Tag: Edward earl of Warwick

Book Review: “The Pretender” by Jo Harkin

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

The Wars of the Roses are ending, and with it comes uncertainty about who will lead the country. On one side is King Richard III, who many believe killed his nephews to become King of England; on the other is Breton Henry, Henry Tudor, who believes he is the rightful king due to his bloodline. However, there is a third player in this entire debacle. A young farm boy named John Collan may spend his days daydreaming and studying to his heart’s content, but he is destined for more. A path that will lead him to hobnob with nobility and become the enemy of a king who just sat on his throne. Just who is John Collan, and how did this boy go from the farm to a life of infamy? Jo Harkin tells the story of how John Collan became Lambert Simnel in her novel, “The Pretender.”

I would like to thank Knopf and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. As someone who reads a lot about the Wars of the Roses, I tend to gravitate towards the main players and the nobility. However, there was something about a novel all about one of the pretenders, Lambert Simnel, that piqued my curiosity. Plus, the fact that this was the author’s first foray into historical fiction was a nice touch. I wanted to see how well Harkin would do with an obscure figure and her first historical fiction novel.

We begin with John Collan, a son of a farmer who dreams of being a scholar and running away from a rather vicious goat. John’s father, Will Collan, is a pretty wealthy man, but he is also connected to a man named Maister Richard Simons, who agrees to tutor John at Oxford. Such a remarkable turn of luck for a farm boy, but why choose him over others? Maister Simons explains that Will Collan is not John’s father. His name is not even John. He is to be known as Lambert Simnel, and his true father is none other than George, Duke of Clarence, which makes him Edward, Earl of Warwick. It’s a lot to take in, but then John/Lambert is taken to both Burgundy and Ireland so that he can gain powerful allies such as Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Burgundy, John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln, and the Earl of Kildare.

John/Lambert continues to study, falls in love with a girl named Joan, is crowned king, and even goes to war against the Tudor king. But the boy will soon learn the bitter taste of betrayal and the heartache of losing those he loves the most to try and wrest the crown from Henry VII. While the dialogue was at times borderline vulgar, I did enjoy most of the story until the aftermath of the Battle of Stoke Field. It was when John/Lambert was held captive that it fell flat, and it was a bit difficult to follow along for me. I also wish Harkin had included some sort of author’s note or explanation of her research to help those who are new to Lambert Simnel’s story understand why she wrote the novel in the way she did.

Overall, I think this was a decent novel. It is ambitious to tackle an obscure figure like a pretender as a protagonist of a historical novel, but I think Harkin does a good job. It makes you wonder what must have been going on when this young man decided that he was going to take on a crowned king. Such a small footnote in history makes one compelling tale. If you want a novel about someone who does not get enough attention, I recommend you read “The Pretender” by Jo Harkin.

Book Review: “Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck, and Warwick” by Nathen Amin

On By hmalagisiIn Book Reviews2 Comments

50419850August 22, 1485, marked the end of the Plantagenet Dynasty with the death of King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. The man who succeeded him as King of England after his death was young Henry Tudor, whose dynasty would live in infamy in English history, thought that he was done fighting on the battlefield for his right to rule. This was only the beginning of a decades-long war against those who claimed to be lingering shadows of the past. They claimed to be the Princes in the Tower, whose disappearances in 1483 left to doubt and confusion on what happened to them and gave those who despised this new dynasty opportunity to exploit a young king’s fear of being overthrown. The young men who made this king who won his way to the throne on a battlefield quake in his boots are known today as “the Pretenders”, but who were they? In Nathen Amin’s much-anticipated book, “Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck, and Warwick”, he traces the origins of each pretender to show what type of threat that they posed to the first Tudor king.

I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. When Nathen Amin announced that he was writing this particular book, I was instantly interested in reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed his “ The House of Beaufort”, so I wanted to see how he would approach the enigmas of the pretenders. I was not disappointed as this was a historically riveting masterpiece.

To understand why the pretenders were able to gain supporters, Amin takes his readers to the Tower where the two sons of King Edward IV disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Since neither King Richard III nor King Henry VII could answer if the princes were either alive or dead, we have been left with Schrodinger’s cat-like situation. This proved to be a mistake on Henry VII’s part as it allowed young men with relatively obscure origins to take advantage and try to overthrow the king and his family. Two of the most famous pretenders were Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, who had help near and far to try to end the Tudor dynasty before it really began. However, there were others including the tragic tale of Edward, Earl of Warwick, whose only crime was to be born of Yorkist royal blood.

There have been other books that have touched on the topic of the pretenders, but what Amin has done in this particular book is nothing short of remarkable. By acting as a historian/detective, Amin dived deep into the archives to follow the path that these men took from obscurity to prominent threats to the crown. Along the way, Amin kept Henry VII and his actions central to the narrative to show a different side to the first Tudor king that many might not have anticipated.

To write such a definitive and thought-provoking nonfiction book on such shadowy figures like the pretenders is no easy feat. Amin created an outstanding narrative that balances scrupulous attention to details with a coherent and engaging writing style to bring the complex story of Henry VII and the pretenders to life for the modern age. If you love learning about new aspects of the Tudor dynasty, “Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck, and Warwick” by Nathen Amin is the book for you. This is easily my favorite book Nathen Amin has written thus far.

Biography: Anne Neville

On By hmalagisiIn BiographiesLeave a comment

Anne_Neville_portrait(Born June 11, 1456- Died March 16, 1485). Daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and Anne Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick. Married to Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales and  King Richard III. Mother of Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales. Anne Neville was the daughter of “the Kingmaker”. She was part of the powerful Neville family and she was married to two very important people in the houses of Lancaster and York respectfully. She played a critical role in the Wars of the Roses.

Anne Neville was born at Warwick Castle on June 11, 1456 to Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and Anne Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick. Her father’s aunt was Cecily Neville, the wife of Richard Duke of York and the mother of Edward IV, George Duke of Clarence and Richard Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III). Richard Neville did not have any sons so he made sure that his daughters were educated very well so that they could make advantageous marriages. Anne and her older sister Isabel spent most of their childhood at Middleham Castle, where they met their future husbands, George Duke of Clarence and Richard Duke of Gloucester. On December 30, 1460, Richard Duke of York was killed at the battle of Wakefield and in March 1461, Warwick helped Edward IV become king. It is possible that during this time that the idea of Richard marrying Anne and George marrying Isabel was being considered.

Warwick and Edward IV were close, or that’s what Warwick thought. After Edward IV became king, Warwick worked on making an alliance with France by marrying Edward IV to Bona of Savoy. That was the plan, but Edward IV had other ideas. In 1464, Edward married Elizabeth Woodville, which made Warwick rather upset. Warwick decided to marry his daughter Isabel to George Duke of Clarence and Warwick tried to put George on the throne instead of Edward, which angered Edward IV and Parliament. Warwick took his family and his son-in-law George to France where Warwick reconciled with Margaret of Anjou. In order to cement their new alliance in order to get Henry VI back on the throne, Warwick had Anne marry Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, on December 13, 1470, making Anne Neville Princess of Wales. Their marriage would not last long.

In 1470, Warwick was able to restore Henry VI to the throne, but Edward IV would come back with a vengeance in 1471. On April 14, 1471 at the Battle of Barnet, Warwick was killed. A few weeks later, on May 4, 1471 at the battle of Tewkesbury, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, was killed, leaving Anne a widow and Edward IV securely on the throne. Anne was taken prisoner first to Coventry and then to the house of her brother-in-law the Duke of Clarence in London, while her mother Anne Beauchamp, sought sanctuary in Beaulieu Abbey.

Anne Neville was now a very powerful widow and there were again talks about her marrying Richard Duke of Gloucester. This made George Duke of Clarence nervous since he didn’t want to share the Warwick inheritance with his brother. George treated Anne like she was his ward and opposed her getting married. The story goes that George made Anne dress as a maid and hid her in a London shop, but Richard found her and escorted her to sanctuary at the Church of St Martin’s le Grand. In order to secure his marriage with Anne, Richard denounced all of the Warwick lands as well as the earldom of Warwick and Salisbury and the office of Great Chamberlain of England to George.

Anne and Richard were married probably in the spring of 1472 and Anne was made Duchess of Gloucester. The couple’s only son Edward of Middleham was born in 1473, the year Anne’s mother joined their household. In 1478, Anne Neville gained the Lordship of Glamorgan, which was initially her sister’s but it went to Isabel’s husband George. When George was executed for treason, the title was passed onto Anne, but since Anne was a woman, she could not inherit the title so her husband Richard became Lord of Glamorgan.

On April 9. 1483, Edward IV died and his eldest son became King Edward V. Richard became Edward V’s Lord Protector, but on June 25, 1483, Edward V and his siblings were declared illegitimate, making Richard the next king. King Richard III. Anne was crowned Queen of England in a joint coronation with Richard on July 6, 1483; Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and mother of Henry Tudor, would carry Anne’s train at her coronation. Edward of Middleham was created Prince of Wales on September 8, 1483. Things seemed to be going well for Anne and her family, but their happiness would not last long.

Edward of Middleham would die in April 1484 in Sheriff Hutton. His death hit Anne and Richard extremely hard; Anne would fall gravely ill from the grief. Anne Neville effectively adopted Edward, Earl of Warwick, her and Richard III ‘s mutual nephew. Richard III made the boy his heir presumptive to comply with Anne’s wishes. On March 16, 1485, Anne Neville died of possibly tuberculosis. Richard is said to have cried at Anne’s funeral and he would die a few months later at the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485.