#BlogTour The York King by Amy Licence

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The York King by Amy Licence. This is the second book in the House of York trilogy.

About the Author

Amy Licence is an historian of women’s lives in the medieval and early modern period, from queens to commoners. Her particular interest lies in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century, in gender relations, queenship and identity, female orthodoxy and fertility and childbirth. She is also interested in modernism, specifically Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group, Picasso and Post-Impressionism. She has been a teacher for over twenty years. 

Amy has written for The Guardian, The TLS, The New Statesman, BBC History, The Huffington Post and contributes regularly to BBC History Magazine. Follow @PrufrocksPeach on Twitter

About the book

1464. Family conflicts, Lancaster against York, the fight for the English throne continues...

During the early years of his reign, Edward IV of York battles to bring peace and stability to the country, as Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, raises support in the north, attempting to return the Lancastrian king, Henry VI, to the throne. With uprisings imminent, the Earl of Warwick pursues a marriage alliance with France, determined to bring about a friendship between the two countries and suppress support for Lancaster.

Unhappy with the match, Edward meets Elizabeth Woodville, daughter of a squire, and marries in a secret ceremony. With verbal agreements broken, friendships damaged and old divisions reappearing, Edward finds himself facing new enemies much closer to home.

Set during the Wars of the Roses, this is the second volume in the House of York trilogy.

Review

The War of the Roses is one of the most fascinating periods in English history, although admittedly there are many more. The bloodshed, betrayal, and fights for the throne. What a dangerous time to live in. This book focuses on Edward IV and the battle to retain and indeed regain his place on the English throne. His choice of wife in Elizabeth Woodville leads to conflict and a revolt, which see his closest ally and a brother turn on him.

Interestingly this is the prelude to one of the most intriguing mysteries during the conflict between the Houses of Lancaster and York. Edward V and his brother Richard go on to become the infamous Princes in the Tower. I wonder if the next book in the trilogy will reference these events or focus on Richard III - there are doubts about the true physical appearance of Richard, the Duke of Gloucester - later Richard III, for instance. And the finger tends to be pointed in his direction when it comes to the aforementioned mystery.

I digress, as I am wont to do when it comes to this topic. The author does an excellent job of telling the history as historical faction. The topic itself can be event, character and fact heavy, and indeed keeping track of titles, names and places can be a bit of a task. Being able to engage a reader from beginning to end with a story that does due diligence to the actual events is not an easy task, however Licence does it very well.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the book or to read further work by this author.

Buy The York King at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Lume Books; pub date 3 Mar. 2022. Buy at Amazon com.