Author Inspiration ~ Samantha Wilcoxson #HistoricalFiction #Tudor @carpe_librum

Author Inspiration

 By Samantha Wilcoxson

Inspiration for writing can come from the most unexpected and insignificant sources. Sunlight sparkling on waves might cause a scene to form in my mind, or a line in a book can send me running down virtual rabbit trails in search of information I had not realized I needed. Once I finished writing about Margaret Pole in Faithful Traitor, I was ready to be inspired toward a new historical figure in an earlier era. Then came the first tidbit of inspiration that I was not anticipating.

A suggestion was made that I write about Princess Mary next. She was a girl, at first celebrated and pampered but later exiled and disowned, where I left her in Margaret’s story. Pole had been her governess, but I had not considered exploring Mary any further. More to prove that this recommendation was a poor one, I began some research.

What I found was that I needed to write a novel about England’s first queen! Where Mary was mentioned, when she was mentioned at all, was as a secondary character, often a shadowy presence compared to her more glorious sister, Elizabeth. This could not be right. This was not the Mary I knew. How had no one else seen the side of her that her countrymen saw when they joyfully hailed her as their queen?

Mary I

The same person who gave me the idea for writing about Mary gave me the exceptional idea of a title: Queen of Martyrs, and suddenly I had written a trilogy without ever meaning to. I never contemplated when I began Plantagenet Princess, Tudor Queen with a young Elizabeth of York in 1470 that I would eventually conclude the Plantagenet Embers series with her granddaughter Queen Mary’s death in 1558. And what tumultuous years they had been!

Of course, Mary’s story continued to inspire me after it was written. My favorite secondary character of the entire trilogy has an important role in Mary’s life. Reginald Pole, Mary’s cousin, confidant, and Archbishop of Canterbury, simply begged to be written about. My study of him happened to coincide with the 500^th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses and a trip that included both Rome and Wittenberg. I was thoroughly captivated by the Reformation giants.

Reginald Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury 

The more I read about Reginald Pole, the more I admire him. A Catholic Cardinal who strove to reconcile with Protestants at the Council of Trent. A cousin to the King of England who thwarted multiple assassination attempts. A friend to brilliant renaissance minds such as Michelangelo and Vittoria Colonna. Reginald Pole was a man in many ways ahead of his time. By this point, you will have guessed that my current project is a novella covering Reginald’s years before he travels to England in Queen of Martyrs.

Life and history are filled with so many inspirational moments that I am certain to never write all the ideas that fly through my mind, but that is part of the joy of it. I look forward to seeing where it takes me next.

Samantha Wilcoxson

Samantha Wilcoxson is an American writer with British roots. When she is not reading or travelling, she enjoys spending time at the lake with her husband and three teenagers.

The Plantagenet Embers series debuted with 'Plantagenet Princess, Tudor Queen: The Story of Elizabeth of York'. It has been selected as an Editors' Choice by the Historical Novel Society and long-listed for the 2016 HNS Indie Award.

'Faithful Traitor: The Story of Margaret Pole' is the second novel in the trilogy, continuing the story of the Plantagenet remnant in Tudor times. This novel has received 5-stars from Readers' Favorite and a Discovering Diamond award.

The final installment in Plantagenet Embers, 'Queen of Martyrs', features Queen Mary I and her story of the counter-reformation in England.

Some of the secondary characters of the Plantagenet Embers series are explored in novellas, including 'The Last Lancastrian' featuring Margaret Beaufort and 'Once a Queen' which focuses on the final decade of Elizabeth Woodville's life.

Queen of Martyrs: The Story of Mary I

(Plantagenet Embers Book 3)

'God save the Queen! 

God save our good Queen Mary!'

When these words rang out over England, Mary Tudor thought her troubles were over. She could put her painful past - the loss of her mother and mistreatment at the hands of her father - behind her.

With her accession to the throne, Mary set out to restore Catholicism in England and find the love of a husband that she had long desired. But the tragedies in Mary's life were far from over. How did a gentle, pious woman become known as 'Bloody Mary'?

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#BookReview : Mary - A Tudor Princess by Tony Riches #HistoricalFiction #Tudor #mustread @tonyriches

Mary – Tudor Princess

by Tony Riches

From the author of the international best-selling Tudor Trilogy, the true story of the Tudor dynasty continues with the daughter of King Henry VII, sister to King Henry VIII. Mary Tudor watches her elder brother become King of England and wonders what the future holds for her.

Born into great privilege, Mary has beauty and intelligence beyond her years and is the most marriageable princess in Europe. Henry plans to use her marriage to build a powerful alliance against his enemies. Will she dare risk his anger by marrying for love?

Meticulously researched and based on actual events, this 'sequel' follows Mary's story from book three of the Tudor Trilogy and is set during the reign of King Henry VIII.

The Coffee Pot Book Club Review

"I ask you to consent to my choice of husband, if it is God's wish that I outlive King Louis..."

Sister to the newly crowned King Henry VIII, Mary's future is assured. She is destined to marry Prince Charles of Ghent, grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragon. But unbeknown to Henry, Mary harbours a deep longing for Charles Brandon, a young knight of Henry's court. Mary understands her duty and she will marry Prince Charles. But if wishes were horses...

Being a huge fan of Tony Riches' work, I could not wait to get my hands on his latest offering. Mary - Tudor Princess, was everything I expected from Mr Riches and then some.

I was swept away by the grandeur of the English and French courts. And the scheming, manipulation, and the endless currying of favour was forever present.

Mary was a woman in a man's world, but she knew her mind, and she cleverly weaved a promise from her brother that if the worst were to happened she could choose her own husband.  And choose him she did. It was a dangerous game Mary and Charles Brandon played. To go against Henry’s orders could have meant certain death. But to deny their love would have been an even great crime.

This book was certainly a compelling read with a host of historical characters that, if you are a fan of the Tudor era, you will already know much about. Seeing the Tudor court through Mary's eyes gave a unique perspective.

A beautiful tale of a princess who knew her own heart and was courageous enough to stand up to a king.

I Highly Recommend.

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Tony Riches

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 websitetonyriches.com and his popular blog, The Writing Desk and find him on Facebookand Twitter @tonyriches.

Life in the time of Elizabeth I by Pamela Hartshorne #History #Tudors @PamHartshorne

Life in the time of Elizabeth I

 by Pamela Hartshorne

The House in Little Wood Street, 1590

“Come in, come in ….  You are welcome indeed to the house at the sign of the three swans in Little Wood Street.  We are but a step up from Cheapside, but it has been raining all day and for all you may have ducked under the jetties, you will be wet through. And your shoes … they will be sodden. The mid part of the street is running like a river! I assure you, the servants clean the gutters at the front door and the back to stop them blocking with rubbish, and we keep our paving in good repair also, but not all our neighbours do the same, I fear. 

Still, I must not keep you standing at the door, dripping onto the tiles.  Let Sarah take your cloak.  She will hang it to dry while you warm yourself by the fire. A ship from Hamburg docked last night, and my husband is at his warehouses, but he will be home to dine and I hope that you will eat with us?  He will want to meet you.  He has travelled much and seen many marvels, and he is interested in always in those who come from places afar. There is some veal pie left over from yesterday, and I have boiled some pigeons in the manner my husband likes, with cinnamon and ginger.   We will have a custard, too, and a tart with apples …

From Thomas Dawson, The Good Housewife’s Jewel, with an introduction by Maggie Black, 2002.

 

You will stay?  Good! My husband will be pleased. Do you come up to the parlour, then, until he returns.  Sarah, bring wine and cakes!  And then you may set the table with a tablecloth and damask napkins, and bowls to wash our hands … and do not forget the pepper box and the salt as you did last night. 

Forgive me, Sarah is newly a maid and clumsy still, and I must remind her of everything.  She has come to London from the country and misses her mother, I think, but what can she do?  She must make her way in the world as we all do.

Ah, I see you are noticing the staircase: it is very fine, is it not?  Do you see the carving, how clever it is?  I coaxed my husband into having it built.  There is not another like it in the street! I like to imagine it when the wood has darkened and the smell of seasoned oak has mellowed and generations have smoothed their hands over the banister, just as I do every time I go up and down the stairs and thank God for my good fortune.

The staircase at Burton Agnes Hall.

And here is the parlour!  It is cosy in here with wainscot on the walls and the painted hangings to make it cheerful.  You may sit on a stool and rest your wet feet near the fire while I tidy up the sheets of music that are scattered carelessly on the table.  That is supposed to be my daughter, Cecily’s, task. I have told her above a hundred times to keep the chamber neat after we have sung together, but her mind flits like a butterfly. She will make a poor housewife, I fear - not that she worries for that! She thinks it is enough to be fair, to be wealthy, to play the virginals … and, well, we are not as strict with her as we should be, it is true.  No matter how my husband and I try to be stern, our daughter has but to smile to make our eyes soften.  She brings sunshine into the household on the dreariest of days.

What is that on the cupboard?  Why, the usual plate, that I make Sarah polish every day so that it gleams.  Oh, this … this is a shell.  It was a gift from Jacopo, the servant of a sea captain.  He brought it on a day as wet as this.  I had never seen anything like it.  Is it not strange? It is a fragile thing, curved like a snail’s shell but twenty times the size. Do you see the curious red stripes as it curls in on itself?  But that is not the strangest thing about it.  Hold it to your ear, as Jacopo told me to do. He says that rushing and roaring that you hear is the sound of the sea that I have never seen.

A nautilus shell.

And this next to it?  That is Peg, my wooden baby.  I have had her since I was a child.  Yes, she has only one arm … ah, that is a long story and a bitter one, how I was cursed and yet I have survived. God has seen fit to break the curse.  I am a fortunate woman indeed. I have a wealthy and affectionate husband, a daughter and sons who are dear to me.  I am mistress of this fine house. I have a good reputation with neighbours. 

And not long since, Cat has returned, who was once as close as a sister to me, who was, I thought, lost to me. A maidservant and yet not one.  She is a poor servant, if truth be told.  She wrinkles her nose when set to plucking chickens or to filling a scuttle for the midden or sweeping out cobwebs.  Her seams are sewn crookedly.  She is careless in the kitchen, forgetful in the market.  All she wants to do is to sing and make music, as if that were enough to put food on the table and keep the house clean and give us all clean linen to wear.

That is Cat you can hear now in the Great Chamber, playing the lute.  Playing that tune that haunts me.  Everything I have, I owe to her.  She is the only one who knows the truth of me, as I know the truth of her.  And now we are trapped together with our secrets and our lies, and I am afraid, so very afraid, that my world is cracking, and it will take but a finger flick to shatter it, and bring it crashing down around me.”

990

The house at the sign of the three swans in Little Wood Street features in The Cursed Wife, published by Pan Macmillan in March 2018.

Pamela Hartshorne

After a haphazard career working and travelling around the world, Pamela first stumbled into writing as a way to fund a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies at the University of York. Twenty years, 60 romances and one Ph.D. later, she stepped out of her comfort zone and began writing 'time slip' novels that drew on her research into the Elizabethan street and her fascination with the relationship between the past and the present.

Pamela’s latest book, The Cursed Wife, is a psychological thriller set in Elizabethan London.

Pamela lives in York and now writes non-fiction as well as fiction.

More information about Pamela can be found on her: Website  Facebook  and Twitter. She is always glad to hear from readers and fellow history enthusiasts. 

The Cursed Wife

Curses cannot be silenced

Mary lives a contented life as wife to a wealthy merchant in Elizabethan London. But there's a part of her past she can’t forget . . . As a small girl she was cursed for causing the death of a vagrant child, a curse that predicts that she will hang.

Sometimes the happiest households are not what they seem, and Mary's carefully curated world begins to falter. Mary’s whole life is based on a lie. Is she the woman her husband believes her to be?

One rainy day she ventures to London's Cheapside, where her past catches up with her . . . Suddenly the lies and deception she has so fought to hide begin to claw to the surface.

The Cursed Wife is a page-turning, psychological thriller set in Elizabethan London.

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