Viking snaps up more feminist historical retellings by Garthwaite

Viking has snapped up rights to The King’s Mother and one more historical novel by Annie Garthwaite, author of Cecily, an epic feminist retelling of the War of the Roses.

Harriet Bourton, publishing director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Imogen Pelham at Marjacq Scripts.

The synopsis reads: “As The King’s Mother opens, Cecily Neville’s son has gained England’s throne as Edward IV. But as the country’s bloodiest civil war enters its final stages, we are introduced to three other women who, driven by ambition, necessity or fear, will stop at nothing to put their own sons on the throne and become King’s Mother themselves. Their conflict is desperate and the cost of failure high. After all, there can only be one King’s Mother, and there can only be one King.”

Bourton will work alongside Viking’s new editorial director, Rosa Schierenberg, publishing The King’s Mother in hardback, e-book and audio in July 2024, with the paperback to follow in 2025.

Bourton said: “The reception to Cecily was remarkable – from readers and booksellers alike. Annie’s instincts about Cecily’s story being relevant and timely were spot on. Through a tenacious, intelligent and complex heroine, Annie gave us a new understanding of medieval women and the power they could wield, and I can’t wait to meet three more of the women who dominated this age – Marguerite of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret Beaufort. Annie is skilful at unravelling some of history’s most enduring mysteries in a truly enthralling way, and through deft storytelling reveals how these women’s motives and actions are vital to our understanding of what really happened during England’s brutal 15th century.”

Schierenberg commented: “Thrilling, real and utterly compelling, this is a story about women, about mothers and about the sheer power and ferocity of female ambition. Through masterful and vivid prose Annie brings these four women to life in a way that feels wholly contemporary. I’m so glad she has chosen to tell their story.”

Garthwaite added: “It means so much to me to tell the story of the Wars of the Roses from the female point of view. Though they fought in none of its battles, these women – with their ambition for their sons and their determination to survive – shaped the conflict in ways history has chosen to forget or ignore. It’s time to set the record straight.”