This Sun of York by Susan Appleyard is by far one of the most engaging and beautifully-written novels I've encountered in a long time!
Goodreads reviewer
best historical fiction I've read in a long while!
Goodreads reviewer
Love and strife in the struggle for the crown that came to be known as the War of the Roses.
Feeble-minded King Henry VI falls into a catatonic state and doesn't emerge for sixteen months. His queen, Margaret of Anjou, will do anything to protect her husband and young son. The great lords are fighting among themselves to become 'the power behind the throne'. These elements combine to lead the kingdom into civil strife: York against Lancaster. During the maelstrom of war, Anne of York looks for love outside her marriage to the cruel Duke of Exeter, who fights for the house of Lancaster. Her brother Edward is a carefree and charismatic youth, given more to the pursuit of women than the lust for a crown, but when his father and younger brother are killed in battle he throws off the follies of youth and emerges as an inspired leader and surprisingly able military man.