Virgin Widow (MIRA) [Paperback]

I have mixed feelings about this book to be fair. Although Anne O'Brien does a good job in telling the story of Anne Neville, and quickly elicits the reader's sympathy for the young woman who is just another pawn in the Wars of the Roses, the story irritated me for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, is the use of first person, which means the POV is limited. Although we are very (perhaps overly) aware of Anne's feelings, our view of Richard, Duke of Gloucester and soon to be King, is occluded by romanticism. Secondly, the book ends rather abruptly, and the fact that Anne and her child did not live long is glossed over, which is odd, considering that Richard was accused by his contemporaries of being complicit in her death. So the story of Anne Neville is not fully told, which is rather a shame. To balance this, we have the reasons that AN was a 'virgin widow' handled extremely well, as was the legend of her disguised as a kitchen maid, and the glimpse we do get of Richard shows him in a more kindly light than history has allowed. However, none of the characters apart from Anne are fully developed, Margaret of Anjou being two dimensional, though the hint of incest with her son was an interesting idea, perhaps a little more attention there might have rounded both those characters out. Having also read the authors book on Eleanor of Acquitaine, I would respectfully suggest that her next book leave first person alone!

O'Brien takes a new spin on the early life of Anne Neville, daughter of the mighty Earl of Warwick, "The Kingmaker". Both Anne and her sister Isabel are major prizes on the marriage market (and must marry where papa says), but Anne has her heart set on a Plantagenet husband, childhood *friend* Richard, younger brother of Edward IV. Getting her heart's desire isn't quite so easy as there's this little dispute going on now known as The Wars of the Roses (or The Cousin's War as Phillipa Gregory has decided to rename it). This is a very complicated period (read more on Wik), but for our intents and purposes, Warwick and Isabel's husband George, Duke of Clarence, get miffed at King Edward, turn their coats, hightail it to France and throw in their lot with Margaret of Anjou. George thinks he'd make a better king than older brother Edward, but Warwick's changed his tune and marries Anne of to Margaret's son Edward of Lancaster, who is or is not the Prince of Wales depending on whether you are a York or a Lancaster.

Confused? I told you trying to explain this was complicated. SPOILER WARNING going forward. Much of this is known history to those familiar with the period, but for those new to the party it might seem like I'm spilling the beans, so be warned.

Anne's narrative covers her early years, her marriage to Lancaster, the failed attempts to reclaim England for the Lancasters and subsequent trials and tribulations as a consequence of her father's treasonous plots. This book does not cover Anne's years as Richard's queen, the plots of that Grasping Henry Tudor, nor the events leading up to Bosworth Field. Cutting it off where she did gives the author an opening for a HEA, but you'll just have to read it for yourself to see if Anne gets it.

While not necessarily a bad book, those looking for insight into Anne will likely be very disappointed. From what I gathered at the author's comments at the end (an interview of sorts, not notes), this was written more with romance in mind and that is what you are going to get. As for O'Brien's writing itself and her take on the period, I do have a few quibbles. Written in the first person narrative (not a favorite of mine) set some limits on recounting back history for the reader and I was scratching my head a time or two when Anne had long conversations with Richard about past events both of them should know perfectly well. Anne refers to her parents as the Earl and the Countess more often than mother and father, and that is both in her *thoughts* and in private conversations with her sister. Odd, that. As a very well-born medieval lady, Anne should know that marriage is about duty and making powerful alliances and not about *twu wuv*, yet she's constantly stamping her feet when Richard doesn't declare his true feelings - dangit by this time she's in a serious political pickle and anyone with a brain in her head should be jumping at the best offer she's ever going to see.

Anne's little episode as a kitchen maid (known history, I am not spoiling) is given an unusual twist, and by the end images of Disney's Cinderella and Prince Charming were stuck in my head and never let go. All of the baddies are easily recognizable by their "feral" smiles, and that includes Margaret who is given a plot twist that will probably inflame the die-hard Ricardians. That said, I do give the author kudos for giving Anne some backbone, as well as a more rounded Richard without the sugar-coated-to-the-point-of-vomit-inducing-perfection we've seen so much from other authors write Richard.

All in all, not a bad book by any means, and should do nicely for readers new to the period and looking to get your feet wet. The be-all to end-all book on this period is still Sharon Penman's fabulous The Sunne In Splendour and one I would highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. I love historical fiction but the Wars of the Roses is a period I am not so familiar with but like a lot of people I tended to think of Richard 111 as an evil figure with a hump and a limp as depicted in the Shakespeare play. Not so in this version - in fact quite the opposite! He comes over as a loyal, charming and hansome (yes, hansome!) man who you begin to like more and more as the story unfolds. It is his brother, the Duke of Clarence who appears as the villain of the piece. Well, who knows which version is the nearest to the truth but it does make for an excellent read and I am now keen to read more books about Richard and the whole of this troubled period of history.