Royal Witches

Joan of Navarre was the richest woman in the land, at a time when war-torn England was penniless. Eleanor Cobham was the wife of a weak king's uncle - and her husband was about to fall from grace. Jacquetta Woodville was a personal enemy of Warwick the Kingmaker, who was about to take his revenge. Elizabeth Woodville was the widowed mother of a child king, fighting Richard III for her children's lives. In Royal Witches, Gemma Hollman explores the lives of these four unique women, looking at how rumours of witchcraft brought them to their knees in a time when superstition and suspicion was rife.

Auteur

GEMMA HOLLMAN's love of history began when she was a child, where she lapped up the Horrible Histories books and asked endless questions at school (probably to the frustration of her teachers). She later became intrigued as to how understudied the history of women was and, through her time at university, began to learn about a plethora of strong, intriguing and complicated women from the medieval period, a time she had always learnt was dominated by men. Out of this interest grew Royal Witches, which began as Hollman's dissertation for her master's degree in Medieval History. She also writes and curates the 'Just History Posts' blog, where she shares snippets of history with the public in short, readable posts, whilst working full time in the heritage industry.

Texte du rabat

'An important and timely book' - Philippa Gregory

'Poignant, unique and thought-provoking' - All About History

'This introduces new readers, in the most accessible and colourful way, to a group of royal women who certainly deserve more public notice than they have hitherto received' - Professor Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present

Joan of Navarre was the richest woman in the land, at a time when war-torn England was penniless.

Eleanor Cobham was the wife of a weak king's uncle - and her husband was about to fall from grace.

Jacquetta Woodville was a personal enemy of Warwick the Kingmaker, who was about to take his revenge.

Elizabeth Woodville was the widowed mother of a child king, fighting Richard III for her children's lives.

Often seen as the more easily manipulated pieces on the political chessboard, women - especially those with power or influence - were often subjected to rumour, scandal and intrigue directed by the men who sought to control them. In Royal Witches, Gemma Hollman explores the lives of these four unique women, looking at how rumours of witchcraft brought them to their knees in an era when superstition and suspicion was rife.