A short while ago I had this lovely e-mail from a Facebook friend.
It made me think - how many coincidences in history are there?
Kennedy-Lincoln
In spite of the fact that the Lincoln-Kennedy similarities are old news, it is still one of the most unusual coincidences in history. Both presidents were elected precisely 100 years apart and each was the successor of a president named Johnson, also born 100 years apart. While Lincoln was assassinated in Ford’s Theatre, JFK was shot while riding in a Ford Lincoln.
Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy, whereas JKF had a secretary named Evelyn Lincoln.
John Lennon was shot and killed by a schizophrenic night security guard named Chapman in 1980. A few years after Lennon's death, a TV station was playing a biographic movie about John Lennon: the actor playing Lennon was also named Chapman.
The Daily Telegraph crossword puzzle : Two weeks before WWII D-day, London’s Daily Telegraph published a crossword puzzle containing the names of the beaches where the Ally forces would land (Omaha and Utah) along with other classified information accessible only to General Eisenhower’s staff. While initially everyone considered the author of the puzzle a Nazi spy, it turned out that all words were randomly chosen.
Mark Twain was born on the day of the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1835, and died on the day of its next appearance in 1910. He predicted this in 1909, when he said: "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it."
Morgan Robertson's 1898 novella Futility had many parallels with the RMS Titanic disaster; the book concerned a fictional state-of-the-art ocean liner called Titan, which (like the Titanic) eventually collides with an iceberg on a calm April night whilst en route to New York, with many dying because of the lack of lifeboats. Various other details in the book coincide with the Titanic disaster. Later, she wrote a book, Beyond the Spectrum, that described a future war fought with aircraft that carried "sun bombs". Incredibly powerful, one bomb could destroy a city, erupting in a flash of light that blinds all who look at it. The war begins in December, started by the Japanese with a sneak attack on Hawaii.
I had mentioned on a FB post that I was disappointed that the US version of Harold the King - entitled I Am The Chosen King - was not doing as well as I had hoped, especially as the first book in the due The Forever Queen was selling well. In response I had this e-mail from Ashley Wetherall ....
"Helen, I read that you were a little unhappy with the way Harold the King was performing in the US. Well maybe the US publishers pitch is wrong.
Maybe someone should explain that Harold the King has certain similarities with the most famous family in the USA. The Kennedys.
There are so many similarities between the Godwins and the Kennedy's that Harold the King should be a huge hit state side!
Earl Godwin and Joseph Kennedy were both heads of the most famous and controversial families of there age.
John F Kennedy and Harold Godwinson were both second sons.
Both apparently overcame major health problems.
Both died violently before their time.
Both JFK and Harold married great beauties.
Earl Godwin may have died as a result of a stroke as did Joseph Kennedy although Kennedy lived longer.
John and Harold had ambitious brothers
Both men had to make very unpopular decisions, but both were replaced by people who were worse for their countries
I'm still telling people to read you book. best wishes.
Ashley"
Thank you Ashley - for the idea and for the lovely compliment regarding my books.
Harold is one of my favourite novels, and I am disappointed that it isn't doing better in the US - but there you go.
My lovely guest this week for Tuesday Talk is the delightful Pauline Barclay, a lady I've known for some while now and who I admire for her determination to become a respected Indie Author - a goal she has well and truly achieved!
Pauline very generously wants to give all her friends and fans a Christmas Gift... Read on for details of how she's gone about arranging this generous offer!
'The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men..' may well have
come from Robert Burns, Scots poem, The Mouse, penned back in 1785 yet
despite 285 years since this masterpiece saw the light of day, these words
have been rattling around my head of late!
My best laid plan to launch my Christmas short story on
6th December went a little awry, nothing drastic, but a slight change to the
date of availability was necessary.
"Why?" The simple answer is that
I wanted this publication to be free; a little festive gift to all readers from
me. My way of saying thanks to all the fabby people who have bought copies of
my books and also to introduce new readers to my writing.
With free in mind, I published on Smashwords because they allow you to set your publication to free. Amazon do not!
I will explain later on this.
Having never used Smashwords, I rapidly found out
that you must format your book to their exacting standard before you can add
you work to their site. To help with this, Smashwords provide a guide on how to
achieve the desired result. I immediately downloaded a copy of the guide, but
my initial excitement swiftly turned to dismay as I read through the pages of
instructions.
Not to be daunted, I sat back and carefully and slowly went
through each step preparing my MSS. I had to redo several sections and it took
me longer than was suggested. Next time it will be much faster as I understand
what they need.
As I had formatted my book to their standards, it was
quickly accepted into the premium catalogue making my Christmas short story available
from Barnes and Noble for NOOK and several other leading e-book stores.
But what about Amazon Kindle? That is where laid a little problem as I not
only want my short story on Amazon Kindle, but I want it to be free! Kindle do
not allow you to publish your book for free, you have to set a price and depending
on the price you set also determines whether you get 30% or 70% royalty!
So how did I go about getting my Amazon Kindle download
free without causing problems with Amazon and my other published titles there
(four paying publications)?
I wrote to
Amazon and asked for their help. I explained the reason why I wanted my festive
short story free. They swiftly responded and were helpful suggesting I upload
my book and set a price. I did this setting it at the lowest price available. This
was on 5th November. I was told that once my short story appeared published, I
needed to inform Amazon where it was available cheaper. I did this both in a
reply email and also through their web sites clicking the box that asks if you
know of a lower price.
Between the 6th November and 1st December I continued to
email Amazon asking if they had arrived at a decision for my free listing. They
always replied rapidly and politely saying that they retain discretion over
their retail prices, however my request had been forwarded to the pricing team.
Pauline Barclay
On 1st December, Next Christmas Will Be
Different appeared on Amazon with a ranking in the free Amazon downloads in USA and UK. It had worked!
Being a festive story, time was of the essence. Despite
having one or two attacks of the jitters, Amazon set my book to free on a
perfect date. Thank you Amazon!
It goes without saying that the last few weeks have been
a steep learning curve in offering a publication for free. All the channels I
used did what they said they would do, even Amazon in the end! What I had hoped for at Christmas has
happened, my short story is free!
If you are interested in downloading
a free copy of Next
Christmas Will Be Different, here is the blurb…
When
the O’Reilly family gather for the festive season it is a time for catching up,
eating too much and making promises, but can the promises be kept?
This
short story includes a bonus of five chapters from each of my four published
books!
Thank you so much Helen for having me here on your wonderful
Tuesday Talk and allowing me to show-off my lovely festive story, whilst talking
about dealing with one of the most powerful publishers on the planet giving me a happy ending!
My pleasure Pauline - and thank you for my gift - I got a copy to enjoy in front of the fire over Christmas!
Celebrating The Winter Solstice December 21st 2013 - longest night (unless you are in the southern hemisphere, in which case, it will be longest day!)
31 fabulous authors are lined up with a host of different articles on their blogs – so read on below, and when you are finished ‘hop’ to the next blog, where I hope you will enjoy another good read – then ‘hop’ to the next blog…. and so on.
Here's my contribution...
I thought I would write about an issue which often darkens a
writer’s confidence. The matter of the Bad Review. (Don’t worry,
this isn’t a rant against those bah-humbug people who insist on rubbishing good
books.)
No author minds constructive criticism. If something is genuinely
amiss, that is. In fact we also don’t mind (too much) if someone puts a comment
on Amazon or Goodreads et al which goes something like: “this book wasn’t quite my sort of thing,.”
Fair enough, we don’t all share the same tastes.
But there really are some dark-minded “reviewers” out there!
General opinion is that it is not a good idea to respond to a bad comment. It often results in attracting in the trolls, and leads to
tears before bedtime, with someone chucking all their teddies out the cot or
stomping round with an aggrieved pout. It is better to remain silent and
dignified. But that can be hard sometimes… so I thought I would take a
light-hearted look at a few of the darker reviews by making up some
tongue-in-cheek responses - the sort of thing that most of us would love to post as a reply.
The reviews below are selected at random entirely from 1* star comments – no names or titles involved,
unless the book is a classic.
#1 “This historical book was so boring. It had no plot or story. I stopped reading it.”
Reply : Well, no. It is non-fiction.
#2 “I chose this rating because there is not one lower. i reported
yesterday that this package did not contain the book I ordered; It did not in
fact contain any book at all. The package was empty. You have not had the
decency to reply, so I can only assume that Amazon are content to take my money
under false pretenses. I believe I have been a good customer over the years and
I feel that I am being treated very shabbily.”
Reply : You therefore decide to treat the author of this novel
shabbily in return? Thanks a bunch mate!
#3 “The most dis-connected and rambling rubbish I have ever read.
Finally managed to read all 7 books in the series and after 2 books became
quite annoyed at the authors inability to connect the dots. Rubbish
Reply : But you still managed to read all seven books?
#4 “My father's novel with the same title (author’s name added here)
was published in 1962. It was so much superior in style and content as to
render the appropriation of the title by a recent author an impertinence.”
Reply : What a superb way of doing some marketing! Buy a book, rate
it 1 star and advertise a different book! If it wasn’t for the impertinence I’d
maybe adopt this idea myself.
#5 “I bought this book but didn’t have time to read it.”
Reply : I read your comment but didn’t buy your excuse for leaving
a 1 star comment….
(why comment if you didn’t read it?)
#6 “It was confusing and weird beyond words, I bet if Yoda read this
book he could decipher it, or better yet if Yoda wrote a book I would
understand it better than this....... I couldn't really understand the plot,
but hey I got an A…”
Reply : This review was about one of Shakespeare’s plays … and the reviewer got an A…?????
#7 “I should not be rating this. I have not read this book, I will
not read this book, I, alone, utterly condemn this book as well as its author.
Nor do I, have I ever, or will ever drive a car. I am unlicensed."
Reply : Bit of a head scratcher this one. Something tells me this
person has a grudge against the author – ah I see! Maybe the author accused him
or her of stealing a car… or something.
#8 “The themes and some of the events in this book were good but the
way it was written made the book unenjoyable for me. I found that the way the
book was written made it this way for others as well. I don’t think this is
just a coincidence. If the book was written differently I probably would have
found it enjoyable.”
Reply : Yes, but if it was written differently it would be a different
book wouldn’t it?
#9 “I bought this book, and
was disappointed to find that it doesn't contain any pics! Now I'm not sure it
actually happened.”
Reply : the book is the Bible dear, not sure pics would help you
here.
#10 “This book isn’t as good as Harry Potter in MY opinion.”
Reply : Comparing Orwell’s 1984 with Harry Potter…. Words fail.
#11 “The only good thing to say about this drivel is that the person
responsible has been dead for quite some time now. Let us pray to God she stays
that way.”
Reply : I expect that can be arranged.
#12 “This book is like an ungrateful girlfriend. You do your best to
understand her and get nothing back in return.”
Reply : I guess you’ve not met the right girl yet.
#13 “All in all its revolting. To make it even worse i was eating a
Tika Masala while reading some of the graphic parts , rest assured it came back
up in a hurry. The author appears to be a vicious man hater and this worries me
more than Gaddafi ever did.”
Reply : moral of the story – don’t read at the dinner table.
#14 “I didn’t think much of this book. It was all about dead
people. “
Reply : you usually find that this is the case with historical
fiction.
#15 I’ve left this comment until last – it
is a hoot! The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe -
“I bought these books to have something nice to read to my
grandkids. I had to stop, however, because the books are nothing more than
advertisements for “Turkish Delight,” a candy popular in the U.K. The whole
point of buying books for my grandkids was to give them a break from
advertising, and here (throughout) are ads for this “Turkish Delight”!
How much
money is this Mr. Lewis getting from the Cadbury’s chocolate company anyway?
This man must be laughing all the way to the bank.”
Reply : but I like Turkish delight…. :-/
Hope you had a giggle!
you are more than welcome to leave a comment
below
Thank you for visiting my blog - wishing you light and laughter for the Winter Solstice!
competition winners: everyone leaving a comment was entered into a prize draw for one of my books: I decided to offer TWO books though and the winners were
Marsha Lambert and Manda Scott.
Saturday 23rd November 2013 was the 50th anniversary of Dr Who. Like many others I clearly remember the very first episode. I was ten, and no, that first episode I didn't hide behind the settee (that came in a later storyline - read on....)
For some reason that first episode, starring William Hartnell must have struck a chord of some
sort - I had never been interested in science-fiction, or even fantasy before. I was very much into ponies and Cliff Richard at ten years old.
We had a black and white TV in the corner of the sitting room. And I remember the line that 'hooked' me. Maybe not word for word but it went something like this (all from memory - not looked up!)...
A young girl, Susan, was at school. I can't remember the male teacher's name, but the woman was Barbara. The teacher was talking about the three dimensions and Susan said "But what about the fourth - time?" (or she might have said 'space'?) I can't remember the detail but I do remember a chill of excitement zinging down my spine - the whole thing suddenly opening up in my imagination like a door suddenly unlocked.
I think I watched most of those early episodes - the alien monster that sent me scuttling for cover was not a Dalek or Cyberman or Zygon... no idea what it was called, but it looked a bit like a cross between a centipede and a scrubbing brush. And I have no idea why I was terrified of it!
The fascinating thing was the blue police box. The TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) They were familiar things in our streets back then! There was one in Chingford, I walked past it every day - and every day was so disappointed that it was still there, it hadn't de-materialised or the Dr didn't step out.
(OK I was 16 by then, I should have known better....)
I did not watch many of the Patrick Troughton or Jon Pertwee series - I think I was too busy playing ponies and attempting to deal with some not very happy teenage years. But then Tom Baker appeared on the scene, and once again I was hooked. I even knitted myself a Dr Who scarf (that great long one that Baker wore) It must have been winter because I wore it walking to work every day.
I worked in the library then, and I recall a young lad (I think his name was Gideon - was that his first or surname?) who was an avid DW fan (I'm not sure the term 'Whovian' had been invented then). His face used to light up when he saw me, in hope that I'd put aside another Dr Who adventure story for him.
Memorable episodes? I adored K9 - my dad even made me a version as a stool for my first bed-sit flat. I wish I still had it! I recall the episode where the Dr (Tom Baker) had a chance to destroy the Daleks and he questioned his right to annihilate a whole species - was it just as wrong to murder something? Did that also make him a monster? That thought has stayed with me all these years. If we had a chance to destroy something horrid - would we be right to do so?
And then Dr Who went down hill a little. I quite enjoyed Peter Davison, but not the others (Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and I don't even recall Paul McGann). I was sad when it left our screens, and overjoyed when it came back - although I wasn't sure about Christopher Eccleston as the Dr. Something was missing.... I don't think any of us knew what that 'something' was until the Doctor regenerated into David Tennant.
His blend of humour, adventure, excitement and daring-do - coupled with brilliantly written scripts (and fabulous performances from his companions - especially Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) were perfect.
And Cpt Jack Harkness appeared. Instant love at first sight. TORCHWOOD (an anagram of Dr Who) was just as fabulous - maybe even more so because it included adult material, but it did not have quite the 'innocent' charm of Dr Who did it?
Must mention Matt Smith - not quite s charismatic as David T - but still, an excellent Doctor
So the anniversary special edition The Three Doctors had me in my bedroom watching TV on my own (because I wanted to concentrate on it, and my husband isn't a Dr Who fan).
And at the end I cried. Not because of the story (although it was fantastic) but because of the memories - and the knowing that here I was at 60 years old, just as I had been at 10 years old, still being plunged headlong into the world of suspended belief and vivid imagination - and loving every moment of it.
Time, for me during that special edition had been suspended. Was I 10 or 60? But then as the Dr himself says - Time is a sort of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff...
and to finish - this hilarious sketch from a previous Comic Relief starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate - prepare to laugh...
The Fourth of my Sea Witch Voyages, Bring It Close, is based
around the true story of Blackbeard - one of the best known of all pirates, probably
because we have a full account of his demise, recorded at the trial of the
remains of his crew. In my story, my ex-pirate, Captain Jesamiah Acorne is
responsible for Blackbeard’s end – but he makes it quite plain that he wanted
no mention of his assistance in the recorded logs. Which is why the name Acorne
is not there! (Don’t you just love plausible fiction!)
Blackbeard was described as a tall man with a black beard which he
wore very long. Other descriptions mention that his thick black beard was
braided into pigtails and sometimes tied in with small coloured ribbons. He
wore knee-length boots and dark clothing, topped with a wide hat and a long
coat of brightly coloured silk or velvet. In times of battle he was described as
wearing a sling over his shoulders, with three brace of pistols, hanging in
holsters, and placed lighted fuses under his hat.
His real name is believed to have been Edward Teach or Thatch, and
he was born around 1680 in or near Bristol, an important shipping port at that
time. ‘Thatch’ has been recorded as 'Teach', 'Tache', and 'Thach' – the discrepancy,
I personally believe, being caused by an inconsistent spelling of that time,
and the broad West Country accent he must have had. There is no tax record of
any of these names – but then who is to say Blackbeard paid taxes! One early source
claims his surname was Drummond, but there is no supporting documentation for
this.
He obviously had a career as a mariner, for he knew his job when
it came to sailing a ship, very possibly he was either a merchant seaman or a
Tar in the Royal Navy before he turned pirate. He served as a privateer during the
War of Spanish Succession but when the war ended, as with many privateers and sailors,
he found himself out of work, and turned to a more profitable line of business.
Almost certainly he could read and write for he communicated by letter with
merchants and when killed had in his possession a letter addressed to him by
the Chief Justice and Secretary of the Province of Carolina, Tobias Knight.
He joined the crew of Benjamin Hornigold between 1714 and 1716,
and while under Hornigold’s command, served with several other men who also
become notable pirate
Captains – men such as Sam Bellamy and Jack Rackham. Teach and
Hornigold joined up with Stede Bonnet, a landowner and military officer from a
wealthy family who had turned to piracy. Teach took control of his first command
in September 1717 when Bonnet's crew of about 70 men were dissatisfied with his
command, so with Bonnet's permission, Teach took control of Revenge. The pirate flotilla now consisted
of three ships; Teach on Revenge,
Teach's old sloop, and Hornigold's Ranger,
then another vessel was captured and added to the small fleet. The sloops
Robert of Philadelphia and Good Intent of Dublin were stopped on 22 October
1717, and their cargo holds emptied. In a report made by Captain Mathew Munthe
on an anti-piracy patrol for North Carolina, "Thatch" was described
as operating "a sloop 6 gunns [sic] and about 70 men".
Hornigold only attacked his old enemies, but the sight of British
vessels filled with valuable cargo became too much for his crew, and toward the
end of 1717 he was demoted and he retired from Piracy. Whether Teach had any
involvement in this decision is unknown.
Blackbeard's flag
On November 28 1717 Blackbeard took his most famous prize, the 250-ton
French slaver La Concorde, which then
made him one of the most notorious pirates in the Americas. Renaming her the Queen Anne’s Revenge – which may have
indicated Blackbeard had a leaning towards the Jacobite movement and the
re-instatement of the Stuart King, James, over George of Hanover. She was
mounted with twenty-two guns and became the flagship of a deadly fleet which included
a brigantine and Stede Bonnet’s Revenge. There were a number of Africans aboard
Queen Anne’s Revenge, most of whom
appear to have been equal members of the crew, but it is not known what happened
to the slaves who had been aboard LaConcorde when it was seized. Very probably they were sold.
Blackbeard and his crew brought terror to the Caribbean attacking
and burning Guadeloupe town and destroying most of the vessels at St. Kitts,
leaving the Governor of the British Leeward Islands in fear of his life. Teach's
movements between late 1717 and early 1718 are not known, but he and Bonnet
were probably responsible for an attack off St Eustatius in December 1717 and
it is likely that the crew spent the winter of 1717-1718 in Central American
waters, before sailing to Nassau and the Carolinas.
Blackbeard was aware of the King’s pardon – an opportunity for
amnesty offered by Governor Woodes Rogers of Nassau in an attempt to put an end
to the piracy in the Caribbean and Bahamas, which was affecting the sugar and
tobacco trade (and thus hitting the pockets of wealthy Englishmen). At this
point, he does not seem to have been lured by the promise of a pardon, though,
for he launched a raid on Charleston, South Carolina, blockading the town for
many days and kidnapping the Governor’s son for a demand of ransom. Which was
paid, and was, surprisingly, not money but medical supplies, including mercury
which was the common-used cure for syphilis.
Teach thought that Governor Charles Eden of North Carolina was a
man to be trusted (or more probably, manipulated) but to make sure he sent Bonnet
ahead to surrender to and plead a pardon. Bonnet returned to the small fleet
with the pardon but Teach had stripped his vessel of valuables and provisions,
and marooned its crew. Bonnet set out for revenge, but was unable to find Teach,
so he and his crew returned to piracy. They were captured on 27 September 1718
at the mouth of the Cape Fear River and all but four were tried and hanged in
Charleston.
For some reason Blackbeard also deliberately scuppered the Queen Anne’s Revenge on a sandbank in North
Carolina’s Beaufort Inlet (or was it just bad sailing?) abandoning the majority
of his crew to their own fate. Was the ship too much of a liability, or did he
not want Bonnet to have her?
Blackbeard decided to ‘retire’ and settled in Bath Town, North
Carolina, taking pardon from Governor Charles Eden. There, he married a local
girl and established himself as an apparently respectable man, while secretly undertaking
pirate raids on incoming shipping – probably in league with Governor Eden.
This ‘nice little earner’ however, enraged Governor Alexander Spotswood
of Virginia who initiated a military and naval invasion of North Carolina –
which was, strictly speaking, illegal as it was out of his area of
jurisdiction.
Under the command of Lt Robert Maynard Blackbeard and his crew
were engaged at Ocracoke Island on November 22, 1718, where a sensational fight
to the death ensued. Blackbeard had deliberately cultivated a terrifying
reputation by going into battle with burning fuses tied into his hair and beard,
and it is said that he had five gunshot wounds and over twenty other wounds before
finally dying by a pistol shot fired by Maynard himself. He was beheaded after
death and his head hung from the bowsprit – his body thrown overboard, where it
was said to swim around the boat three times before sinking beneath the sea (a
probably explanation is that the tide was coming in). The remainder of his crew
were taken for trial to Williamsburg, Virginia where they were all hanged.
For an excerpt from Bring It Close, where Jesamiah encounters
Blackbeard – click here
My dear daughter is doing a side saddle demonstration tomorrow at a local venue, organised by a local riding club.
I'm really pleased for her as this is the sort of thing she has been wanting to do for a long time.
But guess who is doing most of the preparing?
Moi.
I now have to go up to the stable yard & help her practice bursting balloons (while she rides side saddle.) OK so the yard is only at the other end of the garden but.... I've no idea when I'm going to get this next book written!
#Frustrating
For anyone in/near Devon: Tickets are still available
venue is the Calvert Trust near Exmoor and it it this Friday at 7pm
click here > for details .…
by Judith Arnopp my Tuesday Talk Guest Kings, especially Tudor kings, could have everything they wanted. Power, property, wealth, women, it was all theirs with a click of the fingers yet, for many years, Henry VIII was denied one thing – a son and heir to follow him.
Henry Fitzroy Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1519-36)
In 1519, less than forty years after Bosworth, the Tudor dynasty was still young, and it was Henry’s job to ensure it continued to flourish. The responsibility weighed heavy on his shoulders and as Catherine of Aragon suffered more and more miscarriages, and the sons she did bear died in infancy, that need became an obsession.
With just one legitimate daughter, Mary, Henry was becoming desperate. Imagine his frustration when his mistress, Elizabeth Blount, with no trouble at all produced a healthy son. The temptation to turn his bastard into something more was irresistible. They named the child Henry.
Just to ensure that no one was mistaken, the name Fitzroy which means 'the king’s son', was often given to base-born male offspring, but although it is likely there were a good few more, Henry Fitzroy is the only illegitimate child that the king acknowledged.
Shortly after he was born, Elizabeth was decently married to Sir George Talboys and assigned several manors in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. A mark of favour, or perhaps gratitude, for providing the king with what his wife could not.
While the relationship between Henry and Elizabeth ceased, his favour of the child continued. At his christening it was Cardinal Wolsey who stood as Godfather, and by the time he was six young Henry was made knight of the Garter and created Earl of Nottingham and Duke of Richmond and Somerset. This double dukedom ensuring that he took precedence over all other dukes in the land, barring the King’s lawful issue – should he have them.
He was also appointed King’s Lieutenant-general north of Trent, and Keeper of the City and Castle of Carlisle.This may seem a lot for a small boy but it didn’t stop there and by the time of his death in 1536 he was Lord high admiral of England, Wales, Ireland, Normandy, Gascony, and Aquitane, with a further commission as warden general of the Scottish marches thrown in for good measure.
Sometimes thought to be of Edward of Middleham or Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, 16th century, son of King Henry VIII. of England and his mistress Elizabeth Blount
Throughout his life he acquired castles, land and immense fortune, making him the richest man in England after the king. With the breakdown of Henry and Catherine’s marriage, and the advent of Anne Boleyn and the failures of that union, it soon became clear that, in the absence of a legitimate son, Fitzroy would be Henry’s heir. Nothing, bar the birth of a legitimate son, could stop it.
Henry Fitzroy received an education to match his status. Although often at court he was resident in King’s College, Cambridge and taught by Richard Croke, a pioneer of Greek Scholarship in England, and John Palsgrave, another eminent scholar. By the time he was ten young Henry was reading Caesar, Virgil, Terence and speaking Greek. Henry VIII, proud of his son, despite the stain of his birth, lost no time in proposing matrimonial alliances beneficial to England, attempting to wed him into the family of Pope Clement VII; to a Danish princess; a French princess; and a the sister of Charles V who later became queen of France.
In spring 1532 Fitzroy spent some time at Hatfield, accompanying Henry VIII to Calais in the autumn. He moved on to Paris, staying with his friend the Earl of Surrey until September 1533. And, later that year, at the age of fourteen, possibly at the instigation of Anne Boleyn, he married Mary Howard, daughter of Thomas, the third Duke of Norfolk by his second wife. The marriage was never consummated due to their age. Thereafter plans for him to go to Ireland were abandoned and he remained at court, in the midst of the furore surrounding the reformation and the downfall of Anne Boleyn.
Anne Boleyn
He is recorded as present at the execution of the Carthusians in May 1535, and was one of the peers at Anne Boleyn’s trial, witnessing her execution, as Henry’s representative in May 1536. Fitzroy benefited both in wealth and status from Anne’s death, and those that died with her.
Among Anne’s detractors there were rumours of jealous rivalry between Fitzroy and the Boleyns, and whispers that she and her brother, Rochford, plotted to poison him. It was more likely to have been consumption, or possibly plague.
Fitzroy’s death in July, just two months after his stepmother, must have proved devastating for the king who, having disinherited both his daughters by this time was left temporarily heirless. But with a new wife, Henry VIII was pinning his hopes on Jane, who was already pregnant, perhaps with a legitimate son this time. One that would live.
Henry Fitzroy was not given a state funeral as one might expect after his royal upbringing, the arrangements were left to his father in law, the Duke of Norfolk. He is believed to be interred at Thetford Priory with other members of the Howard family. After Fitzroy’s death it was decreed that, since the marriage was not consummated, the marriage was invalid, consequently stripping his widow of her benefits.
Further reading:
Elizabeth Norton: Bessie Blount: Mistress to Henry VIII
Susannah Lipscombe: 1536: The year that changed Henry VIII
Amy Licence: In Bed With the Tudors
Photographs: wikimedia commons.
Judith Arnopp's blogs are featured in Castles, Customs, and Kings. A compilation of essays from the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, this book provides a wealth of historical information from Roman Britain to early twentieth century England. Over fifty different authors share hundreds of real life stories and tantalising tidbits discovered while doing research for their own historical novels. You can find out more and read the reviews here.
From Queen Boadicea’s revolt to Tudor ladies-in-waiting, from Regency dining and dress to Victorian crime and technology, immerse yourself in the lore of Great Britain. Read the history behind the fiction and discover the true tales surrounding England’s castles, customs, and kings.
Judith Arnopp is the author of historical fiction. Her novels range from the 7th to the 16th century. They include Peaceweaver, The Forest Dwellers, The Song of Heledd. Most recently, due to reader requests she has switched to the Tudor court. The Winchester Goose is set around the court of Henry VIII during the time of Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard. Judith's second Tudor novel, The Kiss of the Concubine: a story of Anne Boleyn is due to be published this week.
.jpg)
.jpg)
_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
