Last night I was able to attend a Ricardian event of a special nature:  the launch of Isolde Martyn’s latest historical novel Mistress to the Crown, about Elizabeth Lambert, aka Jane Shore, one of Edward IV’s mistresses.

We arrived early, but Shearer’s Book Shop in Leichhardt was already packed.   The New South Wales branch was extremely well represented to see the new book of its former chairperson launched, but even they were far outnumbered by Isolde’s other fans.

After buying my copy of the book, I queued to have it signed by Isolde before the official launch started.  It was nice to see that someone thoughtfully had presented her with a bouquet of white roses.  Though the area among the shops shelves was a bit cramped (not to mention the heat), we were very well looked after with drinks and finger food.

The official part began by a man playing the flute, then the publisher said a few words.  The book itself was introduced by Carole Cusack, Professor at the University of Sydney, who is very well known to us as she has given talks to our branch.  Carole stressed Isolde’s immaculate historical research and that virtually all the characters of the book are historical characters.  A short look through the Dramatis Personae confirms this, the only fictional characters are servants, whose names are rarely recorded, as well as some friends of Elizabeth’s, though their surnames are very familiar.

Then Isolde thanked her friends and family for their support while she was writing this book.  And of course she also mentioned that for us members of the Richard III Society this was an especially exciting time as on Monday we would learn whether Richard’s remains have indeed been found.

The event was very festive and we hope that the amount of interest in the launch will reflect the interest the book will receive among all readers.

The only complaint I have in connection with the event is about the attitude of the lady at the cafe at the back of the shop, who seemed intent of making everyone feel as unwelcome as possible.  As soon as the official part and the speeches began, she started cleaning up, which made it for those of us standing towards the back very hard to actually hear what was being said.  Hardly the way to treat potential customers.  May I advise her to read some of the excellent posts on sites such as Preisless Consulting?

And now for the most exciting part – reading Mistress to Crown!

Thursday, 31 January 2013, sees the official launch of Isolde Martyn’s much anticipated new novel Mistress to the Crown, about Edward IV’s mistress “Jane Shore”.

‘What joy to find a novel that blends sound research with a love story that, on its own would attract a wealth of romance readers. Isolde Martyn links her skill as an award-winning novelist with her depth of historical knowledge to reveal the life and loves of Elizabeth Lambard (Mistress Shore), and presents her as one of the strongest, most accomplished, lovely and lovable women of the 15th century. It’s fact and fiction at its best, a must-have for your bookshelves.’

Julia Redlich, Former Fiction Editor of Woman’s Day; Secretary of the New South Wales Branch of the Richard III Society

We all remember Isolde’s previous novels The Lady and the Unicorn (1996) and The Silver Bride (2002), both of which also play during the Wars of the Roses.  Isolde is a member and former chairperson of our branch.  Incidentally it was The Silver Bride, which brought me to the NSW branch of the Richard III Society.

If you can make it to Sydney, all members of the Richard III Society are very welcome to attend the launch, but please let Isolde know if you are attending.

Booklaunch for Mistress to the Crown

When: Thursday, 31 January 2013; 18h00 for 18h30 start
Where: Shearer’s Bookshop (beneath Palace Cinema), Norton Street, Leichhardt
RSVP: isolde@isoldemartyn.com (by 21 January 2013)

Looking forward to seeing you there!  And of course making the acquaintance of the Mistress to the Crown.

David Grann, The Lost City of Z, Simon & Schuster, 2009; paperback edition published by Pocket Books. ISBN 978-1- 84739-443-9

Well, not exactly. However, it is strange how very small Ricardian connections can be found in the most unlikely places. Reading a non-fiction book, The Lost City of Z (a must read for lovers of Conan Doyle’s The Lost World and Brian Fawcett’s Exploration Fawcett) I was abruptly stopped in mid-read about lizards, snakes, poison arrows and other must-sees on Amazon exploration by a familiar name. Sir Clements Markham.

We know him, of course, for his Richard III: His Life & Character in the Light of Recent Research and its appearance in Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time. So how did he earn a mention here?

Sir Clements, it appears, was at one time a president of the Royal Geographical Society that had sponsored Fawcett and he had been partly responsible for the failure of the Brazilian rubber boom. Markham had “engineered the smuggling of Amazonian rubber tree seeds to Europe”, from where they were distributed to plantations throughout British colonies in Asia where rubber production was easy and cheap and abundant.

And his cunning plan had left once-wealthy Amazonian centres as ghost towns, a fact that Colonel Fawcett discovered after a six-year absence.

A small footstep making its mark in a fascinating book – but a warning about the index in the paperback – an edition that suited my budget admirably – omitted to edit the original index so consequently the page numbers are way out of kilter, thanks to small print and page size. Once realised, you can shuffle back three or four pages to find the reference, but that spoils much of the pleasure of reading and learning.

Many of us have become wary of enjoying this genre, knowing that many of the plots are based loosely on fact and owe heaps to the inventiveness of the writer. Others are well researched and a tribute to the authors’ imagination as to what might have been. Of course it must be welcomed if it inspires interest in a period or person. Just think what The Daughter of Time has done for Richard!

A Dangerous Inheritance, by Alison Weir, Hutchinson, 2012, rrp AU$32.95, ISBN978009 1926236

Knowing this writer’s tendency to downplay Richard of Gloucester’s good qualities and find plenty of reasons to position him as an arch villain, I opened this with a little trepidation, and closed it with an appreciation of the skilful linking of two periods of time, two intriguing heroines and a connection to history’s most baffling mystery.

The two women are Katherine Grey, younger sister of the ill-fated Lady Jane, and Kate Plantagenet, bastard daughter of Richard III. During Katherine’s early arranged marriage to Henry, heir to Lord Pembroke, she comes into possession of a n old box of letters from the attics of Raglan Castle This was the last home of Kateand these letters reveal her love for her caring father. It is only later that his darker side becomes apparent – and maybe with good reason.

The women have much in common: both love men who are forbidden to them; both face danger. As a potential rival for the throne, Katherine suffers the anger and distrust of her cousin Queen Elizabeth, and for much of her life is confined to the Tower, separated from her second husband and elder son. After Richard’s  unexpected succession, Kate becomes aware of rumours and threats to the family, and tries to seek the truth about what happened her two cousins, the sons of Edward IV.

It’s an intriguing story of two women usually relegated to the background. Enjoy the easy movement between the years, the mystery not just of the princes, but also Kate’s mother, and why and when Kate died and her unexpected lover. Above all, learn about the turbulence of the life when you are far too close to the throne for comfort.

The Kingmaker’s Daughter, by Philippa Gregory, Simon & Schuster, 2012, rrp AU$36. ISBN97 80857207463.

The fourth book in the Cousins’ War series, this is a portrait of Anne Neville, younger daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick.  Her childhood is warm with the friendship with the powerful Yorkists, including the youngest son, Richard of Gloucester, but this changes rapidly as the  families become enemies. She faces exile in France, and becomes a pawn in her father’s ambition to regain his lost power, forced into marriage to the only son of  Henry VI’s ruthless Queen Margaret. All too soon she is fatherless, widowed, with her mother confined in sanctuary and her elder sister Isabel married to the fickle Duke of Clarence. Danger is never far away even when Gloucester rescues her from Clarence’s hold, marries her and she eventually becomes his Queen for the rest of her life of two short years and the tragedy it brings.

There is always room for more about Queen Anne, and I appreciated the volatile relationship between the two sisters that rang so true to life. But it seems a lot is missing. I wanted more. I hate to think that it was written too swiftly – maybe a publisher’s behest to meet a good sales deadline. What will the next book in the series tell us? Apparently it is about the possible fate of the two princes, part of the story about their sister, Princess Elizabeth of York – Richard III’s secret lover.

Oh dear.

Book Review:  The Children of the King

One of the rewards of speaking to groups about King Richard III and the Society is the appreciation received afterwards. When Dorothea and Julia spoke to U3A Harbourside North at Mosman recently, not only did we enlist two new members, but also received a welcome book token. Our choice was to buy The Children of the King, by Sonia Hartnett, an Australian author who has won multiple awards for her books including the prestigious Astrid Lingrin Memorial Award in 2008.  Because Hartnett’s books are specially for young people, we asked an 10-year-old to read it for us and share her thoughts.

The Children of the King, by Sonia Hartnett, Viking, rrp $24.95. ISBN 978 0 670 07613.

This story is about two girls and a boy during World War 2. Cecily and her brother Jeremy move with their mother to their Uncle Peregrine’s house in the north of England to escape the bombing in London. They also decide to look after another girl called May who is there on her own. Jeremy, who is older, is worried about his father who has to stay in London, and wants to be with him.

The girls find two strangely clothed boys hiding in old crumbling Snow Castle nearby. They learn they were brought there and can’t leave. Uncle Peregrine tells them about an old kingdom when Snow Castle was not a ruin. Over time he tells more of what happened then, of a Duke who became king and did his best, but was killed. May believes that the two boys in the castle who reappear at times were two who disappeared mysteriously long ago. Together the girls find out whether the past can live with the present.

My favourite part of the story is definitely when Uncle Peregrine tells the story of Snow Castle and its mysteries. No-one ever found out about it. The story is really engaging, the history is told slowly. It made me want to find out more about the times – and especially about the two boys, who they were and what happened to them. I give this book Three Stars out of Three!!!

Annaliese

Note: The Children of the King is a great gift idea for young people in your life. Annaliese’s Aunt Lucy and her grandmother couldn’t put it down, which accounts for the all ages queue waiting to read it!

Book Review:  The Medieval Cookbook

Maggie Black, The Medieval Cookbook:  50 authentic recipes translated and adapted for the modern cook.  British Museum Press.  ISBN 978 0 7141 2829 0 (PB)

(Available from the Book Depository)

The title says it all. The authentic recipes are given at the top of the page, but let’s give thanks to the late Maggie Black who has converted them to modern English for easy reading and adapted them for up-to date means of preparation and cooking.

So there is no need to “first catch your hare”, as suggested by the redoubtable Mrs Beeton, before tackling “Civey of Hare”. In fact you may prefer to catch a couple of rabbits at the butcher instead if, like me, you have coped with a hare proudly brought back by ardent game shooters in the family. There is so much meat on a full grown hare – and delicious it is too – but using all of it is a challenge. Forget the struggle with variations on turkey and ham leftovers after Christmas;the hare wins paws down.

Hare is also an ingredient of the “Grete Pye” which was a essential at Christmas time. Many other meats were involved, as well as spices and dried fruits. The version here would be fabulous for a large family gathering in cooler months, and the ideas for soups are delicious.

Need a dessert? “Fig and raisin ‘crème’” is truly scrumptious thanks to the addition of wine and spices and can be used hot or cold. Add ice-cream as a bonus.

Afterwards though, you might like to refer to the latter pages with their herbal remedies and cures. This is the advice from a Leechbook, or Collection of Medieval Recipes of the Fifteenth Century, for cleaning your teeth:

To cleanse and make them white. Take the root of mallows and rub thy teeth and thy gums therewith. And after that take a rough cloth, and rub thy teeth therewith. If thou washest thy mouth once a month with water or with wine that titemall, that is spurge, is seethed in, the teeth shall never fall. Knotgrass kneaded and laid to the teeth is a good medicine.

You don’t find this kind of advice in every cookbook, so relish the help and happiness this one offers. The illustrations of life in medieval times showing the enjoyment of great cooking are delightful.

No, this is not what you think, simply a phrase in the title of Professor Stephanie Trigg’s latest book that was launched in the Mitchell Theatre of the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts on Friday, 8 June 2012.

Several New South Wales Ricardians attended and enjoyed an erudite and enjoyable evening. Opening the proceedings Dr Paul Giles, Challis Professor of English at Sydney University, introduced Shame and Honour: A Vulgar History of the Order of the Garter, and  had the honour and pleasure of launching the book. The author, Professor Trigg FAHA, of the University of Melbourne, followed with an explanation of the long research that resulted in this book accompanied by a continuous presentation of illustrations of Garter history from the legendary beginning through to the Duke of Cambridge looking rather sheepish in his robes and watched by his amused brother.

The book follows the cultural history of the Order from its founding in the mid-14th century through the variety of politics and fashion, and the attitudes regarding its importance. There has always been a lot of pride as well as embarrassment over the alleged story of its founding – the whole business of a lady’s dropped garter – as well as all the gloriously robed  rituals that go with it. However to quote the Order’s motto honi soit  qui mal y pense, as a so-called vulgar history, the book reflects on a wish to consider the sexual background of such an august Order and  introduces the idea that this could be one of the reasons for the Order’s long life as one of today’s  most select and covetable honours that still retains its connection to its medieval past.

Cleverly conceived and written with a pleasing dash of humour, it will hold the attention of history lovers whatever period in time is their special  interest.

Shame and Honour: A Vulgar History of the Order of the Garter, by Professor Stephanie Triff, FAHA. Published by the University of Pennsylvania Press, rrp AU$49.

The cover of the book, designed by John Hubbard, is Rex Whistler’s “His Royal Highness the Prince Regent Awakening the Spirit of Brighton”. © The Royal Pavilion, Libraries & Museums, Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom.

Book Review:  Sumerford’s Autumn

Barbara Gaskell Denvil, Sumerford’s Autumn. Simon & Schuster Australia, June 2013.  ISBN 9781922052582 (620 pages)

The following review was presented to the NSW Branch of the Richard III Society at the general meeting on 9 June 2012.

After reading Barbara Gaskell Denvil’s previous “Ricardian” novel, Satin Cinnabar, I could not resist getting her new Sumerford’s Autumn as soon as it became available for Amazon Kindle in late April 2012.

While Satin Cinnabar was set in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Bosworth, this novel starts a few years later, in 1497. It tells the story of the Sumerford family, the Earl of Sumerford and his wife and their four very different sons.  The Sumerfords were supporters of Richard III, but now have come to uneasy terms with Henry VII, especially the Earl is most unwilling to upset this peace.   The question whether Perkin Warbeck really was Richard of York, the younger of Edward IV’s sons, is one of its central themes.  It follows the fate of this young man through the last years of his life.  Although he does appear in the narrative, he remains fairly nondescript.  Barbara rather tells us how this enigma affects those around him.

The oldest Sumerford son, Humphrey, the heir of title and estate, is somewhat simple and tends to be underestimated for most of the story.  Ludovic, the youngest, is the main character of the novel.  He has not much to expect in the way of inheritance and we find out later where his funds come from, though his brother Brice seems to be much more affluent.  The other brother, Gerald, is the political one of the lot and believes that the young man officially known as Perkin Warbeck really is Richard Plantagenet and is prepared to risk his life to have him recognized as the rightful king.  However, eventually the whole family finds itself caught up in this controversy, one way or the other.  Four sons, four secrets and agendas, and four very different personalities combine to create an atmosphere of brooding and aggravated unease at Sumerford Castle.

Thrown into the mix are two main female characters:  Humphrey’s rather mysterious bride Jennine, who does not at all behave in the way a lady with her apparent background should behave; and Alyssson, who displays much more strength of character than might be expected from her humble background.

In the course of the novel we get to know and respect the Earl of Sumerford better and understand his relationship with his countess as well as his son and heir, Humphrey.

From the beginning with the tragic death of a boy, the reader is hooked till the end when everything will be revealed.  Like Satin Cinnabar, Sumerford’s Autumn is a tale of adventure, a bit of crime mixed with romance and lots of danger.

The characters are well-developed and show individuality.  Her male lead is not superman, but a real person; and her female lead is not a swooning damsel in distress.  The love story in this novel, as is the one in Satin Cinnabar, is not the rather cloying kind we sometimes find in historical fiction, but is refreshing and honest.

I understand from the author that the theme of Perkin Warbeck has haunted her for some time (hence her Lambert Simnel article which she offered for our branch website some time ago).

As you will know I have been interested in the Perkin Warbeck question for some time, since choosing him several years ago as a topic for a Scrabble talk*.  Barbara has treated the topic with sensitivity and her careful research is apparent.

I can only recommend this book to anyone interested in the period.  The adventure will keep you hooked from the first to the last “page”.  You will enjoy the love story and the variety of well developed characters.

I just heard this morning from Barbara that her next novel is set to start in 1482 and promises to be another treat for the Ricardian.

Don’t forget to have a look at the trailer of Sumerford’s Autumn on YouTube.

* Once a year members draw Scrabble tiles out of a bag and then prepare a short talk on a topic starting with their letter.

Trying to clear out a few books I found a novel by Angela Thirkell. She loved Anthony Trollope’s set of novels about Barsetshire and wrote about 20 of them updating the county and its inhabitants bringing them into the 20th century. I once read they were the best record of middle class England ever written. Now I realise there is another reason why I loved her books.

I picked up her last one – and one which I can’t discard obviously – and towards the end found this:

I felt just like a leper, like the wicked uncle in The Black Arrow who goes about ringing a bell and saying Unclean, Unclean … and why Stevenson thought so poorly of that book I shall never understand. All my boys loved it. They liked it much better than Treasure Island and Kidnapped except for Alan Breck, of course. And it was the only thing that made me really interested in Richard Crookback, until I read the book by that clever woman with three names*, who proved that Richard didn’t murder the little Princes in the Tower, and was a hero all the time and not a villain.

* “that clever woman with three names” is Elizabeth MacKintosh  (1896–1952), a novelist and playwright who wrote under the pseudonyms Josephine Tey and  Gordon Daviot.  The novel referred to in this passage is A Daughter of Time, which she published as Josephine Tey.