HISTORICAL SURVIVORS - the women who dodged the bullet

by Eve Edwards

I spent the autumn dipping into Peter Ackroyd's 'The History of England pt 1'.  Apart from quickly realising that I would never ever want the job of king of England, I became intrigued by the number of women that flirted on the edge of disaster but somehow managed to stay alive when their husbands and sons met with grim fates. I have recently written three historical romances for teens set in the Tudor period; the logic of that genre is you 'stop the clock' when the story reaches the happy ever after for the couple.  A few storm clouds may be threatening but at heart it is an optimistic genre.  In the historical record, lives are left running into decline and fall.  Some fall spectacularly but there are those, tucked away in the margins, who cling on to something like contentment, if not happiness. In what looks like a tough year for all ahead, I am dedicating this post to those survivors.

Perkin Warbeck

My favourite is Lady Catherine Gordon, a cousin of the king of Scotland, married by the Scottish sovereign in a blatant piece of 'let's annoy the English' to Perkin Warbeck, pretender to the throne held by Henry VII.  Perkin had a good run for his money, making a serious bid for the throne on the claim that he was one of the missing princes in the tower, but was finally hanged in 1499.  What I found most extraordinary was the Catherine was then welcomed in the English Court in a strange position of prisoner come lady-in-waiting, and went on to marry another three husbands, all court gentlemen.  I couldn't track down a picture of this lady but she sounds quite a character.  Did she know that she was married to an impostor?  What an interesting psychological journey she must have had.  It makes me think there's definitely a novel in it, if someone hasn't already got to her (please do let me know).

Elizabeth Woodville

A more famous survivor is Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV and mother to the princes in the tower. She survived Richard III and lived on until 1492.  Most (if not all) women will give her three cheers because she managed to persuade her royal husband to marry her (she was of lowly status for king's consort) rather than turn her into another of his mistresses.  Living through the Wars of the Roses, it is hardly surprising her life was as bloodstained as the end of Hamlet, but she managed to die in her bed, living a quiet life in religious retreat at Bermondsey.

Adeliza of Louvain

Another notable survivor is Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of Henry II, mother of Richard and John, held on until she was eighty, scheming away even though she ended life under house arrest.  Adeliza of Louvain, second wife of Henry I, outlived him and went on to marry for love and have seven children.  Lisa Hilton has a fascinating chapter on both of these women in her Queen's Consort: England's Medieval Queens if you wish to read more.   Clearly, there is a pattern emerging here. I've often thought how badly done by women are in history (and it is obviously true that they suffered huge disadvantages) but one blessing was that you were usually not being thought worthy of being sent to the block - until we get to Henry VIII and his murderous children that is.

I'd love to hear about your favourite survivors.  Please do leave suggestions for a top ten which I will post on the History Girls site next time.

Happy New Year!

Eve Edwards' website