The Stolen Crown: The Secret Marriage that Forever Changed the Fate of England in Richard III

Sep 29, 2009 Misfit rated it really liked it

(4.5)

The Stolen Crown begins is told from the alternating POV of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham and his wife Katherine Woodville. Henry (Harry) was married as a young child to Katherine, younger sister of Elizabeth Woodville - Queen of England and wife to Edward IV (no small feat for those *grasping* Woodvilles). When they grow older Harry and Katherine are able to establish a strong marriage, but Harry wants more power and position at court than Edward is willing to give him and he chafes a (4.5)

The Stolen Crown begins is told from the alternating POV of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham and his wife Katherine Woodville. Henry (Harry) was married as a young child to Katherine, younger sister of Elizabeth Woodville - Queen of England and wife to Edward IV (no small feat for those *grasping* Woodvilles). When they grow older Harry and Katherine are able to establish a strong marriage, but Harry wants more power and position at court than Edward is willing to give him and he chafes at the bit, which only exacerbates his dilema. Harry is on firmer ground with Edward's younger brother Richard and when Edward dies and Richard thinks he can take it all.......

This period and it's history is much too complicated to try to spell out in a review - either you know the basics going in and don't need a rehash or if you don't I'd just have your eyes glazing over trying to explain it all. What I enjoyed most about this one was the *fresh* look at the period from the POV of Harry and Kate and how his rebellion against Richard III might have come about. I just loved Kate's voice and her dry sense of humor, as well as seeing them both as children and then adults caught up in a political storm beyond their control.

I loved the way the author brought some humor into the York/Lancaster differences, as well as busting some of those commonly held myths - Katherine being much older than Harry as well as the Woodville women being practicing witches. I appreciate that Higginbotham doesn't try to muddle her story with *authentic* period language - no "woe is me" to be found in this book (but that's a good thing). You also won't find a saintly-pure-as-the-driven-snow Richard as he's been painted by recently by some of our latest and *cough* greatest historical fiction authors, although this Ricardian may not always agree with the author's interpretations :p

Impeccably researched, the author mentions in her notes what is fact, what is surmised from the known facts as well as those mysteries that will probably never be solved like the Princes in the Tower. Highly recommended for any fan of this period as well as a good eye-opener for those new to it, this should give you a good grounding without overwhelming you at once. My all time favorite is still Sharon Penman's fabulous The Sunne in Splendour. 4.5/5 stars.
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Oct 04, 2009 Robin rated it liked it

Shelves: medieval, england, historical-fiction, arcs, read-for-review, war-of-the-roses, richard-iii

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is another wonderful novel by Susan Higginbotham and it covers a very interesting and active period in British history – the Cousins War (or as we call it, the Wars of the Roses). Between the pages we get the story through the eyes of Katherine Woodville and her husband Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. We see from both points of view their marriage as children, their time at Edward IV’s court, their life at home, the birth of their children, and Henry’s involvement with Richard III.

The f This is another wonderful novel by Susan Higginbotham and it covers a very interesting and active period in British history – the Cousins War (or as we call it, the Wars of the Roses). Between the pages we get the story through the eyes of Katherine Woodville and her husband Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. We see from both points of view their marriage as children, their time at Edward IV’s court, their life at home, the birth of their children, and Henry’s involvement with Richard III.

The first half or so of the novel really focuses on their lives and how they both grow and mature in a very turbulent time. The second half of the novel seems to focus more on Henry’s involvement with Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Personally I liked the first half of the novel more because I really enjoyed watching Kate and Henry grow and come to love and care for one another. The scenes between the two when they were young were very sweet and touching. Higginbotham takes on some of the “rumors” about their marriage and shows how they could have been started and why. I thoroughly enjoyed how she weaved these into the story. The author also explores reasons why Buckingham rebelled against Richard and gives her version of “the truth” behind the mystery of the princes in the Tower, which seems believable. Richard III is not shown in a glowing light here but he is not made into a horrible monster (though Kate despises him). We see a more ruthless side of him but it just seems to make him appear more of a man of a time where you had to be a bit ruthless to survive.

As always in Higginbotham’s novels, the writing is wonderful, there are fantastic details and descriptions, and great character development. The two main characters, Kate and Henry, are very believable and you can sympathize with them even if you don’t agree with them. I really enjoy her writing – it is easy to read but I don’t feel like I’m reading something for young adults. She is just very clear in her writing with good details and marvelous research but yet the reader is not going to get bogged down in the pages. I am a huge fan of this author and I would recommend this book to anyone.
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Nov 24, 2009 Mandy Moody rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, english-royalty

The Stolen Crown is the story of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and his wife, Katherine Woodville, the youngest sister of Edward IV's Queen Elizabeth.
Henry and Katherine have been minor background figures in most of the books I've read about this time period, but this was the first I've read that was THEIR story, told from their point of view.
Higginbotham does an excellent job of bringing them both to life. I especially loved that she stuck to telling their story and didn't stray to give de ...more

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Dec 08, 2009 Marie Burton rated it really liked it

Shelves: own

As opposed to Susan Higginbotham's last piece of historical fiction ( Hugh and Bess: my review ), this novel was loaded with a lot more historical events. When one is dealing with the era of the Wars of the Roses, it is very hard to write a novel without including at least a zillion of the secondary characters. When I first opened up The Stolen Crown, I was greeted with several pages of a character list. This is when you realize you will require your thinking-cap to be working at its very ...more

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Dec 10, 2009 Lauren rated it it was amazing

I really enjoyed this look at the Wars of the Roses. The Stolen Crown tells the story of the reigns of Edward IV and Richard III from the perspective of the Duke of Buckingham and his wife, Katherine Woodville (sister to Queen Elizabeth Woodville). Although Richard III and Edward IV are common subjects of novels these days - even Phillipa Gregory is writing about them - The Stolen Crown felt fresh to me. The story is familiar - no need to retell it here. Instead, in this review, I am going to po I really enjoyed this look at the Wars of the Roses. The Stolen Crown tells the story of the reigns of Edward IV and Richard III from the perspective of the Duke of Buckingham and his wife, Katherine Woodville (sister to Queen Elizabeth Woodville). Although Richard III and Edward IV are common subjects of novels these days - even Phillipa Gregory is writing about them - The Stolen Crown felt fresh to me. The story is familiar - no need to retell it here. Instead, in this review, I am going to point out some differences in The Stolen Crown, compared to other novels I have read.

While it is not in the same league as Sharon Penman's Sunne in Splendour, it takes a very different perspective than many other contemporary novels. The Woodvilles are not evil, they are not witches, nor are they schemers - they are simply regular people who were caught up in English politics due to an unexpected marriage. The Woodvilles are definitely flawed - they do not think clearly about the reperussions of ambitious and unconventional marriages - but they are human. Another difference is that Richard III isn't simply the misunderstood nice guy who was villified by the evil Todors. Higginbotham's Richard is arrogant and ambitious. He is driven to take the crown not by a justifiable hatred for all things Woodville, but simply because he wants to be king. Richard isn't exactly evil, but he is ruthless. I thought that Higginbotham's Richard fits well with the factual record - certain elements have never sat well for me with the Ricardian view - the pathological hatred for Woodvilles (see the Rose of York series) and his summary executions of nobles, particularly Lord Hastings. Another interesting element of this work is the portrayal of the Buckinghams. Henry Stafford, according to the Ricardian view, hated Woodvilles and resented his child bride. This view, however, does not mesh well with the fact that the Buckinghams had numerous children. There must have been some affection there, or they would not have bothered begetting more than an heir or an heir and a spare. Stafford is portrayed as foolish (meshes with facts) and Higginbotham presents a reasonable case for exonerating Stafford as the murderer of the Princes. Before reading The Stolen Crown, I leaned in favor of Stafford as the killer of the Princes, but now, I think it may well have been Richard.

Overall, The Stolen Crown is an enjoyable read. I enjoyed Higganbotham's take on a familiar story and this is a must read for anyone interested in this period of history. The only negative, to me, is that Henry Stafford may have been sugar coated a bit too much. I didn't really feel that the book created a believable story for why Stafford initially aligned himself with Richard III. Otherwise, though, the book is great. ...more

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Aug 23, 2011 Sabrina rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed, historical-fiction, romance

I can always count on Susan Higginbotham to give me a glimpse into the "other side of the story".

In this book she alternates the storytelling between Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham and his wife Katherine Woodville. Having read several books of this time-frame I am familiar with the events surrounding the War of the Roses and was interested to see what Henry had to say for himself. Having no sympathy whatsoever for the Woodvilles, I wasn't particularly interested in Katherine's opinions, but ...more

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May 31, 2011 Xenia0201 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this - I am on such a War of the Roses kick lately and this was different as it was told alternately from the perspectives of Kate Woodville and her husband Henry, the Duke of Buckingham. The couple was very young when they married but the relationship grew to be a friendship and genuine love match. Fans of Richard III will not be pleased by the portrayal here but will enjoy Higginbotham's interesting interpretation on events that affected the Woodville Queen's youngest sibling ...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Oshun rated it did not like it

This is just a dreary book on so many levels. For starters, this newest hack job against Richard the III is composed of recycled slanders written poorly. In the midst of so much better fiction about the period and floods of current research and re-examination of the major players, whatever possessed the publisher to latch onto this? I resent the time I lost.

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Dec 27, 2009 Jacinta Hoare rated it liked it

Shelves: historial-fiction-read, 2010

I was so looking forward to reading this book since enjoying other titles by Susan Higginbotham (glued to the pages type enjoyment) so I am a bit disappointed that I couldn't rate the book higher.

I found the first half of the book to be meandering and far too slow. The second half was more compelling but I still struggled to feel the drama of the unfolding events.

I did enjoy looking at the lives of two characters (Kate and Harry) who played parts in the upheaval that was the seizure of the crown ...more

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Jan 05, 2010 BookAddict rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-edition

I think Susan Higginbotham is one of the best living historical fiction writers and I usually love, love, love all of her books. I really, really liked this one I just didn't love it. I'm fascinated by this whole period and the reign of the Woodville's, Richard III, Jasper & Henry Tudor, etc., etc. and for whatever reason as good as this was I just didn't feel the love for this. As all of her books, the writing is amazing, the historical detail staggering and the characters well drawn.

This may b ...more

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Dec 10, 2009 Stephanie rated it liked it

Shelves: richard-iii-and-the-plantagenets

OK, I liked the book, but being the hardcore Richard III supporter that I am it was very difficult to read about him in such a negative way. This didn't prevent me from having an open mind and enjoying the book.

Anything that Susan writes is interesting and well worth the read, Richard bashing or not! ...more

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Dec 07, 2009 Tanzanite rated it really liked it

4.5 Stars. Interesting point of view and the first person narration didn't bother me like most do. Full review: http://shelfandstuff.blogspot.com/201... ...more

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