Anne Easter Smith

Anne Easter Smith is an English-American historical novelist. She is the aunt of England rugby No. 8, Nick Easter.

Her novels are set during the Wars of the Roses, the period during which two branches of the House of Plantagenet, the Houses of York and Lancaster, were in contention for the throne of England. As a Ricardian, Anne Easter Smith's novels show a more sympathetic treatment of Richard III than Shakespeare's famous play - but Shakespeare was writing under the reign of the Tudors, who had taken the throne when forces under the command of the future Henry VII of England defeated Richard III's Yorkists at the Battle of Bosworth.

Easter Smith's first novel, A Rose for the Crown, has as its central theme the love story between Richard, while he was Duke of Gloucester during the reign of his brother Edward IV, and the woman who gave birth to Richard's pre-marriage illegitimate children. History tells us of these children, but never identifies who their mother was (or mothers were...). Easter Smith's well-researched novel puts the real characters in the right places at the right dates, eating the period foods, and suffering from period maladies, while inventing other characters to round out the story.

In her second novel, Easter Smith focuses on Margaret of York, Richard and Edward's sister, who, like all royals of the time, anticipates a marriage negotiated for political advantage. Margaret is wedded to Charles the Bold, ruler of the Duchy of Burgundy, the wealthiest in Europe. Daughter of York tells the story of Margaret's early life in England, her lavish wedding to Charles, and both her personal and public life in Burgundy's leading cities, which at the time included Bruges, Binche, and Mechelen, among others.

Easter Smith's third novel, The King's Grace, explores the identity of Perkin Warbeck, through the eyes of Grace Plantagenet, an illegitimate daughter of King Edward IV. Her fourth novel, Queen by Right, concerns the life of Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV and Richard III.