Elizabeth Widville, Lady Grey: Edward IV's Chief Mistress and the 'pink Queen'

by John Ashdown-Hill

Wife to Edward IV and mother to the Princes in the Tower and later Queen Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Widville was a central figure during the War of the Roses. Much of her life is shrouded in speculation and myth - even her name, commonly spelled as 'Woodville', is a hotly contested issue.

Born in the turbulent fifteenth century, she was famed for her beauty and controversial second marriage to Edward IV, who she married just three years after he had displaced the Lancastrian Henry VI and claimed the English throne. As Queen Consort, Elizabeth's rise from commoner to royalty continues to capture modern imagination. Undoubtedly, it enriched the position of her family. Her elevated position and influence invoked hostility from Richard Neville, the 'Kingmaker', which later led to open discord and rebellion.

Throughout her life and even after the death of her husband, Elizabeth remained politically influential: briefly proclaiming her son King Edward V of England before he was deposed by her brother-in-law, the infamous Richard III, she would later play an important role in securing the succession of Henry Tudor in 1485 and his marriage to her daughter Elizabeth of York, thus and ending the War of the Roses.

Elizabeth Widville was an endlessly enigmatic historical figure, who has been obscured by dramatizations and misconceptions. In this fascinating and insightful biography, Dr John Ashdown-Hill brings shines a light on the truth of her life.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Tudor Period

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Louis John Frederick Ashdown-Hill MBE FSA (5 April 1949 – 18 May 2018), commonly known as John Ashdown-Hill, was an independent historian and author of books on late medieval English history with a focus on the House of York and Richard III of England. Ashdown-Hill died 18 May 2018 of motor neurone disease.

Reviews

[Maja - BibliophiliaDK ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

THE ARROGANCE OF THIS BOOK IS UNBEARABLE!🤬

This book offended me in so many ways. Already from the first page of the introduction I knew I would not like this book. As a historian I feel that I have some right to contest this book. I may only have a Master Degree while Ashdown-Hill has a Ph.D. But I still believe he makes some fundamental mistakes that no historian should EVER be allowed to make!

"[...] the present author has already attempted to present the true stories in respect of both of those issues elsewhere"

WHAT OFFENDED ME

I am my own source: If there is one thing I absolutely cannot abide in any kind of academic text it is when authors cite themselves as their own source. I mean, just think of the arrogance of it! "This is the truth because I have said so before!" Come on! And Ashdown-Hill does this more than ANY OTHER author I have ever read before! And, additionally, he leaves out a lot of key information while doing this - he is almost making a sales pitch for his other books. "If you want to know more about this, read my other books! Oh, and just so you know, this book is not going to make much sense unless you DO read my other books! TADA!"😤😤

No structure: This book is FILLED with the phrase "see below, chapter xx". Because the author cannot adhere to his own structure. He kept getting ahead of himself which made for a very messy read

All over the place: It wasn't just his lack of structure, that made this book a confusing reading experience. Ashdown-Hill obviously has a lot a knowledge that he is eager to share with his readers. The problem is, it doesn't strictly have anything to do with the subject.

Lacking criticism: One of the key aspects of being a historian is source criticism. Funnily enough, I didn't see Ashdown-Hill employing this method at all. He used sources left and right without discussing whether they were at all trustworthy.

Pick and choose: When Ashdown-Hill did display some modicum of source criticism it was towards the chronicle of Thomas More. Here Ashdown-Hill is quick to discard many claims made by more. However, he does still use the parts of More's text that supports his own story. Sorry mr, source criticism does not work that way!

Smear campaign: Do not be fooled by the title of this book. This is not a biography of Elizabeth Woodville. It is, however, a smear campaign with the sole goal of dragging her name and her person through the mud. Repeatedly. I mean, he has the AUDACITY, to suggest, that Elizabeth ordered the murder of her supposed rival, Eleanor Talbot, even though there are NO EVIDENCE to support this! There isn't even any evidence that Talbot's death was in any way suspicious!

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a biography of Elizabeth Woodville/Widville, as I'd hoped. It's far more about Eleanor Talbot/Butler, who John Ashdown-Hill was 100% convinced married Edward IV before Elizabeth did, exactly how Eleanor Talbot was related to all the English nobility, and how Elizabeth might have had her 'rival' killed in 1468 after finding out that she wasn't Edward IV's real wife after all. There's also plenty of speculation about whether the queen had Eleanor's brother-in-law John Mowbray, duke of Norfolk, and sundry others who supposedly got in her way, killed as well. I'm afraid I gave up at the point where JAH calls Elizabeth an 'Essex girl' and ponders whether her son-in-law Henry VII thought of her as one, i.e. as someone 'promiscuous and unintelligent' - this bit comes just pages after a sneering comment about Katherine de Valois still being considered a queen after Henry V's death despite her 'love affairs'. We also learn that Elizabeth wasn't a 'virtuous woman' because she apparently ordered meat during Lent. I like Elizabeth Woodville and am genuinely interested in learning more about her life, and can't say I particularly enjoyed reading a book where the disdain for her just drips off every page.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Widville, Lady Gray by Dr John Ashdown-Hill is a well-researched and interesting read that sheds a spotlight on the wife of Edward IV and mother of (amongst many other children) Edward V and eventual Queen Elizabeth of York.

A lot is known about “The Wars of the Roses” and the kings and usurpers that were involved, but not much has been written about some of the pivotal females that were present during that time.

The author clearly has done his research, and of course it is hard to be able to say with certainty all of the details and events of her life, as they were not as thoroughly documented as her male counterparts, however the author used what information he could unearth to create this interesting biography of, whom I feel, was a witty, resourceful, and strong woman who influenced a wide array of important people during this time. Through all of her adversities (and I mean come on, she had a rough go of it), she seemed to come out on top.

Elizabeth Widville was a force to be reckoned with, and Dr. Ashdown-Hill did a fabulous job in recognizing this polarizing woman.

I also enjoyed the images that were provided as well. They most definitely added to the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Pen and Sword History for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am sorry to say that this book really annoyed me. Although Dr John Ashdown-Hill was a distinguished historian, and very knowledgeable about the Woodvilles, he really disliked his subject, and his arguments failed to convince me. Even the pre-contract with Eleanor Talbot seems tenuous.

Much of this book is pure speculation, I thought.



Ashdown-Hill accuses the Queen of being involved in several murders and mysterious deaths without much evidence.He also includes fairly snide passages, for example, about her ordering meat during Lent and whether she was considered an 'Essex Girl'! I actually felt sorry for her, and anxious to read a nicer book about her in the end!



I bought the book because I didn't download it from NetGalley before the archive date.

[ConstantReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book expands on John Ashdown Hill's earlier views on Elizabeth Woodville (or Widville, as he spells it throughout the book, both versions are correct). In Ashdown Hill's opinion, Elizabeth wasn't truly Edward IV's wife (hence the subtitle on the cover: "Edward IV's chief mistress") because the King was pre-contracted, i.e. married, to another woman before he married Elizabeth. This another woman was Eleanor Butler, nee Talbot, who died in 1468 and who was said to have been Edward IV's wife in 1483. Eleanor features prominently throughout the book; Ashdown Hill argues that Elizabeth Woodville 'borrowed' the Talbot heraldic device, a hound, and incorporated it into her coat of arms on her surviving seal. This seems to have been overlooked by previous biographers, and it's an interesting caveat in the story of Elizabeth's life.
Ahdown Hill theorised that Eleonor may have died a violent dead and suggested that Elizabeth Woodville murdered her, although he admitted that it's only a theory and there's no evidence to support it.
Overall, this is not a typical biography but a summary of this author's views on Elizabeth, with biographical details interspersed in the narrative. The end-notes reveal that Ashdown Hill finished this book shortly before his death, and I can't think of a better parting gift than a biography of Edward IV's wife and queen.

[Éowyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was a sort of sadness for me in reading this book, as the author sadly passed away last year. I think there are few who have done more to shine a light on this particular era and I have found all of John Ashdown-Hill's book to be accessible for the general reader and full of solid original research. I've read books by other authors purporting to be taking a 'fresh' look at things, only to find the same nonsense regurgitated, so this is a genuine breath of fresh air!

This is a fairly complex period of history, and a lot of the character involved were related to each other somehow. I think it might be difficult coming straight to this particular book without much background in the period, even though I think it is accessible to the general reader. Perhaps a review of Ashdown-Hill's book on The Wars of the Roses would be a good preliminary read.

As to the particulars of this book, like many female historical figures, there's quite a lot we don't know about Elizabeth Widville. Ashdown-Hill hasn't been able to find all of the answers, but he has been able to clear aware a few myths, and that's all to the good! There are a number of quotations with the period spelling retained, and these can be a little hard to read, however, I do think the substance is well enough explained in the text for this to not be too much of an issue.

This book doesn't have all of the answers, but there are certainly some interesting theories and some debunking of commonly accepted 'facts' that really have no basis in reality. If you are open minded and have an interest in this period, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend all of the works of the late Dr John Ashdown-Hill.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ashdown-Hill is GREAT when it comes to hard facts such as birth dates, death dates, spelling variations, connections via blood and marriage in the noble and royal trees of England and Europe, and tracing mitochondrial DNA.

Motivations on the hand... not so much. He has a distressing tendency to ascribe the worst motivations to any action, especially by Elizabeth Woodville, and also a distressing tendency to believe everything written down, such as given real credence to the idea Elizabeth and her mom attempted witchcraft, just because some man wrote that down.

So i would recommend this as a source if you need info on detailed family trees of this era, but other than that, you can give this a miss.

[Alaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm working on my senior thesis paper and thought I'd read some biographies to get me started. I turned to the bibliography and the guy cites himself 8 times on the first page of it. He is not done citing himself though! I started reading the intro and immediately hated the book. I completely regret buying it and won't be using it as a source. I miss brick and mortar bookstores.

[Amy McElroy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book it's provided me with information I didn't know but was quite disjointed as keeps referring itself to all different chapters. Also refers to other works by the author that I haven't read but may have to now read.

[Heidi Malagisi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The English conflict known as the Wars of the Roses is filled with dynamic figures whose stories are those of legends. None more so than the wife of Edward IV and the mother of Elizabeth of York and the princes in the Tower, Elizabeth Woodville. She has been known in popular culture as the commoner turned “White Queen” consort, but do we really know the true story about her life? Was she really Edward IV’s wife? How much influence did she actually carry? These questions and more are tackled in Dr. John Ashdown-Hill’s latest book, “Elizabeth Widville Lady Grey: Edward IV’s Chief Mistress and the ‘Pink Queen’.

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books for sending me a copy of this book. I have had my eyes on this particular title for a while since I like learning about the women of the Wars of the Roses, and because I have never read a book by Dr. John Ashdown-Hill.

Since I was not familiar with Dr. John Ashdown-Hill and his work before I read this book, I decided to look into him in order to understand the position he might take on this particular topic. He is a medieval historian, who mainly focuses on Yorkist history. His main claim to fame was when he helped find the location where Richard III’s remains were buried. He also traced the female-line descendants of Richard III to his sister, which established the mtDNA haplogroup that was necessary to identify the remains found in the Leicester parking lot as Richard III. For this important research, Dr. John Ashdown-Hill was awarded an MBE in 2015 but sadly passed away from motor neurone disease on May 18, 2018. This was one of the last books he had ever written.

Knowing this information about Dr. John Ashdown-Hill, it helps to understand that he knows this subject rather well. He does show his knowledge through the family trees, the letters, and the tables that he does include. These sources give the reader an understanding of where Ashdown-Hill is coming from and a different perspective on Elizabeth Widville’s life and times in the courts of Edward IV, Richard III, and Henry VII. Ashdown-Hill does use his own books quite frequently as sources, which can come across as braggadocious at times.

Ashdown-Hill refers to Elizabeth Widville as the ‘Pink Queen’ because, at different times in her life, she was supporting the Lancastrians and the Yorkists causes. I do agree with this terminology because it does tell her story in a colorful way. However, it is his calling Elizabeth Edward IV’s ‘chief mistress’ where I do have an issue. Personally, I believe that Elizabeth was Edward’s wife, but Ashdown-Hill believes that Edward’s pre-contract with one Eleanor Talbot was valid and that Edward’s marriage to Elizabeth was bigamous. This is a central point in this book, but he does not really go into the depth that I wished he would have gone into to explain his point of view.

Another part of his book that I do not exactly agree with is his assessment of how many deaths Elizabeth was associated with, including possibly poisoning George Duke of Clarence’s wife and young son. He does not take into account illnesses as possible causes of death and jumps straight into malicious intentions, mostly by Elizabeth herself. Ashdown- Hill can come across as either passionate or brash in his writing style, which can be a bit off-putting at times. It feels like, at least to me, that Elizabeth was either treated as a villain or was in the background for this particular biography, instead of in the spotlight, which is something one would expect in a biography about a certain person.

Although I do not entirely agree with Dr. John Ashdown- Hill’s assessment of Elizabeth Widville’s life, I do respect the amount of research he obviously poured into this book. It is meticulously researched and I found it a unique experience to read a different perspective from my own. I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of this book, as I did have to stop reading it and come back to it several times to get my head around what he was saying since it was different than what I accept as fact about her life. However, I do believe that it is important to read books and authors who you don’t agree with in order to expand one’s knowledge about a topic. If you are a fan of Dr. John Ashdown-Hill or you would like to read a unique take on Elizabeth Widville’s life and times, I would suggest you read “Elizabeth Widville Lady Grey: Edward IV’s Chief Mistress and the ‘Pink Queen’”.

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Ashdown Hill's books hardly disappoint and this one makes no exception. What makes JAH different from other authors is that he always goes to the heart of things, always relying on primary contemporary sources and never afraid to put in discussion accepted "facts", that more than once are proven to be nothing more than ever repeated mythology. He could choose to sit behind an academic desk, repeating just the same tradition over and over like many others; yet he chose to go researching, never taking something for granted. Those who don't like him I guess it's because are not ready to let the "accepted" tradition go, and though are always contemporary sources the ones JAH refers to to put forward his subjects, someone accuse him of not giving sources for topics they just don't want to accept. Well what it must be accepted is that if JAH didn't go researching we might never know anything about Eleanor Talbot (and still thinking of her as the "Elizabeth Lucy" invented by Thomas More), her family, her place in the world, her aristocratic connections; if didn't go researching, Richard III would have still be under a car park. I bet that these same people would have said then that his disproving of the "River Soar myth" was invented and his idea that Richard was where he definitely was invented too, because "accepted" tradition said otherwise.

[Moniek Bloks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Elizabeth Woodville (or Widville, as used by the author of this book) was Queen of England as the wife of King King Edward IV of England during turbulent times. As a slightly older widow with two sons already and a Lancastrian background, she was seen as an unsuitable match for the Yorkist King. Nevertheless, they married - despite him perhaps having already married someone else - and she was introduced to the court as the new King. Over the years, as Edward's fortunes went up and down, Elizabeth gave birth to several children, including the Princes in the Tower and Elizabeth of York, whose marriage to Henry Tudor would eventually unite the warring houses.

Elizabeth Widville, Lady Grey: Edward IV's Chief Mistress and the 'Pink Queen' by John Ashdown-Hill is the latest book on Elizabeth Woodville, and I could already tell from the title that it was going to be an interesting one. The use of the name 'Widville' and the use of the word 'mistress' in the title already suggested to me that the author did not particularly like the subject. The disdain for Elizabeth simply drips off the pages, and I often found myself rolling my eyes as the author referenced himself. Truth be told, there are more objective books out there.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed the other works by the late Ashdown-Hill that I have read. This one is not quite as well done I don't think. It is really useful to separate the myths from the meager contemporary evidence, as we know so little about this queen despite her outsize reputation. On the other hand, why then take so seriously the bizarre allegation that led to the execution of an elderly woman for murdering the wife of the Duke of Clarence? There is no more evidence for this than for other things he debunks. Yes, Isabel gave birth, seemed fine, then suddenly died. This was not unusual in the unsanitary days of childbed fever. He is also quite willing to throw around allegations that Elizabeth was responsible for this and other murders. Either contemporary evidence matters to you, or it doesn't. The comments on how Elizabeth seemed to trust in and be well taken care of by Richard III are useful. He overused the words "intriguingly," "significantly," and "interestingly," and they were not always warranted. Not a bad book; but if you aren't already on his wavelength from prior reading, you might find this book baffling.

[Jennifer Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly detailed book which debunks many myths about Elizabeth Widville. I have read numerous books about this period but they usually gloss over Elizabeth, focusing more on Edward IV, his brothers and the line of succession which followed. Dr Ashdown-Hill admits that there is a lack of definitive evidence regarding Elizabeth's life but uses what is available to create a picture of a strong, determined woman who tried to ensure her children retained their royal inheritance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Tabitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely an academic read, plus he very clearly has a big thing against Elizabeth which comes out in the book! He picks up on hearsay and scant evidence for various deaths that happened while she was Queen and makes out that either through her conniving or through her family she was responsible! Not the best which is a shame as I've enjoyed some of his other books!

[Tambra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, very interesting, I learn a lot about her and her life.

[Michele J · Rating 5 out of 5]

well researched

This book presented different sources of research that I hadn’t seen before and presented cogent arguments about how to interpret that research

[Karen Wenborn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made me so angry, couldn't finish it. Biased, contradictory, self referencing.........

[Elaine Maul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I'd describe this as the best (factual) historical book I've ever read.

[Claire Biggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read but the author seemed to be very Anti Elizabeth Widville throughout the book

[aleph · Rating 2 out of 5]

ricardians will really write a whole book citing mostly themselves and wikipedia and make the wildest claims to try and prove richard iii's innocence and think its not an issue