Book Reviews
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Recently, it was revealed that twenty eminent Ricardians voted on their favourite fiction and non-fiction books. Here, we look at some of the fiction books and we’ll examine the non-fiction ones in a future post. As you might expect, the number one Ricardian fiction book was Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time, the book responsible…
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Perhaps you know that Friday 13th came to be considered unlucky because of the Knights Templar. The story goes: On the morning of Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV. had many Templars arrested, including the order’s Grand Master, Jacques de Molay. In the days and weeks after that fateful Friday, more than 600 Templars…
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Well I’m not quite sure what to expect of this book, see https://tinyurl.com/5uajhun5. Yes, it focuses on the background rivalries that led to Bosworth, but is it fair to Richard III? As it’s written from the Welsh point of view, I have to hesitate. Even though Richard’s ancestry was more highborn Welsh than Henry Tudor,…
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The following contains my comments on this review (https://www.pressreader.com/uk/yorkshire-post-yp-magazine/20260124/282218017200594) of the book “The Eagle and the Hart” by Helen Castor. The reviewer (Greg Wright of YP Magazine) remarks that the “dazzling [book] has the pace of a thriller”. Well, it’s certain a work of fiction. Here is a small extract of the review, to set…
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Philippa Langley spoke at The Oldie Literary Lunch in London at the iconic Liberal Club in Whitehall on 15 July. There were three speakers on the day, all speaking after lunch, and they had ten minutes each. The other speakers with her were author and historian, Lucy Moore and author and TV presenter, David Hepworth.…
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Maria Grazia Leotta is a staunch Ricardian and she timed her first work of fiction in English to coincide with the Anniversary of Richard’s tragic death. Although this is her first solo English work, she has previously contributed to short story anthologies and had poems published. Not only that but she is also the author…
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I’ve written before about stage versions of Josephine Tey’s wonderful novel The Daughter of Times, and now I’m delighted to say that the production at the Charing Cross Theatre has opened: “….This new play, based on Josephine Tey’s acclaimed crime novel, opens tonight [24 July 2025] at the Charing Cross Theatre and will run for…
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On 2 April this year I posted about a stage version of Tey’s wonderful The Daughter of Time, see https://murreyandblue.co.uk/2025/04/02/the-daughter-of-time-see-the-play-of-the-book/. It was showing at the Knutsford Little Theatre from the end of April to the beginning of May. Now a play-of-the-book has reached a London venue, the Charing Cross Theatre, and will be showing from…
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I was lucky enough to see this talk (click here for link) on Friday 9th May, in Lavenham. Philippa is so calm and knowledgeable. She answers queries politely and logically, even one asking her about the notorious Tracy Boorman ‘documentary’ (desperate fantasy more like!). She addresses this notorious documentary in the new edition of her…
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“The Pretender” takes the same-old attitude to Richard III….
Oh dear… “….The year is 1483 and England is in peril. The much-despised Richard III [who has murdered the boys in the Tower] is not long for the throne, and the man who will become Henry VII stands poised to snatch the crown for himself. But for twelve-year-old John Collan [to be Lambert Simnel, the…
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