Fourteen year old Margaret of Anjou was England’s last hope for peace. Instead, her marriage to King Henry VI of England not only fails to end the 100 year war with France, it is the launching ground for one of England’s most famous civil wars: the War of the Roses. Little did chaste and devoutly Catholic Margaret and Henry know that their actions while on the throne of England would set off a chain of events that would end with the rise of the House of Tudor and the creation of a Protestant faith: The Church of England.

Henry VI, of the House of Lancaster, took the throne as an infant when his much revered father, Henry V (a military hero who had conquered much of France for England) died with his heir untried and swaddled. Henry VI grew up as the king, but instead of embracing his father’s military accomplishments, he longed for peace with France and peace and love among all the noble houses of England.

Margaret was a pauper princess; the daughter of King Rene of Anjou. She was also the niece of King Charles VII of France. When King Henry VI, who had made a vow of chastity until marriage, approached Charles of France with a peace treaty, the French king decided to give his Margaret to Henry to ensure that the heir to the English throne would have blood ties to France. But her marriage to Henry was not just a marriage of duty. The two young newlyweds soon fell in a love so deep that it would withstand the loss of sanity, their only son, and a kingdom.

Susan Higginbotham weaves an intricate tale of love and betrayal in the captivating backdrop of 15th Century England. The Queen of Last Hopes very effectively personalizes a family feud as famous as Campbell and MacDonald and Hatfield and McCoy.