What is Better than a Good Woman?: Alice Chaucer, Commoner and Yorkist Matriarch

Alice Chaucer, Countess of Salisbury and Duchess of Suffolk, was a powerful political player in fifteenth-century England, despite being born to nobility. She married three times, including the Earl of Salisbury and William de la Pole, and survived a state trial in 1451. She was also a patron of the arts, commissioning artworks depicting empowered historical female characters. She was a custodian of Margaret of Anjou and protected her son John de la Pole's inheritance, three of whose sons would pursue the Yorkist claim to the throne against Henry VII.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 15 July 2024
Publisher: Amberley Publishing

Alice Chaucer, Countess of Salisbury and Duchess of Suffolk, stands as a remarkable figure in the turbulent fifteenth-century England. Widowed at the age of 11, she embarked on a journey of power and riches, marrying three influential men. Her second husband, the Earl of Salisbury, perished at the Siege of Orléans during the Hundred Years War, while her third husband, William de la Pole, served as Henry VIs Chief Minister and paid the ultimate price with his life. Despite these challenges, Alice Chaucer survived and thrived, even facing a state trial in 1451. She was also a patron of the arts, commissioning artworks that depicted empowered historical female characters, notably St Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. Alice Chaucer's library was extensive, and in 1472, she became the custodian of Margaret of Anjou, her former friend and patron. She fiercely protected her son John de la Pole's inheritance, and three of his four sons pursued the Yorkist claim to the throne against Henry VII, ultimately dying in the attempt. While it may be too early to label Alice Chaucer a proto-feminist, her choices as an art patron certainly suggest a progressive mindset.

Weight: 684g
Dimension: 242 x 164 x 37 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781398109698