This is another of the historical accounts produced in the mid 19th century by Jacob Abbott. It gives a reasonable account of the turbulent life of this queen of Henry VI, one of the pivotal figures of the early part of the Wars of the Roses (I read this after watching the first part of Dan Jones's TV series on the conflict). Like the author's book on King Alfred, only less so, it also provides an insight into how historiography was carried out at the time of writing, with rather a blurring of the distinction between fact and legend, an almost complete lack of source references and comparatively few dates. But the Wars of the Roses are never dull to read about. ( )

Jacob Abbott’s biography of Margaret of Anjou is written in simple terms, making it digestible for the reader who dislikes the stuffy textbook approach, yet at times it feels underwhelming.

To be fair to the author, he was basing his subject knowledge on what was available to him in the 1800s. Naturally, since then more accurate information has come to light.

For example, this is the first account of the Wars of the Roses in which the suspicion that King Henry VI’s son by Margaret of Anjou – as Queen of England – after several years of marriage and no heir, was in fact the result of an affair. Also, the description of the son’s death differs completely from all modern accounts.

At times Mr Abbott introduces a topic by stating that the following passage is according to Margaret of Anjou’s historians, suggesting that the author is just relating what was believed true at the time.

What surprised me most was the author’s portrayal of Margaret of Anjou as a heroine! Her son was also glorified yet modern accounts describe him as a vicious little monster. ( )