Jacquetta of Luxembourg
was a royal duchess who married beneath her for love and became mother of a queen.
In this unique presentation Philippa Gregory uses original documents, site visits and even archaeology to create the first biography ever written of the young duchess who survived two reigns and two wars to be the first lady at two rival courts.
Elizabeth Woodville was a widowed mother when she married the young King Edward IV. Her two sons are infamous as the Princes in the Tower, but little is known of her own life. David Baldwin, established author on the Wars of the Roses, tells her story, that of the first commoner to marry a King of England for love.
Michael Jones, fellow of the Royal Historical Society, writes about Margaret Beaufort, whose official story is powerfully bland.
Yet she committed treason against an ordained King of England and her son, Henry VII, became the first Tudor to take the throne.
In an introduction by Dr Gregory, she discusses her lifes work: history, and the writing style she loves: historical fiction.
She answers many of the questions posed by her readers and history scholars alike: what is the difference between writing history and historical fiction? How much of a role does speculation play in each? How much fiction should there be in a historical novel? How are female historians changing our view of women in history?