Her first marriage to Edmund Tudor, the half-brother of King Henry VI, lasts a very short time, but she gives birth to a child, Henry Tudor. As a young girl, she frequently prays all through the night and hopes that everyone will notice the rough callouses of her “saints’ knees.” Her early ambition is to enter a convent and become an abbess, but since she is closely connected to the ruling Lancaster line, her mother forces her to marry to produce an heir that might one day be king. From the very beginning of the story, Margaret is portrayed as very religious and very proud of her religiosity.
This somewhat unusual method of narration gives the author ample scope to present Margaret’s internal dialogue. The story is told in first person and in present tense. She is called the “Red” Queen since the House of Lancaster is typically symbolized by a red rose, while the rival House of York is symbolized by the white.
In this historical novel by Philippa Gregory, the title refers to Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry Tudor who spends her life plotting to put her son on the throne of England. If you’ve ever read or seen Alice in Wonderland, you might be suspecting that The Red Queen is not such a promising nickname.
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