Of Virtue Rare: Margaret Beaufort, Matriarch of the House of Tudor by Linda Simon

Margaret Beaufort had an ambition: to make her son, Henry Tudor, King of England. To that end, this very private, religious woman bent her considerable talents successfully. But she remains a shadowy figure, her machinations unclear until after Henry is crowned, when her power in the king's household is obvious and clear. Simon's biography, attempts to reconstruct some of the aspects of the period, and shed light on the woman possessed by a 'lean and hungry look' and a king-making, determined ambition.