The Blood of Princes by Derek Birks

Today Sharon reviews The Blood of Princes by Derek Birks, the latest in the Scars From the Past series. Derek has kindly offered paperback as a giveaway.

To be in with the chance of winning a copy of this fabulous novel, simply leave a comment below or on our Facebook page.

The winner will be drawn on 11th April 2018.

Good luck!

A savage tale of love, treason and betrayal.
A bloody struggle for power at the heart of the royal court.

In April 1483, the sudden death of King Edward IV brings his 12 year old son to the throne.
Restless young lord and ex-mercenary John Elder is newly-appointed to the service of Edward, Prince of Wales, and charged with the boy’s safety. His first task, escorting the new king to London for his coronation, seems a simple one but the accession of a boy king raises concerns among the leading noblemen of the land.
As old jealousies and feuds are rekindled, the new king’s uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, seizes control and plunges the kingdom into crisis. But is Gloucester young Edward’s enemy, or saviour?
While John, outlawed and trapped, must wait to see how events unfold, other members of the battle-scarred Elder family are drawn, one by one, into his conspiracy. Soon they are mired so deep in the murky underbelly of London society, that there seems no hope of escape from the tangle of intrigue and murder.
In the end, all lives will hang upon the outcome of a daring incursion into the Tower of London itself.

John Elder has taken on the mantle of head of the Elder family and finds himself at the centre of English politics in 1483, with Richard III taking the throne and his nephews secured in the Tower of London.

I have followed the adventures of the Elder family since Feud, the first book in the Rebels & Brothers series; and each book just gets better and better. These are tales of loyalty, love, honour and betrayal that have you sat on the very edge of your seat from the first page to the last. You never know how it is going to end - Mr Birks is not afraid of killing off a lead or much-loved character when the story demands it. And the difference between success and failure is a very fine line. But that's what makes these books so addictive. The hero doesn't always get the girl and not everyone lives happily ever after - it is always enjoyable waiting to find out who makes it through into the next book!


And I have to say, Derek Birks has done it again! The Blood of Princes is a masterpiece of adventure and intrigue. A wonderfully woven story set in 1483, at the heart is the mystery disappearance of the Princes in the Tower. There is a suitably despicable villain - several, really - and John Elder must find some way to thwart the bad guys and save the princes.

There are no full scales battles in this book, but plenty of skirmishes, and plenty of intrigue. In The Blood of Princes John has to play a more subtle game than he is used to, but rises to the challenge. The plotting and scheming take place within the heart of London, in the palaces, churches and ghettoes, where the rich and famous rub shoulders with the lowest of the low and Derek Birks does a fabulous job of taking the reader into the murky underworld of the city.


Fans of the era will love the authenticity of Derk Birks' novels. The sword fights are vicious, the politics are murky and sometimes lethal and justice - and injustice - is swift and brutal. The action is, as always, frenetic, the energy of previous books as evident as ever.

He made his way back down the stairs and went to stand beside Bear once more.

"It's quiet, lord," murmured the giant.

"Aye, what are they about, do you think?"

"I don't see them, lord."

"God rot their souls!" cried John. "Where in God's name are they?"

As Bear opened the door a little wider, John half expected a missile of some sort to fly through the gap. None did, so Bear went out, closing the door firmly behind him. The others crowded forward and together they waited: their throats dry as they held their breath for what seemed a very long time. Finally John opened the door to peer out but could see nothing. He was just closing it again when Hal and Bear pushed through it together.

"Gone!" announced Hal.

John's head jerked up. "Gone? What do you mean gone?"

"They've gone," repeated Hal. "Bear took Martin and Gregory on way around the wall and Tom and I scouted the other way. There's no-one for a hundred yards either way. No men - mounted or on foot."

 "But how? Why? They had us trapped in here!" John shook his head. "Why in Go
d's name did they follow us so far just to leave us?"

My favourite character is - and always has been - the inimitable Eleanor Elder. And although she is not so prominent in this book, that does not stop her getting into trouble - and out of it the only way she knows how - to come out fighting. She steals every scene she appears in. The best line in the book has to be Lizzie's musings of 'What would Eleanor Elder do?' And the answer, of course, is to come out fighting and keep fighting while there is breath left in her body!

There is an authenticity about these books that draws a reader in and gets them addicted to the story, to the characters and the era. Not every character will come out of the story unscathed. They will each have their scars to bear into the next story - if they survive. But that is one of the great things about these books - not everyone survives, you cannot guarantee a 'happily ever after', but you cheer if there is some kind of closure. All of which gives you a sense of realism for the characters and the Wars of the Roses themselves.

Derek Birks is a master storyteller, his novels get better with each one - and the first one was fabulous! His books are on a par with the best storytellers historical fiction has to offer. When one ends, you desperately want to move on to the next. The waiting is torture!

This is some of the best historical fiction I have ever read.


About the author:

Derek Birks was born in Hampshire in England but spent his teenage years in Auckland, New Zealand where he still has strong family ties.
For many years he taught history in a secondary school in Berkshire but took early retirement several years ago to concentrate on his writing.
Apart from writing, he spends his time gardening, travelling, walking and taking part in archaeological digs at a Roman villa.

Derek is interested in a wide range of historical themes but his particular favourite is the later Medieval period. He aims to write action-packed fiction which is rooted in accurate history. His debut historical novel, Feud, is set in the period of the Wars of the Roses and is the first of a four-book series entitled Rebels & Brothers which follows the fortunes of the fictional Elder family.
The other books of the series are (in order): A Traitor's Fate, Kingdom of Rebels and The Last Shroud.

The first book of a brand new series, Scars From the Past, is now out in both kindle and paperback.
His books are available on Amazon in the UK and US.
You can find Derek at;
 Amazon
Blog
Facebook
Twitter 

 About the Reviewer:
About Sharon Bennett Connolly

Sharon has been fascinated by history for over 30 years.She has studied history at university and worked as a tour guide at several historic sites. She has lived in Paris and London before settling down back in a little village in her native Yorkshire, with husband James and their soon-to-be-teenage son.
Sharon has been writing a blog entitled 'History...the Interesting Bits' for a little over 2 years and has just finished her first non-fiction work, 'Heroines of the Medieval World'. The book looks at the lives of the women – some well known and some almost forgotten to history – who broke the mould; those who defied social norms and made their own future, consequently changing lives, society and even the course of history.

Sharon can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Heroines of the Medieval World,  is now available in hardback in the UK from both Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK and worldwide from Book Depository. It is also available on Kindle in both the UK and USA and will be available in Hardback from Amazon US from 1 May 2018.

Diana talks to Matthew Lewis, author of 'The Survival of the Princes in the Tower.'

Hi Matt. It's lovely to talk with you. Thank you for agreeing to answer these questions for me. Let us start straight away...

What is the genre you are best known for?

I started off writing a couple of historical fiction novels but appear to somehow have ended up writing non-fiction medieval history books. I guess if I’m anywhere near well-known, it’s probably for the non-fiction now.

If your latest book TheSurvival of the Princes in the Tower was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

It would have to be one of those part-dramatised documentaries I guess, but this would be an excuse to talk about casting Richard III, who is the subject of my first novel, Loyalty, too. Eddie Redmayne might be my top pick. He’s an incredibly versatile actor and I think he could bring a real emotional depth to a figure often viewed as one dimensional.

What made you choose this genre?

Historical fiction was a combination of interests I’ve always had. The non-fiction was a result of my inability to refuse real offers from real publishers. I could claim a noble compulsion to spread knowledge and appreciation of the histories that have fascinated me for years, but it’s probably more like vanity!

How do you get ideas for plots and characters?

One of the benefits of writing historical fiction about well-known figures is that I don’t need to invent too much. That could hardly be less true. Even where records are good, particularly during the medieval period, they weren’t great, so we have no idea what people were really thinking. Empathy is the key for me. Fact can provide a framework to operate within, but there is still plenty of wiggle room with character’s emotions, thoughts and words. I get to look at what happened and try to get beneath the skin to look for a plot, motives and other people at work. The freedom is simultaneously exciting and terrifying.

Favourite picture or work of art?

Hans Holbein fascinates me. Jack Leslau’s theory about Holbein’s portrait of Sir Thomas More’s family has made that painting a long-standing favourite of mine (if you don’t know why, please look it up!).

Sir Thomas More and Family is a lost painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, painted circa 1527 and known from a number of surviving copies. The original was destroyed in 1752 in a fire at Schloss Kremsier (Kroměříž Castle), the Moravian residence of Carl von Liechtenstein, archbishop of Olmutz.

Holbein’s Henry VIII is one of the most instantly recognisable images in all of history and a testament to his ability to weave meaning into his paintings. From the aggressive, confrontational stance to the prominent codpiece and the glare, it tells as much of a story about Henry’s desire to project an image of himself as it does about what he may have really looked like. Holbein opened a real window into the Tudor court and made characters from history into real people you can almost touch for the first time. The guy was a genius.

If, as a one off, (and you could guarantee publication!)  you could write anything you wanted, is there another genre you would love to work with and do you already have a budding plot line in mind?

I’d love to have a go at some children or young adult fiction. I’ve got a couple of ideas rattling around in my brain but they’re currently caged by commitments to non-fiction books.

Was becoming a writer a conscious decision or something that you drifted into (or even something so compelling that it could not be denied?) How old were you when you first started to write seriously.

I had been writing for years just for fun and although I might have hoped to become a writer one day, it was never something I really considered as a serious option. I self-published my first novel in 2012, expecting nothing to really come of it. A few months later, Richard III’s remains were discovered and as interest peaked, my novel started to sell. I was 36 then and wrote a sequel to try and make the most of what I assumed would be a passing fascination with the subject of the novel rather than anything else. Some of the nonsense doing the rounds after Richard III’s remains were found caused me to start a blog to try and get more accurate information out there. All of a sudden, a publisher got in touch through the blog to ask me to write a non-fiction account of the Wars of the Roses for them. I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t. I write for three publishers now and have books due for the next few years, which is mind-blowing to me. If anyone asks me, I still can’t bring myself to claim that I’m a writer or an historian. It makes me smile when I see others describe me as either. It feels like I’m getting away 
with something naughty.

Marmite? Love it or hate it?

I fall into some kind of freakish middle ground here. I don’t mind it, but I can’t remember the last time I chose to ate any. It’s okay spread thinly on toast. If this is too weird, put me down as a hater. That’s probably the safest bet.

Do you have any rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’ piece of music...??

I try to create routines to convince myself that I should be writing, but I have’t really found one that sticks. I’m a procrastinator of the highest order, but I get it done in the end, on time too. It’s a family trait that has made trying to convince the children to do their homework when they get it instead of leaving it to the last second more difficult. Apparently, they’re genetically predisposed to leaving it late and it’s my fault.

I promise I won’t tell them the answer to this, but when you are writing, who is more important, your family or your characters?

I can honestly say my family. They’re always the most important thing because without them, I would never be able to write a word. They’ve put up with this flight of fancy for years now, spending time with them is my favourite form of procrastination and they’re always my main source of inspiration.

So that’s the paragraph to put in the version I’ll show them. Now…. (I actually laughed out loud!! Diana)

Other than writing full time, what would be your dream job?

I’ve never had the same job twice in a row or anything much like a career. I’ve had jobs I’ve loved though, as well as a few I’ve not enjoyed. If I could pick any job, it would either be manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers or Prime Minister. I’ve done both for years from the comfort of my armchair. I’d love to get into politics if I’m honest. I avoid it on social media because I try to keep it to the history, but it’s an interest that runs parallel and isn’t unrelated.

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

Tea. Preferably intravenous by drip. Strong, milky and no sugar. I can’t drink coffee, which is often an awkward social problem. I get proper dirty looks when I try to explain that I don’t like coffee. I really like camomile tea and decaf green tea too. That may not be very cool, but I’m not known for being cool.

I like red and white wine. When I want to be pretentious I’ll talk about drinking Chilean red wine before it became popular. When I’m not, a bit of Black Tower in front of the TV suits me just fine. 😸

How much of your work is planned before you start? Do you have a full draft or let it find its way?

I’ve never planned a book so far. They’re organic things, both the fiction and the non-fiction. I have some themes in my head and threads I might like to follow sometimes, but generally I sit down with no clue what’s going to happen and hope I don’t want to delete it by the end of the day. I admire writers with a huge plan. It shows a foresight I don’t possess.

If you had free choice over the font your book is printed in, what font/fonts would you choose?

Calibri is my go-to font. I’m aware how desperately sad it is to have a go-to font, but I’m going to hold my head up high for this sans-serif champ. Microsoft has adopted it as the default font for Office now, so I’ll probably have to change it now to something obscure. Angelic War is cool, but maybe not suitable for everyday use.

Imagine that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be?

Whatever evidence was produced to convince the powers that be in London to declare the sons of Edward IV illegitimate in June 1483 would be my choice. It hasn’t survived, but something was obviously shown around. Did they accept something that was obviously a sham and a hatchet job, or has it failed to survive precisely because it was compelling? To be able to sift through it and try to work that out would be incredible. More than anything else, it could answer a lot of questions about 1483 and Richard III.

Have any of your characters ever shocked you and gone off on their own adventure leaving you scratching your head? If so how did you cope with that!?

As I don’t really plan, my only plan is to let characters roam around with free will and see where they chose to go. I have to check them a little to keep within the framework of the facts, but within my flimsy, cardboard box of rules, they’re free to do as they please. It saves me having to think about it too much.

How much research do you do and do you ever go on research trips?

I try and do loads of research. I read out of interest as much as anything else, which helps. I’m amazed by how different a story can be if you go right back to the original, contemporary source material. So much mythology springs up around many of these issues and becomes accepted as real history that it can be hard to break down the barriers, even with original material on your side. I referred to a clause Edward IV placed on his brother Richard’s title to his wife’s Neville inheritance in my novel. It’s in the Parliament Rolls, yet one reviewer took issue with that particular aspect because they had read a lot on the subject and never come across it before. Therefore, they believed, it was untrue and I’d made it up. (Sigh. There's always one... Diana.)

Fiction authors have to contend with real characters invading our stories. Are there any ‘real’ characters you have been tempted to prematurely kill off or ignore because you just don’t like them or they spoil the plot?

Facts are often inconvenient, especially when a character is at full pelt in a direction they can’t take, or want to do something they simply can’t. As a Ricardian, there are a few select characters I might have wished had kept their noses out of things. Rather than killing off an unwanted character, I’d rather have been able to keep Richard III alive after Bosworth to carry on his story and to see where it might have gone. Maybe alternative history will call one day.

Are you prepared to go away from the known facts for the sake of the story and if so how do you get around this?

Nope. For a number of reasons. Readers of fiction can be disproportionately influenced by the fiction they read, especially if non-fiction isn’t their bag. Some might be inspired to pick up factual books to find out more, but for many, the fiction they read shapes their view of people and events from the past. The main reason, for me, is simply that the facts are so incredibly fascinating that I can’t imagine plots more worthy of reading. When writers change a real story into something less interesting, I’m left wondering what the point is. We already have the honour of putting words into these peoples’ mouths and thoughts into their minds. Changing what happened to them is a step too far for me.

Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?

The line has to be blurred when you start providing thoughts and words to real people that are never more than educated guesses. I think a writer has a duty to respect the facts of the history they write about as a kind of recompense and balance for the honour of filling their minds, hearts and mouths with what the author wants to put there.

Have you ever totally hated or fallen in love with one of your characters?

I like John, one of the few fictional characters in my novels. He represents all of that stuff we don’t know about, that even the most ordinary people are never really ordinary. Everyone has a story. I hated my Bishop Morton because I knew what he was up to. No matter how loud I screamed, no one else would listen though. They seemed to think he was a harmless old man. Fools. 

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

I don’t get as much time to read anything but medieval chronicles and parliament rolls as I’d like. Non-fiction histories have always been a favourite to feed my interest. I’ve always enjoyed stories that take something from the past that no one has ever really explained and build a story around that.

What drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book?

The Survival of the Princes in the Tower returns to the contemporary source material to investigate one of the most enduring mysteries in history. As the title suggests, there is a heavy focus on the notion that they did not die at all in 1483. The reader needs to go into it with an open mind and I hope there is lots there to think about. Maybe it suggests a wing-backed armchair, an open fire and a smoking jacket (a dressing gown might suffice). A nice 40-year-old  port might make a nice companion, or a brandy rolling around a large glass as you mull it over.

Last but not least... favourite author?

Dan Brown. Is that unfashionable now? I haven’t enjoyed his most recent books so much, but Angels and Demons, The DaVinci Code, Deception Point and Digital Fortress set a new standard in fast paced fiction that leant heavily on unexplained histories. There was always just enough to make you wonder, to leave it tantilisingly possible. He has a knack for writing such technical and intelligent-sounding detail that I always felt more clever for being able to follow it. And when I couldn’t, I could always pretend that I did.    (😸 Yep. Me too!! Diana)

About the author:

Matthew Lewis was born and grew up in the West Midlands. Having obtained a law degree, he currently lives in the beautiful Shropshire countryside with his wife and children. History and writing have always been a passion of Matthew's, with particular interest in the Wars of the Roses period. His first novel, Loyalty, was born of the joining of those passions.

About the book:

The murder of the Princes in the Tower is the most famous cold case in British history. Traditionally considered victims of a ruthless uncle, there are other suspects too often and too easily discounted. There may be no definitive answer, but by delving into the context of their disappearance and the characters of the suspects Matthew Lewis examines the motives and opportunities afresh as well as asking a crucial but often overlooked question: what if there was no murder? What if Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York survived their uncle’s reign and even that of their brother-in-law Henry VII? There are glimpses of their possible survival and compelling evidence to give weight to those glimpses, which is considered alongside the possibility of their deaths to provide a rounded and complete assessment of the most fascinating mystery in history.

© Diana Milne January 2017 © Matt Lewis December 2017

The Cat, the Rat and Lovell, our Dog: Part two**. 'The Ratte' - Sir Richard Ratcliffe.

The Ratcliffe Arms

Sir Richard Ratcliffe, otherwise spelled Radcliffe, was a younger son of Sir Thomas Radcliffe, who in his turn was younger son of the Clitheroe branch of the Radcliffes of Radcliffe Tower, Lancashire, and himself became Lord of Derwentwater and Keswick, through marriage.

Richard's mother was Margaret, daughter of Sir William Parr of Kendal, grandfather of Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII. 

The family pedigree makes him the second son of his parents, and his brother Edward, who ultimately succeeded to the Derwentwater estates, the third. There must, however, be some mistake here, for Radcliffe's son stated in parliament in 1495 that his father had two elder brothers, both of whom were living in that year. It is not impossible that Edward and Richard were twins and the exact order of their birth unknown.

Ratcliffe is said by Davies to have married Agnes Scrope, daughter of John, Lord Scrope (d. 1498) of Bolton in Wensleydale. The only child given to him in Nicolson and Burn's pedigree of him is a son, another Richard, but a correspondent of 'Notes and Queries' (1st ser. x. 164) asserts, without quoting his source, that 'Radcliffe's daughter Joan married Henry Grubb of North Mimms, Hertfordshire, and was heiress to her brother, Sir John  Radcliffe.' 

Richard Ratcliffe's maternal grandfather was well known at court as Comptroller of the Household to Edward IV and this explains the friendship and intimacy of Richard Ratcliffe and Richard of Gloucester. Both he and his uncle, John Parr, were knighted by the king on the field of Tewkesbury, and Gloucester made him a knight-banneret during the siege of Berwick in August 1482.

The following year, 1483, Gloucester, sent Radcliffe to summon his Yorkshire friends to his assistance, just before seizing the throne. Leaving London shortly after 11 June 1483, he presented the Protector's letters to the magistrates of York on the 15th, and by the 24th he had reached Pontefract on his way south with a force estimated at five thousand men. On that day Earl Rivers, Sir Richard Grey, son of the queen-dowager, Sir Thomas Vaughan, and Sir Richard Haute were brought to Pontefract from their different northern prisons and executed there on the 25th by Radcliffe. 

According to the well-informed Croyland chronicler they were allowed no form of trial, though the statement of Rous that the Earl of Northumberland was their principal judge may imply a formal sentence by a commission. As High Constable of England, however, if these executions were done under Richard of Gloucester's orders, no trial was actually necessary.

Richard rewarded Ratcliffe handsomely, He was made a Knight of the Garter, Knight of the Body to the King (10 Aug. 1484), and High Sheriff of Westmoreland for life. Besides the advantageous stewardship of Wakefield, estates to the yearly value of over £650 were given to him.These grants were only exceeded in amount by those made to the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Northumberland, and Lord Stanley. 

Ratcliffe and William Catesby, who did not benefit anywhere near so richly, were reputed to be Richard's most confidential counsellors, 'quorum sententiis vix unquam rex ipse ausus fuit resistere;' and this, as was mentioned in last month's blog on The Catte, found popular expression in the satirical couplet which cost its author, William Collingbourne, his life:

The catte, the ratte, and Lovell our dogge

Rulyth all Englande under a hogge.

The 'catte' and the 'ratte' wasted no time telling their master  in the spring of 1485 that he must publicly disavow a rumour that was going round idea about him marrying his niece, Elizabeth of York, or even the loyal Yorkshiremen  would think that he had had his wife, Anne - nee Nevill-  removed to make way for an incestuous marriage. 

They found twelve doctors of theology to testify that the pope had no power of dispensation where the relationship was so close. Their opposition, to which Richard yielded, was perhaps a little too forceful to be wholly disinterested, and they are often thought to have entertained a fear that if Elizabeth became queen she would some day take revenge upon them for the death of her uncle Rivers and her half-brother, Richard Grey. If this is true, it raises the question of whether they were behind the executions, rather than the king.

Shortly after this (22 April), as head of a commission to treat with Scotland, Radcliffe received a safe-conduct from King James, but is thought to have been prevented from going by the news of Richmond's contemplated invasion. At any rate, he fought at Bosworth Field on 21 Aug., and was there slain. He was attainted in Henry VII's first parliament, but the attainder was removed on the petition of his son Richard in 1495.

**Next month Lovell oure dogge is in the spotlight.

Sources:

Whitaker: History of Richmondshire

Davies: Ramsay, Lancaster and York

John Rous
Paston Letters
Croyland Chronicle

© Diana Milne 3/12/17

The Cat, the Rat and Lovell, our Dog: Part one**. 'The Cat' - William Catesby.

William Catesby came from a minor Northamptonshire family - he was the son of Sir William Catesby of Ashby St Ledgers, Northamptonshire and Philippa, the heiress daughter of Sir William Bishopston and was born circa 1446. He was trained for the law in the Inner Temple and as an up and coming young lawyer, initially forged ahead in the service of William, 1st Lord Hastings. He married Margaret, daughter of William La Zouche, 6th Baron Zouche of Harringworth and the couple had three sons. William Catesby is often erroneously called Sir William, and spoken of as a knight, but was only an Esquire of the Royal Body.

Upon the death of his father he inherited a large number of estates in the English Midlands and was land-agent for many others. By a combination of useful contacts, family connections and legal astuteness he acquired posts as legal advisor, steward or councillor to a number of noble families, including his father in law, Lord Zouche, Lord Scrope of Bolton, the afore mentioned Lord Hastings and the Duke of Buckingham. He was one of Edward IV’s councillors and was a member of the council that ruled during the short reign of Edward V. After Richard of Gloucester was crowned as King, Catesby was one of the monarch's closest advisors, profiting from the fall of his sponsor, Hastings, and maybe colluding with Richard in bringing about Hastings' execution.

Immediately after Richard's accession he obtained an office which Hastings had previously held, that of one of the chamberlains of the receipt of Exchequer. On the same day (30 June 1483) Richard appointed him Chancellor of the Exchequer, and also Chancellor of the earldom of March for life. Next year he was chosen Speaker in Richard's only parliament in which he sat as knight of the shire for Northamptonshire, a position which is the nearest to being a member of parliament in that era. He also received a substantial grant of land from the king, enough to make him richer than most knights.

In July 1484, William Collingbourne, an English landowner who was an opponent of Richard III, tacked up a lampooning poem to St. Paul's Cathedral, which mentions Catesby among the three aides to King Richard,, whose emblem was a white boar:

The Catte, the Ratte and Lovell our dogge rulyth all Englande under a hogge.

(The Ratte refers to Richard Ratcliffe and the dog here refers to a Lovell family heraldic symbol.

William Catesby was one of the two councillors, the other beings Richard Ratcliffe, who allegedly told the king that marrying his neice, Elizabeth of York, would cause rebellions in the north. There is no evidence to suggest that Richard ever intended to marry her! but mud sticks...

Catesby fought with Richard at the Battle of Bosworth and was captured. Alone of those of importance he was executed three days later at Leicester. The suggestion that he might have made a deal with the Stanleys before the battle comes from his will when he asked them "to pray for my soul as ye have not for my body, as I trusted in you." * 

After his death his estates were mostly confiscated by Henry VII. Catesby was succeeded by his eldest son, George, to whom the family seat of Ashby St Legers was later restored. Robert Catesby, leader of the Gunpowder Plot, was a descendant.

* A blog at a later date will go into his Will in some detail.

** Part 2 (Ratcliffe) and 3  (Lovell) to follow in January and February 2018.

© Diana Milne November 2017

We know meat rarely formed part of the average Tudor person’s diet, being expensive to procure and to roast. However this was not the case at court, where the amount of meat consumed by the Tudor aristocracy was immense. The royal court’s annual provision of meat consisted of:

• 1,240 oxen

• 8,200 sheep

• 2,330 deer

• 760 calves

• 1,870 pigs

• 53 wild boar

And these figures don’t take into account the additional requirements of lavish, one-off feasts, such as Edward’s christening!

The Tudors had other strict rules when eating at court, some of which were recorded by the Dutch Writer, Desiderius Erasmus, who published his De Civitate in 1534:

Sit not down until you have washed.

Undo your belt a little if it will make you more comfortable; because doing this during the meal is bad manners.

When you wipe your hands clean, put good thoughts forward in your mind, for it doesn’t do to come to dinner sad, and thus make others sad.

Once you sit place your hands neatly on the table; not on your trencher, and not around your belly.

Don’t shift your buttocks left and right as if to let off some blast. Sit neatly and still.

Any gobbit that cannot be taken easily with the hand, take it on your trencher.

Don’t wipe your fingers on your clothes; use the napkin or the ‘board cloth’.

If someone is ill mannered by ignorance, let it pass rather than point it out.

‘Every true Christen man sholde be mery, jocunde and glad’

(from the Paston Letters 1422-1509)

Leftovers from Henry VIII’s table, the Great Watching Chamber, and the Great Hall were collected in a ‘voider’ (a large basket) and would be distributed to the poor by the Almoner. Those who ate in their own rooms were to take their leftovers to the scullery for the same purpose. Evidence of these collections can be found in the Eltham Ordinances, a series of regulations for the royal household produced in 1526, which states:

‘all such as have their lodgings within the court shall give straight charge to the ministers and keepers of their chambers, that they do not cast, leave or lay any manner of dishes, platters, saucers, or broken meat, either in the said galleries, or at their chamber doors… and likewise to put the relics of their ale into another vessel… so that broken meat and drink be in no wise lost, cast away, or eaten with dogs, nor lie abroad in the galleries or courts, but may daily be saved for the relief of poor folks’.

Anyone who disobeyed this rule was punished, and on the third offence, any who failed to give their leftovers over to the Almoner would forfeit their allowance, lodging and ‘bouche of court’ (the permission to eat and drink at court).

Appears in: Richard III



Along with Ratcliffe and Lovell, Catesby serves as one of Gloucester's (and then Richard III's) primary supporters inRichard III. One of the more important tasks he is given is to persuade Lord Hastings to support Gloucester's accession to the throne. Hastings refuses and is subsequently executed


Ricardian says:


If the general effect of the rhyme and reading Shakespeare’s play leave you imagining Catesby, Ratcliffe and Lovell as Richard’s gang of three henchmen then have another look at the true facts of history.

Sources:
Fabyan, R

Diana talks to C F Dunn

Hi Claire, lovely to talk to you again.
 

Hopefully this interview is an interview with a difference and I have come up with some unusual questions! Even more hopefully you will find it interesting and come up with some brilliant answers!!

If your series 'The Secret Of The Journal' was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead role?

For  independent and self-contained Emma , Emily Blunt, Rebecca Hall, or Jessica Chasten embody her look and temperament. Matthew is more difficult. For looks, the late, lovely Paul Walker was exactly as I imagined Matthew, but the look is only one aspect of character, isn’t it? Capturing the essence of a person is so much more complex. British actor, Sam Claflin, has the range and depth of expression not often seen in young actors, so I’d choose him.

What made you choose this genre?

I like multilayered plots involving different genre, so The Secret of the Journal series is a mix of romance (nothing sappy), mystery, suspense, and a thread of history that runs through everything. My current series, however, is unadulterated history and suspense.

How do you get ideas for plots and characters?

Everywhere. Life is one big story. I have a whole load of plots waiting to be written.

If, as a one off, (and you could guarantee publication!) you could write anything you wanted, is there another genre you would love to work with and do you already have a budding plot line in mind?

When I started writing Mortal Fire I hadn’t planned including quite so much history. It kept muscling in on the action until I gave in and realised that - whatever I write - history will be in there somewhere. As a result, the series I am now working on is delicious history through and through.

Was becoming a writer a conscious decision or something that you drifted into (or even something so compelling that it could not be denied?)

I had to write. Language, imagery, and story have tumbled around in my mind for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, being dyslexic meant the process of writing was never easy; but once I obtained a laptop which helps with organisation, there was no stopping me.

How old were you when you first started to write seriously.

Seriously? In my late forties, but stories had been queuing up to be written long before then.

Marmite? Love it or hate it?

Meh.

Do you have any rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example or ‘that’ piece of music...??

Not really. I’d like to claim I do a five-mile run every morning before settling down to write, but that would be pure fiction. However, coffee is a must. As for music, I listen to certain pieces when writing particular types of scene: pictorial film music such as Gladiator and The Last Samurai for action scenes, Girl With A Pearl Earring for atmosphere; and sonorous choral music by Medieval and Renaissance composers for evoking period.

I promise I won’t tell them the answer to this, but when you are writing, who is more important, your family or your characters?

Family. First, last, always.

Other than writing full time, what would be your dream job?

I’ve had my dream job. Right from the moment we met at university, my husband and I wanted to open a school. We thought it a pipe-dream, but for the last nineteen years, I’ve run our specialist dyslexia and autism school in Kent. Working with our young people ( aged 6 to 25 years) has been the greatest inspiration and privilege I could have hoped for in life.
(Total respect!)

Coffee or tea? Red or white?

Coffee. Champagne. Water. Anything else gives me a headache.

How much of your work is planned before you start? Do you have a full draft or let it find its way?

Inspiration comes in many forms and I’m never short of a plot. I imagine the whole story first. I have the beginning, middle and end and all the major scenes along the way worked out before I start writing. However, all the little twists and turns that give the story complexity and depth develop as the characters get to know one another. I work between six and twelve hours a day, use a lap top, and am often kept company by my huge Norwegian Forest Cat, Esker.

If you had free choice over the font your book is printed in, what font/fonts would you choose?

I’m not fussed as long as it is easy on the eye of the reader.

Imagine that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be?

I’m going to cheat a little here. If I had a choice, it’d be all the documents relating to Richard III’s short reign expunged by Henry VII.

Have any of your characters ever shocked you and gone off on their own adventure leaving you scratching your head??? If so how did you cope with that!?

I swear characters have a life of their own. In The Secret of the Journal series, Sam Weisner was supposed to be quite a different character to the one he turned out to be. No matter what I did, he kept bucking the trend. In the end, I went with it, and it made a much better story. We became friends by the end of the series.

How much research do you do and do you ever go on research trips?

As a Medieval historian, I relish research. There’s always more to learn and I often find new avenues to explore which in turn inspire fresh ideas. I undertake one major and several minor research trips a year. The Secret of the Journal series took me to Maine, USA for background details (the dead skunk was a stroke of luck). In contrast, Emma D’Eresby comes from Stamford - an ancient and very beautiful stone town in Lincolnshire where my own family originates - so I had generations of information tucked away ready to be used for the books. My current Wheel of Fortune series took me to such exotic locations as North Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire. I really must attempt at least one book set in the Maldives...

Fiction authors have to contend with real characters invading our stories. Are there any ‘real’ characters you have been tempted to prematurely kill off or ignore because you just don’t like them or they spoil the plot?

I’d quite happily eliminate Henry VII, but that would be meddling with history, wouldn’t it? Tempting, though.

Are you prepared to go away from the known facts for the sake of the story and if so how do you get around this?

I get all prickly on this subject (see my previous answer). I can’t and won’t change what is known. I have a duty towards the past and the people who populated it. It’s somehow not respectful to fiddle with the facts, and there is always a way to get around an immovable object, it just takes imagination.

Do you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?

This is where I license as a novelist. I used to take my characters shopping to see how they interacted with the world and each other. Crazy? Me? Never!

Have you ever totally hated or fallen in love with one of your characters?

I have a character in my latest series I should hate, but found I grew to like and respect him until the point where I mourned his loss.

What do you enjoy reading for pleasure?

I’ve just managed to find John Fenn’s Paston Letters - original C18th bindings, great condition. Inhaling that leather-bound history makes reading a complete pleasure.  (Diana turns a jealous shade of green and then swoons!)

What drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book?

Coffee. Is there another drink?
 

Last but not least... favourite author?

That’s the cruellest question of all. How on earth am I supposed to chose a single author from millennia of writers?

Author bio:

Writing as CF Dunn, Claire Dunn is a novelist writing historical and contemporary suspense fiction. Her debut novel Mortal Fire - published by Lion Fiction - won the gold medal for adult romance in the Book Of The Year Awards, 2012, and was nominated for Best Novel by CRT in the same year. 

Alongside her first loves of family, history and writing, CF Dunn is passionate about the education and welfare of children with dyslexia, autism and communication difficulties, and runs a special needs school, which she founded in Kent with her husband.

Book five of The Secret of the Journal series - Fearful Symmetry - has brought the series to a heart-stopping conclusion and is a finalist in this year’s Forward Book of the Year Awards. Claire is currently writing the first book in a Medieval suspense trilogy and drinking too much coffee

 

Contact/Social Links:

Web site: http://cfdunn.co.uk

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/claire.dunn.37

Facebook series page: https://www.facebook.com/secretofthejournal/

Email: cfdunn@rocketmail.com

© Diana Milne January 2017 © C F Dunne May 2017