The Witch of Leeds Castle.
What was life like for Queen Joanna, widow of King Henry IV, imprisoned for Witchcraft in Leeds Castle? In its beautiful setting, surrounded by water, Leeds Castle in Kent…
Category: Medieval English History
Rumours and Portents: the Prophecy of The Six Kings
I had come across this Prophecy of the Six Kings before in my readings surrounding the Plantagenet kings, but when writing ‘The Queen’s Choice’, it suddenly became very pertinent because…
Anne O’Brien in the Independent on Sunday
As part of the excitement for The Queen’s Choice, Anne was featured in a wonderful piece in the Independent on Sunday discussing her aim to give a voice to the…
A Medieval Royal Christmas with the Lancasters
An Invitation to Spend a Royal Christmas and New Year with the Lancasters! Here is William Bruges, Chester Herald, at your door, sent by the King. His tabard glows with the…
Was Joanna of Navarre a Witch?
Was Joanna of Navarre, Dowager Queen of England, guilty of necromancy? So Halloween is approaching and thoughts turn to witchcraft with bats and black cats and things that go bump…
The King’s Sister: A Family at War
And A June Giveaway! To Commemorate the Wedding of Elizabeth of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, to John Holland, Earl of Huntigdon on 24th June 1386 As a close…
The Elusive Face of Katherine de Swynford
What can we say about the Face and Figure of Katherine Swynford, eventually Duchess of Lancaster. What did she actually look like? Katherine de Swynford might be the most well…
A Nun’s Lament
A Nun’s Lament A moving cry from a 12th century heart. Why did medieval women join convents? This is a subject well documented, and needs no insightful additions from me….
The remarkable history of Clifford Castle
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….
The Love Affair That Never Was
Henry V and Katherine de Valois. A fairy tale marriage? Where is the evidence? The Love Affair That Never Was. William Shakespeare has a lot to answer for. Did he…
My Thoughts on Writing about Katherine de Valois
My Thoughts on Writing about Katherine de Valois, and how my novel developed to beome a novel of love and loss, fulfilment and tragedy. My Thoughts on Writing about Katherine…
Myth, Legend, Tradition, Propaganda…
Myth, legend, tradition and historical propaganda: just how did Katherine de Valois and Owen Tudor fall in love? My question is, how justified in a writer of historical novels in using…
