Author: Johnson, Lauren
Modern period, c 1500 onwards
Published on 6 November 2025 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (Apollo) in the United Kingdom.
Hardback | 480 pages, 1 x 8pp col
238 x 162 | 700g
Survivor. Rebel. Conspirator. Matriarch of a dynasty.
Born into a century of conflict as the daughter of the Duke of Somerset and a descendant of Edward III, Margaret Beaufort was married at twelve, a mother and widow at thirteen, and a player in one of the most violent chapters of English history. Across three marriages and decades of civil war, Margaret endured loss, intrigue and exile – yet lived to see her only son crowned Henry VII, the first Tudor king. Against a backdrop of shifting power and danger, she helped broker the union that ended the Wars of the Roses, shaped the early Tudor court, and played a formative role in the life of her grandson, Henry VIII.
In this powerful and perceptive biography, historian Lauren Johnson brings Margaret vividly to life as a woman of rare resilience and ambition. With empathy and sharp insight, Johnson reframes our understanding of medieval power and restores Margaret to her rightful place: not simply a mother behind the throne, but a skilled political operator whose determination changed the course of English history.