Philippa Gregory. The Kingmaker’s Daughter
New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012.
As reviewed by Ted Odenwald
Shakespeare’s depiction of Anne Neville is most unflattering in The Tragedy of King Richard The Third. The seemingly inconsolable widow of Edward, the Lancastrian prince, is betrayed by her vanity and naivete as she succumbs to the seduction of Machiavellian villain, Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Historical novelist Philippa Gregory chooses to look at the War of the Roses through the eyes of Anne, but this an Anne very different from Shakespeare’s. She is an astute young woman, who recognizes that her father, Richard Neville, “the Kingmaker,” is using her as a political pawn. She is also keenly aware throughout the novel that she is being played for various political interests. What makes her most interesting is her ability to play her own game well, strengthening her own position as well as that of her husband and son.
Gregory visits the many convoluted intrigues that characterize tumultuous fifteenth-century England. Conspiracies set brother against brother, sister against sister, parent and child against each other, and family against family, and kingdom against kingdom in a world that is continuously frightening and dangerous. Marriages of the upper class are seldom about love; they are more parts of the political maneuverings of the day. The marriages are used to seal a truce between fractious parties by promising titles and lands in order to strengthen and enrich families through a connection with a more prestigious family.
Anne’s father, also known as the Earl of Warwick, is a powerful political figure whose shifting loyalties to the Houses of York and Lancaster lead to violent exchanges of the throne. Assisting Edward IV (of York) in usurping Henry VI’s (of Lancaster) crown, Neville feels betrayed when the King marries Elizabeth Woodville against the advisor’s wishes. Tensions build when Neville refuses to let Anne (then 8 years old) and her sister Isabel (13) serve in the “commoner” Queen’s court. Insulted, Elizabeth turns King Edward against Neville, arranging marriages of her relatives and friends to the offspring of the rich, thus increasing her family fortunes and power, thus leaving the Neville girls without much hope for enriching alliances. To insure the futures of Anne and Isabel, Neville wishes to arrange marriages with the King’s brothers, Richard and George; but the King, under the influence of his queen, refuses permission. Though young, Anne recognizes that she is a pawn in a very large chess game.
Embittered, Neville decides to return the Lancastrian king, Henry VI, and his powerful queen, Margaret of Anjou, to the throne, an arrangement that requires bloodshed, but promises young Anne’s marriage to Lancaster’s Prince Edward, thus putting her in line to becoming queen. Margaret, who has a reputation for ruthlessness , promises to prepare Anne for the throne: Margaret will teach her “…to be a dagger at the threat of treason;” she will teach Anne to be ruthless, as sometimes fate will determine “that only one person can survive: you or your enemy.”
When her father is betrayed by the supposedly rebellious Duke of Clarence, the brother of the York king, Anne finds herself in jeopardy as an apparent enemy of her own sister, who has secretly married George. But Isabel protects Anne and helps to arrange her marriage to Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Anne’s relationship with Richard is a key departure from the Tudor Myth/Shakespearean version. They are in a loving relationship in which he seeks to protect her and enhance her social and financial position. He is a schemer, but certainly no more so than his brothers and their opponents. The mysterious disappearance from the Tower of London of the two princes goes unsolved—with Richard insisting that he knows nothing of what has happened to them—he also knows that he will always be held accountable. Because she had once expressed her desire to a subordinate that the princes would be out of the picture, Anne suspects that her words might have incited a supporter to commit murder. Her sense of guilt overwhelms her as she also fears the retribution of her enemy, Queen Elizabeth.
Though fearful at times, Anne is in no way the pathetic figure portrayed by Shakespeare; she has learned well by observing her father’s machinations and through paying attention to the advice of Margaret of Anjou. She can be submissive or aggressive as the situation dictates, adapting her behavior according to circumstances. For example, at times she and Isabel are extremely close, while at other times they are cautious rivals, depending upon the political situations of their respective husbands.
Though the fear of witchcraft is not unique to Anne, it weights heavily on her throughout the novel. King Edward’s wife and her mother are believed to have powers of sorcery. Whenever a disaster befalls Richard or George, Neville’s daughters look to Elizabeth as the cause: a heavy wind causes Isabel to miscarry while aboard a ship escaping from Edward’s forces. The violent winds (or “witch’s winds”) also prevent Neville from launching his fleet for a surprise attack on Edward’s ill-prepared flotilla. Isabel is convinced that Elizabeth’s magic has prevented the older Neville daughter from bearing a male child. Anne fears that the Queen’s witchcraft will target her and her only child. As the novel closes, Anne does, in fact, begin to waste away, believing that she has been cursed. Richard has been spending much time with Elizabeth’s daughter, hoping to diminish her worth as the potential bride of Henry Tudor, who is maneuvering to gain the throne. Anne’s anger and jealousy do not help her physical condition. She is also in mourning for her son, who has died of a violent fever. Though the son has never been very healthy, Anne believes that there is a culprit: “I think [Elizabeth’s] ill will sought him out and enflamed his veins, his lungs, and poor heart.”
England’s political world in the mid-to-late fifteenth century was characterized by instability due to power-hungry families for whom violence and treachery were employed automatically and ruthlessly. Philippa Gregory’s portrait of Anne Neville reveals that a noble woman, though generally viewed as inferior to men, can be a significant role-player in the course of events. She can do much to shape her own life, but she can also be caught up in and crushed by the continuously operating machinery of political intrigue. Anne is much more than a mere pawn in the struggle for power.
Ted Odenwald and his wife, Shirley have lived in Oakland for 43 years. He taught HS English at Glen Rock High School for all of those years plus one more. Now he is enjoying time spent with his family, singing in the North Jersey Chorus and quenching his wanderlust. Ted is also the Worship Leader at the Ramapo Valley Baptist Church in Oakland.