Book Review: Sisters of Richard III, Plantagenet Daughters of York by Sarah J Hodder

Genre: History, nonfiction
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Pub date: 15 March 2024

This book is the narrative of three women of York, sisters to not one, but two kings of England. Anne, Elizabeth and Margaret Plantagenet were the daughters of Richard, Duke of York and his wife, Cecily Neville, and therefore sisters to Edward IV and Richard III. These women watched from the sidelines as their father challenged England’s anointed king and lost his life, as their brothers fought together for the throne of England and then amongst themselves and as the Plantagenet dynasty fell, making way for the reign of the Tudors. But they were not just bystanders; they had their own stories to tell. Anne of York was married to the Lancastrian Duke of Exeter who sided against her father and brother, before finding later happiness, albeit briefly, with her second husband. Elizabeth of York married John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk and became the mother of eleven children who would become thorns in the side of the Tudor kings and Margaret of York became Duchess of Burgundy, a hugely influential woman in her adopted kingdom although she never stopped supporting her family back in England. Between them, they witnessed and contributed to one of the most turbulent times in English history yet they have naturally been overshadowed by their more famous brothers. This is their story.

Having read previous works of Sarah J Hodder, I was really looking forward to another book focusing on women.
The three sisters Anne, Elizabeth, and Margaret were siblings to two kings and lived during the tumultuous period of the Wars of the Roses.
Not knowing much about these ladies made me even more eager to dive in. From the three, I knew a little more about Margaret, so I found it fascinating to learn more about her and her sisters.

These women are often mentioned in the shadows of their brothers (with the exception of Margaret who seems to a little more in the limelight) but the author has brought them out of the shadows and breathed life into these influential women.

All three sisters became duchesses and were influential members of the Yorkist faction, Margaret becoming a thorn in the side of Henry VII following the Battle of Bosworth.

I found it fascinating to learn about the lives these women led, the events that occurred during their life times, and how their marriages impacted their experiences and actions.

If you’re looking for something offering a different viewpoint of the Wars of the Roses, I would highly recommend it.
I also could not end this review without mentioning how much I love this cover. Pen & Sword have some beautiful covers, but I really like this one, and I love the white roses as a little nod to the York sisters.

Sarah J Hodder’s focus in her writing is very much on social history and family relationships and she writes mainly on the lives of women during the Wars of the Roses and the Tudor period. Sarah is the author of ‘The Queen’s Sisters’ (Chronos Books, 2020), ‘The York Princesses’ (Chronos Books, 2021), Cecily-Bonville-Grey, Marchioness of Dorset (Chronos Books, 2022), The Woodville Women (Pen and Sword Publishing, 2022) and ‘Sisters of Richard III’ (Pen and Sword Publishing, 2024).

If you’d like to know more about Sarah’s work, you may be interested in this Guest Post with Sarah J Hodder