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wordsofclover 's review for:
Cecily
by Annie Garthwaite
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cecily Neville, granddaughter of John of Gaunt, wife of King's Heir, Richard of York, and future mother to Kings of England, Edward IV and Richard III. But Cecily was not just wife and mother in a tumultuous time in English history - she was also a political schemer, a confidante and later enemy of the Queen, a trusted advisor to her husband and sons. She was a determined, strong woman and this is her story.
Having read some fantastic novels about the War of the Roses and King Edward IV's reign, as well as the Princes in the Tower, I was really eager to read Cecily as soon as I found out about it, as I think she has always been a fascinating character in the other novels I've read but always one from a far and I've never known her story which turned out to be really interesting for a variety of reasons from her own ancestry to how educated and respected she was with all political movements from her husband. In other novels, she has always been portrayed as a cold, cruel woman who turned on her sons in the wrong moments and while the latter wasn't covered in Cecily, the former could technically be true. She definitely appeared in this novel as cold and almost cruel at times, especially in her often matter of fact way of birthing children and handing them over as quick as possible.
I think this portrayed a fictionalised but grounded in truth version of Cecily that felt very realistic. I loved her marriage to Richard - arranged but turned to a deep love, and how well respected and listened to she was in the marriage which was very, very rare for the time. I knew what would happen with the War of the Roses, and who some of the victims were yet I found myself somehow wishing for a different outcome reading this book.
This is a great one to read for anyone who loves historical fiction from the likes of Phillipa Gregory or Anne O'Brien, and I really enjoyed it as another element to the York stories I've read before, a bit more exciting than ones following Edwards IV as they grew a bit stale for me (because I read too much of them).
Having read some fantastic novels about the War of the Roses and King Edward IV's reign, as well as the Princes in the Tower, I was really eager to read Cecily as soon as I found out about it, as I think she has always been a fascinating character in the other novels I've read but always one from a far and I've never known her story which turned out to be really interesting for a variety of reasons from her own ancestry to how educated and respected she was with all political movements from her husband. In other novels, she has always been portrayed as a cold, cruel woman who turned on her sons in the wrong moments and while the latter wasn't covered in Cecily, the former could technically be true. She definitely appeared in this novel as cold and almost cruel at times, especially in her often matter of fact way of birthing children and handing them over as quick as possible.
I think this portrayed a fictionalised but grounded in truth version of Cecily that felt very realistic. I loved her marriage to Richard - arranged but turned to a deep love, and how well respected and listened to she was in the marriage which was very, very rare for the time. I knew what would happen with the War of the Roses, and who some of the victims were yet I found myself somehow wishing for a different outcome reading this book.
This is a great one to read for anyone who loves historical fiction from the likes of Phillipa Gregory or Anne O'Brien, and I really enjoyed it as another element to the York stories I've read before, a bit more exciting than ones following Edwards IV as they grew a bit stale for me (because I read too much of them).