The other morning, after my son left early for work, I retreated to bed with a cup of tea and my book. And read the following.  It’s from Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny, Sphere/Little Brown, ISBN 978-1-84744-437-0:

A lot of what we know to be history isn’t,” said Gamache. “You know that, I know that.  It serves a purpose. Events are exaggerated, heroes fabricated, goals are rewritten to appear more noble than they actually were.  All to manipulate public opinion, to manufacture a common purpose or enemy.  And the cornerstone of a really great movement?  A powerful symbol. Take away or tarnish that and everything starts to crumble, everything’s questioned. Can’t have that.

Louise Penny is a Canadian writer, one of the many really first rate ones that flourish there. She has written five detective novels featuring Chief Inspector Gamache, all set in the little Canadian village of Three Pines which rivals Midsomer for body count!  In this, her sixth book, Gamache returns to headquarters in Quebec and has to solve a several centuries old mystery before he can catch a present-day killer.  Won’t tell you any more in case you want to read the earlier ones first!  This one also includes a fascinating sideline on Captain Cook.

The first part of the quote is so Morton/Tudor.  The “cornerstone of a great movement”: Richard III – what would he have accomplished if he’d lived?  No wonder Ricardians question the tarnishing of his reputation.  “Can’t have that”!

Tags: Books

In June, second year students of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) will be performing The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare at the Parade Courtyard.  The Parade Theatres are part of the NIDA complex at 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington NSW 2033.

NIDA Season of Shakespeare

The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare
directed by Tony Knight | Featuring Second Year Actors
18, 20 – 23 June 2011, 8.15pm
Parade Courtyard
Tickets on sale through Ticketek from 16 May. Click here to register your interest.

Tags: Shakespeare

The latest issue of The Walkley, the Media Alliance magazine, contains an interview with the Channel 10 Entertainment reporter Angela Bishop*.   I’d like to share the following part of the interview with you:

Beware of rumours reported as fact.

Entertainment journalism (not an oxymoron) is particularly susceptible to an internet rumour suddenly being reported around the world as fact. This is thanks to the number of entertainment reporters who have sprung up whose sole source of information is the internet. Checking facts with a reliable source still applies. (underlining mine)

This applies not only to entertainment reporters, but equally to hobby historians like most of our branch members.  Add novels to the internet and the situation is very familiar!

* The Walkley Magazine, Issue 66, May – June 2011, p 54.  For more information on The Walkley, go to http://www.walkleys.com/home

The current issue of Britain magazine (May 2011) has an article on fighting for the throne in the Wars of the Roses.  It is disappointing that the caption to the reproduction of Millais’ painting of the princes suggests that Richard murdered them.  This may be due in part to the influence of Alison Weir, a number of quotes from her on the subject are included in the article. She cites the discovery of the skeletons as pointing to murder, and says further than Richard’s plan to take the throne was bound to backfire because the shedding of infants’ blood shocked Richard’s contemporaries as much as it does us. Neil Jones provides a potted history of the conflict and the article includes a number of colour illustrations.  Jones mentions that the Richard III Society is today encouraging a reassessment of this much-maligned king, and it is encouraging also that the Society and alternative views about Richard are being given some attention.

Tags: Richard III

Book Review:  The Queen of Last Hopes

Susan Higginbotham, The Queen of Last Hopes.  Sourcebooks Inc., Naperville, 2011.  ISBN 9781402242816 (pbk)

As the red rose on the cover indicates The Queen of Last Hopes is a Lancastrian queen:  Margaret of Anjou, the queen of Henry VI.  Susan Higginbotham narrates Margaret’s life against the backdrop of the earlier part of the Wars of the Roses through the eyes of a variety of Lancastrian witnesses, often Margaret herself, but for scenes where she was not present she uses others, for instance William de la Pole or Henry Beaufort as well as Margaret’s husband and son.

Clearly, Susan sits on the opposite side of the fence when it comes to the conflict between the House of York and the House of Lancaster.  While it initially came as a bit of a shock to see our Yorkist heroes described in a fairly negative light, this is a positive and necessary experience as it forces us to re-evaluate our preconceived ideas.  We need to remember that all too often our views of medieval persons are based on prejudice, so in order to come to a more balanced understanding it is necessary to be jolted out of our complacency every now and then.

Susan’s The Queen of Last Hopes offers us the opportunity to meet Margaret of Anjou as a real person we can sympathise with.  She is not a one-dimensional saint, nor is she the one-dimensional villain we encounter so often in Ricardian fiction.  Her actions are well-motivated by her feelings for her husband, her son and their rights.

The book is based on impeccable historical research, which is also reflected by the Author’s Note at the end.  While I was disappointed by the only appearance of Richard of Gloucester, in which he is committing one of the killings he gets traditionally blamed for, she does explain in the Notes that there is no proof for this.

I still prefer my roses white, but can only recommend this book.  It is an enjoyable read and will prevent tunnel-vision.

Tags: Books, Margaret of Anjou, Ricardian Authors

Barbara Kingsolver, The Lacuna.  Faber and Faber Ltd, London, 2010.  ISBN 9780571252671 (pbk)

Barbara Kingsolver has written another great book.  She is an author with an amazing ability to whisk the reader away to another time and place, and once the reader is there they become totally engrossed.

Her previous novel The Poisonwood Bible was the story of an American missionary who drags his wife and daughters to the African Congo, amid the turmoil and bloodshed of the 60s, where he tries to enforce his religious beliefs upon the native population, who have their own gods and idols, and resent his sermons and interference.

Her new novel is set in Mexico in the late 30s and 40s and is the story of a young boy, Harrison, and his flighty mother who uproots him from his home in Washington DC to follow her current paramour to his hacienda on a small island off the Mexican coast.  The boy is encouraged by his mother to keep a journal of his travels and so he begins a series of notebooks and diaries.

After several of his mother’s affairs end in disappointment they travel to Mexico City, where the boy Harrison finds himself working as a plaster mixer and later as cook and typist to the household of artists (and communists) Diego Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo, who become his second family.

When his friend and mentor Leon Trotsky, who was seeking political asylum in Mexico and staying with his friends the Riveras, is brutally assassinated in their home, Harrison flees back to the US, only to find himself, due to his friendship with Trotsky and the Riveras, embroiled in the McCarthy era ‘Reds under the Beds’ witch hunt.

By this time he has become a popular author, drawing on his affection for and knowledge of Mexico, creating stories of the ancient Mayan civilisations, but the continuing harassment and threats of treason and possible imprisonment force him to flee once again, back to Mexico.

The unfolding story is told through his stenographer and friend, Violet Brown, and through Harrison’s notes and diaries that he kept as a boy and continued as a young man.  But that’s another story in itself!

For some time I have read much fiction and non-fiction, most but not all of it historical, dealing with the Wars of the Roses and English royals, so when a friend lent me this book it was a nice change.

I found this book a very enjoyable read and hard to put down and recommend it highly.

If our recent review of Walk Wakefield 1460 got you into the mood for travelling and visiting the sites of Ricardian history, the Richard III Society is here to help.  The latest addition to the main website of the Richard III Society is a feature on Ricardian Britain:  A guide to sites associated with Richard III.

This web-based guide is based on an earlier printed version published by the Society in 1983.  While the printed version was organised alphabetically, this one is by areas.  So when visiting an area you can be sure that you do not to miss anything of interest.  It also contains a list of places exhibiting portraits of Richard III and the sites of Society presentations (memorials and plaques) as well as some useful websites.

The entries on the included sites include a short introduction of their relevance to Ricardians as well as information on addresses (incl. postcodes and telephone numbers), website addresses, email addresses and directions.

By publishing this guide on the web it can be accessed by Wi-Fi devices such as smart phones or mp3 players with Wi-Fi capabilities from anywhere while travelling.  And if you are not that IT savvy you can print out the relevant pages before leaving home (it is in a pdf format).

Bon yoyage!

(The above photograph of St Albans Cathedral is by the present author)

Tags: Richard III Society

Book Review:  Walk Wakefield 1460  – today

Helen Cox, Walk Wakefield 1460:  A Visitor Guide to Battle-Related Sites.  Herstory Writing & Interpretation/York Publishing Services, 2011.  ISBN 978 0 9565768 1 1 (available from YPD Books)

I finally received my copy of Walk Wakefield 1460 by Helen Cox.  The subtitle, ‘A Visitor Guide to Battle-Related Sites’, gives a clear indication as to the purpose of the book.  If you have read Helen’s excellent The Battle of Wakefield Revisited and now want to explore where the action took place, this little book is a must.

Helen gives short overviews of the individual battles (Worksop and Wakefield), but the aim is to identify the sites that a visitor today can see.  This is of particular interest for Sandal Castle and Pontefract Castle, where only ruins remain.  She explains clearly which part of the castle the wall fragments come from and what the purpose of the various features was.

She also provides valuable information on opening hours as well as addresses for further information.  Also included are directions on how to get to the places by car or foot.  The book is well illustrated with pictures of the sites as well as maps showing them in today’s landscape (in the case of Wakefield this can be compared to a map showing the outlay in the 15th century).

If you are planning to visit Yorkshire, I can only recommend Walk Wakefield 1460.  I can hardly wait to get a chance to visit the sites to which Helen takes us.

Tags: Books, Ricardian Authors, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses

The long awaited launch of Helen Cox’s follow-up to The Battle of Wakefield Revisited took place on 19 March 2011 at Waterstone’s Booksellers in Wakefield.

In Walk Wakefield 1460 Helen is our guide to all the sites connected with the battle.   The book contains a brief history, directions to the sites (including maps), and up-to-date information on opening times and admission charges for visiting.

Helen Cox and her husband Mick Doggett at the launch of Walk Wakefield 1460 (photograph © Mike Wilson)

Helen reported that there was a good turnout for the launch and was particuly happy to see some who had travelled long distance to attend, like a Battlefield Society member from Preston in Lancashire, and a Richard III Society member from Beverley in East Yorkshire.  Some people bought copies of both Wakefield Revisited and Walk Wakefield. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Books, Ricardian Authors, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses