A wonderful book. I’m a massive history fan and this kept me hooked. Well written and researched. Will stand up to repeat reading.

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.

Faszinierend altes und neues Wissen über eine vernachlässigte Person des Empires der Insel - ein weiterer Beweis, dass das Leben die besten Geschichten schreibt!

This book by the late historian John Ashdown-Hill is a biography of Elizabeth Woodville, who became queen consort of England when she married Edward IV in 1464. Ashdown-Hill, who died in 2018, spent many years studying and writing about the Wars of the Roses and was a member of the Richard III Society, playing a part in the discovery and identification of Richard’s remains in 2012. This is the first of his books that I’ve read so I hoped I would be in good hands with an author who seems to have been an expert on his chosen subject.

As soon as I started to read, the depth of Ashdown-Hill’s research and knowledge was obvious. He begins with a detailed discussion of the origins of the Woodville name and why he believes ‘Widville’ is a more accurate spelling, before going on to spend several chapters looking at Elizabeth’s ancestry and genealogy charts. This level of detail continues throughout the book as we are taken through the rest of Elizabeth’s life, including her first marriage to Sir John Grey, her widowhood and meeting with Edward IV, the births of her many children and, after Edward’s death, how she fared under the reigns of Richard III and Henry VII. He frequently quotes long passages from primary sources (and doesn’t make it easy for us by translating them into modern English). However, his main source seems to be himself – he constantly references his own earlier works, which is not particularly useful when you haven’t read them!

Another thing that quickly became obvious to me was that this was not going to be a balanced, unbiased account of Elizabeth’s life. In his introduction, Ashdown-Hill questions whether Elizabeth could really be considered Edward IV’s wife and queen as Edward had allegedly been pre-contracted to another woman, Eleanor Talbot, before marrying Elizabeth (hence the book’s subtitle which refers to Elizabeth as ‘Edward IV’s chief mistress’). I already knew about the pre-contract, but Ashdown-Hill also puts forward a theory I haven’t come across before, which is that Elizabeth was responsible for Eleanor’s death. And this is not the only murder he attributes to Elizabeth; he also suggests that she was behind the deaths of the Earl of Desmond and of George, Duke of Clarence, and that she poisoned Clarence’s wife and young son. There is no real evidence for any of this and I found it disappointing that the author makes no attempt to be fair and objective, letting his own personal dislike of Elizabeth come to the forefront.

As this is my favourite period of history to read about, I found it interesting to read Ashdown-Hill’s thoughts on Elizabeth, even if I didn’t necessarily always agree with them – and, as I’ve said, the amount of detail he goes into is very impressive. He can even draw on his own studies into the mitochondrial DNA sequences of Elizabeth’s descendants. If you’re new to the period, though, I would recommend looking for a good general book on the Wars of the Roses first.

A well researched and interesting read
This book is very well written and informative.
A good read

I have mixed feelings about this book, I love history surrounding the war of the roses, Plantagenets and the Tudors. This book was full of information I didn't know until reading and provided insightful evidence but I found the book quite disjointed. I do feel as a hard copy this would be resolved as there was a lot of references by the author to other parts of the book but as a ebook it's difficult to keep up. I also found the author references himself as a source frequently but only with references to other books or research which I haven't read. This would be good for someone who has a copy of all the authors work to cross reference but I struggled having not read the rest. However, I did enjoy it and am pleased to have learnt more about Elizabeth Widville and her relationship with the York sons.

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.

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 mistake 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!

This ARC was courtesy of netgalley - the thoughts and opinions are mine and unbiased

History is my ' thing ' and the Tudors in particular. This being very early leading into the Tudor age gives background information that I found very useful and contributes to the knowledge I already hold.

However, although knowing about the Princes in the Tower and the Wars of the Roses, I had scant knowledge of Elizabeth Widville.

This is a well researched, fascinating read. Dr John Ashdown-Hill brings this vividly to life. The pictures added to put 'faces' to names and events vastly enriches the book. Beautifully put together by publisher and author - this is a real treat - I am longing to reread this and will do so at a slower pace to take in the amazing details brought to live by the author.

One of the things I love about the book is that attention is being given to a strong female character. History traditionally assigns more importance to the males in these times, sometimes missing out on the strong female influences that shaped character.

This would be a great book to discuss at book clubs but for me it is also a fabulous summer read

If you are interested in any way in the history of this country, this really is a must-read

Can't rate or recommend highly enough

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.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the topic. I knew very little about Elizabeth Widville before picking this up, but feel I now have a much better understanding of what a fascinating character she truly was, as well as the key role she played in some very important historical moments.

The book also provides a good amount of information and background on some other key events of the time - her sons (the princes in the tower), and later the War of the Roses, for instance - all of which is fascinating.

Overall, a well informed and well written exploration of one of history's lesser known characters.