The Lady of the Rivers: Cousins' War 3

Philippa Gregory takes readers to fifteenth-century Rouen, where Jacquetta of Luxembourg is left a wealthy young widow. Her one true friend in the great household is Richard Woodville, the Duke of Bedford's squire, and their friendship soon becomes a secret marriage. Their return to the Lancastrian court places Jacquetta beside Margaret, the young queen of Henry VI, at a time when the kingdom is starting to fracture.

The novel follows a king who slips into a mysterious sleep, a queen who relies on untrustworthy favourites, and Richard, Duke of York, pressing his rival family's claim. Through all of it, Jacquetta fights for her king, her queen and her daughter, Elizabeth Woodville, whose extraordinary future she can already sense. It is a rich, absorbing read for anyone who enjoys history told through the women who lived it.