Tag: Edmund of Langley

Book Review: “A Tapestry of Treason” by Anne O’Brien

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

The medieval world could be a treacherous place to live in, especially when it comes to life in the medieval court. There was so much backstabbing and men reaching for titles and crowns that were not given to them. Take, for example, the House of York. Now, we will assume that their desire for the throne truly came to fruition during the period known as the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century. However, the sons and the daughter of Edmund of Langley and Isabella of Castile were fiercely loyal to those they served and were ruthless to those who they deemed as their enemies. This is the world that Constance of York, Lady Despenser, is raised in, but when her world is turned upside down, will she choose to stay on the sideline, or will she scheme with her family and fight for what they believe is right? Constance’s story is woven together in Anne O’Brien’s novel, “A Tapestry of Treason.”

I did have Anne on my blog with a guest post for her novel, “The Queen’s Rival,” and read it, which was a lot of fun, so I decided that I wanted to read more of her novels. I didn’t know a lot about Constance of York before this book, so I was excited to see she would tell Constance’s story.

We begin our tale in 1399 when Richard II sits on the throne, and the House of York is riding high. Constance of York is married to Thomas Lord Despenser, and her family, led by her father Edmund Langley, are sitting in good favor of their cousin, the king. However, things do not stay the same for long as Henry Bolingbroke comes back from exile to take back his Lancastrian titles and lands, but he ends up taking the throne as Henry IV and imprisoning Richard II. Well, Constance and her family simply cannot have an usurper take the throne from their cousin. So, a plan is hatched with Constance’s husband, Thomas, at the center to try and free Richard II from his captivity. To say this failed massively would be an understatement, as it led to the execution of Thomas Lord Despenser. 

As a widow, Constance hopes to live a normal life, especially after she falls in love with Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent. He wishes to marry Constance, but her family gets in the way of this love match. Constance is asked to help with a scheme to put one of the Mortimer boys on the throne and overthrow King Henry IV, but to do so, Constance must free the boys from their captivity. Constance agreed, and I wanted to scream at her. She throws away her chance at happiness for a plot that was easily foiled, and Constance ends up imprisoned herself. She loses the one real chance at marrying the man she truly loves as he marries another, and to top it all off, she ends up pregnant with his child. 

While Constance of York was not a main character that I particularly enjoyed, O’Brien’s writing style is engaging, and it shows how tumultuous this period was for those closest to the throne. Overall, I enjoyed this novel and I am looking forward to reading more novels by Anne O’Brien. If you are like me and want to read a novel about a time in medieval England that’s not discussed much, I would suggest you read, “A Tapestry of Treason,” by Anne O’Brien.

Book Review: “Elizabeth of York and the Birth of the Tudor Dynasty: Uniting the Roses” by Beverley Adams

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Throughout English history, some of the most famous queens have been associated with the Tudor dynasty. We have the six wives of Henry VIII (Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr), Queen Mary I, and Queen Elizabeth I. However, one Tudor queen is often overlooked for her daughters-in-law and granddaughters, the first Tudor queen, Elizabeth of York. So who was Elizabeth of York and what role did she play in the transition between the Plantagenet dynasty and the Tudor dynasty? Beverley Adams hopes to enlighten readers about this remarkable queen in her latest book, “Elizabeth of York and the Birth of the Tudor Dynasty: Uniting the Roses.”

I want to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. While I know quite a bit about Elizabeth of York, the Wars of the Roses, and the origins of the Tudor dynasty, I wanted to see how Adams would portray these topics for beginners. 

To begin with, Adams lays out the origins of the conflict that we know today as the Wars of the Roses with Edward III and his sons, John of Gaunt 1st Duke of Lancaster, and Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York. This led to a clash between King Henry VI and Richard Duke of York. Elizabeth of York’s father, the future King Edward IV, was the son of Richard Duke of York and he had to fight for his throne. Adams explores Elizabeth’s childhood as the eldest child of Edward IV and his wife Elizabeth Woodville during this tumultuous period of English history, which would form the foundation of what kind of queen she would be in the future.

Everything changed when Edward IV died suddenly, which meant that Elizabeth’s younger brother became Edward V and left Richard Duke of Gloucester as Lord Protector. For some reason, Richard Duke of Gloucester decided to take matters into his own hands, took control of the country, declared the children of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville illegitimate (including Elizabeth of York), and was crowned King Richard III in a matter of months. Some resisted the new king including the son of Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor, Henry Tudor. Margaret Beaufort and Elizabeth Woodville arranged a marriage between Henry and Elizabeth that would occur if Henry was able to defeat Richard III and become King of England, which he did at the Battle of Bosworth Field. The rest of this book is dedicated to showing how Elizabeth of York was as a wife, queen, and mother as she dealt with death, treachery from Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, and triumphs as she was able to see the start of the Tudor dynasty.

I think Adams does a decent job with a book that is an introduction to Elizabeth of York, the Wars of the Roses, and the beginning of the Tudor dynasty. There are some myths that she repeats to debunk, but I feel like, in some places, Elizabeth of York was not the main focus, which was a bit disappointing. Overall, if you want a solid introductory book to the life and times of the first Tudor queen, I would recommend you read, “Elizabeth of York and the Birth of the Tudor Dynasty: Uniting the Roses” by Beverley Adams.

Book Review: “Philippa of Hainault: Mother of the English Nation” by Kathryn Warner

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43661739In medieval England, the queens were almost as famous, or infamous, as their husbands. In most cases, they came from royal backgrounds and their sons would become kings. That, however, was the case for Philippa of Hainault, the wife of King Edward III. She tends to be forgotten when it comes to discussing her famous husband, her infamous mother-in-law Isabella of France, and her sons whose children would go on to shape English history forever. That is until now. Kathryn Warner has decided to discover the truth about this rather remarkable woman in her latest biography, “Philippa of Hainault: Mother of the English Nation”.

I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this informative biography. It looked rather intriguing and this was the first time that I have read a book by Kathryn Warner. This was an absolute joy to read.

Warner begins by explaining Philippa of Hainault’s immediate family. As a queen, she had a rather unusual upbringing since she was the daughter of Willem, Count of Hainault and Holland and his wife Jeanne de Valois (whose brothers and sisters would be kings and queens throughout Europe). Philippa’s husband was Edward III, whose parents were King Edward II and Isabella of France (who did not get along at all, especially over the issue of Hugh Despenser). Philippa and Edward III came from rather different backgrounds, but they were married so that Philippa’s father could help Isabella of France with her invasion of England, which resulted in the abdication of her husband and her son becoming the new King of England. An unusual reason to get married, but it actually worked rather well.

Isabella of France and her partner in crime, Roger Mortimer, were hoping that Edward III was going to be like a puppet king, but they were wrong. Edward III did things his own way, wife his beloved wife Philippa by his side. While Edward III was taking care of domestic and foreign issues, Philippa was raising their large family. Their sons and daughters included Edward of Woodstock “The Black Prince”, Isabella of Woodstock, Lionel of Antwerp, John of Gaunt, Edmund of Langley, and Thomas of Woodstock. Although they did have a large family, none of their children would become King or Queen of England; it would be Edward of Woodstock’s son, Edward and Philippa’s grandson, Richard of Bordeaux who would become King Richard II. It was the descendants of Edward and Philippa’s sons and daughters that would go and shape the conflict that would be known as the Wars of the Roses.

Another lasting legacy of Edward III was the beginning of a conflict between England and France that would be known as the Hundred Years’ War. It started when Edward III declared war on Philippa’s maternal uncle King Philip VI of France. Talk about family drama. But family drama was nothing new for Philippa since she was connected to many kings, queens, emperors, and empresses throughout Europe through marriage and there were times where her husband would get into disagreements with her extended family. That was the nature of medieval Europe, but it never affected her relationship with Edward III. Around this time, the Black Death was beginning to leave its mark on Europe, hitting many families including Edward III and Philippa of Hainault’s children.

Kathryn Warner brought Philippa of Hainault into the spotlight that she deserved with a delightful plethora of details combined with an eloquent writing style. Warner does repeat facts in her book, but as someone who is a novice in studying this time period, it was rather useful for me to have her repeat these facts. I enjoyed this book immensely and it really helped me understand her story and the legacy that her family left behind for England and for Europe. If you want a great book about Philippa of Hainault and her family, I highly recommend you read, “Philippa of Hainault: Mother of the English Nation” by Kathryn Warner.