Maureen asked Philippa Gregory:

In your "Cousin's War" series, you have characters constantly put down Anne Neville, and in the "Kingmaker's Daughter" you make her unlikeable. Why do you hate Anne Neville? And why take the time to write a whole book on her when she should be written by someone who truly is intrigued by her and her life?

Philippa Gregory Dear Maureen, I am sorry that you have misread my intentions in The Kingmaker's Daughter. I think the novel is a very affectionate and respectful re-telling of Anne's story in which she is shown as loyal (especially to her sister) loving (to her second husband, Richard), brave (throughout her father's campaign) and enterprising (when she runs away from George Duke of Clarence's control). Certainly I rather admire what we know of her, and I liked the character that I created. If you think that I have shown her as cruel to her mother then that is the history: she colluded in her mother's imprisonment so that she could inherit the fortune. But I don't think I suggest that she is overall an unlikeable person. I based the novel on the Michael Hicks biography and there are other fictional accounts that you might prefer. But I don't dislike her and I certainly don't 'hate' her, or any of these historical characters.

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