As some of you probably know, I got my start as a historical novelist writing about Edward II, so I’m pleased to be hosting a guest post from Martin White, who’s also written about this flawed but intriguing king. Over to Martin: I must have been about 9 years old when I was first taken …
I’m so pleased to welcome my friend Kathryn Warner for her new biography of Edward II. I’ve been looking forward to a book like this for years, and what better person than Kathryn to write it? Kathryn and I first met online a number of years ago, when I published my first novel, The Traitor’s …
Guest Post by Kathryn Warner: Edward II and the Despensers Read More »
I’d like to welcome a guest poster, David Pilling, to my blog! Although my recent research has centered on the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, my first two novels were set in the fourteenth century, so it’s great to see some more novels written during this period. Here’s David! Susan has very kindly given me a …
The Half-Hanged Man: A Guest Post by David Pilling Read More »
It’s been a long time since Isabella, Edward II’s queen, has paid a visit to this blog. In the early days, she used to stop by all of the time! Anyway, I was sure that a fashionable French lady like Isabella wouldn’t miss the chance to be on Cosmopolitan, and here she is! And here, …
Cosmo Girl Isabella Pays a Visit! (And Two More Queens) Read More »
I got an e-mail the other day from Stephanie Decavallas, who did this beautiful drawing (in two color schemes) of Eleanor de Clare, heroine of The Traitor’s Wife, and her husband, Hugh le Despenser the younger, at Tewkesbury Abbey. Naturally, I wanted to share it with my blog readers! Which version do you prefer? You …
The other day, I was fooling around on eBay (a place I really have no business being). As is my wont, I did a search for “Despenser” (among other searches) and lo and behold, what appeared but a doll costume entitled “Eleanor le Despenser”! I said to myself, “Self, if there’s one person in the …
Elizabeth le Despenser (who appears a couple of times in Hugh and Bess) was the youngest surviving daughter born to Hugh le Despenser and Eleanor de Clare. Her birth date is unknown, but either she or her brother John might have been the child born to Eleanor in December 1325, as all of the other …
Elizabeth le Despenser, Daughter of Hugh and Eleanor Read More »
One of the fun things about using a lesser-known historical figure as a subject of a novel is that when you run into something about him–anything–you’re absolutely delighted. So a while back when I saw in Collectanea topographica & genealogica, Vol. IV (on Google Books) that the hero of my soon-to-be-reissued second novel, Hugh and …
Edward le Despenser was the second son of Hugh le Despenser the younger and Eleanor de Clare. He was born before November 23, 1315, when Edward II issued a license for John de Cromwell and his wife, Idonia, to grant certain lands to Robert Baldock, who was to regrant them with a life estate to …
In Memory of a Fallen Soldier: Edward le Despenser Read More »
I have a Google alert set up for “Edward II,” and though I get some things of interest that way, I also get a lot of worthless alerts, mostly to shopping sites. So when I saw my alert today, I thought at first it was another shopping alert. Then I looked closer and gave a …
