I was excited to get my hands on this biography as I became fascinated with Anne Neville after reading a historical fiction novel on her a few years back. Her husband, Richard III, naturally has numerous biographical works written about him, but there's not much on Anne herself. This of course is not unusual for women of the time, even for queens. Their voices are usually drowned out by the louder voices of their male counterparts and sadly lost to time.

Batley is clearly passionate about her subject. Her writing is easy to read and the book is very well researched.

NetGalley, Danielle Holeman

This is a very readable book which makes the most of the sources. Batley manages to make inferences as to the chronology of Anne's early life between England and Calais. She does not fall into the trap of projecting any personality onto Anne besides that which is attested. Nor does she make this book about Anne's second husband Richard.

NetGalley, Jo-anne Atkinson

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I enjoy reading about women in history. I first encountered Anne Neville in "The White Queen" by Philippa Gregory and found her character intriguing. Consequently, I was thrilled to read an actual biography about this royal woman.

Biographies of royal women are my favorite genre, and in this particular example, I appreciate the chapter structure and names in particular. It's evident that the author put a lot of thought into the biography. The text is easy to follow, and I especially like the inclusion of historical backgrounds, particularly the War of the Roses. It's very understandable in this book.

NetGalley, Magdalena Šejdová

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Anne Neville - Queen and Wife of Richard III by Rebecca Batleyis an intriguing insight to the Plantagenet dynasty, when women were chattel and their offspring almost currency, determining the continuation of the family line.

However, although the history of women in this era is largely silent, behind the scenes, there was a whole lot more going on as detailed in this highly enlightening and well-written title. Very well researched and utterly intriguing, a great account of a powerful and tenacious woman fighting for survival in a world where she is not seen.

NetGalley, Ink Reads

'a perfect read for a newcomer to the topic'

Read the Full Review Here

History With Jackson

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Born into a powerful dynasty amid England’s tumultuous Wars of the Roses, Anne Neville defied expectations and emerged as a survivor, a queen, and a force to be reckoned with. Though tragedy cast a shadow over her life, this book delves beyond the familiar narratives to reveal the captivating woman behind the crown—a shrewd strategist, a political player, and a fascinating figure in her own right.

This is less a biography of Anne Neville than a history of the Wars of the Roses told from Anne’s perspective. She was a Lancastrian Princess of Wales and a Yorkist queen who must have lived a fascinating life. This interesting and easy-to-read book does a good job of telling her story despite the dearth of source material that remains to us.

NetGalley, Andrea Romance

As a huge history buff, mysteries of the past are things I find fascinating and the Plantagenet and Tudor eras, where some people were either almost or entirely erased from history, are eras I have found to be the most mysterious of the Early Modern period. Anne Neville is no exception. Queen consort to the infamous Richard III, Anne Neville is described as having the least known recordings of any queen consort in English history since the Norman conquest, adding to the tragedy surrounding her life.

I found Rebecca Batley's book to be an interesting dive into what little we know of the Plantagenet queen who has been imagined in many ways over history, most notably in Shakespeare's Tragedy Richard III; a tragic character who curses herself that leads to a deadly end. Because there is very little we know of Anne Neville, the book does have a feeling of emptiness or unfinished, which I think sums up how history will remember Anne: a woman Richard III wanted the world to forget, but a name that will never be destroyed.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Anne Neville: Queen and Wife of Richard III and I recommend reading it if you want to learn more about one of history's forgotten women. However, as with many books of this genre, you shouldn't go into it expecting answers, rather you'll discover more questions that may never be answered.

NetGalley, Megan Rose

I would definitely recommend for Plantagenet fans or anyone fascinated with this period in English history.

NetGalley, Leslie Hall

This book is an excellent read for an overview of the War of the Roses for readers with little knowledge or wish to review the subject and how the War of the Roses may have affected Anne Neville.

Ms. Batley's writing style is clear, engaging, informative, well-researched, and entertaining. While Anne was a prominent figure, the daughter of the Earl of Warwick, a Kingmaker, during fifteenth-century England, unfortunately, Anne's thoughts and writings, if there were any, are lost or undocumented. While there are few facts about Anne Neville in comparison to other queens of England, what facts are known Ms. Bately provides likely possibilities when discussing topics, such as Anne's death and how her husband may have been cruel, wanting to remarry for an heir, or loving, staying with her to death. Ms. Bately speculates based on educated guesses and reminds readers she is doing so. Through her research, she does a fine job of hypothesizing what it may have been like to be Anne Neville.

While I am knowledgeable on Richard III and the Plantagenets, I did not take away anything new; however, I liked the possibilities Ms. Batley provided how Anne Neville "may have" pursued life from a pawn to a queen in royalty.

I recommend this book for readers who want an introduction to this history with a female player who moves from pawn to queen in her life.

NetGalley, Lynn Wiegelmann

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

In this fascinating biography into the life of one of England’s most mysterious queens, readers discover Anne Neville, wife of the infamous Richard III and queen of England for her husband’s short reign. Readers will discover what life as the daughter of the Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker, during the chaos of the fifteenth century (during the end of the Hundred Years’ War and the entirety of the War of the Roses) was like before exploring the constant shifting of loyalties between the Lancaster and York branches of the Plantagenet royal family. While comparatively little about Anne Neville is known in comparison to other queens of England, Batley does an excellent job using what information does exist, as well as the work of other historians and biographies of other historical figures, to build the most complete picture of Anne Neville. Batley humanizes Anne Neville and brings everything into context for the period, and this book is straightforward, clear, and comprehensive in its prose and organization. A fantastic addition to current literature on fifteenth century England and the War of the Roses, Batley’s book is an excellent individual, honest, and detailed case study on Anne Neville and finally gives her her due.

NetGalley, Lily Amidon

Batley does a great job piercing together Anne's history and I thoroughly enjoyed her book about Anne's life. I strongly recommend this book for fans of this time period, for fans of royal women, and those who are looking for an interesting figure who lived a wild life.

NetGalley, Abigail Tyn

I am a huge history buff so love all things Plantagenet and Tudor so knew this book would interest me. I found it very interesting to see from Anne’s perspective as opposed to Richard III’s . Writing was easy to understand with useful character notes and family trees. In all an enjoyable history lesson.

NetGalley, Michelle Baber

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I was very excited to see this title! I have read about the War of the Roses through several different lenses and Anne Neville has always been a sort of prominent background figure who has always interested me. As the Kingmaker’s daughter, it is easy to simply cast Anne Neville aside as a political pawn, but she was much more. Batley’s book seeks to draw her forth from the shadows and does an admirable job with the task.

The book opens by setting up the circumstances surrounding Anne’s death. As she withers away in her bedchamber, the court is abuzz with gossip. Is her husband, Richard III, truly aiming to take his niece as his next wife? Is he responsible for untimely demise? Batley asserts that Anne wouldn’t have been immune from the gossip reaching her ears. These rumors reduce her to the sort of woman consumed by rage and grief that Shakespeare would imagine in his Richard III, or as the blurb suggests, “a passive victim of the men who used and exploited her.” I’m a sucker for a good introduction, so this had me hooked. As Batley unpacks history through Anne’s perspective, it becomes evident that she was much more complicated than meets the eye.

The author’s writing style was very engaging. I found this study of Anne Neville to be both entertaining and informative. It certainly challenged my understanding of the woman that was previously informed by anecdotes in other historical nonfiction works and pop-culture representations. Despite the limitations in researching the lives of women during this period, with even women of high status like Neville largely confined to the margins, Bartley is able to develop a fascinating assessment of what her experience must have been like. An added bonus for me was the helpful biographical notes at the front of the book! While many books will simply include a few family trees, Bartley has provided brief descriptions of the major players in Anne’s life and the War of the Roses to help avoid confusion. Love that! This was a great read and definitely a nice way of supplementing my knowledge of the period.

NetGalley, Nicholas Artrip

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This book is excellent. It contains a huge amount of information I had no clue about and illuminated Anne Neville’s life. Shedding light on a woman that is usually forgotten about.
The author is detailed and meticulous in his research and writing.

NetGalley, Elizabeth Major

This was so interesting. Like I feel that people don't really get to know the personal lives of royalty and this did a good job telling us who Anne was.

NetGalley, Sierra Gonzalez