjou and Kathryn Swynford, is among the most vilified women of this dynasty, and as she says towards the end, opinions regarding this figure “has been mixed.” And while she doesn’t spell it out, from the authors' opinions she chose to describe this matriarch toward the end of her book, it can be inferred that shifting views regarding Margaret have had largely to do with misunderstanding gender and politics in the 15th century, and the ever changing social attitudes towards gender and religion from the time of her grandson's break with Rome to our times.
All of these women, whether they appeared silent, or broke out of the mold, were equally ambitious. And this books gives them -and their husband’s rivals’ spouses- a voice and gives us a brief glimpse into their world.

[Anne Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Red Roses: Blanche of Gaunt to Margaret Beaufort; Amy Licence has taken the Lancastrian Roses out of the shadows and given them life. Wives, mothers, daughters, sisters to Kings; some even declared witches for the sake of others dogmatic sport. Ms. Licence has given them vibrant life. She weaves together the stories of the Red Rose and the White Swan.

Here she has brought reality to these ladies, showing their individual side, their burdens and tribulations. Here you find the joy and wisdom they played behind the scene, and the sacrifices they were duty bound to make for the sake of family and crown.
While looking at the Red Rose, Amy Licence has brought forward the White Swan. The graceful swan no longer chained. She tells the history of one vital woman habitually unobserved by others, Mary de Bohun and the origin of the Bohun Swan. This extraordinary lady is often hidden from view yet contributed so much to the house of Lancaster.

Where Shakespeare made the men immortal, Amy Licence has given these extraordinary women wings to fly.

[Joanne, drinker of tea, reader of books, servant to cats · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been bugging me since I read the book. I have been trying to ignore it, but I finally have to put it here.

The book was okay, but that's not the problem.

The sub heading is the problem. It reads, 'Blanche of Gaunt to Margaret Beaufort'.

Blanche was not 'of Gaunt'.

Her husband John (son of Edward III) was given the anglicised appellation 'of Gaunt' after his birth place, Ghent. This type of naming convention was not passed onto a spouse with a wedding ring.

As the daughter of Henry of Grosmont, the 1st Duke of Lancaster, if referred to as an 'of', Blanche would have been known as Blanche of Lancaster. In no way could she or would she have been referred to as 'of Gaunt'.

If this book is reprinted, could this please be changed. It is incorrect, and very annoying, and reflects poorly on the content of the book, and the work of the author. If something this simple is incorrect, it raises questions on the validity of the content.

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating- 3.5 stars.

The Wars of the Roses is a hugely popular topic and many books have been published looking at various aspects of the age. This is a new look at the women whose marriages, political alliances and in many cases, children, were key elements in the success of the dynasty.

There has clearly been a huge amount of research done for this book and it has some fascinating pieces of information. I did enjoy the detail on Katherine Sywnford. I found though that although I kind of liked this book, I didn't love it. The pictures are awful, predominantly black and white images of random castles associated with some of the people involved. Very disappointing. Although I am also pretty well read in this era, a family tree would have helped as well at some points in the narrative to tie people together. Good but not great.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book about the women of the 14th and 15th centuries. I've been looking forward to reading it for ages and I wasn't disappointed!
Some of these women were queens, some were mistresses, some were scandalous, some were pious, all different but united by their link to the Lancaster House descended from John of Gaunt. It helps to have a basic knowledge of the time period because it tells a lot of history for a 350 page book. The family connections between some of the women get extremely complicated, but anyone whose read about medieval history will be used to this!
Most of these women would never warrant a biography of their own due to lack of information about them, so books like this bring them to our attention and remind us they were there.
A great book for anyone with an interest in medieval history.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting, as a book about the lives of women during the Wars of the Roses in general, as well as these particular women. I loved finding out a little about little known royals like Blanche and Joan of Scotland, as well as the better known Margaret of Anjou and Margaret Beaufort.
Perfect for history buffs.

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with other reviews that the book was somewhat confusing causing me to reread paragraphs often in order to understand who’s who. Also the lack of a family tree or appendix outlining the relationship between all the women, their husbands, parents and offspring led to much time spent on Wikipedia.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only nit-picky comment about this one was some of the errors which I think a good edit would have fixed. Titles were confused, some grammatical errors and one or two spelling issues were scattered over the book but otherwise I found it quite enjoyable.

[Andrew Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good read which adds a great deal to the understanding of the roles that women played in the medieval period.

[Joanna Arman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I avoided reading this book for a couple of years because of the extreme polarizations of opinion that the period to the Wars of the Roses seem to cause. I thought this would be another one of those partisan 'histories' which presents one side (usually the Lancastrians or the Tudors) as the devil incarnate, and the other as the epitome of goodness.

The author actually managed to be objective throughout, analyzing certain theories and recent historiography in a simple (but not simplistic) yet professional manner, which remains easy for general readers to understand.

For example, she demonstrates how the late John Ashdown-Hill's claim that Edmund Beaufort Duke of Somerset was the 'real' father of Edward of Lancaster just does not work.
We know for a fact that the Prince was born in October 1453, and so he cannot have been conceived in the late spring of that year, following Henry VI's first bout of illness as Hill claimed. Margaret wold already have been at least 4 months pregnant by then, and 3-4-month premature babies did not tend survive in the 15th century.

The book also sheds an interesting light on the lives, legacies and struggles of women of the 14th and 15th centuries. Some well-known, others, like Blanche of Lancaster and Joan of Navarre often overlooked. Some lived conventional lives as wives, mothers and noblemen, others were controversial: accused of witchcraft or unfeminine behaviour.
The chapters covering these women's lives refrain from modern judgements and condemnation; and that for me is a bonus.
It’s too easy to get caught up with our own prejudice and judge people of the past by the standards of our own time, or accept contemporary criticisms of them without question. Overall, I'd consider this an important contribution to popular histories of women in the Medieval and Early Modern period.

Others have mentioned some of the typos and I noticed a few other mistakes, with relatives being confused, such as a cousin being called a Nephew, or vice versa. I think this is inevitable with an author who sometimes releases 2-3 books a year. Most historians struggle to get one out every few years, but that gives them the chance to spend more time editing and polishing their work before publication.
Recommended for general readers and hobby historians who want something informative but not too academic or highbrow.

I was sent a copy of this book by The History Press. This did not influence my review and all opinions expressed are my own.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a history lover, and I've spent a fair amount of time over the years reading about English history. So when one of my book news/deals emails offered this one for $ .99, I thought, sure! I read it, and I finished it, but... I'm totally interested in the premise - what about the women who were part of the Lancastrian saga from the era of Edward III and his sons to the Tudors? The problem is not of the author's making - the same problem as with many other attempts to research and write Herstory. For much of the past several millennia, the doings of men and all the battles and up-front governing were considered by the patriarchy the main thing worthy of note in the world. Women who stepped out of the so-called feminine sphere - the childbearing, the child rearing, and the behind-the-scenes influence - were castigated by the historians (mostly male) for stepping out of their proper place.

So Licence does her best with the information she can find. But the best historians usually find a way to tell a story, and here Licence's book is rather lacking. And lengthy descriptions of buildings, and clothing, which could conceivably be used to create a vivid picture in the reader's mind end up as so much... filler. So, an effort was made, but to my mind it is not altogether successful.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was kind of heavy going in spots. The first part of it read a bit like a novel, but that was in part because I knew more about Blanche of Lancaster (not "Blanche of Gaunt", major quibble with the author here--people were known by their birthplaces then, and her husband was John of Gaunt or Ghent which was HIS birthplace; she did not become "Blanche of Gaunt" on marrying him, but would have remained "of Lancaster"), Philippa of Hainault, Katherine Swynford, and even a bit about Mary de Bohun than I did about the later Lancastrian ladies. I got a bit bogged down later on in the book but picked up again with Margaret Beaufort, who has always intrigued me. I never know quite what to make of her. The author is quite favorably disposed toward her but some others I've read, fictional and not, are not so much. And her son was Henry VII, who I'm not so fond of. But Margaret herself had a difficult life, particularly early on, so perhaps one can't be but so hard on her. In all, it was not so much an entertaining book as informative without being hard to read, and that is something to be said of a history book!

[Allie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! It was easy to read and pace was good. Information didn’t feel regurgitated from other books, and I found that refreshing. I wish we could have more information about the earlier Lancastrian women, but sadly there just isn’t much out there. Either way, highly recommend!

Reason for 4 stars: grammatical errors and relationships with some of the supporting characters wasn’t accurate. It could have been edited more thoroughly. Wish the author could have included more photos of the women.

[Renee · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author's background and premise for this book was appealing - a historian that specializes in women of that period. The intro and summary sounded wonderful but the more I got into it, the less there was about the women and more about the men. It seemed that she couldn't find enough about the women to actually do a book that would be accepted by editors and publishers. And maybe that is the case ... there's very little written about these powerful women because they were demeaned and trivialized in their age. It's unfortunate.

[Shelly Boltz-Zito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly interesting

I adore English history and especially the royalty. This has parts I didn't know and it was very interesting and enlightening. The old English language is a tad bit hard to understand at times but it does get used to. It's a very good book that shows the women in the royal history of Britain and how they used their positions and knowledge to make their lives as good or bad that times and others would allow. I highly recommend it.

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quite fascinating look at the lives of the women of the Lancastrian dynasty with the emphasis on their lives rather than the men's lives. I'm so glad I didn't live then! There were a few errors of syntax and grammar and I could have done with a family tree (or several) and a timeline to help me keep track of so many people with the same name, so I only gave it 4 stars. Otherwise it was great.

[Klissia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My interest was more in the story of Katherine Swynford, the true matriarch of the Tudors, but it also tells a little about the lives of other women in the shadows or not mentioned in the history books.
It would be a good TV series, better than the overrated The Crown, because it has a lot more scandal and interesting and relevant historical facts.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quite a bit. It made for a good followup read to The Lost Kings, also by Licence. She did a good job of putting together information about women that have been for the most part forgotten. The book is a bit dry in some places, but is still an enjoyable read if you like this time period.

[Margaret Skrivseth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I thought the author did a great job of explaining the various women and their lives. Sometimes it was confusing. It didn’t help that so many people had the same name. Overall, this is a good book for an introduction to the different women of the Lancastrian line.

[Guusje]

Interesting but confusing since so many of the woman have the same name - so many Marys, Margarets, Joans and Katherines. I had trouble remembering just whom I was reading about.