The Stolen Crown: The Secret Marriage That Forever Changed The Fate Of England (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
After reading a number of other books about the Woodville family, Richard III, and the events of this time period, I was quite pleasantly surprised by this book! Susan Higginbotham presented this story in a way that showed some other sides to the people and the events. She told the story from the views of younger sister Catherine Woodville and her eventual husband, Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. I liked the fact that they were portrayed with such depth of personality, including both their good points as well as their human flaws that would have shaped how they dealt with the events taking place at that time. I especially appreciated her portrayal of Henry, his family's past history and how all of that would have lead him to make the decisions he did. The book does an excellent job of delving more into the depth and character of those surrounding Richard III at that time. It caused me to rethink some of my previous opinions and assumptions about many of those people. It also inspired me to do more research on some of them. I generally use that as my standard for rating and enjoying a book. If it gives me pause to think, and sends me off to search for more, then it's definitely a keeper! This one did both! I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly was not such a thoroughly researched yet easy to read look into the War of the Roses. The two main characters, the Duke and Duchess of Buckingham, are usually very much off to the side in any other book I've read dealing with this time period and there are many questions about them and their marriage. This book is a wonderful "what-if" loosely based on new facts, such as the one that Kate was actually younger than Harry and not an older, sexually frustrated woman who took advantage of a young child. I enjoyed the mix of fact and fiction that Ms. Higginbotham blended so well. I thought the way she was able to explain who the various characters were was ingenious. Since the book was written from the point of view of both Harry and Kate, they were able to show how these other characters were actually related not only to them but others in the book and sometimes also show little quirks of their personalities which made them seem more like real people rather than just titles. This really helped to keep the many characters organized. I felt this was a wonderfully romantic story based on fact and highly recommend it.
What do You think about The Stolen Crown: The Secret Marriage That Forever Changed The Fate Of England (2010)?
This book was set in England in the 1400s. Some facts were true. It was a good book
—Isaac
i liked this book, a tad slow at times. but interesting to read.
—purpledreamer
Lots of rich history about England and her throne keepers
—dillions_angel_09
