A Rose for the Crown (103 page)

Select a nonfiction aspect presented in the book, find out more about it, and share your findings with the group. Then discuss its significance in the story, and in particular how it affects Kate. Possible topics include
fifteenth-century laws about divorce and annulment, the use of plants and herbs for medicinal purposes, music of the period and taking a vow of widowhood.

Throughout history King Richard III has often been remembered as a usurper of the throne and possibly even a murderer. Conduct some research into how he has been portrayed—in books, articles and even entertainment, using sources such as Shakespeare’s plays and twentieth-century film adaptations. Compare your findings to how Smith presents the monarch in the book, taking into account the information she shares in Author’s Note. A listing of resources and links can be found at
www.r3.org
, the website of the Richard III Society, whose mission is to restore the reputation of this controversial historical figure.

Q&A with Anne Easter Smith

1. What first sparked your interest in Richard III? That interest seems to extend beyond the research you conducted for
A Rose for the Crown.
Are you involved in the Richard III Society or any other movement to restore his reputation?

In my early twenties, I was given
The Daughter of Time,
a modern-day mystery by Josephine Tey centering on the disappearance of the princes in the Tower. So carefully did Ms. Tey research her subject it was clear to me that King Richard had been maligned by both Sir Thomas More and Shakespeare. I wanted to know more and so have read everything I can about Richard and the period in order to draw my own conclusions. I am a member of the Richard III Society, a focus of which is to “promote in every possible way research into the life and times of Richard III, and to secure a re-assessment of the material relating to the period, and of the role in English history of this monarch.” I feel I am, in a small way, fulfilling the society’s mission with
A Rose for the Crown.

2. The story (aside from the prologue) begins when Kate is nine years old. Why did you choose to cover such a long span of her life, versus starting the story when her affair with Richard begins? Is
A Rose for the Crown
more Kate’s story than Richard’s?

Although my purpose for writing the book was to put Richard in a different light from everything one reads in history textbooks, I was determined to write about a woman of the period. Medieval women were strong, often enjoying equal status in running a castle or estate when their men were away at war. Growing up in England, medieval architecture, art and history were all around me, and I often wished I could have been a part of that period. Once I had found my “heroine” I needed to have readers buy into her story so that her affair with Richard would be plausible. I wanted them to really know Kate before she catches the eye of the young duke of Gloucester. I wanted them to care about her. She is indeed fictional, but by the time you get to the end of the book, you believe in her because you have grown up with her.

3. Do you think it’s difficult to keep our own modern-day experiences
from influencing the reading of the story? Can we imagine what life was really like for Kate within the context of the time period?

There will be fifteenth-century scholars who will scoff at some of the thoughts I put into my characters’ heads. My answer to them is: Go and read a textbook! Of course I tried to help my readers relate to the characters, and often that means using modern-day experiences. Besides, how do we know
what
they were thinking? It is impossible for any of us to know. But my details of everyday life were very carefully researched, namely the names, dates, places, routines of daily life, dress, food, music, flowers, birds, pastimes and so forth. I tried to add those details wherever I could to conjure a different—and accurate—time period from our own.

4. You worked in journalism for a number of years. What made you decide to write a novel? Was your background in journalism an asset to you in researching and writing
A Rose for the Crown?

I tried writing a Regency novel when I was nineteen after I finished all of the books by my favorite author at the time—Georgette Heyer. I’d scribble in notebooks, going back and forth to work in London on the train. It was a load of rubbish, I’m sure, but my mother thought I shouldn’t give up. I had a perfectly ordinary English boarding-school education with no university or college experience. The most writing I ever did after leaving school was letters home to England from New York! I lucked into my features-editor job at the daily newspaper in Plattsburgh, New York, in 1985, and it was the best writing training I could have had. Having a daily deadline taught me to focus, and understanding my readership help me tailor different articles to different audiences. I am extremely grateful to my editors at the
Press-Republican
for nurturing my creative spirit.

5. Was the process of weaving fact and fiction a difficult one? What did you enjoy most about writing the book?

Oddly enough, I found the research the most enjoyable part of writing the book. I was determined to get facts right, and in the process I have collected quite a library of source material for the period. Then the writing became like a jigsaw puzzle. I had huge charts plastered up around the walls with dates going down the sides and
characters across the top. When I found out exactly who was where when, I was able to weave my fictional character, Kate, around them. One has to be so careful as so many records exist from the period. It is a novelist’s nightmare!

6. What is your favorite scene in
A Rose for the Crown?
Which scene do you think reveals the most about Kate’s character?

I have two favorite scenes: one happy and one sad. I could almost feel the cool water on Kate’s skin when she frolicked in the river near Bury with Richard. Where the old man came from in my head I don’t know, but I thought it was a funny conclusion to the scene. I am ashamed to say I still cry when I have to re-read the scene where Richard takes John into his household. Kate’s anguish is palpable, I think. And, of course, Katherine’s awful death pulls me into Kate’s sorrow—I have two daughters of my own.

7. In Author’s Note you mention that Ightham Mote is your favorite of all English manor houses. Is it open to the public? What other sites would you recommend for visitors to England that tie in with the setting of
A Rose for the Crown?

Indeed, Ightham Mote is open to the public and should not be missed. It is on the National Trust register, and their website is:
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/places/ighthammote
. Other sites of interest to
A Rose for the Crown’s
readers are: the village of Lavenham in Suffolk with Chelsworth nearby; Stoke-by-Nayland church in Suffolk (unfortunately John Howard’s Tendring Hall no longer exists, other than part of the tower he added, and Tendring Park is not open to the public); the Museum of London; Westminster Abbey; St. Mary Overie, now called Southwark Cathedral; Tunbridge, now called Ton-bridge; Bow Bridge in Leicester; Bosworth Battlefield Centre; and Framlingham Castle in Suffolk. Although we do not visit Middleham Castle in Yorkshire in the book, anyone interested in Richard’s story should make their way to its majestic ruins.

8. Interest has grown in recent years for works of historical fiction. Why do you think this type of book appeals to readers?

It is a personal preference, but with our lives so invaded by the news media and horror stories from home and abroad, reading historical fiction takes one out of our everyday life. Not to stay their
news wasn’t also horrific, but reading of something long past is, for me, less stressful. For anyone who hated history at school, perhaps historical fiction might be more palatable, as people from history come alive in the hands of good historical novelists like Anya Seton, Sharon Kay Penman, Judith Merkle Riley and Philippa Gregory. You might then try going back to the textbooks, like I did, get excited and write the next big historical novel!

9. What’s next for you? Are you working on another historical novel?

Letting Kate and Richard go is proving difficult. I was involved with them over an eight-year period, from conception to birth, of
A Rose for the Crown.
However, in my research of Richard and his family, I became intrigued by his elder sister, Margaret, who married Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy. I am now working to bring her to life, after researching sites in what was once the duchy of Burgundy and which is now Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France. After that, who knows. . . .