The Court of the Midnight King: A Dream of Richard III (59 page)

“Then you truly gave him everything,” said August, “which is what you wanted.”

“I would have given him my life!”

“I know. But you’re still alive. And so am I.”

“Do they remember him, here in your land, Lady August?”

“Oh, yes.” She gave a quiet laugh. “And still some love him and some hate him; but no one ever forgets him. My friend once told me a tale…”

She spoke of a sacred king, mutilated, blamed, and sacrificed.

“And did his death heal this land?” Raphael asked.

“I’d like to believe so, Raphael. I don’t want to think it was just a story to comfort ourselves; we have a duty to make it meaningful. And look, Eleanor was right; the future is not set in stone. Will Richard be half-forgotten in your world, because he rules well and lives into old age and leaves Plantagenet sons and daughters to rule after him? Or will the good he does in life prove more important than lasting fame?”

“Oh, he’ll never be forgotten,” Raphael said emphatically. “I wonder why I never saw visions beyond his death?”

“Because you were seeing this world, not your own,” she answered. “The paths divide here. Don’t abandon him, Raphael. You have a future now.”

All his sorrow left him then. The muse’s arms were warm and her body was firm against his. He felt a desire he hadn’t felt for months.

“You’re right,” he said. “God knows, he deserves happiness after everything. I can’t deny him that, nor Kate’s son a father. This is what I was meant to do. To see the two people I most love happy.”

“Then you’ve won.”

He smiled. “And I’m glad. I don’t feel bitter. I cannot.”

“And how does this world feel to you?” the muse asked gently.

“Bleak,” he said.

“It is, Raphael. It’s bleak.” She stroked his cheek and looked at him, warm and serious. “Take me to a world where he didn’t die.”

Fascination with King Richard III never seems to wane, and in 2012 it reached fever pitch with the unearthing of Richard’s remains buried at Greyfriars in Leicester – lost for over five hundred years, astonishingly rediscovered at a time when technology is advanced enough to prove beyond doubt that the bones are his. The discovery has been miraculous.

Oh, and Leicester is my home city, so I am a tiny bit biased.

This novel was written over ten years before the discovery, and first published by Simon and Schuster in 2003. Although I have lightly edited the text, I decided not to update it (apart from a hint or two). August’s experiences take place in the early 2000s, even before the site of the Battle of Bosworth was accurately identified.

I’ve been intrigued by King Richard III for over 25 years. The novel came to me as a dream in which I was reading a captivating book about Richard called The One Truth. I wasn’t even sure what happened in the story, only that I wished I’d written it! Then I woke up and thought, “Well, why don’t I try?” My then-editor, John Jarrold, who has a keen interest in history and a great love of Shakespeare, gave me enthusiastic encouragement.

Of course, if I’d realised at the time how many novels about Richard III were already out there I would never have started! But – everyone has a right to their own interpretation, so I decided to go ahead with mine. I couldn’t write a straight historical novel simply building (speculating) around the known facts. I wanted to give myself more scope for invention, to create the Ricardian novel I wanted to read but couldn’t find.

That’s why I decided to set the story in an alternative universe, a world slightly askew from our own, in which I could use fictional viewpoints to look at Richard from different angles in order to explore why he is so fascinating.

Hence the appearance of fantastical animals, rival religions, and some truth-bending… but to Richard himself, I aimed to be as true as possible.

You need to enjoy some fantasy, folklore and romance in your fiction to appreciate this approach. A few readers have made it plain they don’t “get” the book (especially the ending), which delves into the mythical, sacred nature of kingship, and involves symbolism, feminine serpent wisdom, earth magic – areas that may well not be familiar to them. I know that many historical purists can only tolerate facts, which is fair enough. That said, any historical novel, and even straight non-fiction history books, have to include a certain amount of conjecture in order to get the story told. There is still so much we don’t know and maybe never will.

I don’t even know what my next-door neighbours are doing or saying as I write this – so to put words in the mouths of characters from over five hundred years ago requires dramatic license, to say the least!

The point of this novel, and what drove me to write it, was not to present a historically accurate story (impossible) but more of a dream-journey into the psyche in order to examine why Richard remains so intriguing.

The Court of the Midnight King is a story about trying to know the unknowable.

We never can. But we never stop trying.

Freda Warrington, 2014

PS. If you have enjoyed this book, PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW!

This novel is also available as an audio book from
Audible

A Taste of Blood Wine

A Dance in Blood Velvet

The Dark Blood of Poppies

The Dark Arts of Blood

Elfland

Midsummer Night

Grail of the Summer Stars

The Court of the Midnight King

Dracula the Undead

The Amber Citadel

The Sapphire Throne

The Obsidian Tower

Dark Cathedral

Pagan Moon

The Rainbow Gate

Sorrow’s Light

A Blackbird in Silver

A Blackbird in Darkness

A Blackbird in Amber

A Blackbird in Twilight

A Blackbird in Silver Darkness (omnibus)

A Blackbird in Amber Twilight (omnibus)

Darker than the Storm

For further information:

www.fredawarrington.com

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Freda Warrington was born in Leicester, England, and began writing stories as soon as she could hold a pen. The beautiful ancient landscape of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, where she grew up, became a major source of inspiration.

She studied at art college and worked in medical illustration and graphic design for a number of years. However, her first love was always fantasy fiction, and in 1986 her first novel A Blackbird in Silver was published. More novels followed, including A Taste of Blood Wine, The Amber Citadel, Dark Cathedral and Dracula the Undead – a sequel to Dracula that won the Dracula Society’s Best Gothic Novel Award in 1997.

So far she has had twenty-one novels published, varying from sword n’ sorcery and epic fantasy to contemporary fantasy, supernatural, and alternative history.

Her recent novel Elfland (Tor US) won the Romantic Times Award for Best Fantasy Novel of 2009. Midsummer Night, the second in the
Aetherial Tales
series, was listed by the American Library Association among their Top Ten SF/ Fantasy Novels of 2010.

Titan Books are republishing her vampire series – A Taste of Blood Wine, A Dance in Blood Velvet, The Dark Blood of Poppies, and a brand new novel The Dark Arts of Blood (2015) – with gorgeous new covers. The first three were originally published in the 1990s, long before the recent explosion of vampire fiction!

(
So – no teenagers, no kick-ass super-heroines, no werewolves… but a solid, dark, gothic romance for grown-ups, set in the shadowy, decadent glamour of the 1920s. Keep scrolling for an extract from A TASTE OF BLOOD WINE
.)

Freda lives in Leicestershire with her husband Mike and her mother, where she also enjoys crafts such as stained glass and beadwork, all things Gothic, yoga, walking, Arabian horses, conventions and travel.

“Not merely one of the finest fantasy novels of recent years, but one of the finest ever. Should not be missed.” –Brian Stableford

“A cross between Anne Rice and more edgy modern paranormal romances, only with Freda Warrington’s incredible voice… This author truly has a gift for storytelling.” –Not Your Ordinary Book Banter

“It’ll remind you of how good, thrilling and romantic vampire novels can be. It has everything you could ever hope for from an entertaining vampire novel: horror, suspense, romance, passion, plot twists, supernatural elements and captivating storytelling.” –Rising Shadow