361G: YA historical novel heroine Margaret Plantagenet of York, later Margaret Pole

Young Adult historical novel about the childhood/teenage years of Margaret Plantagenet of York, who later became Margaret Pole, and her brother Ned (Edward, Duke of Warwick), at the end of the War of the Roses and beginning of the Tudor period.  It starts in the court of her uncle, Edward IV, after her father (George, Duke of Clarence) has been executed for treason, and ends with her brother’s execution and her romance with Reginald Pole.  My memory is that the heroine is known as Meggy or Peggy. I probably read this in the early 60s, but it might have been written in the 30s, 40s or 50s. I thought the author might be Elizabeth Janet Gray, Rosemary Sutcliffe, Margaret C. Leighton, or Elizabeth George Speare but can’t find anything that seems to match this story among their titles.

7 thoughts on “361G: YA historical novel heroine Margaret Plantagenet of York, later Margaret Pole

  1. ANN

    Well, I remember reading this book, but I can’t think of its title or author. I checked Marguerite Vance and Gladys Malvern, both of whom wrote similar 15th – 16th century royal historical biographies for this age group, and don’t find it in their current bibliographies as available in the usual online places. I recall Margaret’s motto being particularly mentioned — “Spes mea in deo est.”

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    1. ANN

      See whether it isn’t THE SONG OF A THRUSH, by Katherine Wigmore Eyre. First published 1952, which fits well for a book I remember reading in the local branch library in the early 1960’s.

      The author’s better-known book is THE LUTE AND THE GLOVE, a time-travel sort of work.

      Thanks to the Library of Congress for coming up with this title!

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  2. ANN

    I left a message yesterday but don’t see it posted today. I found THE SONG OF A THRUSH, by Katherine Wigmore Eyre, in the Library of Congress catalog. I think that’s it, mainly because I also read several of her other books, which means the local library branch had them at that time.

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  3. Melissa

    maybe this one?
    The song of a thrush (OUP, 1952) by Katherine Wigmore Eyre
    This is about the girlhood of Margaret Plantagenet, daughter of George, Duke of Clarence. Margaret later married Sir Richard Pole and became the Countess of Salisbury.

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