The Maiden and the Unicorn (65 page)

History Note

Sources on Sir Richard Huddleston and his family appear somewhat sparse and contradictory but it is known that he did gain high military rank; in July 1482, he was made a knight banneret by the Duke of Gloucester, the future King Richard III, during the campaign against the Scots. He was also appointed as a Knight of the Body to King Richard and held several offices in Wales, including Constable of Beaumaris castle.

Dame Margaret Huddleston was one of the few ladies invited in her own right to the coronation of her half-sister, Anne Neville, and King Richard III in 1483. She and Richard Huddleston had three children who lived to adulthood, Richard, Johanne and Margaret and it has been a unique delight for me to put some of Johanne's descendants in touch with some of Margaret's.

The widowed Countess of Warwick never had her lands restored to her. They were divided between her daughters. She eventually left sanctuary at Beaulieu Abbey and made her home with her daughter, Anne, and Richard of Gloucester at Middleham in Yorkshire.

George, Duke of Clarence, continued to anger his brothers. According to the contemporary Ingulph's
Chronicle of the Abbey of Croyland,
he attempted to prevent Gloucester marrying Anne Neville by disguising her as a cookmaid and hiding her. Gloucester found her and took her to sanctuary at St Martin-le-Grand while a marriage dispensation was sought from the Pope.

Isabella, Duchess of Clarence, died in 1476, probably from complications following childbirth, but a few months later the Duke of Clarence sent eighty men-at-arms to arrest Ankarette Twynhoe. She was taken to the town of Warwick and accused of poisoning Isabella. She protested her innocence but was hanged.

The Duke's high-handed action infuriated Edward IV. In retaliation, the Duke's retainer, Thomas Burdett, was found guilty of treason and necromancy by a commission of the Lords and hanged. The Duke accused the King of seeking his destruction. Louis XI further fanned Edward IV's anger by writing to him that George of Clarence was seeking to marry the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy so that he might make war on England. Finally, for this and other reasons, Edward ordered his brother's arrest. In 1478 George was privately executed at the Tower of London, having been condemned to death for treason by the judgment of his peers.

Margaret d'Anjou was eventually ransomed by Louis XI in 1475 for 50,000 crowns on condition that she surrendered her right to inherit the Duchy of Anjou to him. Philippe de Commynes eventually deserted Burgundy and became one of Louis XI's advisors.

Errour, Richard Huddleston's dog, travelled to Cumbria with Matthew Long after the Battle of Barnet and was reunited with his master later in 1471.

Acknowledgments

Information, inspiration, help and suggestions came from many people and if anyone feels they have not been properly thanked here, please forgive the oversight.

I am grateful to my parents for giving me the double whammy of history and writing DNA that has dictated my leisure and shaped my ambitions, and for indulging our shared love of history whenever we are together. My husband has been marvellous, especially for being so patient as I hauled him around castles in England and France on our annual leave. My daughter and son, not to be left out, insist on being thanked here for putting up with a mother whose thoughts were frequently in the fifteenth century.

It has also been my good fortune to belong to two writers groups of the Romance Writers of Australia; their friendship, constructive criticism and unselfish support have been invaluable and I wish them every success in their own endeavours. Wendy Brennan and the late Frank Brennan must not be forgotten either, both for the gift of their time and expertise and for teaching me how important laughter is.

Thanks are due also to the Sydney Branch of the Richard III Society, and Ricardians Geoffrey Wheeler in London and Marjorie Smith in Cumbria for information on Richard Huddleston.

Angela Iliff and Anne Phillips were excellent sounding boards on matters historical and I am most grateful to them for their advice. I am so glad that Anne lived long enough to see this novel published. I still miss her.

Amanda O'Connell deserves thanks for painstakingly querying everything from "brigandines" to "houppelandes".

Finally, my most sincere gratitude and thanks to my editor, Fiona Henderson, and the other staff at Transworld Publishers who believed that Margery and Richard's story was worth telling.

Isolde Martyn is originally from England and has an Honors degree in History with a specialization in the Wars of the Roses. She has worked as a historian but her more recent career was as a senior book editor with a major international publisher before taking up writing full time.
 

THE MAIDEN AND THE UNICORN, her debut novel, won the Rita Award for 'Best First Novel 2000' in the USA and the 'Romantic Book of the Year Award' in Australia. Since then she has written three more historical romances and two historicals. Her latest novel MISTRESS TO THE CROWN is the story of King Edward IV's lover, Mistress Shore.
 

Isolde is a former chair of the Richard III Society New South Wales Branch, and Vice-Chair of the Plantagenet Society of Australia, which she co-founded with five other enthusiasts twelve years ago.

For more information about Isolde's books, drop in at
www.isoldemartyn.com