QUEEN BY RIGHT

QUEEN BY RIGHT by Anne Easter Smith was read for the Pub 2011 Reading Challenge and the Chunkster Challenge 2011.

From the back of the book:

History remembers Cecily of York standing on the steps of the Market Cross at Ludlow, facing an attacking army while holding the hands of her two young sons.  Queen by Right reveals how she came to step into her destiny, beginning with her marriage to Richard, duke of York, whom she meets when she is eight and he is twelve.  Raised together in her father's household, they become a true love match and together face personal tragedies, pivotal events of history, and deadly political intrigue.  All of england knows that Richard has a clear claim to the throne, and when King Henry VI becomes unfit to rule, Cecily must put aside her hopes and fears and help her husband decide what is right for their family and their country.  Queen by Right marks Anne Easter Smith's greatest achievement, a book that every fan of sweeping, exquisitely detailed historical fiction will devour.

This was the fourth book by Ms. Smith dealing with the War of the Roses, and the York family in particular.  In this book, she tells the story of how the war began and how the crown left the Lancaster line and wound up on the head of a York.  But it is not just a book about the politics of the day; it is mainly about the relationships between Cecily and Richard and Cecily and her children.  As is common in historical fiction, Ms. Smith takes documented events and adds a little side story to them, creating a very entertaining book.

I'll be looking forward to Ms. Smith's final book in the York series, telling the story of Jane Shore, mistress of Edward IV.