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

(Paperback)

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Wife. Mother. Politician. Traitor. Fighter. Survivor. CECILY '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.

Reviews

A startling heroine -- Sarah Moss
In vigorous, direct prose Garthwaite grippingly resurrects a remarkable woman * Sunday Times *
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 -- Liz Hyder, author of The Gifts
Has the new Hilary Mantel arrived * Sunday Telegraph *
I look forward to hearing more from Annie Garthwaite and Cecily * Times *
Cecily is a vivid and compelling portrait of a formidable figure from the 15th century and a heroine for our times * Big Issue *
In Garthwaite's hands, Neville proves as Machiavellian, manipulative and era-defining as any man * Noon *
Cecily stalks the corridors of power like a female Thomas Cromwell. A vividly female perspective on the Wars of the Roses - what a feat -- Imogen Hermes Gowar
An extraordinary achievement . . . I could touch and breathe Cecily's world as if I was walking in her shadow -- Carol McGrath
CECILY is the WOLF HALL for the 2020s... marks the start of a stellar career -- Manda Scott
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 -- Toby Clements

Author Bio

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.