Article on pages 17 - 18 of Dickon Independent issue 85

Book Reviews

Loyalty: Father, Husband, Brother, King by Matthew Lewis

Matthew Lewis’s book about Richard III is written from an unusual angle but spoilt by numerous spelling mistakes and some factual errors. Hans Holbein is summoned by Sir Thomas More who tells him Richard’s story. Some passages are a bit long-winded, but the recounting of how Richard and Anne cope with the death of their only son made me cry and is very poignant. Matthew Lewis also made me cry when covering Anne’s death the following year.

I downloaded a free Kindle copy of this book from Amazon but it needs to be thoroughly checked and reissued.

Fatal Colours by George Goodwin

I hope everyone is reading this as George Goodwin is coming to talk to the branch in November at Hanley Castle. It’s an appropriate choice of venue as Richard Beauchamp, tutor to King Henry VI, married his second wife there. It eventually came into Warwick’s possession and finally belonged to Richard and Anne.

It’s an excellent book, well researched and very readable. I heartily recommend you all read this one.

The book culminates in the battle of Towton but Goodwin is meticulous in explaining why it happened. The inept reign of Henry VI led to infighting amongst the senior nobility. The Duke of York was excluded from power when not acting as protector. The queen became his bitter enemy when York was declared heir to the throne in place of her son Edward. Mistakes were made on all sides. York’s death led to his son Edward being acclaimed king, so that Towton was a battle between two kings. Edward IV won, but wouldn’t be sole king until 1471.

Several articles in Dickon Independent relate to parts of the book: -

Geoffrey Richardson reported on the bones found at Towton in Issue 29 pages 12 - 14. There’s an account of the battlefield at Towton in Issue 44 pages 21 - 26, and 48 pages 19 - 21. An account of Blore Heath, the battle just before Ludford, is in Issue 58 pages 13 - 16.

In 2008 Rebekah Beale gave us a talk on the Duke of York (Issue 68 pages 10 - 15). Later that year we visited Richard Beauchamp’s magnificent tomb (Issue 69 pages 12 - 16). There’s a Beauchamp family tree in an article in Issue 45 pages 15 - 24.

Dilip Sarkar reported on the oath taken by the Duke of York when in Worcester before Ludford. (Issue 74 pages 12 - 13).

Ralph Richardson described the importance of the royal coat of arms in the glass at Oddingley church in Issue 19, pages 3 - 5, with additional information by Geoffrey Wheeler in Issue 53, pages 10 - 12. Ralph’s article also appeared in The Ricardian as a unique instance of Richard Duke of York naming himself king.

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