Book Reviews
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This new book looks at the characters, motivations, events and nomenclature of the Wars of the Roses, as we now know them. It confronts the great cliche that the series of battles began in 1455 and ended in 1485, demonstrating convincingly that it was still in progress decades later. Despite the fame of the Henry…
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Perkin Warbeck: A Story of Deception – The Fascinating Enigma as presented in Ann Wroe’s biography
“Lambert Simnel”, “Perkin”, Ann Wroe, Arthur “Tudor”, Edward IV, Edward of Warwick, Edward V, Ferdinand of Aragon, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Isabel of Castile, James III, James IV, John Morton, Lady Catherine Gordon, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Margaret Duchess of Burgundy, Maximilian of Austria, Richard of ShrewsburyOriginally posted on Giaconda's Blog: I wanted to write a piece about the man who we know as Perkin Warbeck or Piers Osbeck or Richard Plantagenet or King Richard IV or whoever he may have been if he was none of these other men after reading Ann Wroe’s excellent biography on this most appealing of…
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I have recently perused the critical pages (180-191) of Michael Hicks’ latest work: “The Family of Richard III”, relating to the evidence of the remains found in the former Greyfriars. He states that the mitochondrial DNA evidence only shows that the remains are of an individual related to Richard III. He doesn’t admit that the…
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This 1988 volume reads very well and is an excellent summary of the life of the second (or first) son of John of Gaunt by his mistress Catherine de Roet. The language is very modern although the plain cover is a little reminiscent of many older books. There is relatively little material about Henry Beaufort’s…
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Part 2 of a review by Myrna Smith, Ricardian Reading Editor, of Richard III: The King in the Car Park. EVISCERATING TERRY BREVERTON Being an elaboration, with examples, of some of the points made in Part I. Let’s get the more trivial criticisms out of the way first. Grammar: Pg. 82 –“Her son was only 14…
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Part I of a review by Myrna Smith, Ricardian Reading Editor The second paragraph of the preface to this book brings up politics, citing Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher, whose death “was generally regretted by those in the south of England, but not in many other parts of the country…..There will never be a factual…
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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godandthemachine/2015/06/the-best-novel-youve-never-heard-of/ We all know Josephine Tey, so it’s good see a new review at patheos.com. It is quoted in full here:- The Best Novel You’ve Never Heard Of June 16, 2015 by Thomas L. McDonald It’s a mystery where the mystery is 500 years old, and everyone already knows the solution. Or at least they…
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Book Review: “The Royal Funerals of the House of York at Windsor” by Anne Sutton and Livia Visser-Fuchs with R. A. Griffiths.
Anne Sutton, Bermondsey Abbey, Edward IV, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth Woodville, Fotheringhay, George of Bedford, Grace Plantagenet, Henry VII, Livia Visser-Fuchs, Lord Maltravers, Mary of York, Ralph Griffiths, Royal College of Arms, Sir William Parr, Wardrobe accounts, Westminster Abbey, William Berkeley, WindsorBased upon articles originally appearing in The Ricardian from 1997-1999, Royal Funerals is probably one of the most comprehensive treatments of Yorkist burials at Windsor, and an excellent companion piece to Sutton/Visser-Fuchs’ The Reburial of Richard Duke of York: 21-30 July 1476. Together, these texts offer not only detailed analyses of royal English funerals from…
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In England in the year 1483, King Edward IV died unexpectedly, leaving his son and heir of 12 years still in his minority and not yet of an age when he might rule in his own right. The next most powerful man in the kingdom was Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who was already appointed the…
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