A Most Valuable Heiress
In 1434 Richard Neville, son of the Earl of Salisbury, was married to Anne Beauchamp, daughter of Richard Beauchamp, the Earl of Warwick, when they were both little more than…
Category: Plantagenets
Clifford Castle in the Welsh Marches
A tale of an indigestible meal, a royal standoff, a famous royal mistress and a rough seduction. And this insignificant little ruin is all that’s left to tell the tale….
A Court of Betrayal: Treason in the Mortimer Household.
An Irresistible Subject. Johane de Geneville was an heiress, inheriting extensive lands in Ireland, in France, as well as in the Welsh Marches, including the magnificent fortress of Ludlow…
The Appeal of Living in Mortimer Country
Living in Pembridge in the Welsh Marches, enjoying the rural pleasures of pastures, gentle hills and woodland, as well as the eye-catchingly beautiful black and white villages, it is impossible…
Should Anne O’Brien’s medieval novels be read in chronological order?
A Frequently Asked Question. What is the chronological order of your historical novels? In which order is it best for me to read them? Some readers, new to my…
Mistress Margaret Mautby Paston meets the Queen 1453
Mistress Margaret Mautby Paston meets the Queen 1453 In April 1453 Queen Margaret (of Anjou), wife of King Henry VI, visited Norwich en route to Walsingham, on pilgrimage…
A Sombre Christmas with the Paston Family 1459
As would every other family of means in the 15th century, the Paston family celebrated Christmas. The house would be decorated with greenery, gifts given at New Year, with…
A Tea Break with The Queen’s Rival
Here are the first pages of The Queen’s Rival Introducing Cecily Neville and her three youngest children A Promise of things to come … Sit with a cup of tea…
Cecily Neville’s Christmas 1461 AD
A Solemn Christmas Cecily Neville, Dowager Duchess of York, King’s Mother, made the decision in December 1461 not to celebrate Christmas and the New Year at Greenwich with her…
Scandal Hits the House of York!
The piety of Cecily Neville was much praised during her lifetime, particularly in her later years. Her pride was also widely acknowledged. Proud Cis has become a recognisable epithet. Yet…
The Queen’s Rival and the Wheel of Fortune
A Short but Colourful Post! In The Queen’s Rival I make frequent use of the idea of the Wheel of Fortune in the history of Cecily Neville and the House…
Writing about Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, King’s Mother
Welcome to my new blog. Some of my thoughts on my writing about Cecily Neville in The Queen’s Rival, and my answers to some questions that I am sure…