Paul Doherty – She Reads Novels

Paul Doherty is a very prolific author of historical mysteries; he has been writing since the 1980s and has written many series under several pseudonyms, set in a variety of periods including medieval England, Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt. So far, my only experience of his work has been his standalone novel, Roseblood, which I really enjoyed, so when I came across Dark Queen Rising, the first in a new series set during my favourite period – the Wars of the Roses – I immediately wanted to read it.

The novel opens in 1471, just after the Battle of Tewkesbury, a battle which has ended in victory for the House of York and defeat for their rivals, the House of Lancaster. With the deposed Lancastrian king, Henry VI, held prisoner in the Tower of London, the victorious Yorkist army sets about destroying the other prominent noblemen who fought for Lancaster, including Henry’s heir, the young Prince of Wales. The Yorkist king, Edward IV, now sits securely on the throne of England – or does he? Margaret Beaufort, mother of one of the few remaining Lancastrian claimants, Henry Tudor, is making plans on behalf of her son, while Edward IV’s own brother – George, Duke of Clarence – is also gathering information that could bring about the king’s downfall.

Dark Queen Rising is described as the first in a series of ‘Margaret Beaufort mysteries’, which I think is slightly misleading – and looking at other reviews, it does seem that a lot of readers were expecting a different sort of book. There is a mystery, which develops when four men in the service of the Duke of Clarence are found dead in a tavern, but this doesn’t happen until the middle of the book and is never really the main focus of the novel. It’s more of a thriller, delving into the politics of the time and exploring some of the intrigue, plotting and controversy that makes this such a fascinating period of history.

Bearing in mind that Margaret Beaufort is one of the main characters in this book, I was surprised when, early in the novel, I saw a reference to her husband, ‘Sir Humphrey Stafford’. Margaret’s husband, of course, was Henry Stafford. Henry did have a brother called Humphrey who, coincidentally, was also married to another Margaret Beaufort, so I can see where the confusion has come from, but there’s really no excuse for not knowing which Margaret your novel is about. I was even more disappointed when, later in the book, references were made to Margaret’s future husband, William Stanley. This should have been Thomas Stanley, William’s brother. As the names of not just one but two of Margaret’s husbands were wrong, this made me question the accuracy of everything else in the novel, which is a shame as I do love this period and really wanted to enjoy this book.

George, Duke of Clarence has clearly been cast as the villain in this series, which is fair enough as history certainly tells us that he wasn’t the most honourable or trustworthy of people, but the way he is depicted in this book made him feel more like a caricature than a real person. When I think of the much more nuanced portrayals in books like Sharon Penman’s The Sunne in Splendour and Patrick Carleton’s Under the Hog, it’s disappointing. The character who did intrigue me in this book was Christopher Urswicke, who appears to be in Margaret’s employ but whose motives and true loyalties are not always very clear. I found the parts of the story written from Urswicke’s perspective much more interesting.

The second book in the series – Dark Queen Waiting – is out now, but because of the inaccuracies in this one, I’m not planning to read it, although I could possibly still be tempted by a sequel to Roseblood if one is ever written. Meanwhile, I’m now reading Thomas Penn’s new non-fiction book on the Wars of the Roses, The Brothers York, so I should be posting my thoughts on that one soon.

Thanks to Black Thorn for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.

It’s 1455 and England is heading towards civil war. Henry VI is still on the throne but he is a weak ruler and there are many who think he is not fit to be King. The Duke of York believes his claim is stronger than Henry’s and with the support of some of England’s most powerful noblemen he is determined to win the crown for himself. The scene is set for the period of history that will become known as the Wars of the Roses.

In Roseblood we meet two men who are on opposite sides of the conflict. Simon Roseblood is a Lancastrian, loyal to Henry VI and his wife, Margaret of Anjou. As the owner of a busy London tavern, Roseblood is in an ideal position to be able to obtain information and intelligence that will help the Lancaster cause. But while Roseblood is doing all he can in support of his king, he also has business of a more personal nature to attend to. Five years earlier, his brother, Edmund Roseblood, was murdered during a rebellion led by Jack Cade. Simon has reason to believe that the men responsible were members of the mysterious gang known only as LeCorbeil and he knows he must find a way to avenge his brother’s death.

Amadeus Sevigny is the nephew of the Sheriff of London and clerk to Richard, Duke of York. As a loyal Yorkist, Sevigny is in direct opposition to Simon Roseblood and they are first drawn together when Sevigny tries to frame Roseblood for a crime he didn’t commit – only to discover that Roseblood is his equal when it comes to plotting and scheming. Their paths cross again in a race to hunt down a man who possesses information which would be damaging to both Lancaster and York, but it could be Roseblood’s daughter, Katherine, who holds the key to bringing their rivalry to an end. And throughout all of this, LeCorbeil wait in the background for their chance to complete their destruction of the Roseblood family…

I have read a lot of novels set during the Wars of the Roses (it’s one of my favourite periods of history) but Roseblood is not like any of the others I’ve read and is actually quite a difficult book to describe. It’s a mixture of history, mystery and intrigue with a large cast of colourful characters – many with Dickensian names such as Candlemas, Wormwood and Skulkin. It’s an unusual novel and not really what I’d expected at all! While I found it confusing at the beginning (we are given a lot of historical information in the opening sections, and being thrown straight into one of Sevigny’s schemes and Roseblood’s attempts to thwart it, I struggled to follow exactly what was happening) I eventually found myself drawn into this fascinating, complex story.

Although the novel is set at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses and historical figures such as Henry VI and the Duke of York do make brief appearances, the focus is always on the lives of the fictional characters. Much of the story is told from the perspectives of Roseblood and Sevigny, but there are also some chapters which give us the points of view of Roseblood’s son, Raphael, and daughter, Katherine. I didn’t find Raphael very interesting, but I thought Katherine, with her obsession with Arthurian legend and her imaginary friend, Melisaunde, was a much more memorable character.

Doherty seems to be an author who knows London well – not just London as it is today but as it was in medieval times too – and each location, whether it’s a marketplace, a church or a tavern, is described in minute detail. It was actually a bit too descriptive for me at times – almost like walking down a busy street and having your senses assailed by so many sounds, sights and smells that you start to feel overwhelmed – but I’m sure other readers will love the level of detail he goes into. I was certainly left with the impression that he had thoroughly researched every aspect of both the setting and the time period, which is obviously a good thing!

I’m surprised that I’ve never come across Paul Doherty before, as he appears to have written a huge number of historical novels, many of them mysteries, under several different pseudonyms. I would like to try more of his books, though as there are so many I have no idea where I should start. I’ll also be looking out for a sequel to Roseblood – the way it ended with so much still unresolved, I’ll be disappointed if there isn’t one!

Thanks to Headline for providing a review copy via NetGalley.