Cecily Duchess of York

by J.L. Laynesmith

This is the first scholarly biography of Cecily Neville, duchess of York, the mother of Edward IV and Richard III. She was said to have ruled Edward IV 'as she pleased' and Richard III made his bid for the throne from her home. Yet Cecily has been a shadowy figure in modern histories, noted primarily for her ostentatious piety, her expensive dresses, and the rumours of her adultery.

Here J. L. Laynesmith draws on a wealth of rarely considered sources to construct a fresh and revealing portrait of a remarkable woman. Cecily was the only major protagonist to live right through the Wars of the Roses. This book sheds new light on that bloody conflict in which Cecily proved herself an exceptional political survivor. Skilfully manipulating her family connections and contemporary ideas about womanhood, Cecily repeatedly reinvented herself to protect her own status and to ensure the security of those in her care.

From her childhood marriage to Richard duke of York until her final decade as grandmother of the first Tudor queen, the story of Cecily Neville's life provides a rich insight into national and local politics, women's power and relationships, motherhood, household dynamics and the role of religion in fifteenth-century England.

Genres: Biography, History, Medieval, British Literature

288 pages, Hardcover

Published July 13, 2017

Reviews

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laynesmith is a valid researcher, and this books shows it. She indeed did careful researches for this book and I appreciated the rich details, the less known notions about Cecily Neville. That said, I must confess I don't agree with almost any conlcusion the author draw from these informations, apart from the Blaybourne myth that Laynesmith carefully disprove. I definitely don't agree about the harsh treatment Richard III gets, about the "close" relationship between Cecily and Edward IV, about the odd conclusions about Cecily's piety. But that's ok, everyone have their own opinion and I personally beg to differ from the author's. What maybe disappointed me most and led me to award the book three stars, is the deliberate whtidrawing of informations from the reader, such as - maybe the more blatant example - all the Woodville's plot to seize power after Edward IV's death.

[Pauline Calkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having just read two recent biographical novels of Cecily Neville (Cecily by Annie Garthwaite and The Queen’s Rival by Anne O’Brien), I decided to learn some facts about this mother of kings. This is an academic work by the research officer of the Richard III Society, and you will learn more about her stewards and her administration of her many estates than you will about her political actions or relationships with her family. There is little evidence about Cecily’s personal feelings, and the author is circumspect about speculating on such matters—until she gets to 1483.

She does quickly and efficiently dispose of the theory that Edward IV was not fathered by Cecily’s husband, Richard, Duke of York, because, as posited by Michael Hicks, the Duke was on campaign in Pontoise during the possible time of conception from mid-July until after August 20, 1441. The author points out the Duke of York was never more than a day’s ride away from Cecily during this time, and that a thirty-six week gestation period (possible if York returned on August 21) would not be considered premature by modern doctors.


The author does start to opine quite a lot about the events following Edward IV’s death, stating that Elizabeth and Anthony Woodville probably expected to work with Richard. Further, the council modeled its decisions on those made for the minorities of Henry VI and Richard II, except that Edward VI was older than either predecessor. Furthermore, Elizabeth chose to seek sanctuary to protect her vulnerable older son, Dorset. “Richard’s actions throughout May 1483 seemed to have alarmed few but the Woodvilles.” No mention of the Woodvilles action, like taking the treasury and trying to raise an army. And, Richard took his father’s title of protector. Not that he was named protector by his brother. After Dorset escaped, the “queen and her younger children stayed in the abbey, demonstrating her continued protest at the duke of Gloucester’ policies while her son Edward V remained in the Tower of London.” (Imprisoned as the author later describes it.)

The author suggests that Cecily’s relationship with Edward IV seemed to have remained good throughout his life, but that with her son Richard became “complicated” because of accusations of her adultery during his accession to the throne. Acknowledging that the evidence of her relationship with Richard throughout his reign is “confusingly contradictory,” she concludes that it seems to suggest that she was not as close to Richard as she had been to Edward, “perhaps even that she was not happy about the way that Richard had deposed her grandson.” But she was a political survivor, and the [s]ources indicate that she remained proud of her role as Richard’s mother, even after his death.”

The author states that Cecily’s “lifestyle in widowhood was not demonstrably more pious than those of many other noblewoman” of the time, but after her retirement to Berkhamsted during Henry VII’s reign her household regulations were considered to be a model of noble behavior and piety. The Cecily in this book comes across as a great landowner who governed wisely with great regard for those in her service, a political survivor, and a woman proud of her status first as the king’s mother and then as the queen’s grandmother.

[ConstantReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best biography of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, that I've ever read and will probably remain so forever. Cecily's life is often mythologised. For example, non-fiction writers often refer to her as "Rose of Raby" or "Proud Cis", claiming that such sobriquets were formed during Cecily's life. Yet, as J.L. Laynesmith shows in her book, the "Rose of Raby" was first introduced in connection to Cecily in 1795 and the "Proud Cis" was invented by a well-respected London bookseller Alexander Bosvile in 1713.

J. L. Laynesmith's academic biography of Cecily details the duchess's life in chronological order and concentrates of Cecily's personal life, her political influence and quasi-royal household. In her book, Laynesmith answered every question I've ever had about Cecily: What was her relationship with Elizabeth Woodville? What did she think about her son Richard's accession to the throne? What was her fate during Henry VII's reign? And, last but not least, did she really commit adultery?

Although this is an academic biography, it's easy to follow. If you're a fan of good academic writing you will not be disappointed because J.L. Laynesmith's style is excellent and the book contains extensive end-notes and rich bibliography. If you're a general reader, go ahead and order this book - you'll be able to navigate throughout the book and understand the realities of Cecily's life.

I enjoyed this bio very much and would read more from this author. Highly recommended.

[Annie Garthwaite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitive, engaging and erudite.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting in-depth biography of Cecily, mother of Edward IV and Richard III and influential Plantagenet Queen, living through and influencing the history of 15th century England.