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Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Faithful Traitor - The Story of Margaret Pole - Magnificent and Moving




 A magnificent and moving book that appealed to me on many dimensions. I had previously read about Margaret of York in books about the era and one book just about her. I feel this one is very important as it illustrates her life a bit differently which is necessary to understand the history of that time.

An important dimension, in my estimation is how she looks back at her life trying to make sense of events, and her own, as well as God's, participation in it. I am a similar age and think that is a very astute angle for the writer to have pursued. 

In that same type of thought, how Margaret's relationship is with her children made me think in context my own four, each one having a unique place in the family. The difference, of course is her ingrained view of what it means to be a peer of them realm, and related to the King and his parents.This family had a long and convoluted history of attacking their cousins and anyone who threatened them.

How different might Margaret's life had been if her mother had lived, had her father not been executed by his brother and had Richard Pole who had stabilized her life not died? The events of her childhood alone were horribly traumatic and left little room for coping skills. 

God and her Catholic faith were indeed what she depended on, as did her quite religious children, or at least some of them.





A very fine treatment of a family matriarch who was both progenitor and descendant of the ruling class of this era. 5 Stars ~ I am off to the Elizabeth of York book by Samantha Wilcoxson to take to the beach with me..

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for the thoughtful review! I am so glad that you enjoyed 'my Margaret'.

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