The Virgin Widow is a 2010 work of Historical Fiction and Romance Novel by Anne O'Brien, which tells the story of Anne Neville and her romance with her second husband, the future Richard III. The story is told in the first person, entirely from Anne's point of view. Anne's life coincides with several key events of Wars of the Roses and many of the players of the conflict appear as characters. Anne is portrayed as a spirited and intelligent young woman who is caught up in the deadly politics of her time and who desires not to be anyone's pawn. The book leans toward the Ricardian position about Richard III, portraying him as tough but not evil and his relationship with Anne as a love affair. However, since it ends before the death of Edward IV, it sidesteps many of the questions surrounding Richard's actions at that time.
This novel provides examples of:
- Abduction Is Love: Played with. Anne is kidnapped and is terrified, only to realize that the man who has done it is Francis Lovell and the point was to allow her to see Richard, who had been forbidden to see her. Anne is angry, but she also recognizes Richard is trying to help her.
- Alpha Bitch: The self-interested and ambitious Elizabeth Woodville gives Anne some very practical, if unromantic advice about marrying Richard.
- Artistic License – History:
- Historians are split as to whether the short marriage of Anne Neville and Edward of Westminster was consummated. Margaret of Anjou opposed the match and only begrudgingly agreed to it, and it wasn't uncommon for such fraught political unions to delay consummation. So, the scenario presented in the book is plausible speculation. On the other hand, the Earl of Warwick would have wanted the marriage legally sealed as soon as possible. It's just a question of which powerful person got their way. Anne would certainly have no say in the matter.
- Accounts of Edward of Westminster's death differ. It is most likely he died in the battle. However, there are Tudor sources that indicated he was captured, mouthed off to Edward IV and then was killed by George and Richard. The book translates this into Edward of Westminster attacking Edward IV and Richard defending his brother.
- Arranged Marriage: Anne is first betrothed to her childhood friend Richard, and she doesn't mind. But she's heartbroken when that is broken off and she's given to Edward of Lancaster. She tried to make the best of it.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: Edward of Lancaster gifts Anne a pair of finches when they are married, only to kill them when he thinks she's been corresponding with Richard.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: Richard doesn't talk much, but he is observant and willing to strike when necessary. He stabs Edward of Lancaster in the chest when the Lancastrian prince lunges at Edward IV.
- The Big Guy: Big and gregarious Francis Lovell is Richard's Best Friend and a sharp contrast to the slender but deadly Richard. At first his loyalty lies with Warwick, but after Warwick's second betrayal of Edward, he swears fealty to Richard.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Richard and Anne meet as children and are both encouraged to consider marrying each other one day. They dance around this, especially when Anne is a child, but both are amenable to the idea.
- Dance of Romance: Edward IV encourages Richard to dance with Anne shortly after she returns to his court. This infuriates their brother George.
- Dated History: The novel was written before the discovery of Richard's remains, so he does not have scoliosis in the story.
- Double In-Law Marriage: This is the desire of the Earl of Warwick, that his two daughters marry the two youngest brothers of Edward IV. When Edward vetoes the idea, George rebels and does it anyway. Eventually, Richard is able to marry Anne as well.
- Easily-Overheard Conversation: While in Tewkesbury Abbey, Anne happens upon Edward IV and Richard just as she is the topic of conversation, and she manages to hide and hear everything. Overlaps with Exact Eavesdropping.
- Evil Matriarch: Margaret of Anjou does not like Anne and does not think she is worthy of her precious son.
- Financial Abuse: George, Duke of Clarence, is willing to lock Anne away in a kitchen and force her to become a servant to prevent her from marrying Richard and taking half her fortune with her.
- The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Anne is by no means ugly, but she's not the traditional beauty that Isabel is. She's also much savvier than Isabel when it comes to their husbands and the political situation they are embroiled in.
- Happily Ever After: The book ends with the reunion of Anne and her mother and birth of Anne and Richard's son at Middleham Castle, ending long before Edward IV's death and Richard seizing the throne.
- Heart Is Where the Home Is: After her unhappy marriage to the French-born Edward of Lancaster, Richard marries Anne and takes her home to the castle where they were children together to make their home.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: Isabel Neville is portrayed as coveting all of their mother's fortune and fully onboard with her husband's plan to lock her sister away in a convent. Historically, it is not known what Isabel's thoughts on her husband's actions were.
- Imaginary Love Triangle: Richard displays jealously of Edward of Lancaster, and he assumes Anne to have had feelings for him and consummated the marriage. He's wrong on both counts, though the manner of Edward's death does concern her.
- The Kingmaker: Anne's father, the Earl of Warwick, is the Trope Namer for this, having been instrumental in putting Edward IV on the throne.
- Locked Away in a Monastery: Isabel first suggests that Anne might be happy Taking the Veil and living life in a convent, thus allow Isabel and George to keep bulk of the girls' inheritance. Anne rebuffs the suggestion, but Richard correctly believes George plans to force Anne into a convent.
- The Lady's Favor:
- After their first betrothal is broken, a heartbroken Anne and Richard are allowed a short goodbye and Anne gives him a ring. When she dreams of Richard after her first husband's death, Anne notices Richard is still wearing it, giving her hope that he still has affection for her.
- Gender flipped version: When they are children, Richard gives her a metal toy bird, which she keeps through all their turmoil and eventually gifts to their son.
- Lighter and Softer:
- Unlike in Shakespeare's Richard III, Richard is not a villain and truly loves Anne, and she loves him. They're also portrayed as the ages they were in history when they married which was sixteen and eighteen, respectively.
- The book is far less violent and disturbing than other novels portraying Anne and Richard, though some violence is present. Because O'Brien chooses to imagine Anne's first marriage as unconsummated, she avoids the rape and sexual trauma Anne experiences in The Kingmaker's Daughter and The Sunne in Splendour.
- Love Across Battlelines: Warwick's falling out with Edward causes Anne and Richard to be ripped apart, with her married to his enemy but them still longing for one another.
- Maid and Maiden: Anne has few people she can trust besides Richard, but her nanny/maid Margery goes with her into sanctuary and becomes a confidant.
- Marry for Love: Both Anne and Richard desire this. It's averted for her first, forced marriage but the widowed Anne does not want to marry Richard if he does not love her. Elizabeth Woodville plainly tells her this is ridiculous, given that Anne loves Richard and, more importantly, needs his protection. Anne agrees, but she's very happy that Richard loves her.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Anne did not care for Edward of Lancaster, but she's horrified that Richard stabbed him in the chest while he was a prisoner. Richard explains that the prince lunged at Edward IV, and it was Richard's duty to protect the king. Richard insists that his feelings for Anne played no part in the killing, and his only regret is that it might have hurt her.
- Nice Mean And In Between:
- Anne is the nice one, Elizabeth Woodville is practical and cynical but not unkind and Isabel turns out, sadly, to be mean.
- At least as far as Anne is concerned, Richard is the nice one, Edward IV is mostly kind but is fickle and George is cruel.
- Not with Them for the Money: Played with. Anne suspects Richard is after her money and resists his courtship. However, her fortune and social position do make her an appropriate match for a king's brother and without them a marriage would not be possible. In fact, Edward IV tells Richard he could look even higher. But it is eventually made clear that Richard loves Anne and is willing to risk alienating both his brothers to marry her.
- Operation: Jealousy: Anne sets about to win Richard's heart after their quarrel, and part of her scheme is to flirt with Francis. Francis plays along but sees right through her scheme.
- Pensieve Flashback: Anne doesn't witness Richard's killing of her husband, but she has a dream in which she does and Anne believes it to be accurate. It ends with Edward of Lancaster's blood pooling at her feet.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: O'Brien gives Anne a Happily Ever Before where she has a son with Richard and is reunited with her mother. Ending it there spares O'Brien from having to interpret the more controversial moments of Richard and Anne's lives and avoids the fact that their son predeceased them and both of them died young.
- Princess Protagonist: A bit of a deconstruction, as Anne becomes Princess of Wales and tries her best, but she would much rather be a duchess.
- Prince Charming: A deconstruction with Richard. Richard grows into an intimidating and tough warrior, as well as shrewd politician. Anne fears he is after her fortune, although Elizabeth Woodville tells her that doesn't matter. It does turn out that Richard loves her and he does rescue her from his brother.
- Prince Charmless: Edward of Lancaster is handsomer than Richard, but he's immature and overly-indulged by his mother. However, there are hints that had he lived, he had the capacity to grow out of that and he does seem to have some affection for Anne. Overlaps with Royal Brat, as Anne observes that while they are of similar age, Richard has been given real-life experience in politics and battle while Edward of Lancaster has been protected by his mother and spoiled. As a result, Richard carries himself like a grown-man, while Edward is given to tantrums, empty boasts and petty cruelty.
- The Quiet One: Richard does not talk as much as his brothers and his courtship of Anne, both times, is subdued.
- Romancing the Widow: Played with. Anne's marriage to Edward of Lancaster went unconsummated and she's relieved to be free of him, but Richard does not know that when he begins courting her.
- Shipper on Deck: Edward, at least at first, seems delighted at the possibility of Richard and Anne marrying. So much so, he teases them both and arranges a dance of romance. He only cools when he realizes he needs George's support and so Richard has to act quickly.
- Spoiler Title: We know from the title that O'Brien imagines the marriage between Anne and Edward of Westminster as unconsummated.
- Spirited Young Lady: Anne is far more intelligent than most of the men around her give her credit for, and she is often willing to stand up for herself against formidable people like Margaret of Anjou and Edward IV. This is in part because she is a Neville and was raised to know her own importance.
- Teen Pregnancy: The still-in-their-teens Richard and Anne consummate their relationship before they officially marry and before a dispensation arrives from the the Pope. When she reveals she's pregnant, Richard immediately marries her and tells Edward that he has done so but doesn't specify why.
- Unexpected Virgin: Not exactly a spoiler, since it is in the book's title, but Anne's marriage to Edward of Lancaster goes unconsummated, much to Richard's surprise and pleasure.
- Villainous Incest: Anne witnesses a moment of unnatural affection between Margaret of Anjou and her son Edward of Lancaster that chills her to the bone. She never tells anyone, even Richard, what she comes to suspect about them.
