She is the woman who started it all, the Tudor dynasty's matriarch, Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII and a truly fascinating figure in her own right. In recent years thanks to historic fiction, she has become a figure of controversy, portrayed as an evil religious zealot, obsessed with getting her son on the throne, but is this interpretation of her in any way accurate? Well today I am thrilled to welcome historian and author Lauren Johnson onto the podcast for the first time. Lauren’s upcoming book, Margaret Beaufort, Survivor, Rebel, Kingmaker, is the backbone of this conversation, so join Lauren and I as we explore the life of Margaret Beaufort and smash apart some of the long held beliefs about her life, and life story.