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FROM THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF CECILY

‘Elegant and propulsive . . . I had to fight myself to put it down’ A.K. Blakemore
‘History at its most powerful: intimate and personal, visceral and devastating’ Jennifer Saint
‘Family dynamics at their most fierce – timeless and brilliant!’ Kate Sawyer

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1461. Through blood and battle Edward has gained England’s throne – king by right and conquest – eighteen years old and unstoppable. Cecily has piloted his rise to power and stands at his shoulder now, first to claim the title King’s Mother.

But to win a throne is not to keep it and war is come again. As brother betrays brother, and trusted cousins turn treacherous, other mothers rise up to fight for other sons. Cecily must focus her will to defeat every challenge. Wherever they come from. Whatever the cost.

For there can be only one King, and only one King’s Mother.

From the Wars of the Roses to the dawn of the Tudor age, this is a story of mothers and sons; of maternal ferocity and female ambition – of all they can build and all they can destroy.

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PRAISE FOR ANNIE GARTHWAITE
‘Has the new Hilary Mantel arrived?’ Sunday Telegraph
‘A startling heroine’ Sarah Moss
‘Wolf Hall for the 2020s’ Manda Scott
‘A vividly female perspective on the Wars of the Roses’ Imogen Hermes Gowar
‘Absorbing’ The Times

Publisher Review

Garthwaite resurrects a remarkable woman * The Sunday Times on CECILY * A vividly female perspective on the Wars of the Roses, what a feat! * Imogen Hermes-Gowar on CECILY * Shines a light into a dark corner of our history and reclaims the voice and story of a powerful and forgotten woman. A phenomenal read. * Liz Hyder on CECILY * BLOODY GREAT. So modern, so political, it could almost be set in Downing Street. * Kate Sawyer * Entirely absorbing and utterly compelling. I loved it. * Caroline Lea *