Soberton has covered the lives of three very influential women from the Tudor era who are, obviously, lesser known than many of their contemporaries but no less fascinating. 

Margaret Douglas, Mary Howard and Mary Shelton provide interesting enough content without having to embellish their stories and this reviewer is glad to say that Soberton stuck to the facts.  Although it would be easy to stray in the narrative by focusing on Henry VIII and his queens (the women this trio served), Soberton kept as much as possible to the topic and avoided speculation.  The years have not been good in preserving what little public record existed on these three women (and therefore if the characters seem a bit two-sided it is understandable due to the lack of materials), so it is understood that even a multiple biography would be rather ‘thin.’ Embellishing the narrative with accounts from the more public figures would have been tempting, but Soberton does resist, for which this reviewer is thankful.

Two slight criticisms are matched to the same issue—organization.  Family trees would have been helpful.  I am well versed in the Tudor era and actually had to sketch out a tree for myself after becoming confused about Margaret Douglas’s Scottish connections. For those readers less proficient in the time-period, all of the Marys and Margarets probably became confusing.  In addition, Soberton tried to tie in the women where she could but, unfortunately, would create confusion for a paragraph or two until she had the chance to connect her tangents.  Rather minor issues which do not detract from the interesting stories of the influential lives of these three women.

Four Tudor Roses Out of Five