Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

In this fascinating biography into the life of one of England’s most mysterious queens, readers discover Anne Neville, wife of the infamous Richard III and queen of England for her husband’s short reign. Readers will discover what life as the daughter of the Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker, during the chaos of the fifteenth century (during the end of the Hundred Years’ War and the entirety of the War of the Roses) was like before exploring the constant shifting of loyalties between the Lancaster and York branches of the Plantagenet royal family. While comparatively little about Anne Neville is known in comparison to other queens of England, Batley does an excellent job using what information does exist, as well as the work of other historians and biographies of other historical figures, to build the most complete picture of Anne Neville. Batley humanizes Anne Neville and brings everything into context for the period, and this book is straightforward, clear, and comprehensive in its prose and organization. A fantastic addition to current literature on fifteenth century England and the War of the Roses, Batley’s book is an excellent individual, honest, and detailed case study on Anne Neville and finally gives her her due.

NetGalley, Lily Amidon

Batley does a great job piercing together Anne's history and I thoroughly enjoyed her book about Anne's life. I strongly recommend this book for fans of this time period, for fans of royal women, and those who are looking for an interesting figure who lived a wild life.

NetGalley, Abigail Tyn

I am a huge history buff so love all things Plantagenet and Tudor so knew this book would interest me. I found it very interesting to see from Anne’s perspective as opposed to Richard III’s . Writing was easy to understand with useful character notes and family trees. In all an enjoyable history lesson.

NetGalley, Michelle Baber

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I was very excited to see this title! I have read about the War of the Roses through several different lenses and Anne Neville has always been a sort of prominent background figure who has always interested me. As the Kingmaker’s daughter, it is easy to simply cast Anne Neville aside as a political pawn, but she was much more. Batley’s book seeks to draw her forth from the shadows and does an admirable job with the task.

The book opens by setting up the circumstances surrounding Anne’s death. As she withers away in her bedchamber, the court is abuzz with gossip. Is her husband, Richard III, truly aiming to take his niece as his next wife? Is he responsible for untimely demise? Batley asserts that Anne wouldn’t have been immune from the gossip reaching her ears. These rumors reduce her to the sort of woman consumed by rage and grief that Shakespeare would imagine in his Richard III, or as the blurb suggests, “a passive victim of the men who used and exploited her.” I’m a sucker for a good introduction, so this had me hooked. As Batley unpacks history through Anne’s perspective, it becomes evident that she was much more complicated than meets the eye.

The author’s writing style was very engaging. I found this study of Anne Neville to be both entertaining and informative. It certainly challenged my understanding of the woman that was previously informed by anecdotes in other historical nonfiction works and pop-culture representations. Despite the limitations in researching the lives of women during this period, with even women of high status like Neville largely confined to the margins, Bartley is able to develop a fascinating assessment of what her experience must have been like. An added bonus for me was the helpful biographical notes at the front of the book! While many books will simply include a few family trees, Bartley has provided brief descriptions of the major players in Anne’s life and the War of the Roses to help avoid confusion. Love that! This was a great read and definitely a nice way of supplementing my knowledge of the period.

NetGalley, Nicholas Artrip

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This book is excellent. It contains a huge amount of information I had no clue about and illuminated Anne Neville’s life. Shedding light on a woman that is usually forgotten about.
The author is detailed and meticulous in his research and writing.

NetGalley, Elizabeth Major

This was so interesting. Like I feel that people don't really get to know the personal lives of royalty and this did a good job telling us who Anne was.

NetGalley, Sierra Gonzalez