List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Author's Note List of Abbreviations Genealogies Introduction 1. Daughter of Lancaster: 1415-1425 2. Becoming a Duchess: 1425-1438 3. Motherhood Begins: 1439-1449 4. The Wheel of Fortune: 1449-1459 5. A Paper Crown: 1459-1460 6. Her First Year of Widowhood: 1461 7. The King's Mother: 1461-1464 8. Wife of the Rightful Inheritor: 1464-1471 9. Queen of Right: 1471-1478 10. The End of the House of York: 1478-1485 11. The Queen's Grandmother: 1485-1495 Conclusion Select Bibliography Index
A thoroughly researched re-examination of the life of Cecily duchess of York, from 1415 to 1495.
J. L. Laynesmith is Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Reading, UK. She is the author of The Last Medieval Queens: English Queenship, 1445-1503 (2004), joint winner of the Longman-History Today Book of the Year Award 2005.
A substantial bibliography and the use of wide-ranging primary
evidence demonstrates the book’s grounding in solid research and
excellent scholarship. Laynesmith writes in a very engaging style,
which makes the material lively and beguiling … [A] well-crafted
work that does much to counter the neglect of an important
individual who has for too long languished in the historical
shadows of her male kin. It is a welcome addition both to the
relatively sparsely populated historiography of Cecily Neville and
to studies of medieval noblewomen in general.
*Parergon*
[A] a richly detailed book … Laynesmith’s qualities as a scholar
are evident on every page … [A] comprehensive and meticulous study
of one woman’s exercise of power within the limits of medieval
gender expectations and will serve as the standard account of
Cecily Neville.
*Journal of British Studies*
Compellingly written and convincingly argued, Laynesmith's work
will have wide-reaching appeal for general readers and scholars of
late medieval England alike ... this is a wonderful and accessible
book, which will not only appeal to those interested in the lives
of late medieval women, but also to those looking to gain a fresh
perspective on the general workings and structures of
fifteenth-century England.
*The English Historical Review*
For many years this new and so far unique biography of Cecily of
York will remain definitive. It's scholarship is impeccable and its
style very readable.
*The Ricardian*
An outstanding picture of one of the most important figures, male
or female, during the fifteenth century ... It may be a term
deprived of meaning by overuse, but Joanna Laynesmith has set a
benchmark with this work, not only in the study of Cecily Neville,
but in the study of medieval women more generally. It is a
benchmark I can’t see being reached by many.
*Ricardian Bulletin*
Laynesmith (visiting fellow, Univ. of Reading) continues her work
on late medieval English queens with a study of the life and times
of Cecily Neville, mother of two kings, grandmother of the first
Tudor queen, and wife of one of the most politically ambitious
nobles of the 15th century. Given the scarcity of sources that
reveal the personal side of medieval lives, this work focuses more
on the social and cultural context of elite women, a strategy that
provides a rich context for Cecily’s actions. A political survivor
and active “good lady” to a wide network of relations and
retainers, Cecily has been most recently studied as the model for
lay pious behavior. Without denying the sincerity of Cecily’s
piety, Laynesmith reveals her subject’s considerable influence in
royal politics, patronage, and administration. Sources
unfortunately do not settle questions about her younger sons’
startling behaviors (Clarence’s rebellion and execution, and
Gloucester’s treatment of his royal nephews during his usurpation
of the throne), but Cecily remained supportive of all her children
to her dying day. As wife and mother, widow and grandmother,
noblewomen like Cecily linked and managed the complex family
politics that characterized the period. Summing Up: Recommended.
All levels/libraries.
*CHOICE*
Laynesmith has been able to present Cecily, duchess of York as a
woman with a personality and voice of her own. This is partly due
to the lucky survival of source material, but it is also helped by
the author's excellent use of that material and her engaging
writing style ... this book is a must for anyone interested in the
national and local politics of the Wars of the Roses, the role of
women in the fifteenth century, aristocratic households, and
literary and religious patronage. It will be the definitive
biography of the duchess for many years to come.
*Nottingham Medieval Studies*
An important study assessing Cecily in her own right rather than
just as a wife, mother and grandmother of royal claimants, kings
and queens. Her multifaceted role as a political player, important
landowner, a woman of ostentatious piety and the matriarch of the
house of York is explored in a judicious, nuanced and accessible
way.
*James Ross, Senior Lecturer in Late Medieval History, University
of Winchester, UK*
This is a welcome appreciation of a neglected, yet central figure
in the history of fifteenth-century England; a power behind the
throne, but also an important and interesting figure in her own
right. In restoring Cecily Neville to her rightful place, Joanna
Laynesmith has produced a book that is both scholarly and a
pleasure to read, and that will surely appeal to a broad
readership.
*Hannes Kleineke, Senior Research Fellow, The History of
Parliament, UK*
J. L. Laynesmith's remarkable biographical study shows the duchess
as a formidable player in fifteenth-century English political life.
She also interrogates the way in which Cecily's career has been
portrayed over time, and this historiographical focus will make it
useful far beyond the medieval history/women's history classroom.
Rarely do we have the source material to present a medieval woman
as a fully-fleshed out human being, which is what Laynesmith has
accomplished in this work.
*Lois L. Huneycutt, Associate Professor, University of Missouri,
USA*
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