The Stolen Crown

Susan Higginbotham has brought us her third meticulously researched historical fiction novel,The Stolen Crown. The story of the secret marriage of Elizabeth Woodville to Edward IV of England is told through the eyes of Elizabeth's younger sister, Katherine. In the way of royal families, Elizabeth's many siblings are soon placed in marriages advantageous to the king, and Kate is married to Harry, the Duke of Buckingham.
The match is a good one, and Kate is a supportive wife as Harry tries to gain favor with the king.Unfortunately, because of his Lancaster heritage, Buckingham will never reach a position of true power with the York king. Edward spends many years fighting wars against the French as well as uprisings led by the Lancasters and his brother George, Duke of Clarence, and Harry is always there in support of his king, alongside his friend, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, whom Harry has idolized from childhood.

When King Edward dies suddenly and Richard becomes Regent for the twelve year old new King Edward V, Harry is finally poised for a position of power and his friend Richard brings him in to the inner circles of government.
The child King and his younger brother are sent to live in the Tower of London for their protection, and their mother the Queen takes her daughters into sanctuary at a nunnery. Harry is given estates and titles of honor, but his time away and his blind devotion to Richard take a toll on his marriage, especially when a point of legality steals the crown from the young Edward and places it on the head of Richard, now King Richard III, famous to many from Shakespeare's play of the same name.

Beloved by his subjects in the North, Richard's reputation in the South of England is not as strong and what begin as grumblings that he has stolen the crown, become all-out rebellions encouraged by the French. Rumors also begin that the young princes in the Tower have been killed, and when Richard does not produce them for the public, even his long time supporter Harry Stafford begins to believe that Richard is not the rightful king and has stolen the crown as well as murdered the rightful king and his heir. Harry becomes part of an ill-fated plot to dethrone Richard and crown Henry Tudor, who has claim through his mother being a Lancaster. When the rebels are captured they all, including Harry Stafford, are beheaded.
Historical novels about the War of the Roses and its aftermath are everywhere right now, and I have read several of them. The Stolen Crownseems to be the most carefully researched and true to actual events, as they would have been seen through Kate's eyes. I often complain about historical novels not giving readers enough reference or background, and Susan Higginbotham always includes an interesting Author's Note, that I refer to often while reading. There is also a "cast of characters" in the front of the book, with descriptions and connections given.

It's not a family tree, which I always like, but who would be able to read this?! You can click it to enlarge. I got this from a site on how to create a family tree, showing how some of these relationships overlapped so much that it couldn't be done. Henry Stafford's is considered a humdinger of convoluted trees. Just a little interesting something for you. Something else interesting was learning about the Stafford knot, one of the family symbols, worn to show loyalty.I'd seen the knot in my Girl Scout handbook back in the day, but never knew the origin of its name. Doesn't it look like a pretzel?

I highly recommend Susan Higginbotham'sThe Stolen Crownto those interested in this era of history. It is interesting and exciting, written with an eye on the family behind the history.
This review is linked in to Cym Lowell's Wednesday Book Review Party. Check it out for more great book recommendations!
Official FTC Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review, other than the uncorrected Advance Reader Copy from Sourcebooks.