Uncrowned Queen: The Life of Margaret Beaufort, Mother of the Tudors

by Nicola Tallis

Overview

An "impeccably researched and beautifully written" biography of Lady Margaret Beaufort, matriarch of the Tudor dynasty (Tracy Borman, author of The Private Lives of the Tudors and Elizabeth's Women).

In 1485, Henry VII became the first Tudor king of England. His victory owed much to his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. Over decades and across countries, Margaret had schemed to install her son on the throne and end the War of the Roses. Margaret's extraordinarily close relationship with Henry, coupled with her role in political and ceremonial affairs, ensured that she was treated — and behaved — as a queen in all but name. Against a lavish backdrop of pageantry and ambition, court intrigue and war, historian Nicola Tallis illuminates how a dynamic, brilliant woman orchestrated the rise of the Tudors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541617872
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	07/28/2020
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	372,449
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Nicola Tallis received her doctorate in history from the University of Winchester. The author of several books, she has previously lectured at the University of Winchester and worked with Historic Royal Palaces and the National Trust. She lives just outside Bath, UK.

Table of Contents

Dramatis Personae ix

Timeline xix

Introduction 1

Prologue 9

Part 1

1 Noble Blood 13

2 Of Singular Wisdom 25

3 A Marvellous Thing 39

4 At War Together in Wales 51

5 My Good and Gracious Prince, King and Only-Beloved Son 59

Part 2

6 Lady Stafford 69

7 Like a Fugitive 81

8 A Long Gown for my Lord 95

9 Divine Prophecy 105

10 Heaven Protects him Who has no Burial Urn 115

11 Grace and Favour of the King's Highness 125

12 A Boar with his Tusks 137

13 The Head of that Conspiracy 147

14 Mother of the King's Great Rebel and Traitor 159

15 The Priceless Crown 171

Part 3

16 My Lady the King's Mother 181

17 Preservation of Your Most Noble and Royal Estate 199

18 Too Much for my Hand 213

19 The Right Noble Puissant and Excellent Princess 229

20 My Godly Mistress, the Lady Margaret 241

21 Right Royal and Pleasantly Beseen 249

22 In Everything Like to the Queen 259

23 Nos Margareta 267

24 A Woman Most Outstanding 279

Epilogue: The Tudor Legacy 291

Author's Note 299

Notes on Sources 301

Abbreviations 305

Select Bibliography 307

Notes and References 329

Acknowledgements 371

Index 373

Editorial Reviews

"Ms. Tallis has researched Margaret's life assiduously, delving deep into her account books... Henry's position would not be secure for several years, but Margaret's patience had paid off, and Ms. Tallis shows that she exerted considerable influence over the king and court. And, since she must know as much about Margaret as anyone alive, one may accept that Margaret Beaufort had managed her life's voyage with tenacity, and no little skill, to come safe and honored to harbor."—Wall Street Journal

"Stunning-informed, assured, and compulsively readable. Nicola Tallis gives us not only the story of how the Tudor dynasty began, but a sympathetic and convincing portrait of the flesh-and-blood woman who was its founding mother."—Sarah Gristwood, author of Game of Queens and Blood Sisters

"Impeccably researched and beautifully written, Nicola Tallis's latest biography is her best yet. She dispels the many myths surrounding Lady Margaret Beaufort and in their place creates an altogether more compelling portrayal of a woman of extraordinary courage, vision and passion. A must read."—Tracy Borman, author of The Private Lives of the Tudors and Elizabeth's Women

"A sensitive, well-rounded and moving portrayal of the woman who founded the Tudor dynasty."
—Michael Jones, author of The King's Mother

"Tallis is a zealous destroyer of myth... [She] deploys an extraordinary eye for detail in telling this story... Through this superb revisionist biography, Margaret Beaufort emerges as a fascinating and often surprisingly sympathetic matriarch."—The Times of London

"A fresh biography of the woman who ushered in the Tudor dynasty... For fans of British royal history, Tallis is a reliable guide, and the timeline and dramatis personae are highly useful. A deeply researched work that allows this historic personage to live and breathe."—Kirkus Reviews

"This clear, straightforward portrayal of Margaret Beaufort's complex world will appeal to fans of the Tudors and English history."—Booklist

"Margaret never officially held the title of queen. But as Nicola Tallis argues... she fulfilled the role in all but name, orchestrating her family's rise to power and overseeing the machinations of government upon her son's ascension."—Smithsonian

From the Publisher

06/01/2020

In 1457, at the height of the Wars of the Roses, 13-year-old Margaret Beaufort was already a widow and mother to the infant Henry Tudor. That both survived the upheavals of the next three decades was a feat in itself; that they emerged the victors, with Henry Tudor crowned as Henry VII and Margaret one of the most powerful women in England, speaks to an extraordinary determination on Margaret's part, as Tallis (Crown of Blood) explores in this new biography. In addition to recounting how Margaret's maneuvering ensured the survival and rise of herself and her son, Tallis dispels the image of Margaret as a dour woman devoted solely to piety by providing lavish detail on her love of books, clothing, and jewelry, her founding of two colleges at Cambridge, and the establishment of her own financial independence. However, Tallis's fascination for her subject is also a weak point, as it results in the glossing over of examples of Margaret's shortcomings and unquestioned support of material that vilifies her opponents. VERDICT A highly sympathetic, spirited portrait of a major figure of the late Plantagenet and early Tudor reigns. Interested readers might also seek out Michael Jones and Malcolm Underwood's The King's Mother.—Kathleen McCallister, William & Mary Libs., Williamsburg, VA

Library Journal

2020-03-25
A fresh biography of the woman who ushered in the Tudor dynasty.

In this intricate and intimate work, Tallis manages to cut through the dizzying ties of royal ancestry to get at the steely personality of Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443-1509), a beleaguered mother whose single-minded purpose was to redeem the status of her son—and herself in the bargain. The author, who has previously written about Queen Elizabeth and Lady Jane Grey, presents a fully fleshed portrait of a justly celebrated woman who weathered several marriages and royal wars to prevail with the accession of her son, Henry VII, to the throne of England as the first Tudor. One of Margaret’s ancestors was the founder of the house of Lancaster, whose ties would come to define all of her dealings. Wealthy and well-connected, she was a prime pawn in the marriage market, betrothed twice as a child and married to Edmund Tudor at age 12. The author clearly renders this early marriage as a traumatic experience; Margaret got pregnant immediately, and Edmund died in battle less than two years later. Nonetheless, she was a devoted mother, and, through two more advantageous marriages, to Henry Stafford and Thomas Stanley, she skillfully positioned herself during the War of the Roses between the supporters of the Lancasters and Yorks. With Richard III’s usurpation of power in 1483, Margaret actively plotted to render her exiled son to the throne and arrange his marriage to Elizabeth of York, the eldest daughter of Edward IV, in order to claim legitimacy. Despite a perilous period of being branded “mother of the king’s great rebel and traitor,” it actually came to pass. In 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth, Henry defeated Richard to become king. For fans of British royal history, Tallis is a reliable guide, and the timeline and dramatis personae are highly useful.

A deeply researched work that allows this historic personage to live and breathe.

Kirkus Reviews