Who Killed the Princes in the Tower?

Daughter of Time, Josephine Tey

Daughter of Time is a fascinating blend of genres, a historical whodunnit - a bored police inspector, injured on his most recent case, and confined to a hospital bed, decides to tackle one of the great mysteries in English history: who killed - or caused to be killed - the princes in the Tower?

For those who have forgotten, or never knew, the story, the princes were the two sons of King Edward IV, last seen alive in the Tower of London in the summer of 1483, shortly after their uncle, Richard III, became king. The accession of the oldest prince, who would have been Edward V, may have been put off because of some doubt as to whether the marriage of Edward IV and their mother, Elizabeth Woodville, was legitimate, as Edward was rumoured to have been contracted to marry another woman, Eleanor Butler, at the time of his secret marriage to Elizabeth Woodville. It's possible that, in light of this possible bastardy, and the availability of an experienced adult heir in Richard, that Richard was seen as the better choice at the time by all. Many historians have argued, however, that Richard had the princes killed to strengthen his hold on the throne.

However, by fall of 1485, Henry Tudor had invaded England and defeated Richard III in battle at Bosworth Field and claimed the throne of England by right of his descent from Edward III's son John of Gaunt and his mistress (later wife) Katherine Swynford and by right of his betrothal to Elizabeth of York - the older sister of the princes in the tower. If the princes were still alive at that time, by ensuring that Elizabeth was seen as legitimate, Henry also legitimated the two survivors of the Wars of the Roses with better claims to the throne than his - so, if they were alive, he had a powerful motive to have them killed as well.

James Tyrell, an English knight who served both Richard III and Henry VII, confessed to the murder of the princes under torture in 1501 after being arrested for treason in another matter altogether.

There is no consensus among historians as to who killed the princes - and some believe that they were not, in fact, killed at all, but either died of natural causes or were secretly removed from the Tower and sent somewhere far away.

In Daughter of Time, Tey argues persuasively - through the medium of Inspector Alan Grant and his examination of contemporary accounts and historical analyses from the perspective of an experienced homicide detective - that the evidence against Henry Tudor is much stronger than the evidence against Richard III. Whether you accept Tey's arguments or not, the novel is compelling reading both for those how enjoy historical accounts and those who enjoy a good mystery.

(no subject)

Two more volumes in Mercedes Lackey's Bedlam's Bard series, both co-authored with Rosemary Edghill:

Mad Maudlin
Music to My Sorrow

Two new installments in the tale of Eric Banyon, modern day Bard, friend to elves of the Bright Court, associate of Guardians, and defender of the right against sundry otherworldly nasties. Actually, these two books are rather more closely linked than some others in the series, as relationships highlighted in the first book are crucial plot points in the second.

As is true of many of her novels, and particularly those dealing with elves, much of the narrative hinges on developments surrounded abused children, in this case, three New York street-kids (Lackey has re-interpreted the traditional stories about elves stealing human children to turn elves into protectors of abused children, who are drawn to help, and when necessary, rescue and foster Underhill, children without caring adults to raise them). In an interesting turn on her usual trope, one of the runaways is an elven prince, heir to a lord of the Dark or Unseleighe Court who would much rather dwindle into a coma from overdosing on caffeine (poison to Lackey's elves) and living in a city of metal (also poisonous to elves) than claim his inheritance. The other children are also, each in their own way, rather out of the ordinary in terms of abilities that most humans lack. To top it all off, a ghastly figure known as Bloody Mary is haunting the streets of NYC, striking terror into the hearts and minds of the kids on the street. Naturally, Eric is soon drawn into the mix, only to find that his life is in for some major changes when he learns the identity of one of the two human runaways, and it is the particularly unwholesome family situation of the other human street-kid that fuels the plot for the second of these novels.

Fans of Lackey's urban fantasy adventures should find exactly what they have come to expect, and enjoy every minute of it.


Bedlam’s Edge,, edited by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill, is a collection of short stories set in the universe Lackey has created for her urban (and historical) fantasies of elves and their interactions with humans. Lackey and Edghill are contributors, as are a number of Lackey's other collaborators in this and other fantasy universes, including Roberta Geillis, Dave Freer, Eric Flint, India Edghill, and Ellen Guon. and other fantasy writers. Lots of fun.

The Legend of the Drenai

Legend, David Gemmell

There's something about a doomed, or nearly doomed, military action that really gets to me. Be it historical - the charge of the Light Brigade, Horatius on the bridge, the Spartans at Thermopylae - or purely fictional - the last five minutes of the last episode of Angel: The Series, or the great battles at Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith, for example - there's something about the idea of people doing what has to be done in the face of almost certain death, against unbeatable odds for the sake of honour, or duty, or conviction that pulls me in and won't let me go until the bitter end.

And that's basically what Legend is about, from start to finish. The Empire of Drenai is about to be invaded by the Northern tribes under a mighty warlord named Ulric. A range of mountains divides Drenai from the northern plains; the main pass is guarded by the fortress of Dros Delnoch. If the fortress can hold out against the northerners just long enough for the rest of the empire's forces to be mobilised, then the empire will most likely be saved. But the northern armies are hundreds of thousands strong. And Dros Delnoch has less than 10,000 men - and Drus, the legendary warrior known throughout all of Drenai and the lands surrounding it.

Tense, almost claustrophobic toward the end, with a focus on strategies and tactics, finding a way to hang on long enough, not necessarily to survive the final battle, but still giving enough human detail to make all the characters truly alive as they face the likelihood of their deaths, the story pulls the reader in and doesn't let go. This is the first book of Gemmell's that I've read, and I liked it.