When King Edward IV of England married the widowed Elizabeth Woodville, she came with a big family, including many sisters. Having their sister as Queen meant that the sisters were mostly conveniently married off into the high-status noble families.
The Queen’s Sisters by Sarah J. Hodder delves into the lives of Elizabeth’s sister as they lived by her side through the English court’s ups and downs. Despite being born the daughters of Jacquetta of Luxembourg, who had been born into a high-status family and was by her first marriage a Royal Duchess – very little is actually recorded about their lives.
This tragically means that the book is very thin and also has quite a bit of guesswork to it. There is, unfortunately, no escaping this when writing about women, so much has been lost to us. I enjoyed the light writing style and the book’s attempt to fill a void. We can only wish it could have been longer.
The Queen’s Sisters by Sarah J. Hodder is available now in the UK and the US.
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