Alternative History
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Following on from the success of my first novel about Richard III in the twenty first century and demands for a sequel, I am proud to announce the second part, Richard Liveth Yet (Book II): A Foreign Country, is now finished and in the process of being edited and proof read. It is planned for…
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The True History of King Richard III (Part 2)
Anne of Exeter, Baynard’s Castle, Berkhamsted, Cecily Duchess of York, Earl of Northumberland, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, Elizabeth of Suffolk, Fotheringhay, George Duke of Clarence, Henry Duke of Somerset, Henry VI, John Duke of Somerset, John Duke of Suffolk, Lord Clifford, Lord Egremont, Ludlow, Margaret Duchess of Burgundy, Margaret of Anjou, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, Richard of Warwick, Sandal Castle, satire, Sir Richard Croft, St. AlbansThe Battle of St. Albans, 1455. Having been two years in the womb, Richard was naturally a forward child, and in no time at all he was not only walking but wearing a little suit of armour. The Duke of York had this made for him by the village blacksmith, an advanced craftsman who doubled…
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Fotheringhay Castle October 1452. The Duchess of York – aka the Rose of Raby – was not feeling very rose-like. Unsurprising, as she had been pregnant for two whole years. I mean, you know how big some women get after nine months, so after two years she was big. With a capital B. And awkward, and uncomfortable,…
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Fabricating Precontracts: Richard III vs Henry VIII
3rd Duke of Norfolk, adultery, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Annette Carson, Archbishop Cranmer, attainder, bigamy, canon law, Catherine Howard, Claire Ridgway, Crowland, Earl of Northumberland, Edward IV, Edward V, executions, Francis Dereham, Francis of Lorraine, Henry VIII, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lord High Constable, Lord Protector of the Realm, Mary Boleyn, mediaeval canon law, pre-contract, Richard III, Robert Stillington, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Howard, treasonOn 10 and 11 June 1483, Richard duke of Gloucester wrote to his affinity in the North and asked for troops to support him against the Woodvilles who, he claimed, were plotting his destruction. On 22 June Ralph Shaa preached his “bastard slips” sermon, followed by similar speeches by the duke of Buckingham, and on…
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For fans of historical music one of the highlights of the reinterment festivities in Leicester earlier this year was “Concert for a King”, an evening with music from the time of Richard III performed by the a capella group Aitone and guest instrumentalist Susan Burns, with contemporary texts read by Dr. Tony Bentley. It took…
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In 1921, a manuscript dating to the late 15th or early 16th century was donated to the National Library of Wales. It was a “passional”, a book recounting the sufferings of saints and martyrs, and containted 2 texts in medieval French: “La Passion de Nostre Seigneur” (The Passion of Our Lord), an account of the…
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St Valentine’s Day in Leicester was all wind, rain and freezing cold temperatures, but the weather had not deterred the many people who had come to the King Richard III Visitor Centre. They were eager to see the exhibition about the man who had died in battle at nearby Bosworth in 1485, was lost for…
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I am nearly finished writing my first novel (about Richard of course!) and there is a section where the question “What if Richard III had won the battle of Bosworth?” is asked. We know that he nearly reached Henry ‘Tudor’ and so it isn’t too farfetched to imagine the result if he had killed Henry.…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 