The Kingmaker's Daughter

One of the books that I reread on a yearly basis. Philippa Gregory's masterful way of breathing life into oft-forgotten historical figures definitely shines here.

Anne Neville is, like most women of this period, a pawn for her father to move as he sees fit. You can definitely sympathize for this girl who has a domineering father ("the Kingmaker") flaunting around and loudly proclaiming that he secured the crown for King Edward IV. With the Kingmaker essentially ruling through Edward, he sets his sights on getting Anne's sister Isabel to marry George, the Duke of Clarence and middle York brother. Anne assumes that she would marry Richard as the boy had been a ward of her father's in childhood but this doesn't happen. Instead we see the downfall of the Kingmaker's hold on the throne.

Through Anne we get to visualize this pivotal chapter in the War of the Roses. The Kingmaker overplayed his hand and lost his grasp on King Edward who falls for Elizabeth Woodville, daughter of a minor noble.
As Edward pulls away from the Neville's, Anne realizes that the marriage she thought she would have (to Richard) is slipping away and when the Kingmaker declared his son-in-law for the throne, the war hits a fascinating point. To solidify the Neville's alliance with the Lancaster faction, Anne is married briefly to Prince Edward, the son of Henry the VI. Her mother-in-law is the formidable Margaret of Anjou. In this part of the story, Anne blossoms from quiet and meek to wanting life on her terms. When Anne's father dies in battle and the Lancaster's run for sanctuary, Anne feels alone and caged, wanting freedom and to enjoy her youth. Stuck with a spoiled and rude husband plus an overbearing mother-in-law, as a reader I was anxious for Anne.

Once Richard, Duke of Gloucester and brother to King Edward, breaks into sanctuary and takes Anne for his own, the story shifts into a seemingly positive take. Anne finally feels loved and seen by Richard who fights to ensure that his wife gets half of her inheritance from her mother (Isabel gets the other half). Anne recounts George's last betrayal of his brothers. She demands that her sister's children live with her son in Middleham. We hear that King Edward dies and Elizabeth Woodville's triumph continues as her young son is briefly named King Edward V. But then Anne's husband makes a bold move for the throne, putting his nephews in the Tower of London. Anne finds herself thrust into the seat of power as Queen Consort but it doesn't feel right. The new rulers aren't as captivating like the Rivers family had been and Anne is gossiped about as being pale and boring. Once her and Richard's heir dies, you can feel Anne lose all sense of purpose. She watches her beloved start to fall for someone else and she grieves for what she lost.

Definitely a book that has me in my feels everytime I read it.