When we think of rebellions and the like, most people will be aware of the Babington plot to put Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne, during the reign of Elizabeth. However, when you look at the whole Tudor dynasty, they all had their scary moments. And, in times of instability, there are always those who can make hay and a lot of money. The Dudleys were such a family.
Henry VII, victor at Bosworth Field and the first Tudor monarch, was plagued by 'pretenders', notably Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck. Simnel was put to work in the kitchens, but Warbeck, a much more serious threat, was executed. By the time Henry VII died in 1509, although he had provided an heir (Arthur, who died) and the spare (Henry, who lived), the dynasty was no more secure than it had been in 1485, when he grabbed his crown, allegedly, from a thorn bush after Richard III had been killed.
A completely different man to his father, Henry VIII began his reign by executing two of his father's most rapacious money gatherers, Empson and Dudley. Ah, yes, Dudley. That name is writ large in Tudor history. Henry VII used Edmund Dudley to increase the royal coffers. Henry VIII used Edmund's son, John as a victorious soldier and Admiral. As Viscount Lisle, Dudley took part in the victory over the French at the Battle of the Solent, even though the Mary Rose was lost. He was also part of the victorious forces at the Battle of Solway Moss in 1542 and became one of Henry VIII's closest friends through the final years of the king's life.
John Dudley was made Duke of Northumberland by Henry's son Edward VI and the dissent in this boy-king's reign was mainly from the factions at court wanting power. The struggle see-sawed between Dudley and Somerset, Edward's uncle and brother to Queen Jane Seymour. In this battle nothing was sacred. To save his own skin, Somerset abetted the execution of his own brother, Thomas. Robert Ket led a rebellion against the new prayer book, so dissent was not limited to the court.
When Edward died, it was Northumberland who tried to force acceptance of Jane Grey as Queen, even marrying her to his son, Guildford. Alas, this time, Dudley had chosen the losing side. When he realised he had miscalculated and that the people wanted Mary as Queen, Dudley changed sides - and religion, admitted his errors and swore allegiance to Mary. She, however, responded by having him imprisoned in the Tower.
Mary was not as bloodthirsty as she has been painted. However, as soon as she saw a portrait of Philip II of Spain, she fell deeply in love. Philip's price for coming to England was that all traitors should be executed. Wyatt, who had rebelled against the Queen was executed and, to prevent a new opposing faction having a figurehead, Jane Grey and her husband were also killed, as was Northumberland. For a time, the Dudley family went into decline. Elizabeth, childhood friend of Robert Dudley, one of Northumberland's other sons, was persona non grata at court. Mary wished to execute her, but |Philip II, with one eye on the future, forbade this and, in effect, saved the life of the one person who would cause him more problems than any other in the next 30 years.
When Mary died in November 1558, Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen and Robert Dudley became her Master of Horse. She created him Earl of Leicester. They appear from all contemporary accounts to have been emotionally close to each other throughout their entire lives, although Robert could be and frequently was, bad tempered and high-handed. He was devoted to her service and one of the most vociferous voices to call for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. These calls were finally heeded after the third plot against Elizabeth's life, the one that was possibly the most threatening, that of Babington. Mary was duly executed at Fotheringhay Castle and this led directly to the invasion in 1588 by the Spanish Armada.
News of Robert Dudley's death reached Elizabeth just as she was celebrating her victory over Spain. She was devastated and labelled his final letter to her "His last letter", keeping it with her jewels. Elizabeth was the last Tudor monarch and Robert the last Dudley courtier.
Luke Ballard, Detective, Apothecary and Elemancer keeping the Tudors safe at Hampton Court Palace
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Wading through sand
Sometimes, despite the excitement and the thoughts whirling in your mind, it's impossible to get it straight enough to write down. Today has been a case in point. Although the Word Shed, my new writing cabin, is not officially open, I tried writing in it yesterday on the new - to me - Macbook Pro. Sadly, because of the torrential rain, I couldn't find an internet connection and the noise of the water pounding on the roof was not exactly soothing. And it was a bit chilly, so I moved back indoors.
Enter Sir Galahad aka Paul, who moved the router in the house so that, hopefully, the signal will be easier to pick up in the cabin. I've been in here all morning. It is now mid afternoon and everything to do with the internet has gone swimmingly. Wish I could say the same for the writing.
I've always been one of those who ploughs straight through from beginning to end, not bothering to go back and edit, just with my eye on the last sentence. Because this book is still so young, I haven't swung into a proper rhythm with the plot yet. This is the wading through sand bit, because until this fluidity takes over, my brain can't play with bits of plot as I am writing and neither does the plot bypass my brain and go straight to the fingers - 'What on earth made me write that? Hang on, though, if...' and off we go.
For some writers, their fingers would slow and then stop. I won't do that. The only way to progress the plot is to keep my bum in the seat and my fingers dancing on the keys. Never mind if what I've written today is rubbish. It's 2000 words more than I wrote yesterday and somewhere in this morass, I'll find the strand of the story and begin to tease it out.
For the moment, having struggled to 2000 words, I am going to treat myself to a long hot shower and then go to my writers' group. We spend a lot of time laughing, but always manage to get in constructive criticism. There will be the usual mix of encouragement, cajoling and solid tips on how to progress. I always come away loving what I do and anxious to get back to the keyboard.
Let's hope that all produces another 2000 words tomorrow.
Enter Sir Galahad aka Paul, who moved the router in the house so that, hopefully, the signal will be easier to pick up in the cabin. I've been in here all morning. It is now mid afternoon and everything to do with the internet has gone swimmingly. Wish I could say the same for the writing.
I've always been one of those who ploughs straight through from beginning to end, not bothering to go back and edit, just with my eye on the last sentence. Because this book is still so young, I haven't swung into a proper rhythm with the plot yet. This is the wading through sand bit, because until this fluidity takes over, my brain can't play with bits of plot as I am writing and neither does the plot bypass my brain and go straight to the fingers - 'What on earth made me write that? Hang on, though, if...' and off we go.
For some writers, their fingers would slow and then stop. I won't do that. The only way to progress the plot is to keep my bum in the seat and my fingers dancing on the keys. Never mind if what I've written today is rubbish. It's 2000 words more than I wrote yesterday and somewhere in this morass, I'll find the strand of the story and begin to tease it out.
For the moment, having struggled to 2000 words, I am going to treat myself to a long hot shower and then go to my writers' group. We spend a lot of time laughing, but always manage to get in constructive criticism. There will be the usual mix of encouragement, cajoling and solid tips on how to progress. I always come away loving what I do and anxious to get back to the keyboard.
Let's hope that all produces another 2000 words tomorrow.
Monday, 23 August 2010
Luke Ballard's Hampton Court Palace
My protagonist, apothecary and elemancer Luke Ballard, would have only been familiar with about half the building we know today as Hampton Court Palace. We can thank William III for two things, one is pulling down the south side of the Tudor palace containing amongst other things the royal apartments of Henry VIII and his descendants, for which I hope his knickers rot in hell, but then he redeemed himself by dying before he could demolish the rest. A good reason to thank the “gentleman in black velvet”, the name given to the mole whose molehill caused William’s horse to stumble and him to fall, resulting in his death some days later. All work on Hampton Court was stopped, which gives us half a Tudor palace, thankfully left intact by the Georgians. William’s initial demolition cut a straight swathe through the building and the new southern palace was built facing the river.
There are few leftovers from the Tudors within the Georgian palace, including the wooden base of the stairs up which the pages brought Henry’s clean clothes each morning. The only remaining glimpse of the royal apartments is the door leading to them from the Great Watching Chamber. Through this, Henry and his close courtiers would sweep out of public gaze. Sweep through those doors today and you would plunge down several metres onto the stairs of the Georgian palace because that is William’s dividing line.
Henry VIII would still recognise his Great Hall, although the Victorians altered the window adornments. When Anne Boleyn was executed, he gave orders for all entwined HA initials to be removed, but one was forgotten and you can still see it today. The Great Watching Chamber was the first of the public rooms and when Henry came to services in the Chapel Royal, he would have come through it.
The Chapel Royal itself is still used today and some of Henry’s marriages were celebrated in the Queen’s Holy Day Closet on the upper floor, shut off from the prying eyes of the people in the body of the chapel. Outside the King’s and Queen’s Holy Day Closets is the “Haunted Gallery”. Legend has it that Catherine Howard, wife No 5, when her “indiscretions” were reported to Henry in his Holy Day closet, escaped the vigilance of her jailers and flew down the gallery towards the King who was in his pew in the chapel. She was captured, but her screams to her husband were heard by everyone as she was dragged back to her apartments. Her ghost reputedly dashes down the gallery in that last desperate bid for freedom. In truth, it is highly unlikely that this happened at all. The modern accepted version is that Henry was out hunting when he was given a letter detailing his wife’s infidelities and not even in the palace, but it makes a romantic story. A far more likely ghostly appearance is in the rooms once belonging to Cardinal Wolsey. Not spoken of openly amongst the current-day warders, there have been known disturbances and sightings in that area.
Go into the ladies’ loos – sorry chaps - in the Base Court and you can see the excavation to a huge conduit, now glassed over. You can see another part of it from the shop under what used to be Anne Boleyn’s rooms. This conduit is large enough to take a man on horseback and I have used it in the Luke stories.
In my world of 1550, of course, Anne Boleyn is still alive and it is her son, Henry who sits on the throne. I have sited Luke’s house and apothecary shop in the Outer Green between the west front of the palace and the Trophy Gate. In Tudor times, the Outer Green contained a Great Bakehouse, a Privy Bakehouse, a Poultry Office with a Scalding House for the poultry, a Knife House and a woodyard which stored wood for fires. I am confident that Luke’s shop would have blended in quite happily.
In the 1550s, Hampton Court Bridge did not exist, but the Royal Mews is still in evidence a few hundred yards down Hampton Court Road. Immediately outside the Trophy Gate was a timber yard, saw pits and a wharf.
Posting a plan of the Tudor palace has copyright problems, but I will try to overcome this in a future post.
There are few leftovers from the Tudors within the Georgian palace, including the wooden base of the stairs up which the pages brought Henry’s clean clothes each morning. The only remaining glimpse of the royal apartments is the door leading to them from the Great Watching Chamber. Through this, Henry and his close courtiers would sweep out of public gaze. Sweep through those doors today and you would plunge down several metres onto the stairs of the Georgian palace because that is William’s dividing line.
Henry VIII would still recognise his Great Hall, although the Victorians altered the window adornments. When Anne Boleyn was executed, he gave orders for all entwined HA initials to be removed, but one was forgotten and you can still see it today. The Great Watching Chamber was the first of the public rooms and when Henry came to services in the Chapel Royal, he would have come through it.
The Chapel Royal itself is still used today and some of Henry’s marriages were celebrated in the Queen’s Holy Day Closet on the upper floor, shut off from the prying eyes of the people in the body of the chapel. Outside the King’s and Queen’s Holy Day Closets is the “Haunted Gallery”. Legend has it that Catherine Howard, wife No 5, when her “indiscretions” were reported to Henry in his Holy Day closet, escaped the vigilance of her jailers and flew down the gallery towards the King who was in his pew in the chapel. She was captured, but her screams to her husband were heard by everyone as she was dragged back to her apartments. Her ghost reputedly dashes down the gallery in that last desperate bid for freedom. In truth, it is highly unlikely that this happened at all. The modern accepted version is that Henry was out hunting when he was given a letter detailing his wife’s infidelities and not even in the palace, but it makes a romantic story. A far more likely ghostly appearance is in the rooms once belonging to Cardinal Wolsey. Not spoken of openly amongst the current-day warders, there have been known disturbances and sightings in that area.
Go into the ladies’ loos – sorry chaps - in the Base Court and you can see the excavation to a huge conduit, now glassed over. You can see another part of it from the shop under what used to be Anne Boleyn’s rooms. This conduit is large enough to take a man on horseback and I have used it in the Luke stories.
In my world of 1550, of course, Anne Boleyn is still alive and it is her son, Henry who sits on the throne. I have sited Luke’s house and apothecary shop in the Outer Green between the west front of the palace and the Trophy Gate. In Tudor times, the Outer Green contained a Great Bakehouse, a Privy Bakehouse, a Poultry Office with a Scalding House for the poultry, a Knife House and a woodyard which stored wood for fires. I am confident that Luke’s shop would have blended in quite happily.
In the 1550s, Hampton Court Bridge did not exist, but the Royal Mews is still in evidence a few hundred yards down Hampton Court Road. Immediately outside the Trophy Gate was a timber yard, saw pits and a wharf.
Posting a plan of the Tudor palace has copyright problems, but I will try to overcome this in a future post.
Sunday, 22 August 2010
The wonderful world of research
Being a chartered librarian, who specialised initially in Local History, research is a passion and joy. For years, if asked, I would have told you that my ideal job would have been Local Studies librarian in Shrewsbury, not just for the Cadfael era history, but that area of the Midlands has a history that any interested researcher finds mouth-watering.
So, what is it about the history that is so beguiling for a writer of mysteries? Let me give you an example. At the moment, I am considering the lives of two powerful women, both Queens of England and both, not that well known. The first is Elizabeth Woodville, Queen to King Edward IV, the second Anne Neville, Queen to Edward's brother, Richard III, or, as Eric Morecambe used to call him Richard the hundredth and eleventh. The two women had a lot in common. They were married to brothers, both were second wives, both were quite strong characters who influenced their husbands. Anne was daughter to Richard, Duke of Warwick, known as Warwick the Kingmaker. Her sister was married to another brother, George, Duke of Clarence - still with me??
When Anne's first husband died, George took her into 'protective custody', which is another way of saying he wanted his hands on the entire Neville fortune and with one sister as his wife and the other as his ward, this was the easiest way to get it. Now enter Richard of York, later Richard III. Anne escaped from George and, legend has it, sought refuge in a cookshop disguised as a servant. Richard tracked her down and escorted her to sanctuary, so that George could not get his hands on her. A year later, Anne and Richard were married. He was said to be distraught when she died 15 years later. A few months after her death, Henry Tudor defeated Richard at the battle of Bosworth Field, declared himself Henry VII and promptly married Edward IV's daughter by Elizabeth Woodville. They were the parents of Henry VIII.
Elizabeth herself had no easy ride. She was said to be the most beautiful woman in England with heavy-lidded eyes 'like a dragon' - which just shows how standards of beauty have changed. She was the mother of ten, including the Princes in the Tower. Rapaciously ambitious for her family, she garnered a nice little fortune before Edward IV's sudden death in 1483. A few weeks later, her marriage to Edward was declared bigamous, due to a previously unknown contract between Edward and Lady Eleanor Butler. All her children, including the boy-king, Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York, were declared illegitimate. Richard III seized the throne.
I hope you followed all that. It can appear a bit complicated. Now look at it with a writer's eye and there are plot conflicts aplenty. I especially like the legend about Anne escaping to the cookhouse. In reality, the confusion about the fate of the two young princes in the Tower, provided Henry VII with numerous headaches when Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck turned up proclaiming themselves to be Richard, the young Duke of York. At one point, the threat from Warbeck was so serious that Henry VII sent his Queen and the young Henry VIII into sanctuary at Westminster, part of the reason I believe Henry was so determined to have an undisputed male heir. And what makes this history chime so stridently today, and I mean today, Sunday August 22nd? Because the Battle of Bosworth Field and the day the Tudor era began with Henry VII winning the crown was exactly 525 years ago.
Think what mayhem I can bring to Henry VIII's fictional son by Anne Boleyn, simply by visiting history and playing 'what-if'.
So, what is it about the history that is so beguiling for a writer of mysteries? Let me give you an example. At the moment, I am considering the lives of two powerful women, both Queens of England and both, not that well known. The first is Elizabeth Woodville, Queen to King Edward IV, the second Anne Neville, Queen to Edward's brother, Richard III, or, as Eric Morecambe used to call him Richard the hundredth and eleventh. The two women had a lot in common. They were married to brothers, both were second wives, both were quite strong characters who influenced their husbands. Anne was daughter to Richard, Duke of Warwick, known as Warwick the Kingmaker. Her sister was married to another brother, George, Duke of Clarence - still with me??
When Anne's first husband died, George took her into 'protective custody', which is another way of saying he wanted his hands on the entire Neville fortune and with one sister as his wife and the other as his ward, this was the easiest way to get it. Now enter Richard of York, later Richard III. Anne escaped from George and, legend has it, sought refuge in a cookshop disguised as a servant. Richard tracked her down and escorted her to sanctuary, so that George could not get his hands on her. A year later, Anne and Richard were married. He was said to be distraught when she died 15 years later. A few months after her death, Henry Tudor defeated Richard at the battle of Bosworth Field, declared himself Henry VII and promptly married Edward IV's daughter by Elizabeth Woodville. They were the parents of Henry VIII.
Elizabeth herself had no easy ride. She was said to be the most beautiful woman in England with heavy-lidded eyes 'like a dragon' - which just shows how standards of beauty have changed. She was the mother of ten, including the Princes in the Tower. Rapaciously ambitious for her family, she garnered a nice little fortune before Edward IV's sudden death in 1483. A few weeks later, her marriage to Edward was declared bigamous, due to a previously unknown contract between Edward and Lady Eleanor Butler. All her children, including the boy-king, Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York, were declared illegitimate. Richard III seized the throne.
I hope you followed all that. It can appear a bit complicated. Now look at it with a writer's eye and there are plot conflicts aplenty. I especially like the legend about Anne escaping to the cookhouse. In reality, the confusion about the fate of the two young princes in the Tower, provided Henry VII with numerous headaches when Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck turned up proclaiming themselves to be Richard, the young Duke of York. At one point, the threat from Warbeck was so serious that Henry VII sent his Queen and the young Henry VIII into sanctuary at Westminster, part of the reason I believe Henry was so determined to have an undisputed male heir. And what makes this history chime so stridently today, and I mean today, Sunday August 22nd? Because the Battle of Bosworth Field and the day the Tudor era began with Henry VII winning the crown was exactly 525 years ago.
Think what mayhem I can bring to Henry VIII's fictional son by Anne Boleyn, simply by visiting history and playing 'what-if'.
Friday, 20 August 2010
How to change the past
When you are writing a book set in an alternate history, changing the past is simply a matter of your imagination. Being a bit of a perfectionist, I like to keep the history behind the new series of Luke Ballard novels, as much as possible true. It isn't just that it's easier to do that, but more because in some ways, you can pass off explanations of true events as things pertinent to your story. Having an enormous love of history, especially the Tudors, it also has a lot to do with respect.
Although in my books Anne Boleyn is still alive in 1550/51, the way she became Henry VIII's second wife is as it actually happened. Queen Katherine of Aragon's marriage to Henry was declared invalid and he married Anne, who gave him Elizabeth in September 1533 and, in my world, Henry in July 1534. I dispose of Jane Seymour in a few sentences by suggesting that Thomas Cromwell tried to dangle her in front of the King and failed. Anne bides her time before ensuring his downfall. Thus far, I have not included Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, but he is lurking and will, I think, make his appearance in the current book. So, as far as I can, all historical details before 1547 when Henry VIII dies are as accurate as my world can make them.
What is really interesting for the writer of such a world, though, is that, as my thinking progresses on the second book, I see the need to change a few things in the first book, so as to make the transition between Duty of Evil and Treasons, Stratagems & Spoils smoother. So, this weekend, I shall be making those small changes and getting my new writing cabin, The Word Shed, up and running. With the first chapter now safely under my belt, I can relax into the story, see the characters in the setting of Hampton Court, play with ideas and let my fingers rattle over the keys. 3000 words down. Only another 87,000 to go. Bring it on.
Although in my books Anne Boleyn is still alive in 1550/51, the way she became Henry VIII's second wife is as it actually happened. Queen Katherine of Aragon's marriage to Henry was declared invalid and he married Anne, who gave him Elizabeth in September 1533 and, in my world, Henry in July 1534. I dispose of Jane Seymour in a few sentences by suggesting that Thomas Cromwell tried to dangle her in front of the King and failed. Anne bides her time before ensuring his downfall. Thus far, I have not included Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, but he is lurking and will, I think, make his appearance in the current book. So, as far as I can, all historical details before 1547 when Henry VIII dies are as accurate as my world can make them.
What is really interesting for the writer of such a world, though, is that, as my thinking progresses on the second book, I see the need to change a few things in the first book, so as to make the transition between Duty of Evil and Treasons, Stratagems & Spoils smoother. So, this weekend, I shall be making those small changes and getting my new writing cabin, The Word Shed, up and running. With the first chapter now safely under my belt, I can relax into the story, see the characters in the setting of Hampton Court, play with ideas and let my fingers rattle over the keys. 3000 words down. Only another 87,000 to go. Bring it on.
Thursday, 19 August 2010
In the beginning...
I've always loved the fantasy crime stories of Randall Garrett, sadly only published in the US. I managed to get all the Lord Darcy novels about 12 years ago from a second hand bookshop in Tucson. However, whilst I loved the setting and the characters, the writing sometimes annoyed me as did the fact that I could spot the perpetrator 8 times out of 10. With a love of English history, especially the Tudor era and an addiction to crime novels, it seemed natural that I would want to match the one with the other. Then Lord Darcy tapped me on the shoulder and I just had to add an element of magic.
I say an element of magic, because my protagonist is Luke Ballard,apothecary and elemancer, working in the Outer Green of Hampton Court Palace - for those of you who know it, Luke's house and shop are roughly where the ticket office is today. Elemancers perform magic using the power of the elements. To aid them, each elemancer has a greyspring - a greyhound crossed with a springer spaniel. Greysprings are the only breed sensitive enough to know when their elemancer is going into a trance and they provide protection until the trance is over. The arch enemies of elemancers are sunderers, usually elemancers turned bad. They feed off chaos and strife and do their utmost to upset the balance of the universe.
The history is a little skewed, too. In my Tudor world, Queen Anne Boleyn did not miscarry her boy child in 1534 and he is now Henry IX. I have taken the witchcraft accusations thrown at Anne and made her an elemancer, too.
'Duty of Evil', the first book in the series, is almost ready for sending out into the cold world of agents and publishers. England is the prize and the life of the new young King is the price. Luke must use all his medical and magic skills to find the traitors and bring them to justice and he must do it in secret.
Treasons, Stratagems & Spoils is the second book in the Luke Ballard series. I have plenty of ideas, lots of scribbled notes and quite a bit of research, but this blog is to share the trials and tribulations of writing what I know will turn out to be a complicated and twisting plot. Come on the journey with me. Keep me company and keep my nose to the grindstone. Please.
I say an element of magic, because my protagonist is Luke Ballard,apothecary and elemancer, working in the Outer Green of Hampton Court Palace - for those of you who know it, Luke's house and shop are roughly where the ticket office is today. Elemancers perform magic using the power of the elements. To aid them, each elemancer has a greyspring - a greyhound crossed with a springer spaniel. Greysprings are the only breed sensitive enough to know when their elemancer is going into a trance and they provide protection until the trance is over. The arch enemies of elemancers are sunderers, usually elemancers turned bad. They feed off chaos and strife and do their utmost to upset the balance of the universe.
The history is a little skewed, too. In my Tudor world, Queen Anne Boleyn did not miscarry her boy child in 1534 and he is now Henry IX. I have taken the witchcraft accusations thrown at Anne and made her an elemancer, too.
'Duty of Evil', the first book in the series, is almost ready for sending out into the cold world of agents and publishers. England is the prize and the life of the new young King is the price. Luke must use all his medical and magic skills to find the traitors and bring them to justice and he must do it in secret.
Treasons, Stratagems & Spoils is the second book in the Luke Ballard series. I have plenty of ideas, lots of scribbled notes and quite a bit of research, but this blog is to share the trials and tribulations of writing what I know will turn out to be a complicated and twisting plot. Come on the journey with me. Keep me company and keep my nose to the grindstone. Please.
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