The Mirror and the Light (The Wolf Hall Trilogy) by Hilary Mantel

New on Amazon UK and Amazon US

The long-awaited sequel to Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, the stunning conclusion to Hilary Mantel’s Man Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall trilogy.

England, May 1536. Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Thomas Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The blacksmith’s son from Putney emerges from the spring’s bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour.

Cromwell is a man with only his wits to rely on; he has no great family to back him, no private army. Despite rebellion at home, traitors plotting abroad and the threat of invasion testing Henry’s regime to breaking point, Cromwell’s robust imagination sees a new country in the mirror of the future. 

But can a nation, or a person, shed the past like a skin? Do the dead continually unbury themselves? What will you do, the Spanish ambassador asks Cromwell, when the king turns on you, as sooner or later he turns on everyone close to him?

With The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the trilogy she began with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. She traces the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power, offering a defining portrait of predator and prey, of a ferocious contest between present and past, between royal will and a common man’s vision: of a modern nation making itself through conflict, passion and courage.

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About the Author

Hilary Mantel is the two-time winner of the Man Booker Prize for her best-selling novels, Wolf Hall, and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies. Wolf Hall has been translated into 36 languages, Bring Up the Bodies into 31 languages, and sales for both books have reached over 5 million copies worldwide. Find out more at Hilary's website https://hilary-mantel.com/ 

Special Guest Interview with Historical Mystery Author John Pilkington

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

Summer 1604: England is on edge, as a high-powered Spanish delegation arrives in London to start vital and long-awaited treaty talks. King James, a year into his reign, wants to be seen as The Peacemaker King, bringing an end to nearly twenty years of warfare with Spain which has left both countries exhausted and almost bankrupt. Yet there are those who profit from the war - and such people cannot be allowed to threaten the peace negotiations.

I'm pleased to welcome historical mystery Author John Pilkington to The Writing Desk:

Tell us about your latest book

Just now, I’m not sure what counts as my latest book. I’ve been pleased to see the first historical series I wrote, the Thomas the Falconer Mysteries (published 2002-2007) reissued as e-books by Sharpe Books over the past few months, with an omnibus collection of all seven books now out under the title Hunter and Prey (Sharpe, 2020).

Following that early Tudor project I wrote three more historical series, including one featuring 17th century spy or ‘intelligencer’ Martin Marbeck, whose last outing appeared in paperback in 2016 (Severn House Publishers). But the most recent book I’ve written is a new venture for me: Yorick, His Tale told by Himself. I suppose I would call this ‘speculative fiction’, giving my version of the story of a character from Hamlet (he of ‘alas, poor Yorick’ fame) from his humble birth and life as a stable boy, to becoming the King’s favoured jester and playfellow of the young Prince Hamlet. It was a lot of fun to write. It’s yet to find a publisher, and it may need further work, but I have hopes.

What is your preferred writing routine?

After many years of writing, I’ve developed an ‘office hours’ habit. I write all morning, perhaps do a little more after lunch and then edit what I’ve done. Afterwards I escape for a long walk, weather permitting – I’m fortunate to live by a quiet tidal estuary, very good for fresh air and wildlife. I think it’s important to get away from the desk. I work at the keyboard, print off what I’ve done each day and then read it over first thing the next morning, editing by hand with a lurid red pen. Then, when I open up the work again on the screen I edit from the hard copy, which gets me into the flow to carry on the narrative. I sometimes write things out longhand, like new sections I want to insert, and work them in later.

I’ve done lots of research over the years and have extensive files, but I rarely look at these once I’ve started a new book. There’s always the danger of putting in ‘undigested research’, and the temptation to add too much period detail. This is fiction, not a history book, and the story is paramount. Once I’ve got the book moving I work every day, without fail.

What advice do you have for new writers?

I’m not sure I can offer any, but I’ll try. Are you certain you want to write, or do you merely want to ‘be a writer’? If you really want to write, you will probably do so anyway. I attempted my first novel at age 13. It was terrible and I never finished it, but you have to start somewhere. If you want to be published, writing is a commitment, not a hobby. You also need to be clear about what sort of writing you want to do: try out different forms and genres, and see which satisfies you most. It doesn’t matter how bad you think it is.

There’s no short cut to developing a workable style – as with most things in life, you get better with practice. And read a lot, of course – even ‘How to Write’ books, if they help. Join a local writers’ group, if that helps. Make a regular time to write, somewhere you won’t be disturbed, and don’t let anyone put you off. It’s often difficult to get people to take you seriously as a writer – until you’re published, whereupon they start asking you where you get your ideas from! But persevere: it’s down to application and persistence as well as talent. Good luck.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

I’m a recent convert to Twitter, which has opened up a new – and at times astonishing – world. In the past I generally relied on my publishers to do all the marketing and publicity, though I helped when I could, making myself available for interviews and so on. When I wrote a children’s series, for example (the Elizabethan Mysteries), my wonderful publishers Usborne were very active in promoting me and my work, arranging visits, talks and readings in schools and libraries. But nowadays, I don’t think this is enough: the writer should take some responsibility and engage with the fast-moving online world, and with sites like GoodReads and Bookbub which will help raise your profile and attract potential readers.

I launched my website around a decade ago. There is a panel on my home page which can be updated at any time with news and events, but how much this actually helps with book sales I really don’t know. Being on Twitter has led to a new surge of interest in my work. Online promotion is very important now, and it seems to be helping me.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

I’m fascinated by espionage, and when I began delving into the Elizabethan era I was intrigued to learn that the first Cambridge Spies date back to the 16th century - almost 400 years before Burgess, Philby and Maclean. In the 1580s the Queen’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, began recruiting bright, adventurous young men from Cambridge University (where he too had been a student). Their mission, in this time of religious turmoil and plots against Elizabeth, was to pose as disaffected Catholics, travel abroad to infiltrate the Catholics on the Continent, and report on their activities.

At its peak, the late-Tudor espionage service boasted as many as sixty agents using cover names, ciphers, letter drops and messages written in invisible ink – the beginnings of the spy’s equipment through the ages. Eventually I created my own spy, Marbeck, the hero of four books (described by Booklist as ‘a 17th century James Bond’). Recently I wrote an essay on the topic, On the Jesuit Trail, for the Royal Literary Fund’s website, now published in their anthology A Self Among the Crowd (Small Press Publishing for the RLF, 2019). I’m sure there’s still a great deal more to be revealed about this absorbing subject.

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

This is a tough question. I suppose there have been many I struggled with, though I rarely remember the actual writing process. But one that sticks in my mind was the climactic ‘mass brawl’ scene in The Ruffler’s Child (the first Thomas the Falconer mystery). The fight took place in the Bear Garden in Southwark, after the day’s ‘entertainment’, and involved around a dozen angry men armed with clubs, daggers and assorted hand weapons. Moving so many participants around convincingly, and maintaining the suspense, proved a big challenge.

Never having been involved in such a fracas myself (beyond snowball fights), I had to reach into memory for every violent struggle I could recall, from schoolboy tussles to battle scenes from films. (Spartacus and Braveheart have always been personal favourites, but few scenes match the visceral realism of James Fox’s gangster-on-gangster fight in Performance – perhaps because it wasn’t scripted). To keep the scene gripping without losing sight of my main protagonist, and above all to avoid it feeling contrived, was hard. I think – I hope – that I’ve got better at it since then.

What are you planning to write next?

Some years ago, I wrote two novels set in the reign of Charles II (After the Fire and The Judas Blade), featuring Restoration Theatre actress-turned-sleuth Betsy Brand (first published by Robert Hale, soon to be republished in revised editions by Joffe Books). I’m very fond of smart, witty and resourceful Betsy and want to extend the series, creating more mysteries for her to solve in that ‘gaudy and bawdy‘ period of intrigue and corruption. I’d like to push her further into danger, allowing her to show her considerable courage. A plot’s already forming, but I’m keeping tight-lipped about that.

John Pilkington

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About the Author

John Pilkington has written plays for radio and theatre, television scripts for the BBC and now concentrates on historical fiction, reflecting his passion for the Tudor and Stuart periods. A writer for over thirty years, he has published around twenty books including the Thomas the Falconer Mysteries (republished by Sharpe Books), the Marbeck spy series (Severn House) and two Restoration-era mysteries featuring actress-turned-sleuth Betsy Brand (to be republished by Joffe Books). He is also the author of a children’s series, the Elizabethan Mysteries (Usborne). Born in the north-west of England, he now lives in a quiet Devon village with his partner, and has a son who is a musician and composer. Find out more at his website, www.johnpilkington.co.uk, and find John on Twitter @_JohnPilkington.

Guest Interview with C.J. Adrien, Author of The Lords of the Wind (The Saga of Hasting the Avenger Book 1)

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

Orphaned as a child by a blood-feud, and sold as a slave to an exiled chieftain in Ireland, the boy Hasting had little hope of surviving to adulthood. The gods had other plans. A ship arrived at his master's longphort carrying a man who would alter the course of his destiny, and take him under his wing to teach him the ways of the Vikings.

I'm pleased to welcome author C.J. Adrien  to The Writing Desk

Tell us about your latest book

My latest novels is a first in series about the life of the Viking Hasting. Hasting is one of the earliest verified historical figures of the Vikings Age, whose career began shortly after the period of semi-legendary figures (such as Ragnar Lothbrok). Highly active in the Loire River valley and Brittany regions of France, Hasting is not often evoked in historical fiction novels that focus on England and Ireland (as is generally the case in the Anglophone world).

It's a shame he isn't because his life embodied the ideals of what it was to be a Viking. If anyone could have written a book on what it was to be a Viking, Hasting would have been the man to do it; except the Vikings didn't write! In any case, Hasting features prominently in all the research I've done on the topic of the Vikings in Brittany, and it has always been my goal to write the story of his life in a compelling way.

What is your preferred writing routine?

I generally only write when I am in the mood, which you won't hear from many other authors. I am fortunate in that I am often in the mood to write, and so I never have to force myself. There are certain times when I am more inspired than others, and when that happens I am essentially consumed by my focus on my work. When it comes to planning outlines, scenes, and other nitty-gritty details, the place where I find the most inspiration is at the gym. Something about turning on epic tunes and pumping iron really gets my inspiration going.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

It takes time to find your voice in your writing. Keep writing, and keep practicing. Most importantly, don't be afraid to put your writing out there for others to pick apart. Don't take criticism personally, use it to improve. The first novel I wrote was awful, and lots of people told me so. Rather than feel discourage and stop writing, I took a hard look at my strengths and weaknesses, and I worked to improve. I strive to always improve, and that's the attitude I credit with taking me to the next level year after year. Lastly, patience is key. No author ever became good at writing by simply picking up a pen and writing. It takes years of dedication and practice, and that work never ends.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

My blog started me on the path to raising awareness. I took the time to write dozens of articles about my research, built up a loyal online following, and after a few years I ended up being one of the top Viking history blogs on the internet. My articles and novels earned me an invitation to be a speaker at the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds. After that, once my name started to make the rounds in my niche, everything came together. The launch of my third and most recent novel was practically effortless compared with my first two novels, and that's because of all the hard work I put into building up my reputation online over the better part of a decade.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

After the sack of Seville in the 840s, the Muslims of Iberia sent an emissary named al-Ghazal north to find out who the Vikings were and why they had wanted to attack Spain. While the account of al-Ghazal is intriguing after he arrived at the court of Throgisl in Ireland, his early testimony about the voyage revealed something completely unexpected. He described a series of islands off the coast of what is today France, and tells of a Viking village with a king who welcomed them and helped to repair their ships. Historians have struggled to prove the islands of Aquitaine were ever permanently settled by Vikings, and here we have a firsthand account that this was in fact the case.

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

The "Meeting at Redon" was particularly difficult. Every character in the room has a different motive and goal, and so it was a nightmare to put together a meeting where every participant wanted to pull the conversation in a different direction. It was also hard to write the scene in an entertaining way, and I struggled to put it together in a way that wouldn't lose readers in the nitty-gritty of the politics of the day.

What are you planning to write next?

I am currently writing the second installment of Hasting's life, which will be released on July 4, 2020. Wish me luck!

C.J. Adrien 

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About the Author

C.J. Adrien is a French-American author of Viking historical fiction with a passion for Viking history. His Kindred of the Sea series was inspired by research conducted in preparation for a doctoral program in early medieval history as well as his admiration for historical fiction writers such as Bernard Cornwell and Ken Follett. C.J. Adrien’s novels and expertise have earned him invitations to speak at several international events, including the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds. For more information, please visit C.J. Adrien's website and blog. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a copy of The Lords of the Wind! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on December 13th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Paperback giveaway is open to US residents only. – Only one entry per household.

All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen. The Lords of the Wind

Special Guest Interview with Nancy Bilyeau, Author of The Blue

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

In eighteenth century London, porcelain is the most seductive of commodities; fortunes are made and lost upon it. Kings do battle with knights and knaves for possession of the finest pieces and the secrets of their manufacture.

I'm pleased to welcome best-selling historical fiction author Nancy Bilyeau to The Writing Desk:

Tell us about your latest book

Sèvres Porcelain Potpourri Vase

I followed up my Tudor trilogy with a stand-alone novel set in the eighteenth century. I jumped to another time period with The Blue. It’s a spy story and an art story: a young Huguenot woman who longs to be a serious artist gets caught up in a conspiracy to steal the formula for the most beautiful shade of blue ever created from an English porcelain factory in 1758, the middle of the Seven Years War. I brought some of my family history to this novel, as I am descended from a Huguenot settler who came to New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1665 and my father was a watercolor artist.

What is your preferred writing routine?

I’d love to have a routine—and even more so, a beautiful writing room or even a nook! I have a full time job at a nonprofit news center and freelance nonfiction assignments, and a family, so I write my books, and The Blue in particular, at the kitchen table early in the morning before anyone is awake, or in bed on the weekends. Any time I could snatch for research or writing or revising.

What advice do you have for new writers?

Get eyes on your work and listen to what your beta readers or critique partners say. What we think is coming across with clarity to a reader might not be—that’s where your team can help you. It’s really important not to submit fiction or publish before something is ready. I fight that impulse myself, as I am not a patient, deliberate person. But letting something sit overnight to get a fresh read in the morning is one of my tricks.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

My books are “traditionally published,” but the classic path to success of bookstore appearances and touring and speaking, it doesn’t work today. Most publicists would actually agree with that too. Nor does sending a huge number of ARCs to newspaper and magazine reviewers to build up awareness, because, sadly, print media is spiraling out of existence. The reality is everyone is online and authors need to be where readers are. I write a lot of nonfiction on history and I interact with people on twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. I like social media, so to me it isn’t a chore or a necessary evil. I have to force myself off it!

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

That the luxury-obsessed elites of the 1750s were quite similar to that group of people today. Some aristocrats and merchants went bankrupt collecting porcelain, it became a sort of madness, as the porcelain itself became ever more elaborate and fantastical. During this period, Sevres Porcelain, near Versailles, produced things like a potpourri vase in the shape of a ship, gold enamel, painted deep blue, a lot of detail, including a detailed scene painted on the side of sailors on a wharf packing fish! If when you hear “porcelain,” you think cups and plates, that’s not what this world was about in the mid 18th century. It was about creating these delicate fantasies with tantalizing glimpses of real life.

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

In The Blue, it was an early chapter, when Genevieve, my main character, is having dinner in her Spitalfields house with her grandfather—and with a guest, Sir Gabriel Courtenay, who is the antagonist of the plot but also there’s an attraction there between them. Here he is trying to recruit her for a spy mission but doing so with a lot of subtlety. Several levels needed to be in the chapter, but also a lot of information is being revealed and crucial decisions made. Yet they are on the surface of it, just sitting and eating and talking. So it was a challenge to make the scene interesting and tense. I had to revise a lot.

What are you planning to write next?

I’ve written a fifth novel, Dreamland, to be published January 16, 2020 by Endeavour Quill. For the first time, I’m setting a novel in my own city and it’s just past the turn of the century. A rebellious heiress gets dragged to the Oriental Hotel, a luxury hotel on the Atlantic Ocean (one that existed) not too far from Coney Island, “America’s Playground.” She meets an immigrant artist, and that leads to all sorts of fireworks, literal and figurative. I just spotted the Publishers Weekly review of the novel, and it describes the period in Dreamland as “the end of the Gilded Age.” That’s it for sure.

Nancy Bilyeau

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About the Author

Nancy Bilyeau studied History at the University of Michigan and has worked on the staffs of "InStyle," "Good Housekeeping," and "Rolling Stone." She is currently the deputy editor of the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at the Research Foundation of CUNY and a regular contributor to "Town & Country" and "The Vintage News." Nancy's mind is always in past centuries but she currently lives with her husband and two children in New York City. Find out more at Nancy's website www.nancybilyeau.com and find her on Facebook and Twitter @Tudorscribe

Special Guest Interview with Elizabeth St John, Author of Written in their Stars

New on Amazon UK and Amazon US

I'm pleased to welcome historical fiction author Elizabeth St John to The Writing Desk

Tell us about your latest book.

The third book in The Lydiard Chronicles series, Written in their Stars, is a true story based on surviving memoirs, letters and court documents from my family history. The novel can be read as a stand-alone, or as part of the family saga recounted in The Lady of the Tower and By Love Divided.

Here’s how I describe the novel in the blurb:

London, 1649. Horrified eyewitnesses to King Charles’s bloody execution, Royalists Nan Wilmot and Frances Apsley plot to return the king’s exiled son to England’s throne, while their radical cousin Luce, the wife of king-killer John Hutchinson, rejoices in the new republic’s triumph. 

Nan exploits her high-ranking position as Countess of Rochester to manipulate England’s great divide, flouting Cromwell and establishing a Royalist spy network; while Frances and her husband Allen join the destitute prince in Paris’s Louvre Palace to support his restoration. As the women work from the shadows to topple Cromwell’s regime, their husbands fight openly for the throne on England’s bloody battlefields.

But will the return of the king be a victory, or destroy them all? Separated by loyalty and bound by love, Luce, Nan and Frances hold the fate of England—and their family—in their hands.

What is your preferred writing routine?

Historical fiction has to start with the research, and I love the variety of techniques that we employ as detectives into the past. I begin with fully researching characters, their activities and the intersection of major historical events, until I’ve established a really solid timeline as the background to my writing. Then, I plot where people are at particular moments, and where the gaps are that can be filled in with fiction. 

Once I see how characters are reacting to their circumstances, I start to think of detailed character arcs, develop protagonists and antagonists, and create settings to support the story. At the same time, I’m starting to experiment with fiction: jotting down conversations or descriptions, character sketches, word clouds, photography and maps—especially if I’m visiting places where my characters have spent time.

My favourite writing time is always early morning, probably because when I started writing, I worked full time in a completely different career, and so had to get up really early to write. It’s a habit I’ve never lost, and I still love the stillness and potential of a new day. I also find inspiration in walking, just switching off the drive to get a word on the page, and instead letting the creative brain roam around the edges of my consciousness. That’s often when the best ideas come.

What advice do you have for new writers?

Speaking from my own experience, read, read, read, and start to really understand what techniques the writer is using, what phrasings give you joy, which characters stay with you well after the book is finished. And to write, every day, even if you don’t think you have anything to write about. It’s a muscle that needs constant exercise. Joining writers groups, whether in live communities or online, is always fun and reassuring to find people who share the same challenges and excitement.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

There’s really not one single way to raise awareness; any effective marketing is a combination of many strategies. Certainly, creating promotions online through the big retailers moves sales and raises the rankings of my books, and I enjoy interacting with readers and other writers on Facebook and Twitter. I really appreciate personal contact, so being a guest at book clubs and author events is always lovely. I’ve been fortunate to speak on behalf of the Tower of London and the Friends of Lydiard Park in the U.S., which has been great fun and created deep relationships between my readers and my work. I really enjoy combining my experiences as a historical fiction writer with lecturing as a historian on places with as much significance as the Tower and my ancestral home.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research.

Researching 17th century spies certainly revealed a number of surprises that were secrets in my characters’ world, and great discoveries in ours. Code names for Allen Apsley, Ned Villiers, Edward Hyde and the king himself; confirmation of spying activities for the Sealed Knot; and a surprise appearance by Barbara Villiers, the king’s mistress, in pleading for regicide John Hutchinson’s life, were all great finds. But perhaps the biggest piece of gossip was the rumour of an illicit affair between Allen Apsley and his cousin Nan Wilmot (the mother of John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, and a lead character in the book). That finding created a wonderful opportunity for a subplot, and I enjoyed creating the fiction around the fact.

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

There are several major character death scenes—writing these is always challenging, and still moves me to tears. You can’t change the facts, and so creating a believable story around a sad event and doing justice to the characters you’ve loved for so long is really tough.

What are you planning to write next?

Well, if you’d asked me that a week ago, I would have said nothing ever again! Three books in five years with this depth of research has been hard work. But, as I went for a morning walk today, an idea started to form around three of the secondary characters that appear in Written in their Stars—John Wilmot, Barbara Villiers and Frances Apsley. They may just be persistent enough in their demands to have their own stories told that they star in the next novel.

Elizabeth St John

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About the Author

Elizabeth St.John spends her time between California, England, and the past. An award-winning author, historian and genealogist, she has tracked down family papers and residences from Nottingham Castle, Lydiard Park, to the Tower of London. Although the family sold a few castles and country homes along the way (it's hard to keep a good castle going these days), Elizabeth's family still occupy them - in the form of portraits, memoirs, and gardens that carry their imprint. And the occasional ghost. But that's a different story... Find out more at Elizabeth’s website: www.ElizabethJStJohn.com and find her on Facebook and Twitter @ElizStJohn

Book Launch Guest Post: This Blighted Expedition - a novel of the Walcheren campaign of 1809: Book Two of the Manxman series, by Lynn Bryant

New on Amazon UK and Amazon US

It is 1809. Austria is back in the war and London is committed to a new campaign in Europe. A force of 40,000 men and 600 ships gathers along the south coast of England. They are destined for Walcheren, and a lightning strike against the French dockyards on the Scheldt. 

Captain Hugh Kelly RN is once again embroiled in a joint operation with the army with his old adversary Sir Home Popham, a man who never forgets a perceived slight. Alfred Durrell, Hugh’s first lieutenant, is on secondment as Popham’s aide, a posting which places him at the heart of the campaign as relations between the army and navy 

begin to deteriorate.

The idea to write a novel about the Walcheren campaign happened very naturally. Being a historical novelist, especially one writing a series, I often say that the plot is already written. The tricky bit is finding your characters’ place in the story.

I write historical novels about fictional characters who are very firmly rooted into real historical events, and who rub shoulders with real people from history. For example, I have written five books of the Peninsular War Saga, which follows the story of a fictional character called Paul van Daan, who joins a fictional infantry regiment in 1802 as a junior officer and rises through the ranks as the war progresses. 

The fictional aspect of this enables me to create a story for Paul, to give him a suitably eccentric wife and a whole cast of fellow officers and men who serve in the 110th. However, since I have placed the regiment into the real framework of Wellington’s army, I have real characters such as Robert Craufurd, Charles Alten, Andrew Barnard and of course Lord Wellington himself, who need to be meticulously researched to make them believable. I need to know where they were and what they were doing, but I also need to find out what they were like in order for them to develop relationships with my fictional cast. It’s complicated.

More than a year ago, in a moment of genuine madness, I decided to begin a second, connected series, featuring a Manx Royal Navy captain, Hugh Kelly. My rationale for this was that I was constantly being asked when I was going to write a novel about my home, the Isle of Man. The island isn’t famous for its army connections, although there are some, but the navy is a different matter. 

Hugh Kelly was born, and I decided to link him with the original series, by writing about the Copenhagen campaign of 1807. I had mentioned that Paul van Daan had been present at that campaign, although I’d not written about his role there. An Unwilling Alliance enabled Paul and Hugh to meet. It was a great success and the book was shortlisted for this year’s Society for Army Historical Research fiction prize.

There was no question about writing a sequel, but it had to make sense historically, and to be honest, writing about the navy post-Trafalgar meant I was a bit limited. I had enjoyed linking my army and navy sagas in the first book, and while I was looking for a campaign, I remembered Walcheren. Once again, I had written that the second battalion of the 110th, not Paul’s battalion, had served at Walcheren. 

I cheerfully mentioned this to several fellow writers or historians. Most told me I was insane to write a novel about such a disastrous campaign. Dr Jacqueline Reiter, an expert on the campaign, who has written a biography of Lord Chatham, the commander of the army and is currently researching Sir Home Popham, got really really excited about the idea. With her help in matters of research, I couldn’t resist.

The problem with Walcheren is that there is no glory. There are a few skirmishes and a couple of brutal bombardments of Dutch towns. Vlissingen was almost destroyed. After that, the army arrived on South Beveland, realised that Antwerp was too well defended and that their troops were beginning to collapse with the lethal combination of malaria and dysentery known as Walcheren fever, and made a miserable and inglorious retreat. At least four thousand men died of Walcheren fever and many more suffered recurrent illness for years.

Back in England, there were recriminations in the press and a public outcry and a Parliamentary inquiry followed. The novel places one of my characters squarely in the middle of the ensuing mess and enabled me to look at the political consequences of the failure of the biggest and most expensive expedition of the war. It was particularly interesting to study the struggle of a weak government to fight off repeated attacks given the recent political climate.

I spent a long time researching this book. There is far less written about it, either in contemporary sources or modern interpretations, than most of the other Napoleonic campaigns. Jacqueline Reiter was unbelievably generous in sharing her sources, and Gareth Glover also sent me several excerpts from journals and letters that I had never seen. In a campaign lasting just a few months there is less room for error about dates and events, so my research has been meticulous.

I love this book. In it, I have left behind the death or glory of some of the big set piece battles of the Peninsular War. I always try to capture the human side of war, the details of the aftermath as well as the violence of the conflict, but there is so much more opportunity in a campaign that is going so badly wrong. 

I visited this a little during my previous book, which dealt with the disastrous retreat from Burgos in 1812, but Walcheren puts that in the shade. At the same time, since these are real people, there is still a place for courage and integrity, for love and family, for ambition and the brutal reality of war. There is even a place for humour, from the relentless self-publicising of Sir Home Popham, to the inability of Chatham to be on time for anything at all.

This Blighted Expedition is the story of real people, some of whom turned out to be heroic in unexpected ways. It is available on Amazon kindle in the UK here and the US here and will be out in paperback by the end of November. In the meantime, I am about to embark on book six of the Peninsular War Saga. 

It’s called An Unrelenting Enmity and to give myself a kick start with the writing process, I am attempting NaNaWriMo for the first time ever. To follow my progress why not join me on my blog over at Writing with Labradors, or on Facebook or Twitter?

Lynn Bryant

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About the Author

Lynn Bryant was born and raised in London's East End. She studied History at University and had dreams of being a writer from a young age. Since this was clearly not something a working class girl made good could aspire to, she had a variety of careers including a librarian, NHS administrator, relationship counsellor and manager of an art gallery before realising that most of these were just as unlikely as being a writer and took the step of publishing her first book. She now lives in the Isle of Man and is married to a man who understands technology, which saves her a job, and has two teenage children and two labradors. History is still a passion, with a particular enthusiasm for the Napoleonic era and the sixteenth century. When not writing she runs an Irish dance school, reads anything that's put in front of her and makes periodic and unsuccessful attempts to keep a tidy house. Find out more at Lynn's website http://www.lynnbryant.co.uk/ and find her on Twitter @LynnBry29527024

Guest Post by David Field, Author of The Queen In Waiting: Mary Tudor takes the throne

Available for pre-order from Amazon UK, 

Amazon US and Amazon AU

Mary Tudor has claimed her sovereignty. But she remains conscious that her Council had briefly preferred another — her cousin, the Lady Jane Grey — and at the age of thirty-seven, unmarried and childless, she looks fearfully at the natural beauty and popularity of her nineteen-year-old half-sister Elizabeth.

In search of ‘Gloriana’

When I began plotting out the final two novels in my six-volume Tudor series (A Queen in Waiting, about Elizabeth Tudor’s early years, and The Heart of a King, about her forty odd years on the throne) I found myself pinned against the same wall that all authors experience when writing about the more famous of our former monarchs – what might be described as ‘image overkill’.

Certain of those who ruled England in their time (for example, Elizabeth’s father Henry VIII, and before him Richard III, Henry V and Richard the Lionheart) had a public relations team who left behind a one-sided but vivid ‘take’ on their subject that has survived to this day, and has become the orthodox version that is taught in schools. This poses a definite challenge to historical writers like me, whose readers will suffer from what psychologists call ‘counter-intuition’ if you try to sell them something else. But if you don’t – if you simply trot out the same character that everyone’s all too familiar with - then it’s about as exciting as last week’s weather report.

Our accepted mental picture of Elizabeth 1st is of a self-assured, physically beautiful, occasionally stern, but courageous and competent ruler who was adored by all her subjects. She was Spenser’s ‘Faerie Queene’, the people’s ‘Gloriana’, a sort of reincarnation of Boudicca dressed in her late father’s battle armour addressing her troops at Tilbury. But examine the facts more closely, peep behind the ‘fake news’ curtain, and think again.

Before she was even three years old, her mother was executed on the order of her father. The same loving father who had her declared a bastard, and sent her to live in Hatfield House, a day’s ride from London, under the resentful eye of her much older half sister Mary. Not an auspicious start by anyone’s benchmark, but it was to get worse when their half brother Edward VI died, and Mary became Queen at the age of 37. Elizabeth was a mere 19, and already under suspicion of having maintained a far from chaste relationship with Thomas Seymour.

Mary was nothing if not paranoid, and Elizabeth was everything Mary was not – young, tall, physically attractive, charismatic – and probably fertile. She was also Protestant, and fell under immediate suspicion of complicity in the Wyatt Rebellion against Mary’s marriage to King Philip of Spain. There then followed, on the order of her half-sister, a period of imprisonment in the Tower, followed by house arrest in a medieval ruin in Oxfordshire. Then, aged 25, she was advised that she had become Queen of England on the death of Mary.

What life skills could she possibly have brought to the job, given that background? Since long before her accession she had relied on a few trusted advisers, and they were now the power behind the throne. Chief among these was William Cecil, Secretary of State, who was her policy adviser, personal counsellor, friend, public relations consultant – and, might it be suggested, the father she never had?

Where would England have been without Cecil? Every achievement that was chalked up to Elizabeth was in fact the outcome of Cecil’s wise and sympathetic counsel. Without him, one trembles to think what England would have become, to judge by the few events during her reign in which Elizabeth’s stubborn determination won the day. Elizabeth didn’t defeat the Spanish Armada – Howard, Drake, Hawkins and Frobisher did, despite Elizabeth.

Not only was she so tight-fisted that her navy was denied adequate ordinance, even when the Armada was in the Channel approaches, but her lack of compassion for those who lost limbs and eyesight in the defence of her realm resulted in bands of ‘sturdy beggars’ roaming the country seeking alms to keep body and soul together. Even her famous Tilbury performance was at the suggestion of her lifelong friend and adviser Robert Dudley.

Likewise, had it been left to Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots would never have been executed. The popular version of events surrounding the demise of this romantic (dare I say ‘promiscuous’?) rival to Elizabeth’s crown has Elizabeth as a stern and vengeful nemesis who had Mary beheaded (badly, as it turned out, which only added to the poignant drama). The reality was that Elizabeth was reluctant to set a precedent for the execution of a queen, and only signed the death warrant in exchange for an assurance that it would not be employed until she said so. It was in fact done behind her back, and her angst at this betrayal is a matter of public record.

And what of Elizabeth’s much vaunted virginal status? Being unmarried is not the same thing as being celibate, but her frequently boasted assertion that she was married to her people was in reality an admission of her fear of marriage. After what it had meant for her mother, followed by her father’s series of disastrous marriages, sister Mary’s political blunder in marrying the ruler of England’s most dangerous foe, and the tragic betrayal of Mary Stuart by first Darnley, then Bothwell, who can blame Elizabeth if marriage didn’t seem to her to be quite the blessed state that others tried to assure her it was?

But given her naturally hot-blooded and somewhat impulsive nature (and she was descended from two parents who had possessed these qualities in spades) is it really likely that she went to her grave a virgin? The rumours ran riot through the Court regarding the unhealthy proximity of her bedchamber to that of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and even the version of events that was allowed by Cecil did not seek to deny Elizabeth’s love for her lifelong companion. Elizabeth did nothing to negate the suspicions when she gave orders, on her deathbed, that no physician was to examine her corpse – what was she hiding, in a final smoke and mirrors exercise?

Then there was her fabled beauty. Few of her subjects ever set eyes upon her, but were content to swallow the glamorous stories they were fed regarding her physical allure. They also basked in the peace and prosperity with which England was blessed during her reign, and had little idea of where the credit lay for that. However, her Ladies could have told a different story, had they dared.

Smallpox had left Elizabeth with facial pits that were smeared over with ‘Venetian Ceruse’ a lead-based whitewash that she succeeded in making fashionable, and which accounts for the images we have of Elizabeth resembling a badly advised circus clown. Her love of sweet treats left her with rotting teeth and a halitosis that was obvious from several feet away, while her luxuriantly long red hair was a wig, under which clumps of white clung stubbornly to her scalp as time progressed. As for her body, being tall is a desirable look when there are youthful curves to drape over the height, but not when the wrinkles and creases take over, as they did in her later years. Later years that reaped the consequences of all that lead, in the form of mental decline.

It was not just natural modesty that closed her bedchamber to all but the most intimate of her entourage as Elizabeth slipped into a carefully concealed dementia in which periods of silent concentration on the wall in front of her were interspersed with muttered ramblings. Cecil’s son Robert had taken over guru duties, and to the very end was pleading with her to name her successor, while working behind the scenes to ensure that it would be James VI of Scotland.

If you have persevered with this blog to the end, muttering words such as ‘misogynist’ and ‘traitor’, then you are probably experiencing counter-intuition. Unlike those who were there at the time, I have not overlooked or downplayed any inconvenient truths. By all means make a studied point of not reading my two novels on the subject of ‘Good Queen Bess’, but at least concede that there are two ways of looking at propaganda. More importantly, recognising it for what it was.

I finished up experiencing considerable admiration – even affection – for the brave young Queen who rode through all the hardships to leave England believing in itself again. I hope it shines out in what I’ve written.

David Field

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About the Author

David Field was born in post-war Nottingham, and educated at Nottingham High School. After obtaining a Law degree he became a career-long criminal law practitioner and academic, emigrating in 1989 to Australia, where he still lives.  Combining his two great loves of History and the English language he began writing historical novels as an escape from the realities of life in the criminal law, but did not begin to publish them until close to full time retirement, when digital publishing offered a viable alternative to literary agencies, print publishers and rejection slips. Now blessed with all the time in the world, his former hobby has become a full time occupation as he enjoys life in rural New South Wales with his wife, sons and grandchildren to keep him firmly grounded in the reality of the contemporary world. Find out more at David's website https://davidfieldauthor.com/ and follow him on Facebook 

Special Guest post by Cynthia Jefferies, Author of The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

1660, England. War is at an end, yet for Christopher Morgan his personal conflict rages on. Haunted by the tragic death of his wife, Christopher is desperate to escape the pain her memory brings, although looking into the eyes of his young son, Abel, he cannot help but be reminded of what he has lost. Over time, father and son develop a strong bond until they are callously torn apart when Abel is snatched by smugglers and sold overseas. From the shores of Constantinople to the coast of Jamaica, time and tide keep them apart. Christopher will sail across oceans to find Abel, never losing faith that one day they will be reunited, and, as the years pass, Abel will learn 

that fortune favours the brave.

Lots of people have asked me where on earth I got the idea to write this rather extraordinary story. All I can say is that one day the character of Christopher Morgan popped into my head and just wouldn’t leave me alone. Sometimes it’s the plot that comes first, but this was definitely a person first. 

To begin with I thought he was a pirate, and would fit nicely into a story for children, but he was far too sad for that. After a few nights of broken sleep for me he had a dead wife, an infant son and probably post traumatic stress disorder after fighting and being forced to flee his homeland after the English Civil Wars in the 1600’s.

I’ve always been fascinated by that complicated and chaotic time in British history when, after a long period of peace in the country, King Charles I and his subjects resorted to war to resolve their differences. The king only needed to call parliament when he wanted money and his need to come up with ever more creative taxes to get what he wanted went down very badly. It was a system that had outlived its usefulness.

The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan begins after the chaos of war, when most of Christopher Morgan’s wealth is gone and he only has enough money to buy a tumbledown, disreputable inn. It is his attempt to stand up to a smuggler family that results in him losing Abel his son, and begins his long search to find him.

The novel is told in two voices, father and son, following their separate lives across seas and continents. It took several years to write as I struggled to tell both stories, intertwining them in such a way that the tension is kept high, and nothing is given away too soon. Charles II, Samuel Pepys and Hans Sloane all have cameo roles. 

There are smugglers, pirates, spies, slaves and forbidden love. There is a man with an articulated metal hand and forearm, which I first saw at the National Trust property Cotehele, in Cornwall. It hung on the wall in the great hall. So many visitors remarked on it that the house raised money to have a replica made, which could be demonstrated. I was able to handle it, thanks to the collections manager, Rachel Hunt. 

Ideas for a novel come from all over the place. A sack of dried chillies I noticed when in Delhi, India suggested one small scene. A visit to Istanbul, Turkey gave me the setting for the scene. Visiting a never commissioned wooden ship in Dundee Scotland gave me lots of ideas, as did a visit to a much smaller old boat on the Tamar in Cornwall. 

A beautiful effigy in the little church in Miserden, England gave me something important I badly needed. It all came together in the end, after much trial and error. A wonderful publication, The Surgeon’s Mate, a handbook published in the 1617 was a wonderful resource. Other research materials are mentioned at the end of the book. 

In my career so far I have learned a few things from a couple of excellent editors. One reminded me that common phrases have little place in fiction. A good writer will find her own way of describing things. No need for babbling brooks, scorching suns or old crones. Find your own words. English is such a rich language. 

Another told me that if I was working on a sentence and thought ‘that’ll do’ it almost certainly won’t. She was right! A few times she picked up on a phrase I had struggled with before coming to the conclusion that it would do. I was amazed that she had noticed that couple of phrases in amongst the rest, but she was a brilliant editor. Work harder, until it’s right!

I suppose more than anything I have come to love and respect editing. Yes, of course it’s important to research the subject until comfortable in it. Then to get a feel for how the plot will develop, however much or little you like to know before you start. I use post it notes on a door to move important scenes around until I’m fairly sure how the plot will work. 

Some people write copious notes about each chapter, but that doesn’t work for me. Once I’ve got the bones of the plot sorted, while leaving plenty of space for unexpected scenes that are bound to appear, I write the first draft.

It can be hard to start. That first sentence is so important! And about half way through writing the novel lots of writers lose heart. I know I can! Suddenly it feels as if everything I’ve written is rubbish. That’s when it’s so important to keep going, however bad you think it is. Getting towards the end can suddenly feel euphoric as you race to the finish. Then I usually put the manuscript away for as long as I can manage, and do something entirely different for a few weeks at least. 

Then, when I go back to it the real work can begin. Edit, edit edit. Sometimes a whole chunk needs to be abandoned, or a new bit put in. Occasionally a character has to go, because he just isn’t needed. Anything not strictly needed makes a novel baggy. Sometimes a bit I love best just isn’t needed to move the plot on. If it doesn’t it has to go. 

It’s a rare book that passes scrutiny without three close readings, sometimes more. I love the editing because I can see the work improving each time I revisit it. And then, when it’s the best it can be it’s ready. Off it goes to be read by the editor and when she is happy, off it goes to find its readers. Out of my hands. Go well new novel. I hope you are treated well!

Cynthia Jefferies

# # #

About the Author

Cynthia Jefferies wrote for many years for children as Cindy Jefferies. Her Fame School series for Usborne Books attracted world wide interest, and was eventually published in 22 languages. The books remain in print in the UK. More recently, she has turned to her interest in the C17th to write historical fiction for adults. As a child of ten she wrote a play about the escape of Charles II after the Civil Wars in the UK, and performed it with her class at school. From that moment she knew she would be a writer, however difficult it might be to achieve her goal. Success as a writer was hard won and so, while raising her family she had a variety of jobs, from working in a china shop to raising poultry, pigs and sheep; trying her hand at being a DJ, working behind the bar in a pub and dealing in junk antiques. “I think I have always been pretty well unemployable,” she says. “I always wanted to work for myself!” Eventually she did just that, starting a bookselling business which sold to schools all over the UK. It was while building up the business that she sent her first children’s novel, Sebastian’s Quest to Barry Cunningham, who first took on J K Rowling of Harry Potter fame. To her great surprise and total delight he took it on. “It didn’t do terribly well for him, so he didn’t want any more from me, but he was a great first editor to have, and was very encouraging.” After twenty years of writing for children she is now writing historical fiction for Allison & Busby. Her first, The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan came out in 2018 and was reviewed by the American Libraries Association. Their Booklist publication gave it a starred review, saying it was “Outstanding storytelling”. Her next, The Honourable Life of Thomas Chayne is out in hardback and ebook in November 2019.  Find out more at Cynthia's website www.cynthiajefferies.co.uk and find her on Twitter @cindyjefferies1

Special Guest Post by Nancy Blanton, Author of The Earl in Black Armor

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

IRELAND, 1635: When the clan leader sends Faolán Burke to Dublin to spy on Thomas Wentworth, the ruthless Lord Deputy of Ireland, the future of his centuries-old clan rests upon his shoulders. Wentworth is plotting to acquire clan lands of Connacht for an English Protestant plantation, displacing Irish families. To stop him, Faolán must discover misdeeds that could force King Charles to recall Wentworth to England.

Inspiration under Siege

For weeks I’ve struggled with an inner dilemma that not-too-surprisingly corresponded with an outer storm, Hurricane Dorian, that we had to deal with here in Florida.

While Dorian dallied, confused the forecasters, and battered the Bahamas, my husband and I also struggled with indecision. Should we hunker down at home, or should we evacuate? We live on a barrier island that is susceptible to flooding, loss of electricity and significant wind damage in high storm conditions. Evacuation might seem like an obvious choice.

However, the forecasters tend to over-state, and it takes a great deal of effort to evacuate a home even for a few days. The to-do list is three pages long: pack valuables, clothing, food and pets, money; store outside furniture and secure the house; find a decent dog-friendly hotel, inform relatives, etc. My reluctance to leave was high, but for safety’s sake we headed west. Thankfully, Dorian passed causing very little damage to our island.

Likewise, I’ve navigated through my inner storm without too much injury.

Years ago, I set a goal for myself to complete a series of novels that illuminate the history of 17th century Ireland. I’m three books into that goal, covering the years 1634 to 1658. But there’s a gap in there that haunts me, starting with a great Irish rebellion of 1641—a brave stand against the English that started as a bloodless coup and ended in brutality, execution and massacre.

This was a complex and bloody era, without a doubt. It falls in the middle of the early modern period in history, 1534 – 1691—a time known for five major wars between the Irish and English, allegedly resulting in atrocities—rapes, murders, infant killings, massacres, starvation, genocide, and more—terrible acts of cruelty I have no wish to describe. I’ve studied much about the rebellion, including the depositions taken afterward describing crimes so cold and horrendous one must question the existence of God.

Remembering first and foremost that the victors write the history, I know what was recorded as fact during that time was quite often inflated to make more useful propaganda. The English wanted to invade Ireland, and the rebellion simply gave the English Parliament—gorged with power after executing the king’s top advisor—a means by which they might justify and ignite hatred of the Irish and recruit men and support for the military invasion.

Somewhere within or perhaps between those same histories and depositions lies the truth. Modern historians are digging deeper for an honest evaluation of these incidents. Through their work I’ll find a vein of accuracy and follow it with some trepidation, knowing it could verify much of the atrocity. While some authors revel in the opportunity to shock and alarm readers with this dark realm of human history, it’s not my thing. The story must always come first. I know I may be in the minority on this, but I still believe the author’s job is to get the reader to feel and care, not to give them deranged nightmares.

The truth must be told, I agree, often and honestly and in terms vivid enough that it will be remembered. As with the holocaust, such inhumanity must be imprinted at a global level. Memory, such that it is, provides the only insurance we have against such things happening again.

But explicit blood and gore of an incident isn’t necessary to understand unacceptable violence. Morbid detail elevates the violence to a spectacle that usurps the reader’s attention and separates him or her from the emotion driving the act. What are the causes? What’s the effect? How does it propel the story?

And there’s my inner dilemma: how do I write the truth honorably and effectively but not too graphically? The answer comes in the form of scale, the camera-lens ability to zoom in and out at will. Cruelties of man against man can be woven as truthfully as possible into a tapestry backdrop for a profound experience on an individual level.

Now then, what’s the individual experience that will serve, and whose eyes will reveal it?

As the storm raged, my research became both documentation and treasure hunt. I stumbled upon a singular event I will use as foundation for the novel’s structure: a castle siege involving all the right bits of conflict to tell the full story.

Within the castle are the English Protestants, holding out against those wild and savage Irish. Outside the castle walls are the Catholic native Irish, whose castle and lands were stolen by the greedy, invading English. Within that setup lies a love story: forbidden love in war time, the struggle to maintain tradition and lifestyle amid a sea of hatred, the spirit to restore and renew what was lost, and the eternal fight to survive.

There’s quite a bit of violence involved, too, but observing it through the limited perspective of the characters makes it more manageable.

In this period, siege was a fairly common strategy of warfare, and economical for those who lacked cannons and other artillery and could live off the enemy’s captured livestock. Some famous sieges in Ireland include the Siege of Smerwick, 1580; Siege of Kinsale, 1601; Siege of Drogheda, 1649; Siege of Derry, 1689; Siege of Athlone, 1690; and the Siege of Limerick, 1691.

A siege can be much like a hurricane. Had we chosen to stay in our home as Dorian marched toward us, we might have boarded up the windows against our enemy, and hoped we had enough food, water and candles to see us through the few days it would take for the storm to batter our surroundings and then pass us by.

But in a 17th century siege, there might not have been time to secure supplies. The external forces might make a surprise attack. If repelled by the castle forces, they wouldn’t necessarily try to break down the walls—especially not if their goal was to preserve and hold the castle. Instead they would take the grazing sheep and cattle, the corn, hay, and other stores they could find, so that those within the castle could not feed themselves or their livestock. From the outside they might easily contaminate the castle’s water supply as well.

The siege could last much longer than a few days. The inhabitants could hold out for weeks or months, hoping for help to arrive. The longest siege in world history lasted 21 years! But in most cases, without military relief, the only choice was to surrender the castle to the siege force, or die. And things tended to end badly. One inescapable atrocity of the time was that even those who peacefully surrendered were sometimes, as they say, put to the sword.

Nancy Blanton

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About the Author

Nancy Blanton writes award-winning novels based in 17th century Irish history. Her latest, The Earl in Black Armor, tells a relentless story of loyalty, honor and betrayal in the Stuart era prior to the great Irish Rebellion of 1641. The Prince of Glencurragh, her second novel, occurs in 1634 during the English Plantation of Ireland. Her first novel, Sharavogue, is set in Ireland and the West Indies during the time of Oliver Cromwell. In non-fiction, Brand Yourself Royally in 8 Simple Steps is also a medalist, providing a valuable personal branding guide for authors, artists, and business consultants. Her blog, My Lady’s Closet, focuses on writing, books, historical fiction, research and travel. Ms. Blanton is a member of the Historical Novel Society and has worked as a journalist, magazine editor, corporate communications leader and brand manager. Her books celebrate her love of history and her Irish and English heritage. She lives in Florida.Find out more at www.nancyblanton.com and find her on Twitter @nancy_blanton 

Blog Tour: A Phoenix Rising: The House of the Red Duke, by Vivienne Brereton

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Thomas Howard is head of one of the most powerful Houses in Tudor England. An indomitable old man approaching eighty: soldier, courtier, politician, a ‘phoenix’ rising from the ashes. After a calamitous period of disgrace, the Howards, renowned for their good looks and charm, are once more riding high at the court of Henry VIII. 

Excerpt:

Thomas Howard, the Earl of Surrey, a veteran soldier and Treasurer of England, is talking to his best friend, Gilbert Talbot, in Calais harbour. The date is September 30^th, 1511 and they’re discussing the headstrong young King Henry VIII’s determination to go to war with France.

  “The wind suddenly dropped completely so we could hear each other again. Right on cue, the sun came out, bathing us in pleasing warmth. Immediately, I felt my mood lift and was even able to smile back at my friend. We’d both aged, of course, and I could see that (unlike me, who prided myself on still having the wiry frame of one of my prize whippets) a love of his wife, Bessie’s, cooking had added flesh to Gilbert’s bones. The approach of old age hadn’t completely passed me by either. My knees were beginning to ache and I had more silver threaded through my hair than before. But to me the streaks were a badge of honour.

    <<Evidence of a long life, lived well and to the full>>

  Gilbert still had the same ready smile he’d always had, and his slightly faded blue eyes reflected the same wisdom and humour I’d long set store by.

   ‘It’s true,’ I said. ‘That toad-spotted, bum-bailey of a royal almoner, Snake, couldn’t wait to write to Richard Fox reporting my disgrace. There was such a red mist in my mind, I could think of nothing else to do but come to you. I rode like the clappers to Dover and jumped on the first vessel crossing the Narrow Sea.’

 ‘And I’m very glad you did. I take it you tried again to dissuade the King from declaring war on France.’

   ‘I did. But the Tudor boy is as stubborn as a mule. He’s determined to risk his royal neck in the lists and has got his sights set on the spoils of war. The treaty Fox, Ruthal, and I negotiated last March is as good as dead. All Henry thinks and talks about is invading France.’

   Gilbert laughed. ‘He certainly lives up to your description of him: “A Tudor rose with thorns”. I wish to God he and Katherine hadn’t lost the prince in January. Maybe it would have calmed him down.’

   ‘But they did lose little Henry. And nothing and no one can turn his head away from the idea of leading an army over the Narrow Sea.’

  ‘It doesn’t help that Henry’s father-in-law—’

   ‘That wily old fox, Ferdinand.’

    ‘Yes. It doesn’t help he’s joined forces with the Pope, declaring the French got more out of the Cambrai agreement than either of them—’

   ‘Or that Rome has invited Henry to join a Holy League against France. He’s acting like a moonstruck maid, meeting a swain in a meadow.’

   ‘Speaking of lovesick swains, Tom, doesn’t Henry realize the Pope is panting after Venice? And Ferdinand after Naples. Not France.’

  ‘That flap-mouthed Andrea Badoer—’

   ‘The Venetian ambassador?’

   ‘Yes. He’s stoking the fires of war, telling the King that old Louis of France wants to be “monarch of the whole world”.’

    Gilbert rolled his eyes. ‘We can only pray the good ambassador falls into the Grand Canal on his next trip back to Venice.’

                                       *                           *                    *

    By this time, we’d almost reached the end of the quay. It felt good to be able to talk like this to an old friend who understood my predicament, even if he couldn’t help me out of it. Just offer me food, board and good counsel for a few days. I knew I was exaggerating a little out of frustration. Young Hal hadn’t actually dismissed me, merely suggested I might like to spend some time with Agnes who was expecting another child. A second boy, I was certain of it. There was nothing wrong with Howard seed: perhaps another thing about me that didn’t sit well with the royal pup. <<A man of nearly seventy able to produce what a youth of twenty cannot>>

   ‘What about your boys, Tom. Can’t they help out? Try to change the King’s mind.’

  I let out a dismissive laugh. ‘The King doesn’t like Thomas. Not that I blame him for that. You know my eldest is a chilly devil at the best of times; even his dogs don’t care for him. And Henry has no time at all for Edmund. Nor do I blame him for that either. Sometimes I think ‘tis both a miracle and a tragedy that one survived the childbed. Animals seem to know much better than humans how to deal with those too puny to survive.’

  ‘He’s a fine jouster.’

   ‘A loggerhead, for sure. Instead of showing cunning like Charles Brandon - and all the others - did back in the lists in February, either tying with the King or letting him win, what does my idiot of a third son do? Knock the proud young Tudor pup to the ground so many times he must have been choking on the dust in his mouth.’

   ‘God’s teeth! Henry will never forgive him.’

   ‘He hasn’t. Edmund hasn’t been invited to a single joust since that day.’

   ‘You’ve got new boys to follow.’

  ‘Yes. William in the cradle and another in the belly.’

  ‘What about Edward. He’s still in favour.’

   ‘Yes, but for some boil-brained reason, he spends his time dripping poison about James of Scotland into the royal ear. When the Venetian ambassador has finished dripping poison about France into the other one.’

    ‘Ah, I see your problem. It must be hard for you. Especially as you struck up such a good rapport with the Scotsman when you went up for the wedding.’

  ‘I did. I can honestly say James deserved every word of any praise I heaped upon him back then. Truly a king amongst kings. Whereas I swear our own sometimes shows less sense than my Lizzie’s little George.’

    Gilbert pointed straight ahead. ‘How about a visit to “The Sign of the Ship” to drown our sorrows? I know for a fact a cargo of the best Malmsey arrived from Madeira this morning, by way of La Coruna.’

Vivienne Brereton

# # #

About the Author

Born near historic Winchester in the UK, Vivienne Brereton has been passionate about the Tudors for as long as she can remember. This led to a degree in medieval history at university where she met her future husband. Three sons later and six countries she called home, she finally felt ready to write a novel. Words have always played an important part in Vivienne’s life whether it’s been writing, editing, teaching English to foreigners, or just picking up a good book. In preparation for her novel, she read intensively on the skills needed to write well and did an enormous amount of research which she greatly enjoyed. Having three sons was helpful when she came to write about the characters, Tristan and Nicolas. All those squabbles she had to deal with came in very handy. She also used her husband and sons as guinea pigs for her Tudor cookery attempts with varying degrees of success. Find out more at Vivienne's website and follow her on Twitter @VivienneBreret1