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Plantagenet Saga #13
Red Rose of Anjou
When Henry VI becomes king, it is soon clear that he would be better suited to a quiet life than to ruling the country. Richard, Duke of York, is convinced that he would make a better king and has more right to the crown, and he will stop at nothing to claim it. But Margaret of Anjou, Henry's new French wife, is a formidable woman who is just as determined to keep Henry on the throne.
Most powerful of all is the Earl of Warwick, the kingmaker, and with his support of Richard of York the War of the Roses begins. When Henry VI lapses into madness and eventually meets his mysterious end in the Wakefield Tower, Margaret directs all of her ambition towards her young son, Passionate and impulsive she begins scheming for him, and in doing so dashes headlong into disaster ...
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 31, 1982
21 people are currently reading
903 people want to read
About the author
Jean Plaidy
190 books1,592 followersEleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 8, 2021
Like most books by Jean Plaidy, “The Red Rose of Anjou” had the potential of being much better.
The Wars of the Roses – which this novel covers the build-up to, and first half of, those conflicts – is a fascinating and complex period in English history. French history is also incorporated, owing to the main character being Margaret of Anjou, who married England's Henry VI.
Margaret led such a full life that one novel could never do it justice. As with the previous books in the Plantagenet series, the author’s desire to pack about 50 years of history into one volume results in a serious rush job. This leads to lots of "telling" and a severe lack of "showing".
No wonder many reviewers of Plaidy’s works label them as “dry” with so much *telling*, which sometimes sounds like she’s quoting from a textbook.
Another cause of dryness is her continuous use of the passive voice. It's always, “The hands of the king”, or “There were many left dead on the field”, as opposed to the active voice: “The king’s hands”, and “Many lay dead on the field”.
Passive voice = passive prose.
I do like much of the early part of the story, which focuses on Margaret’s childhood, her family, and her connection to the King of France. This period is usually overlooked in novels, and I haven’t read much about Margaret’s early life in non-fiction works, so this proved the most engaging section. It’s also why I’ve rated it two stars instead of one.
Once Margaret comes to England and is married to King Henry, the author has the chance to up the pace and present the reader with intrigue, conflict, action, bloodshed, battles, and develop the main characters and the friction between them. Sadly, what comes to the fore is repetition of information, lame attempts at conflict, underplayed action scenes, and poor character development.
Some of the character exchanges are good, but most lack substance. At times, we don’t even know where conversations are transpiring. In one instance, following a break between scenes, the new scene opens with two characters talking, yet there’s no sense of place. The author/narrator hasn’t given a shred of detail to indicate where the characters are. It’s like they’re floating in limbo. This is poor imagery. At least have them seated at a table, or lying in bed, or taking a walk – anything to give the reader a sense of place to visualise the scene.
As already mentioned, there’s way too much *telling* and not nearly enough *showing*. Take this sentence for example:
>Lord Clifford came into the tent. He was clearly excited.<
And this is arguably the worst sentence in the book:
> He was very feeble still and he needed rest if he was to endure the journey to London which it seemed necessary to endure.<
The above shows a complete lack of thought for sentence structure.
The novel also repeats information, which is an annoying Plaidy’s trait. Again and again we’re told how Henry VI just wants a peaceful life with ample time to pray. Meanwhile, the reader is forever reminded of how much Margaret hates the Duke of York and the Earl of Warwick. These are all attributes that could be woven into the narrative to *show* the reader how these characters feel.
We’re also *told* numerous times how Warwick is the people’s hero or idol. Again, a well-developed scene or scenes could *show* this. Additionally, sentences like, “Warwick was their hero”, has a childish feel to it, as if the author is writing for children.
The most underwhelming aspect of the book is Ms Plaidy’s treatment of the famous battles that made up the Wars of the Roses. Okay, not everyone wants to write or read long battle sequences, but if you cover this period of history they need to be touched on to some extent. You don’t need a blow by blow account. Focus on the main characters involved. Show the reader how the protagonists feel, what they see.
What we do have, however, are a series of battles treated like footnotes. The Battle of Towton, which is the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil, is summed up in four sentences. *Four*, and we don’t see a drop of blood.
We do get snippets of imagery from certain battles, but most pass by like this one:
> Thus was fought the battle of Wakefield. It was folly from the start to have attempted it. The Yorkists were completely outnumbered. Many were slain on that field …<
I’ve left a few words off the end to avoid a spoiler, but the above is the Battle of Wakefield recreated in all its gory glory … not. It’s blatant *telling*, robbing all the importance from a definitive conflict.
Maybe Jean Plaidy was squeamish about describing men hacking each other to death, I don’t know, but why write on the Wars of the Roses if those battles that constituted the conflict between Lancaster and York are reduced to brief synopses?
Something about Jean Plaidy’s books keep me coming back for more. Perhaps it’s her obvious love for English history, which I share, that draws me back. I just wish she’d focused less on turning out as greater quantity of novels as possible and concentrated more on quality writing. Some of her books do hit the mark, but “The Red Rose of Anjou” is another that feels like an unedited second draft.
The Wars of the Roses – which this novel covers the build-up to, and first half of, those conflicts – is a fascinating and complex period in English history. French history is also incorporated, owing to the main character being Margaret of Anjou, who married England's Henry VI.
Margaret led such a full life that one novel could never do it justice. As with the previous books in the Plantagenet series, the author’s desire to pack about 50 years of history into one volume results in a serious rush job. This leads to lots of "telling" and a severe lack of "showing".
No wonder many reviewers of Plaidy’s works label them as “dry” with so much *telling*, which sometimes sounds like she’s quoting from a textbook.
Another cause of dryness is her continuous use of the passive voice. It's always, “The hands of the king”, or “There were many left dead on the field”, as opposed to the active voice: “The king’s hands”, and “Many lay dead on the field”.
Passive voice = passive prose.
I do like much of the early part of the story, which focuses on Margaret’s childhood, her family, and her connection to the King of France. This period is usually overlooked in novels, and I haven’t read much about Margaret’s early life in non-fiction works, so this proved the most engaging section. It’s also why I’ve rated it two stars instead of one.
Once Margaret comes to England and is married to King Henry, the author has the chance to up the pace and present the reader with intrigue, conflict, action, bloodshed, battles, and develop the main characters and the friction between them. Sadly, what comes to the fore is repetition of information, lame attempts at conflict, underplayed action scenes, and poor character development.
Some of the character exchanges are good, but most lack substance. At times, we don’t even know where conversations are transpiring. In one instance, following a break between scenes, the new scene opens with two characters talking, yet there’s no sense of place. The author/narrator hasn’t given a shred of detail to indicate where the characters are. It’s like they’re floating in limbo. This is poor imagery. At least have them seated at a table, or lying in bed, or taking a walk – anything to give the reader a sense of place to visualise the scene.
As already mentioned, there’s way too much *telling* and not nearly enough *showing*. Take this sentence for example:
>Lord Clifford came into the tent. He was clearly excited.<
And this is arguably the worst sentence in the book:
> He was very feeble still and he needed rest if he was to endure the journey to London which it seemed necessary to endure.<
The above shows a complete lack of thought for sentence structure.
The novel also repeats information, which is an annoying Plaidy’s trait. Again and again we’re told how Henry VI just wants a peaceful life with ample time to pray. Meanwhile, the reader is forever reminded of how much Margaret hates the Duke of York and the Earl of Warwick. These are all attributes that could be woven into the narrative to *show* the reader how these characters feel.
We’re also *told* numerous times how Warwick is the people’s hero or idol. Again, a well-developed scene or scenes could *show* this. Additionally, sentences like, “Warwick was their hero”, has a childish feel to it, as if the author is writing for children.
The most underwhelming aspect of the book is Ms Plaidy’s treatment of the famous battles that made up the Wars of the Roses. Okay, not everyone wants to write or read long battle sequences, but if you cover this period of history they need to be touched on to some extent. You don’t need a blow by blow account. Focus on the main characters involved. Show the reader how the protagonists feel, what they see.
What we do have, however, are a series of battles treated like footnotes. The Battle of Towton, which is the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil, is summed up in four sentences. *Four*, and we don’t see a drop of blood.
We do get snippets of imagery from certain battles, but most pass by like this one:
> Thus was fought the battle of Wakefield. It was folly from the start to have attempted it. The Yorkists were completely outnumbered. Many were slain on that field …<
I’ve left a few words off the end to avoid a spoiler, but the above is the Battle of Wakefield recreated in all its gory glory … not. It’s blatant *telling*, robbing all the importance from a definitive conflict.
Maybe Jean Plaidy was squeamish about describing men hacking each other to death, I don’t know, but why write on the Wars of the Roses if those battles that constituted the conflict between Lancaster and York are reduced to brief synopses?
Something about Jean Plaidy’s books keep me coming back for more. Perhaps it’s her obvious love for English history, which I share, that draws me back. I just wish she’d focused less on turning out as greater quantity of novels as possible and concentrated more on quality writing. Some of her books do hit the mark, but “The Red Rose of Anjou” is another that feels like an unedited second draft.
January 1, 2014
*MUCH* better than "Queen of Lost Hopes"! If you want to read a story about Margaret of Anjou, read this one. I especially like how it goes into Margaret's childhood and the strong female influences she had that were reflected in her actions later in life.
July 25, 2007
Henry VI married Margaret of Anjou. War of Roses begins. Earl of Warwick, the "king-maker". Richard, Duke of York, wants the throne (he was descended from both Lionel and Edmund, brothers of Edward the Black Prince and John of Gaunt, all of which were sons of Edward III).
Want to read
October 14, 200913th in series
May 16, 2011
Very interesting, those royals sure knew their intrigues. The lenghts they will go to get to the throne.
August 23, 2014
Love Jean Plaidy. She makes the characters in the Plantagenet series come alive. I cannot wait to read the last book in the series.
July 31, 2020
i barely remember reading this. jean plaidy puts me right to sleep.
January 20, 2021
This story covers Margaret of Anjou's life from birth to death. Unfortunately, in an attempt to fit in her entire life in a reasonable page count, Plaidy skims through the last section of her life too quickly, covering about 20 years in the last three chapters.
But the time spent developing her girlhood is time well spent - unlike most stories of her that start with her marriage to King Henry VI, here we see what her infancy and childhood was like, what the surrounding events where, who her family was, and how much she was surrounded by and personally trained by some very strong, smart women, such as her mother and grandmother, which go a long way to explaining later events.
I also enjoyed that here, unlike a lot of other versions, Plaidy makes it very clear that she only had sex with her husband, without even of a hint of did they or didn't they some authors indulge in with her and the Duke of Suffolk, let alone the kind of antics seen in Queen of Lions, thankfully. Plaidy doesn't make a big deal about, instead quietly showing how sexual rumors are the first way people always attack women.
A pretty good story of Margaret of Anjou, especially in showing where she came from and how she came to be the strong - and very human in her imperfections - leader she became.
December 29, 2016
Idea of conflicts image of its involved people often different depends on your stand of views. Things are not always same if the background is different or where to see them from... Although stubborn and warlike woman but every men and women should have many aspects and feeling. I like these period and read several books from Lancaster and then York also Tudor side but never stood in her point of views so this books sounds very interesting at first but found not so different from what I've known or this book make them a little more simple.. I shouldn't write details here however this is easy reading enjoyable though not what I was expected perhaps.
June 27, 2018
Enjoyed the book. This is the story of Margaret of Anjou - married to King Henry VI who was crowned King at the age of 9 months. Margaret was a woman of great determination and endless pursuit of power for both herself and her son and ultimately this was her downfall. I am on to the last book of the saga/series and will be sad to see it end.
June 9, 2021
Excelente la reconstrucción histórica de Jean Plaidy. Sigue siendo mucho mejor autora de novela histórica que otras que surgieron después y están de moda, como Philippa Gregory, que tergiversan vergonzosamente la documentación histórica para llamar la atención del público que no conoce de los temas sobre los que lee. Plaidy sigue siendo un modelo en el género.
September 21, 2018
The beginning of the Cousins War aka Wars of the Roses. This focuses mostly on Margaret of Anjou who is portrayed in a mostly unsympathetic light (as expected) It also deals with the early years of Edward IV from the Lancastrian perspective
August 28, 2019
Very interesting.
October 31, 2021
Interesting historical novel about Margaret of Anjou , effectively that of Henry VI . End of the 100 yrs war with help from Joan of Arc and start of the War of the Roses.
May 25, 2015
This was a great book. It was about the same period in English History as the book, The Lady of the River by Phillipa Gregory. It was in much more historical detail than the Gregory book and better. It was about the beginning of the War of the Roses where King Henry V (a Lancaster) was a very weak king and married to Margaret of Anjou- France- who ruled him and caused all the trouble. Richard of York was a contender to the throne and was a good administrator and wanted to be the the advisor to the king but Margaret wanted to rule the king and got her own advisors who were not good for England and caused England to lose all of its French lands. King Henry V was very week and also went into periods of sleep for 1 1/2 years and Margaret ruled in his place. The War of the Roses were fights between the Red Rose of the Lancastrians and the White Rose of the Yorkists. Richard of York's son, Edward IV became king and imprisoned Henry V but Margarets kept fighting until her son, Edward, was killed. Warwick, the kingmaker put Edward IV on the throne but when he wanted to make the decisions himself and not be Warwick's puppet- Warwick supported Henry V and Margaret and her son, Edward, and went to war. There were many wars during that time between these two families which would continue until Henry VII would win the throne from King Richard 2 who was Edward IV's brother. Henry VII would marry Elizabeth Woodville, King Edward's daughter and thus bringing together the two families and ending the War of the Roses. This is a wonderful and fascinating way to read about English history.
February 11, 2017
Much more coherent than "Epitaph for Three Women", but still not the best in this series. Mild-mannered Henry has been King of England since he was nine months old. He needs to marry and produce an heir. The quietly raised, highly cultured Margaret of Anjou seems an ideal partner. Unfortunately she is as strong willed as her mother and grandmother and extremely passionate in her likes and dislikes.
September 6, 2015
Review - This is certainly a great read, and from what I know the basic facts were relatively true. It was better than similar books by Philippa Gregory like The White Queen and The Red Queen which are more fictionalised. I thought right from the beginning that Margaret was a selfish little child. She has either enemies or friends and can't seem to contemplate a quiet life. I also hated Henry VI and I think it was sensible to want a strong King.
Genre? - Historical / Romance / Drama / Mystery
Characters? - Margaret of Anjou / Edward IV / Richard, Earl of Warwick / George, Duke of Clarence / Edward of Westminster / Yolande of Anjou / King Charles of France / King Rene of Naples
Setting? - Anjou & Paris (France), London (England)
Series? - N/A
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 17/20
Genre? - Historical / Romance / Drama / Mystery
Characters? - Margaret of Anjou / Edward IV / Richard, Earl of Warwick / George, Duke of Clarence / Edward of Westminster / Yolande of Anjou / King Charles of France / King Rene of Naples
Setting? - Anjou & Paris (France), London (England)
Series? - N/A
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 17/20
December 22, 2020
El libro al principio es algo lento, pero confirme avanza va tomando el dinamismo y el tono de clímax de estar llegando a la culminación de una era. La historia es sumamente entretenida y aunque no me dejó muy satisfecha como era retratada Margarita, aún así se puede sentir la fortaleza de esa mujer y lo extraordinario de sus acciones. Es imposible soltar esta saga, sobre todo estando en un punto tan importante, y los inicios de este conflicto era algo de desconocía, pues solo conocía la guerra de las rosas desde la llegada de Elizabeth Grey.
Una excelente historia que se puede leer de forma independiente, pero mucho mejor en orden con la saga y como siempre Jean Plaidy dando la perspectiva dela historia desde el punto de vista femenino.
reseña completa en el blog:
https://elmundodeeleanor.wordpress.co...
Una excelente historia que se puede leer de forma independiente, pero mucho mejor en orden con la saga y como siempre Jean Plaidy dando la perspectiva dela historia desde el punto de vista femenino.
reseña completa en el blog:
https://elmundodeeleanor.wordpress.co...
September 7, 2015
Margaret of Anjou was a headstrong woman - one that was placed with a weak husband. Had Henry V been of stronger stamina, she might never have risen to the level of hate that England placed around her. She tore the country apart with her favorites, and through the conflict that arose, we got the War of the Roses.
Through her life she was determined to make the best of her situation, and through her folly she managed to almost destroy the country. She was ruthless in her ideals and was determined to keep her throne no matter the cost.
Jean Plaidy has done a masterful job of weaving the story together, giving you a sympathetic view into the life of Margaret. She rose from nothing to attain a great height, only to lose it all again.
Through her life she was determined to make the best of her situation, and through her folly she managed to almost destroy the country. She was ruthless in her ideals and was determined to keep her throne no matter the cost.
Jean Plaidy has done a masterful job of weaving the story together, giving you a sympathetic view into the life of Margaret. She rose from nothing to attain a great height, only to lose it all again.
April 19, 2013
Enjoyable, but not particularly well-written and kind of broad brushstrokes. I still don't feel I have any greater understanding of or insight into Margaret of Anjou, despite learning a little more about her background.
November 1, 2015
Great book, I really enjoyed reading about the life of Margaret of Anjou queen to Henry VI, she was a strong character with a weak husband, a bad combination that eventually lead them to lose everything during the period of the war of roses.
June 19, 2010
Good historical fiction---since I'm currently working on Margaret for RICHARD III this was an easy and enjoyable way to get started on the confusing ins and outs of the Wars of the Roses.
September 3, 2013
I just can't understand how can someone write that bad! It really disappoint me, cause the subject it's good.
June 22, 2020
The Story of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, the Wars of the Roses, Warwick the Kingmaker, Richard Plantagenet the Duke of York and a Second Civil War tearing England apart yet again.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews