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 »
As longtime readers of this blog know, I’ve mentioned Emily Sarah Holt a few times here. Holt, who wrote historical fiction in the nineteenth century, wrote one of the first novels about the Despenser family, In Convent Walls. Her novels aren’t for everyone–among other things, they’re intensely anti-Catholic, and most of her good characters are …
Emily Sarah Holt, and the Despensers Meet Jane Austen Read More »
Whatever else one might say about Edward II, he was a generous uncle–at least to his favorite niece, Eleanor de Clare. Here’s some of his recorded gifts to her: 1308: 20 marks for her expenses while staying at Rockingham Castle (JCD) May 8, 1308: 10 marks for her expenses for her journey from Rockingham to …
Thanks, Uncle! Gifts to Eleanor de Clare From Edward II Read More »
One of the little tidbits that I never got to use in either The Traitor’s Wife or in Hugh and Bess (coming out in a new edition later this year) is the fact that in 1344, yet another member of the Despenser family got into trouble. This time, it was Gilbert le Despenser, the third …
No, not the type with flappers. I was Googling last night and was excited to find this book: Seals by Walter de Gray Birch. Here’s the seal of Eleanor de Clare, heroine of The Traitor’s Wife, and her second husband, William la Zouche. Eleanor’s, of course, is the second one. (Look at the end of …
I should be working, but it’s still Thanksgiving weekend and I’m not inclined to be industrious. Fortunately, I came across this site some time ago (I think it was via someone’s blog, but I can’t remember the culprit) and decided finally that it was time to maximize its full potential. So here, without further ado, …
In Which This Blog Descends Even Lower Into Silliness Read More »