Quoad Ultra - With Regard to the Past

Investigations into the mystery of the skeletal remains found at the Tower of London in 1674 and immediately pronounced as being the Princes in the Tower have been hampered by a singular concentration on the drama of a medieval murder story. If the Westminster Bones are the objects of an elaborate hoax, we need to ask who would perpetrate it and why? The power of theatrical drama has prevented the question being considered. Here is a lucid explanation for the “finding” of the bones at the Tower of London in the reign of King Charles the Second that does not rely on theatrical invention, but rather an understanding of the intricacies of human guile.

The Doom Assigned

King Richard the Third has won the Battle of Bosworth; however, Henry Tudor has managed to escape the battlefield and is headed back into exile. Having been misled by a decoy, the king’s men are confounded in their attempts to bring the Tudor to justice. If he manages to get out of England the battle will have been in vain. It falls to the lot of a young squire Robert de la Halle, the son of the king’s armourer, to succeed where others have failed. Along the way, Squire Robert will find there is rather more to the arts of love and war than he imagined. Not yet a fully trained man-at-arms, his tender years cause him to stumble along trying to avoid disaster and death. He soon discovers not all battles are fought in the field. In the England of King Richard the Third, a young man’s heart may be in peril from several bewildering directions and not all the weapons he must face are of steel.

Laurence the Armourer books - On Summer Seas, A Wilderness of Sea and The Roaring Tide

Armourer Book 1 - A Dramatic Summer

The story is told within the the dramatic events of spring to autumn in a single year, 1471, in a period when kings went into battle personally. Edward IV had deposed an imbecile Henry VI in 1461 and is himself driven from England in 1470 when the earl of Warwick, known as the Kingmaker, places Henry VI back on the throne as a puppet ruler. Edward returns and lands at Ravenser, a port on the Humber now lost to the sea. However, those who had driven him from England are not disposed to let him return. Several powerful armies, each larger than Edward’s and united only in their desire to destroy him, oppose his tiny force. Aided only by his younger brother, the eighteen year-old Richard, duke of Gloucester and a few retainers and mercenaries, Edward will have to defeat them all, and depose again king Henry VI to regain the crown he has lost.

Armourer Book 2 - A Time of Intrigue and Sudden Death.

Edward the Fourth seems secure on his throne and the realm of England is at peace. There are, however, undertones of discontent amongst the nobles as the Wydville family, promoted by Edward’s queen, Elizabeth Wydville, continue to accumulate great wealth and power. Edward’s brother, George, duke of Clarence has designs upon his brother’s throne. Queen Elizabeth fears for the inheritance of her sons should Edward be deposed and plots to destroy Clarence. Waiting in the wings is lady Margaret Beaufort, wife of the powerful Lord Stanley and mother of Henry Tudor. He is in exile in Brittany with his uncle Jasper Tudor and there seems little chance that his mother’s long-term plan of his eventually taking the throne of England coming to fruition. Suddenly, all is confusion as Edward dies unexpectedly and his eldest son, Prince Edward is declared king. Then it is discovered that Edward’s marriage to Elizabeth Wydville was unlawful and the children of their union declared bastards. Richard of Gloucester takes the throne of England and the two boy princes, Edward and his brother Richard are placed into the Tower of London for their protection. King Richard’s precipitate action has thwarted the ambitious plans of more than one noble to seize the throne, and his nephews are in deadly danger. Laurence de la Halle, the king’s armourer and Sir James Tyrell are tasked with the job of keeping the princes safe from the dangers posed by those in the kingdom who would destroy them. Unfortunately, the finest armour, not even that of kings, can protect against fate . . .

Armourer Book 3 - A Tale of High Treason

King Richard the Third is providing England with fair and just government, but he is tormented by the constant scheming of his Lancastrian enemies, exiles who in their desperation are supporting Henry Tudor as a dubious claimant to the throne of England. The king sends Laurence the armourer to Brittany with instructions to encourage Tudor ambition so that he can tempt him into invading. The plan is that once in England, Tudor will be brought to battle and thus removed. All does not go to plan and Laurence must chase into France to follow the English exiles, who have escaped Brittany. Eventually Henry Tudor does invade, and by a combination of treachery and good luck, ends up the victor at the Battle of Bosworth. Tudor cannot rest content on his throne and there are several attempts to remove him, all of which come to nothing. But then, the Tudor is faced with his worse nightmare - the emergence of Richard of York, brother to his wife Elizabeth and the rightful king of England. During his childhood, the Prince has been living in obscurity under the name Perkin Warbeck to avoid being murdered by Tudor agents. Laurence is called to the side of the duke of York as his personal armourer, having been one of those who previously helped him out of England to safety. The armourer is doubtful regarding the Prince's martial prowess but nevertheless is caught up in duke Richard's quest to win back his hereditary right to the English crown. The action moves into Ireland and then to Scotland where the Prince falls in love. Then everything goes horribly wrong . . .