The play’s the thing
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According to Francis Bacon, Truth is the Daughter of Time. But The Daughter of Time is also the title of a famous book by Josephine Tey which excels in both popularity and standard-bearing for Richard III. Just how many new supporters has it garnered for Richard III since it was first published in 1951? You…
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Dan Snow video on some of our kings and queens, including Richard III….
Dan Snow may be a popular historian, always on TV, always praised and admired, but he seldom comes in for any thumbs-up from Ricardians. Well, like most of today’s TV-historians, he’s pro-Tudor. And that, folks, means putting their Rosa Klebb boots into Richard III. So when this link https://shorturl.at/nlCnD turned up and I saw it…
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The Duchy of Lancaster controversy that began in the 14th century….
“Tudors”, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Catherine of Valois, Constance of Castile, Duchy of Lancaster, Edmund Mortimer 3rd Earl of March, Edward III, Edward III’s entail, Henry IV, Henry IV Part I Shakespeare, Henry V, Henry VII, House of Lancaster, John of Gaunt, Katherine of Valois, Lionel of Clarence, Lords Appellant, Owen Tudor, Philippa of Clarence, Richard II, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Sir Simon Burley, usurpers“….The Duchy of Lancaster came to the Crown in controversy and it’s still making headlines today….” If you want to read about the duchy, its history and what’s happening now, see here https://www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk/. But my purpose here is to unpick certain untruths about the duchy that are constantly and unfairly stitched upon the memory of…
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When we think of alchemy and alchemists, we tend to categorise them as men. But no. There were women alchemists as well, as I discovered when I came upon this article which lists ten such women through history. One of the ten caught my eye. She lived in the reign of Elizabeth I, who was…
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I’ve seen many old photographs and drawings of past actors who’ve played Richard III (the Bard’s mockery, of course), and I know many actresses have played him as well, but this time I’ve come across something new. Well, new to me. Two child sisters, Ellen and Kate Bateman, who played Richard and Henry Tudor respectively.…
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As I’ve probably mentioned before, I enjoy watching the TV series Antiques Road Trip, and far from spending my evenings in riotous living, I like to watch a couple of episodes (of which there are a huge number!) The object of the programme is for two contestants (experts on antiques) to visit a number of…
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On 17 April 1387, as part of the annual St George’s Day festivities, it was before the court of Richard II that Chaucer first performed his masterpiece, the Canterbury Tales. It was clear even then that he’d produced a very important work, but it’s only today that we appreciate it to the full—and are still…
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‘Cecily‘, a novel by author Annie Garthwaite about the life of Richard III and Edward IV‘s mother has been optioned for TV by Just John Films, a newly launched company headed by actors Kate Phillips, Amber Anderson and Rosie Day, who have appeared in such shows as Peaky Blinders, Good Omens, Black Mirror and Outlander.…
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“…Josephine Tey, a beloved Scottish crime writer, is poised to join the esteemed ranks of women honored on the Mapping Memorials to Women in Scotland map….” Well, what more need be said? Tey redeemed Richard III at a time when he was definitely regarded as the awful creature conjured by More, Shakespeare and the truly…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 