In the course of my research on English queens, I searched for a biography of Margaret of Anjou, the wife of King Henry VI. There appears to be no contemporary biography of her which in itself is interesting but I did find this book. It’s not a recounting of her life in a biographical sense however but a thought provoking examination of Queenship and power in medieval England.

The author says she was introduced to Margaret of Anjou by seeing a performance of a Shakespearean play in Central Park in New York City. Later, while studying in school for a doctorate, she found an article where an historian called for an examination of Margaret’s role in the political upheaval in England now known as the Wars of the Roses. She ended up writing this book.

This is not an easy read as it is definitely an academic exercise. She describes the role of a medieval queen in many different spheres such as motherhood, intervention and mediation, and aiding her retainers. A medieval queen, especially one of foreign origin, could never rule directly. Any influence she had would be through her husband the king.

Maurer tells us about Margaret’s upbringing which in many ways was extraordinary. She was highly educated and due to the influence of her formidable grandmother Yolande of Aragon, learned statecraft. Her marriage to King Henry VI came with great expectations of peace between England and France after the devastation of the Hundred Years War. When Margaret came to England as a teenager, her entrance into was celebrated with hopeful allegory. Maurer gives us a long description of these celebrations.

It was only after Margaret bore a son that she started to come into her own. At the same time of her pregnancy, her husband succumbed to madness throwing the government of the realm into chaos. Margaret did what she could to preserve the power of her husband and secure the interests of him, herself and her son, working within the boundaries of a medieval queen. Despite her best efforts, there was infighting and backstabbing among the nobility who were doing the best they could to preserve their own self interests.

In the end, Margaret became the figurehead of the House of Lancaster and even led her own troops. This was not really within the realm of the powers of a medieval queen as Maurer argues here. For better or worse, Margaret did the best she could and ended up losing everything. She just couldn’t overcome the restrictions placed on her as a medieval queen.

Maurer makes some very cogent and logical arguments here. She has some insight into the men Margaret was up against in her fight to preserve the power and prestige of her family. As stated, if you are looking for a conventional biography, this book isn’t it. But I would still recommend it if you have an interest in medieval royal women’s position, function and responsibility in history.