Cecily: An epic feminist retelling of the War of the Roses

Wife. Mother. Politician. Traitor. Fighter. Survivor. 'Rebellion?' The word is a spark. They can start a fire with it, or smother it in their fingertips. She chooses to start a fire. You are born high, but marry a traitor's son. You bear him twelve children, carry his cause and bury his past. You play the game, against enemies who wish you ashes. Slowly, you rise. You are Cecily. But when the king who governs you proves unfit, what then? Loyalty or treason - death may follow both. The board is set. Time to make your first move. Told through the eyes of its greatest unknown protagonist, this astonishing debut plunges you into the closed bedchambers and bloody battlefields of the first days of the Wars of the Roses.

About the Author :
Annie Garthwaite grew up in a working-class community in the north-east of England. She studied English at the University of Wales before embarking on a thirty-year international business career. In 2017 she returned to her first love, books, and set out to write the story of a woman she had always felt drawn to: Cecily Neville. This became her debut novel, Cecily.

Review :
A startling heroine In vigorous, direct prose Garthwaite grippingly resurrects a remarkable woman Utterly compelling, this brilliant novel 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. I loved it Has the new Hilary Mantel arrived? I look forward to hearing more from Annie Garthwaite and Cecily Cecily is a vivid and compelling portrait of a formidable figure from the 15th century and a heroine for our times In Garthwaite's hands, Neville proves as Machiavellian, manipulative and era-defining as any man Cecily stalks the corridors of power like a female Thomas Cromwell. A vividly female perspective on the Wars of the Roses - what a feat An extraordinary achievement . . . I could touch and breathe Cecily's world as if I was walking in her shadow CECILY is the WOLF HALL for the 2020s... marks the start of a stellar career I loved it . . . Annie Garthwaite writes about the past with a kind of restrained, earthy vim, and with the sort of intimacy and immediacy - and empathy - that can only come from graft and craft Cecily stalks the corridors of power like a female Thomas Cromwell. A vividly female perspective on the Wars of the Roses - what a feat An extraordinary achievement . . .I could touch and breathe Cecily's world as if I was walking in her shadow CECILY is the WOLF HALL for the 2020s... marks the start of a stellar career I loved it . . . Annie Garthwaite writes about the past with a kind of restrained, earthy vim, and with the sort of intimacy and immediacy - and empathy - that can only come from graft and craft A stunning debut. Cecily is an unforgettable heroine... a novel about the power and resourcefulness of women An intimate, vivid, and compulsively page turning retelling of the Wars of the Roses. At the centre of it all is Cecily herself - ferocious to her enemies, loving to her family, both cannily pragmatic and willing to take the greatest of risks for the greatest of prizes Like Mantel's work, Garthwaite's memorable book leaps beyond its genre of historical fiction. Garthwaite writes with empathy and a brilliant eye for historical detail. This book is a winner--don't miss it! Vivid and compelling A bold, beautiful novel Masterful and majestic, here is England's unspoken history told by one brilliant woman through the life of another. This important novel blazes on every page from its brutal first scene to its glittering final act. Immense Entirely absorbing and utterly compelling. C15th England leaps from the page, with all its political turmoil & bloodshed. I loved it This book is really special. It covers a part of history where women are often footnotes but in this book Cecily is ALIVE, alive & flawed In vigorous, direct prose Garthwaite grippingly resurrects a remarkable woman