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scheu's review against another edition
4.0
Gristwood manages to explain the War of the Roses pretty well to someone who knew more or less nothing about it, while at the same time going into a lot of detail about the women at the center of the conflict. I still needed a map/family tree though. It doesn't help that some prominent English families were split by the conflict - and that some people switched sides.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
2.0
I was rather excited to read about the women behind the wars of the roses. I love me an historical non fiction from time to time and this sounded like an very interesting subject. However I didn't feel that listening to the audiobook. Couldn't hold my focus and didn't find it either interesting to listen to or easy to remember any important facts. Not sure if it was the subject itself, the audiobook format or the writing I didn't gel with though
magnetarmadda's review against another edition
5.0
I appreciated Gristwood's candor about the availability and reliability of contemporary and near-contemporary sources for these women. It made the questions she asked, and the various potential answers she referenced, that much more significant. I deeply appreciated the way she intertwined the stories of all of these women and showed how a women's network existed outside of male disputes and how women's relationships superseded male conflict whenever possible. Women have been shoved under the rug for thousands of years, and I appreciated the work and effort Gristwood put in to correct that for a period of English history.
fantasyfunk's review against another edition
2.0
I was really excited about the approach to this book. It's a look at the royal women during the War of the Roses and the impact they made on the war. While I was interested enough in the subject to keep going, I thought the book fell a little flat. At times it lacked a solid narrative direction which made the reading confusing. This mostly happened in the beginning when there were a lot more people to address and introduce. Unfortunately, the book bounced from woman to woman without a lot of clarity and it was a struggle to keep everyone straight. I know part of that is the downfall of the time and important people sharing the same name, but I've read other nonfiction books without the same struggle.
Most importantly for me, I just never thought the book really made the women come alive. It was dry and I don't feel anything was really offered up about the women that I haven't gotten in a book focusing on the war overall except to tell me what they spent on clothes and servants. Nothing new was presented to really give me a sense of these women; just facts and events. I'm not saying I want fiction, but I really thought a book focusing on the women would do more to dig into their lives and actually focus on them. I'm still wondering what the book thought their impact on the War of the Roses was. Honestly I think the book might have been better served to take a look at each woman one at a time rather than trying to go through a timeline of the war.
Overall it's probably 2.5 stars. At the very least it is very readable which doesn't always happen with nonfiction books. I think the turmoil of the times and all the events/action helps with that. I really don't think I would have made it through this book if work hadn't been so slow.
Most importantly for me, I just never thought the book really made the women come alive. It was dry and I don't feel anything was really offered up about the women that I haven't gotten in a book focusing on the war overall except to tell me what they spent on clothes and servants. Nothing new was presented to really give me a sense of these women; just facts and events. I'm not saying I want fiction, but I really thought a book focusing on the women would do more to dig into their lives and actually focus on them. I'm still wondering what the book thought their impact on the War of the Roses was. Honestly I think the book might have been better served to take a look at each woman one at a time rather than trying to go through a timeline of the war.
Overall it's probably 2.5 stars. At the very least it is very readable which doesn't always happen with nonfiction books. I think the turmoil of the times and all the events/action helps with that. I really don't think I would have made it through this book if work hadn't been so slow.
toesinthesand's review against another edition
3.0
Long, and at times confusing to keep all the names of dukes etc straight, but nice to be able to read about the women in this era as more than just so-and-so's wife or mistress or daughter. several of them had real influence on history. Margaret Beaufort in particular. fascinating, ambitious woman.
barbarakaterina's review against another edition
5.0
It's more of a general history of the War of the Roses, really (it presupposes the readers have a broad idea what happened, but don't know any details), but it is a very well written one, and it does focus chiefly on the women,a nd what there views of certain things were or might have been. It also contains lots of amazing details of the queens' medieval lifestyles, including the size of their hosueholds and retinues or the kinds of pomp with which their important life events were celebrated.
mpeach's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, and Sexism
daisy_3's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
3.75
Easy to read and an interesting angle on the Cousins' War, but it felt a bit shallow.
a_verthandi's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the connectivity between all of the women, but WOW did this author have some key phrases she really liked to repeat in really short spans, like "symbol of Tudor defensiveness."