Queen By Right

      Queen By Right  by Anne Easter Smith

   Queen By Right is a really great read by Anne Easter Smith.  I have just finished  this book and loved every bit of it, prompting me to read another book by Anne Easter Smith called Daughter of York. I love English history and can not get enough historical fiction, Queen By Right filled that need.

  Queen By Right by Anne Easter Smith is about Cecily Neville, one of England's most courageous and intelligent woman.  She stood by her husband and put her own fears aside as he fought for the crown.  Cecily was to be Queen of England if her husband Richard, Duke of York had lived to defeat King Henry VI.  Cecily may not have been Queen of England but she was the mother of two Kings of England.

                                      Cecily was named Rose of Raby for her beauty and fair hair and she was also named proud Cis for her loyalty and courage during difficult times in her life.  Cecily was deeply in love with her husband, Richard, Duke of York.  Most times a girl was married off to a boy or man that she did not know, but in Cecily's case she knew her husband to be.  Richard and Cecily had met when they were young and Richard was left in the care of Cecily's father.  During this time Richard and Cecily got to know each other  and fall in love.   Because of this love Cecily chose to move around the country with her husband rather than stay at home and tend to the house and the children.  Cecily often packed up her family to follow Richard.  At times this was hard for Cecily to do, there were often times when she was with child or there were battles that put them in danger and her family was quite large.

   Cecily had stayed loyal to her husband through the ups and downs.  Staying true to being a good wife and supporting her husband, regardless of what though.  She was wise and loving, guiding her husband to do the right thing.  Fighting for the crown against a King that was ill and his wife who was ruthless.  Through the heartache and pain Cecily encountered along the way she was able to see her son Edward with the Crown and the people of England.

   This was such a great book!  Filled with love, family, courage, heartache, and triumph.  Cecily Neville had the strength and wisdom I admire.  I can not even begin to imagine how hard it must have been to be a woman in Cecily Neville's time.  I encourage you to read this book, you will not be let down!