HENRY
– Book Three of The Tudor Trilogy
by
Tony Riches
The final
book in the best-selling historical fiction Tudor Trilogy, this is the story,
based on actual events, of Henry Tudor, who changes the history of England
forever.
Bosworth
1485: After victory against King Richard III, Henry Tudor
becomes King of England. Rebels and pretenders plot to seize his throne. The
barons resent his plans to curb their power and he wonders who he can trust. He
hopes to unite Lancaster and York through marriage to the beautiful Elizabeth
of York.
With help from his mother, Lady Margaret
Beaufort, he learns to keep a fragile peace. He chooses a Spanish Princess,
Catherine of Aragon, as a wife for his son Prince Arthur. His daughters will
marry the King of Scotland and the son of the Emperor of Rome. It seems his
prayers are answered, then disaster strikes and Henry must ensure the future of
the Tudors.
Interview with Tony Riches
Where
did the idea for writing the Tudor trilogy come from?
I began looking into the life of
Owen Tudor, the Welsh servant who married a queen, and was surprised to
discover his amazing story. As my
research progressed I began to collect fascinating details of the lives of
Owen’s sons, Edmund and Jasper. I realised that if I planned it as a trilogy,
Henry Tudor would be born in the first book, come of age in the second and
become King of England in the final book.
Why
do you think this is the first full-length novel about Henry Tudor?
Everyone from Shakespeare to
Alison Weir has written about Henry, but this trilogy is the first time his
full story has been told through historical fiction. Even at the Bosworth
re-enactment you would hardly believe Henry was victorious, as ‘Ricardians’
outnumber Tudor supporters by more than ten to one. Schools and TV historians
can’t wait to get on to Henry VIII and his six wives, and Henry has too often
been dismissed as the ‘miserly’ king. The truth is, as so often the case, far
more complex and his story deserves to be told.
What
surprised you about the ‘real’ Henry Tudor?
Far from being ‘miserly’ I found
Henry loved gambling with cards and dice and lost huge sums more often than he
won. He also kept detailed records of who he’d played against (which included
his wife, Elizabeth of York) and how much he’d lost. As well as lions and other
dangerous animals, which he kept at the Tower of London, he kept a pet monkey,
thought to be a marmoset, in his private chambers. (One day he discovered it
had torn up his detailed diary, so there is a gap in his meticulous records.) I’m
certain he loved Elizabeth of York but when the pretender Perkin Warbeck was finally
captured, Henry was so enamoured of Warbeck’s wife, Lady Katheryn Gordon, he
kept them both in his household – but wouldn’t let them sleep together. He also
bought Lady Katheryn expensive dresses and she became a close companion and
confidante, even after Henry had her husband executed!
What
did you find most difficult about the research for this book?
Henry escaped to exile in
Brittany at the age of fourteen and remained there until he sailed to take the
throne with his invasion fleet at the age of twenty-eight. I struggled to
understand how he spent those formative years (often described as ‘uneventful’)
so decided to follow in his footsteps, all the way from Pembroke Castle to the
remote Forteresse de Largoët, deep in the forest outside the town of Elven in
Brittany.
Amazingly, I was able to climb
the Dungeon Tower through a dark high stairway lit only by small window
openings. Henry Tudor’s rooms were full of cobwebs and signs in French warned
of a danger of falling masonry, but this first hand research really helped me
understand what Henry’s life there might have been like. Although it was called
the ‘dungeon tower’, in subsequent research I discovered intriguing details at
the National Library of Wales which suggest Henry Tudor enjoyed more freedom at
this time than is generally imagined. The papers claim that, ‘by a Breton
lady’, Henry Tudor fathered a son, Roland Velville, whom he knighted after
coming to the throne.
What
will you write next, now you’ve completed the Tudor trilogy?
I’ve moved on one generation of
Tudors for each of the past three years, so thought it would be interesting to
write about the life of Henry’s daughter Mary Tudor. Reputed to be a great
beauty, Mary was only eighteen when she became Queen of France, married off by
her brother Henry VIII to the fifty-two-year-old King Louis XII. I’m also looking
forward to writing about her womanising second husband, one of the last true
Tudor knights and Henry VIII’s lifelong friend, Charles Brandon. The Tudor
trilogy may be completed – but the story of the Tudors continues!
About the Author
Tony Riches is a full time author of
best-selling historical fiction. He lives in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a
specialist in the fifteenth century, with a particular interest in the Wars of
the Roses and the lives of the early Tudors. For more information about Tony’s
other books please visit his website tonyriches.com and his popular blog, The Writing Desk and find him on Facebook and Twitter @tonyriches.
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