FIVE MINUTE HISTORY
‘THE TRAITOR’S SON’ – WENDY JOHNSON
By 1460, the civil war between the royal houses of York and Lancaster—known to us as the Wars of the Roses—had been raging for five years.
In December 1460, Richard Plantagenet, duke of York, branded a traitor by his Lancastrian foes, was defeated and killed at the battle of Wakefield. His eldest son, Edward, inherited his father’s title and continued to fight for the Yorkist cause, and the survival of its remaining family members. In February 1461, he defeated the Lancastrians at Mortimer’s Cross and, with the support of the Earl of Warwick, won a seminal victory at the battle of Towton in March. He entered London and ascended the throne as King Edward IV.
Edward’s two young brothers, eight-year-old Richard and eleven-year-old George, had been sent to the Low Countries for safety when the Lancastrians were threatening to march upon the capital. Lodged for a time in Utrecht, they remained at the Bishop’s Palace until the Duke of Burgundy was assured of their brother, Edward’s, victory. Inviting them to his court in Bruges, the duke fêted them as the brothers of a king and arranged passage back to England.
All seemed set fair for the family of York, the young king ruling with the advice and guidance of his mother, Cecily duchess of York, and his mighty cousin, Richard Neville, earl of Warwick. However clouds appeared on the horizon three years later when Warwick began to negotiate a marriage for Edward with the cousin of the French king. In September 1464, during a meeting of the royal council at Reading, Edward announced that the marriage could not take place, as he was, in fact, married already.
The king, by his own admission, had entered into a clandestine marriage in May of that year, with Elizabeth Woodville, widow of Lancastrian, Sir John Grey. This admission was received not only with surprise by many of the English lords, but with dissatisfaction; but none begrudged it more than Warwick, who felt Edward had humiliated him in the eyes of the French. As Edward heaped honours and estates upon Elizabeth’s acquisitive relatives, and arranged marriages for her numerous siblings with the most eligible in the land, Warwick came to deeply resent the Woodville family’s influence over the king.
In order to pacify Warwick, Edward awarded the earl the tutelage of his youngest brother, Richard. Now Duke of Gloucester, the twelve-year-old Richard entered Warwick’s household in September 1465 to commence his knightly training and education in the social graces. Richard remained under Warwick’s care until he came of age and was recalled to court early in 1469.
During this time, Warwick’s continued resentment of the Woodvilles—and their growing influence, particularly in foreign affairs—had reached boiling point. Joining forces with Edward’s younger brother, George, duke of Clarence, Warwick began to fuel insurrection. Determined to separate Edward from his unpopular in-laws, and eager to re-establish his own influence over the king, Warwick captured Edward and imprisoned him in one of his Yorkshire castles, before arresting and executing members of the queen’s family. It is possible that at this point Warwick had plans to oust Edward altogether and crown George in his stead. However, without Edward’s visible presence, Warwick struggled to take full leadership of the realm and the two entered into a precarious peace.
In the spring of 1470, Warwick, in the company of George of Clarence, left England for France and allied himself with the Lancastrians, offering to support them against his former ally. Upon Warwick’s return to England in September, King Edward and Richard of Gloucester fled, sailing for the Low Countries in October. Warwick—now aligned with the enemy—had restored the former Lancastrian king, Henry VI, to the throne in Edward’s place. Edward and Richard remained in the Low Countries until the spring, during which time they attempted to gain the full support of the Duke of Burgundy.
Having recruited a small force, Edward and Richard returned to English shores, landing in Yorkshire, gaining support as they rode south. In the meantime, both Edward and other members of the York family had approached George of Clarence, in an attempt to bring him back to the fold. Warwick’s support of Lancaster—and by association his support of the young Lancastrian prince—meant that George’s future was now uncertain. As a now useless pawn in the game, George agreed to surrender his allegiance to Warwick and return to England. This volte farce resulted in a considerable addition to the size of the Yorkist army. Challenging Warwick outside the walls of Coventry, where the earl was holed up awaiting reinforcements, Edward offered him the opportunity to surrender. Warwick refused.
On Easter Day—14th April, 1471—the two forces met at Barnet Heath. The battle which followed, fought amid a heavy fog which hindered and confused both sides, proved to be a fierce encounter. Favoured with the responsibility of leading the vanguard, it was Richard of Gloucester’s first taste of battle and Edward IV’s third struggle to uphold his claim to the English crown. For Warwick it was to be a fatal clash and he was killed in the fray. Edward IV regained the throne, but the Lancastrians still posed a threat and, gathered on the French coast waiting for a fair wind, they sought to bring Edward—and the Yorkists—to battle once more.
The Traitor’s Son
By Wendy Johnson
Publication Date: April 14th, 2024
Publisher: Made Global
Pages: 422
Genre: Medieval Historical Fiction
Caught between a king and a kingmaker, young Richard Plantagenet knows he’ll have to choose...
1461: Richard Duke of York, King by Right, has been branded a traitor and slain by his Lancastrian foes. For his eight-year-old son—Richard Plantagenet—England has become a dangerous place.
As the boy grapples with grief and uncertainty, his elder brother, Edward, defeats the enemy and claims the throne. Dazzled by his glorious sibling, young Richard soon discovers that imperfections lurk beneath his brother's majestic façade. Enter Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick—cousin, tutor, luminary—whose life has given him everything but that which he truly craves: a son. A filial bond forms between man and boy as they fill the void in each other’s lives. Yet, when treachery tears their world asunder, Richard faces an agonizing dilemma: pledge allegiance to Edward—his blood brother and anointed king—or to Warwick, the father figure who has shaped his life and affections.
Painfully trapped between duty and devotion, Richard faces a grim reality: whatever he decides will mean a fight to the death.
In "The Traitor’s Son", Wendy Johnson weaves a tapestry of loyalty, love, and sacrifice against the backdrop of England's turbulent history. Through the eyes of a young Richard III, readers are transported into a world where every choice is fraught with peril, and the bonds of kinship are tested to their limits.
Perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel, Annie Garthwaite and Sharon K. Penman.
Praise for The Traitor's Son:
"Exquisitely written. An evocative and thoughtful retelling of the early life of Richard III."
~ Philippa Langley, MBE
"Wonderfully woven story of a young Richard III. Woven with a sure knowledge of the history and a realistic telling of a story about a young boy finding his way through tragedy and triumph, uncertainty and a legacy he cannot escape.
Brilliant debut which promises more and more."
~ Cris, Amazon 5* Review
"Sometimes the perfect use of the written word takes my breath away. Not very often but this book is it. A wonderful story written so beautifully that I shall not forget it for a long time. Everything to my mind is perfect. The language, the story, the pacing. Just wonderful."
~ Amazon Reviewer, 5* Review
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This title is available to read with #KindleUnlimited.
Wendy Johnson
Wendy Johnson has a lifelong passion for medieval history, its people, and for bringing their incredible stories to life. Her specific areas of interest are the fifteenth century, the Wars of the Roses, and Richard III in particular. She enjoys narratives which immerse the reader in the past, and tries faithfully to recreate the later Middle Ages within in her own writing. She has contributed to a number of historical anthologies and was a runner up in the Woman and Home Short Story Competition 2008.
Wendy is also a founder member of Philippa Langley’s Looking for Richard Project, which located the king’s lost grave in 2012. She co-authored Finding Richard III: the Official Account of Research by the Retrieval and Reburial Project in 2014, and in 2019 received the Richard III Society’s Robert Hamblin Award.
THE TRAITOR’S SON, volume one in a Richard III trilogy, is Wendy’s debut novel and she is currently working on the sequel.
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Thank you so much for hosting Wendy Johnson today, with such a fascinating historical post linked to her riveting new novel, The Traitor's Son.
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Cathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club