15th Century London: Through a quirk of fate young widow Janet Evershed finds herself running her late husband's cloth business, far from her York home. It's in this very shop that she meets Richard Neville, Duke of Warwick and his ward Edward, Earl of March. They may be much higher than commoner Janet but she has caught Edward's eye and what Edward wants, he gets, be it a woman or, indeed, the crown of England.
This is the second in [[:Category:Lesley J Nickell|Lesley J Nickell's]] ''Sprigs of Broom'' series republished since the author's death in 2013. The first novel [[The White Queen of Middleham: Sprigs of Broom 1 by Lesley J Nickell|The White Queen of Middleham]] featured Anne Neville, one Warwick the Kingmaker's daughters daughter and eventual wife of Richard III. This second book runs parallel with the first in terms of chronology but there are enough differences to make two novels over the same time period in the same trilogy seem like a good idea.
The first difference is the way it's written. ''The White Queen…'' is packed with information which renders it high in the words-per-inch quotient. I enjoyed its factoids and the story, although it did feel intense at times. This second novel is a much lighter read without dumbing down, making it more accessible and therefore promising it a wider audience. The second difference is viewpoint.