Today Linda Root reviews
FaithfulTraitor, the fabulous novel by Samantha Wilcoxson. The author has
kindly offered
an ebook as a giveaway. To be in with a
chance of winning this fabulous story, simply leave a comment below of
on our
Facebook Page.
The winner will be drawn on 17th January 2018.
Good luck!
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| Margaret Pole's Coat-of-Arms |
Writing a historical biographical novel is a challenge well
met by American novelist Samantha Wilcoxson as she presents the intriguing life story of Margaret
Pole, sometimes known as The Last Plantagenet.
Lady Pole, Countess of Salisbury, is familiar to most casual readers
as the old woman who had run afoul of Henry VIII, ultimately to be chased
around the scaffold by an incompetent headsman who took nine strokes to separate her head from her body.
Several well researched historical accounts of Countess Margaret’s life appear both in traditional histories and in historical fiction. Many of them dwell upon the reported versions of her bizarre death. However, the glory of Ms. Wilcoxson's novel
is its celebration of her life as a loving and cherished wife, a devoted mother, as well as a devout Catholic
and reluctant courtier. Her death, however it occurred, is but a footnote. Another compelling feature of
Faithful Traitor is the intriguing picture it presents of the countess's Cousin Henry VIII and other principals in the
drama of his reign. One of my favorites is the appearance of Henry's young fifth wife Catherine Howard, who brings the imprisoned elderly countess warm clothes.
The early pages set the stage upon which Margaret Pole’s
life played out. The reader quickly discovers
the protagonist is very much a Plantagenet princess, whose
acceptance of the Tudors is an appeasement to the inevitable. She is keenly cognizant of the threat
posed by any surviving Plantagenets to the nascent and fragile Tudor Dynasty. Good men had
died for no more reason than their pedigree, her beloved brother Edward among
them. But the woman to whom we are introduced is a pragmatist. She has children to raise. Their futures depend upon her survival. From the beginning, the author lets us know that survival is the novel's theme.
Kinship: Appreciation of her bloodline is a principal element in the novel.
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Funeral effigy of Elizabeth of York
Wikimedia, via Creative Commons |
- Margaret Pole's story begins with the
death of Queen Elizabeth of York, King Henry VII's consort, daughter of Edward IV and niece of Richard III, the
king who lost his crown and his life to Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth
Field in 1485. Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, took the throne as
Henry VII, asserting himself as the Lancastrian claimant. But it was his victory and not his heritage
that placed Richard’s crown on Henry Tudor’s head. Many English considered him a usurper. In a move that proved ingenious, the new king brought the patina of legitimacy to his reign by quickly marrying Edward
IV’s daughter Elizabeth of York, a hugely popular maneuver in a nation fatigued
of internecine warfare. To the surprise of many, the politically astute marriage became an ideal match. Austere and frugal and not especially personable, Henry listened to his consort's advice and respected her opinions. Among other admirable characteristics, Queen Elizabeth sought amnesty for the surviving members of her family, of which their were precious few. Among those who survived the War of the Roses, Elizabeth's cousin Margaret Pole and her siblings, offspring of the queen's uncle George, Duke of Clarence, received the benefit of Elizabeth's protection, and hence, the king's good will. However, upon Elizabeth of York's death during a difficult childbirth which also claimed the life of the child,
the surviving Plantagenets had need of caution. Thus, with her cousin's Elizabeth's death in 1503, Margaret Pole begins to display the sound instinct and cunning which become her hallmark. One joy of the novel is the clarity with which the author lets us see how fragile the balance between survival and death, and how well Margaret performs her balancing act. Even when her fortunes seem the brightest, she is aware she is the last Plantagenet princess living in Tudor England, a dangerous place to be.
Love and Friendship:
Even Henry VII's friendly act in approving her marriage to Sir Richard Pole when a more politically beneficial union might have enriched the crown was no guarantee the king's good will would survive his consort's death. But Sir Richard was the king's friend, and the marriage was a happy one. It also neutralized the threat presented by the lady's bloodline. However, Richard Pole was a soldier in the service of the king. And while their marriage was a love match, it was one fraught with absences while Sir Richard marched to war. The marching season after the Queen's death brought a the lovers to a farewell which was permanent. Thus, widowed the year after Elizabeth's death, and within days of her own delivery of a healthy son, Margaret found herself without her best friend and lover, her beloved Sir Richard Pole.
With a daughter and four surviving sons in her care, and no money to ease the burden, Lady Margaret Pole had little time to grieve. She borrowed money for her husband’s funeral from his friend the Duke of Somerset. Still in mourning, she left the solitude of her country home behind and moved to Sion Abbey on the banks of the Thames for a period of recovery. As was appropriate in 16th Century England, she sought placement of her older sons in the homes of noble families able to undertake the ward ship of the offspring of a princess.
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Catherine (Catalina) of Aragon,
{PD-Art} |
During her early widowhood, Margaret made an important friend in Princess Catalina of Aragon, the adolescent Spanish wife of Arthur, Prince of Wales. Margaret encouraged Catalina to use her influence to free the husband of a friend and many other young nobles who had fought with the Plantagenets. However, she concentrated her own efforts on the advancement of her children. As for her personal future, she was content to bide her time and keep her head low. It was not a long wait until circumstances changed..
Henry VIII ~ Margaret's Royal Cousin.
When Henry VII died, he was succeeded by his second- born
son, Margaret‘s cousin Henry. Princess Catalina's young husband Arthur had died. The
excitement pervading the kingdom upon the ascension of the beautiful youth who
was in physical appearance the spitting image of his Plantagenet grandfather,
Edward IV, still left Margaret ill at ease on her visit to the court. When the man she regarded as ‘tall, handsome
and charismatic’ approached her, she reminded herself that he was not a true
Plantagenet, but a frightful Tudor. When
she fell to the floor in the deepest bow, she was as much in fear as she was in
awe, until the golden man who towered over her spoke to her in a sonorous voice :
Rise, dear Margaret and give me a kiss.’
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| Henry VIII early in his reign. ((PD-Art)) |
As the author takes us through the early days of Henry
VIII’s reign, a period when Margaret Pole enjoyed her position in the household
of Henry’s consort Catherine of Aragon, we glimpse signs of storm clouds
gathering. It is a well-worked and familiar story in which Margaret Pole finds herself aligned with the losing faction. As the king tired of his wife
and despaired of his lack of a male heir, Margaret Pole found her affiliation
with Queen Catherine and their devout Catholicism more of a danger that
her bloodline. Yet, until the king broke with the Roman Church, he held Margaret in high esteem, and appointed her to serve as his daughter Princess Mary's governess. During this phase of the novel, we glimpse a Margaret who is not the least naive nor is she nonpartisan. There is a movement afoot to marry the king's daughter Mary Tudor to Margaret's son Reginald Pole, who serves the Roman Church.
The author adds the intrigues of the Reformation at precisely the correct point to hold the reader's interest, introducing us to a whole new cast of characters. There is danger lurking in the shadows, in this case, personified by the King's henchman Thomas Cromwell. When Cromwell cannot dispose of the very Catholic Princess Mary, he focuses on the Poles. I applaud the author's decision to avoid rehashing the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, thus keeping this very much the Countess of Salisbury's story. By the time of Anne's fall and Jane Seymour's rise, Lady Margaret Pole is ousted from Princess Mary's household and isolated from the Tudor Court. Use of the novel form permits
the telling of the last chapters of Margaret Pole's story with the pathos of a women whose sees her world
crumbling around her. Albeit, this remains Margaret's story, and the
political intrigue is reported from a pro-Catholic point of view, but it is presented
fairly. While Ms. Wilcoxson takes license with the ending of Margaret's saga by axing the traditional version of her gory execution, she does so honestly. In my view, what sets this account above other literary works in which the
Countess of Salisbury appears is her poignant portrayal as an
ambitious parent, loving wife and doting grandmother. Arranging suitable marriages for her children
were a priority in her life. The aspirations of the Poles and other Catholics may have looked too high in plotting a marriage between the Mary Tudor and Reginald Pole, therefore bringing Margaret Pole to the final chapters of her stunning life.
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| Mary I, PD Art |
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| Cardinal Pole, PD Art |
When her
youngest son is taken to the Tower and the family is linked to a plot to marry
Henry Tudor’s Catholic daughter Mary to Margaret son Reginald Pole, who is in
the Vatican in the service of the Church, Margaret begins to see the walls
closing in upon her. Soon she is under house arrest and suffering from
depression. Perhaps her lowest moment in
learning one of her sons has betrayed his brother and cousins to spare
his own life. She had always coddled her youngest, Geoffrey.
The Countess's execution came
with little preamble, with only an hour's notice given Lady Margaret to give her time to pray. It was carried out privately within the compound on a scaffold erected on Tower Green near the church of Saint Peter Advincula, where others headless nobles charged with treason had been buried. Later, when a servant was sent to clear her room,
the following words were discovered etched on a wall, and to me suggest she perhaps did attempt to outrun the headsman:
For traitors on the block should
die; I am no traitor, no, not I!
My faithfulness stands fast and so,
Towards the block I shall not go!
Nor make one step, as you shall see; Christ in
Thy Mercy, save Thou me!
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| The Execution of Margaret Pole, courtesy of Creative Commons |
Faithful Traitor: The Story of Margaret Pole is not a book for
everyone. Readers who do not like their historical novels cluttered with too much history may not like it. In my view, it is more of the ilk of
Alison Weir’s book about Lady Jane Grey, Innocent Traitor. I classify both works in a sub-genre known as fictionalized biography. Both books are written by authors who know their topic well, and present them with clarity and
charm.
I cannot quarrel with the author’s decision to disclaim the scene in which Henry Tudor’s headsman
chases the old lady around the scaffold as she seeks to escape the ax. It was
a private execution, and only two eyewitness accounts of the Countess’s beheading
survive. Those present at the execution would have been fully vetted, and their objectivity is suspect. Neither of them are sympathetic
to the unrepentant lady and neither version is
consistent with the Margaret Pole who graces the pages of Samantha Wilcoxson’s
novel. I invite those of you who read the book to judge for yourselves. Should you conclude that the traditional version is Margaret Pole's execution is true, then also consider, if you will, whether the last Plantagenet princess might have staged-managed
her bizarre ending to garner sympathy for her cause? While her name may not be as well known as Queen Anne Boleyn's, nor is it forgotten.
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Scaffold site on Tower Green outside the Church of Saint Peter Advincula,
Wikimedia and Creative Commons
Reviewer's Note:
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Faithful Traitor: The Story of Margaret Pole, has been
highly acclaimed since its publication in June, 2016. It has been a Historical Novel Society
Editor’s choice and highly praised by the notable Helen Hollick at her
Discovered Diamonds review site. The
author has graciously offered an e-book to the winner of a drawing chosen from
those who comment on this review.
