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| Fiction | ||
 The Role
of the novel |
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| Personal selections |
Novels set during the Wars of the Roses – a personal selection by Carolyn Hammond, former Barton Librarian
Crown of Roses (1989
Covering the period
from 1466 to 1486, the story of the heroine’s unhappy marriage to a
Yorkshire knight in the household at Middleham Castle is ingeniously
interwoven with the story of the last years of the Yorkist dynasty
BARNES, Margaret Campbell
The Tudor Rose (1953)
Covering the period
from 1483 to 1502, this novel tells the story of Elizabeth of York
BELLE, Pamela
The Lodestar (1987)
Set during the period
from 1481 to 1485; ambition
is the lodestar that leads the hero to join the household of the Duke
of Gloucester, but he discovers that the price of power and worldly
success may be too high
DOHERTY, Paul C.
The Fate of Princes (1990)
Francis Lovell seeks
the solution to the mystery of the disappearance of the Princes amidst
the treachery and political manoeuvring of the 1480s
FAIRBURN, Eleanor
The Rose in Spring
(1971),
White Rose, Dark Summer
(1972), The
Rose at Harvest End (1974)
and Winter’s
Rose (1976)
Series of four novels
on the life of Cicely Neville from 1425 to 1495
FARRINGDON, Robert
The Killing of Richard III (1971),
Tudor Agent (1974)
and The
Traitors of Bosworth (1978)
Trilogy about Henry
Morane, a 15th century ‘James Bond’, starting in 1483 when he is a clerk
to the King’s Secretary and following his career as a secret agent until
1495 when he achieves his revenge on Northumberland and Stanley for
their betrayal of Richard III at Bosworth
HARNETT, Cynthia
The Load of Unicorn (1959)
A children’s adventure
story set in 1482, highlighting the rivalry between the scriveners and
the new printers. The young
hero is apprenticed to William Caxton and helps to find the manuscript
of Malory’s Morte D’Arthur
JARMAN, Rosemary Hawley
The Courts of Illusion (1983)
A sequel to We Speak No Treason (see
Ricardian fictrion): the
son of the Man of Keen Sight joins Perkin Warbeck’s ill-fated attempt
to gain the crown
JARMAN, Rosemary Hawley
The King’s Grey Mare (1973)
Covering the period
from 1452 to 1492 and focussing on Elizabeth Woodville who, hardened
by the death of her first husband, devotes herself to the advancement
of her family
JEFFERIS, Barbara
Beloved Lady (1956)
Using the Paston Letters
as source material, this is the story of Margery Paston who falls in
love with her father’s bailiff
JONES, Cherry Calvert
Proud Cis (1980)
For those who like a
little humour with their history: the
story of the (fictional) twins born to Lady Eleanor Butler and Edward
IV, and their involvement with the fate of the Princes, their half-brothers
LINDSAY, Philip
The Duke is Served (1936)
A novel by an early
supporter of the Fellowship of the White Boar, set in 1470-71, and depicting
life among the servants of the Royal Household, and their part in re-uniting
Richard of Gloucester and Anne Neville
MIALL, Wendy
John of Gloucester
(1968)
The story of John of
Gloucester, the illegitimate son of Richard III
NICKELL, Lesley J.
The White Queen (1978)
A sensitive account
of a timid and delicate Anne Neville from childhood to 1485
PALMER, Marian
The Wrong Plantagenet
(1972)
A sequel to The White Boar (see Ricardian
novels) in which Philip Lovell’s son joins the supporters of
Perkin Warback
PETERS, Elizabeth
The Murders of Richard III (1974)
A modern mystery novel: macabre recreations of Richard’s supposed crimes
occur during a house party for supporters of Richard III
POTTER, Jeremy
A Trail of Blood (1970)
A detective novel with
a difference in which a 16th-century monk investigates the fate of the
Princes in the Tower
SEDLEY, Kate
Death and the Chapman (1991)
The first of a series
of medieval detective stories featuring Roger the Chapman;
Roger investigates the disappearance of a wealthy merchant’s
son in 1471, this leads him to a London tavern with a sinister connection
with the Duke of Clarence
WAINWRIGHT, Brian
The Adventures of Alianore Audley (1995)
Another novel for those
who like some humour with their history.
Alianore (a 15th-century female Philip Marlowe) recounts her
adventures as a member of the Yorkist intelligence working for Edward
IV and then for Richard III
WESTCOTT, Jan
Set her on a Throne (1972)
The life of a spirited
Anne Neville from 1470, her happy but tragically short first marriage
and her eventual re-discovery of happiness with Richard of Gloucester
WILLARD, Barbara
The Sprig of Broom (1971)
A children’s story of
Richard III’s illegitimate son Richard Plantagenet and his son
WILSON, Sandra
Less Fortunate than Fair (1973),
The Queen’s
Sister (1974) and
The Lady Cicely (1974)
Series of three novels
on the life of Cicely Plantagenet, sister of Elizabeth of York
Novels set during the Wars of the Roses – a personal selection
by Anne Painter, the Fiction Librarian
BAILEY H.C.
The Merchant Prince (1926)
1460-85: story of how
a boy of humble origin becomes a successful merchant. Set against the
background of the Wars of the Roses.
BARRINGER Leslie
The Rose in Splendour (1953)
1460-61: realistic picture
of 18 months in the life of a boy leaving his family’s farm to be apprenticed
in York and getting caught up in the battle of Towton.
BARRINGTON Michael
A Mystery to this Day (1949)
Story of Perkin Warbeck
1489-99. It includes a long supplement of extracts from documents and
original sources.
CHURCH A.J.
The Chantry Priest of Barnet (1885)
Dramatised social history.
The life of a monk who witnesses the battle of Barnet.
ECKERSLEY Jill
The Silver Rose (1998)
A teenage romance from
the Forget-me-Not series. 1470-71 Alys and Tom are Yorkist supporters
(Tom fights for Edward IV at Barnet and Tewkesbury) but Alys is betrothed
by her guardian to an old Lancastrian knight.
ELLIS Beth
A King of Vagabonds (1911)
1495-1509: story of
Perkin Warbeck, Katherine Gordon and James Strangeways, whom Katherine
later married.
ELRINGTON H.
Page or Prentice (1920)
A children’s story set
in the period of the Wars of the Roses. It follows the adventures of
Ralph and Walter Tankerville in 1471, and aims to teach children the
effects of war on an ordinary family.
HAMMAND N.B.
Samaritana (1979)
Arranged marriage between
country girl and nobleman turns to love when she helps him escape after
the battle of Towton.
HONEYMAN Brenda
The Kingmaker (1969)
1455-71: story of Richard
Neville, Earl of Warwick
HUME Robert
Ruling Ambition (2000)
The story of Perkin
Warbeck from his childhood in Flanders until his death at Tyburn.
IRWIN Frances
The Winter Killing (1977)
Summer 1459 to Spring
1461 seen through the eyes of a squire to Edmund, Earl of Rutland.
LEARY Francis
The Swan and the Rose (1953)
March to May 1471 seen
from the viewpoint of a Lancastrian soldier.
LINDSAY Philip
They have their Dreams (1956
& 1967 reprint)
The story of Perkin
Warbeck and Katherine Gordon. From his unsuccessful invasion in 1497
until his execution in 1499.
LONG Freda M.
The Coveted Crown (1966)
1445-71: Margaret of
Anjou’s struggle to hold the crown for Lancaster.
LYTTON Edward Bulwer
The Last of the Barons (1843)
1467-71: Warwick the
Kingmaker
RUSH Philip
My Brother Lambert (1957)
Children’s story of
Lambert Simnel’s rebellion, seen through the eyes of his sister who
tries to save him from his folly.
STOKER M. Brooke
Prince Perkin (1966)
Story of Perkin Warbeck
from 1492 to 1499
SUDWORTH Gwynedd
Game of Power (1975)
1438-61: the Earl of
Warwick’s youth and rise to power
SUDWORTH Gwynedd
The Game of Kings (1977)
1461-71: the Earl of
Warwick as ‘Kingmaker’ and his downfall.
WAINWRIGHT Brian
Within the Fetterlock (2004)
1396: Richard II is
childless – the succession to the throne is in doubt. Constance of York
is drawn into intrigues as her husband and brother jostle with their
Lancastrian and Mortimer cousins in the race for the throne.
WENSBY-SCOTT Carol
Trilogy about the Percy
family
Lion of Alnwick (1980)
1357-1409: the life
of Henry Percy 1st Earl of Northumberland.
Lion Dormant (1983)
1414-64: the rivalry
between the Percy and Neville families: joined by the marriage of the
2nd Earl of Northumberland and Alianore Neville, sister of Cecily Neville.
Lion Invincible (1984)
1469-89: follows the
fortunes of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland and his relations
with Richard of Gloucester.