Exclusive interview with author Chris Skidmore and a review of his novel on the rise of the first Tudor king
RATING: Three Stars
Review By Gabrielle Pantera
“Just as I was finishing the book, archaeologists discovered the bones of Richard III in a car park in Leicester,” says The Rise of the Tudors author Chris Skidmore. “Initially I was unamused. It meant I had to rewrite the ending of the book.”
Skidmore, a British historian and a current member of Parliament, uses newly discovered manuscripts with eyewitness reports and the latest archaeological evidence, to write a story that shows Richard III as a schemer and a man who doesn’t shy away from a battle.
On August 22, 1485, Richard III’s large army faces Henry Tudor’s rag-tag forces in a battle that will determine who rules England.
Richard’s larger army should have won, but Henry was just 28, young and strong and he won the day. Richard III was the last English king to die on the battlefield. Thus ended the War of the Roses, and Henry became King Henry VII in 1485.
How the Tudors rose from obscure Welsh gentry to the throne of England is quite a tale. Catherine of Valois, Henry V’s widow, had an affair with her Welsh servant Owen Tudor, he being descended from a daughter of the Welsh prince Rhys ap Gruffudd, also known as Lord Rhys. He was a Welsh soldier and courtier. Owen and Catherine marry in secret. She had a child, Edmund Tudor, the father of Henry VII. This book traces the Tudor side of the battle. It shows what life was like in hiding for Henry and the help he received from the French king.
Henry’s claim to the English throne came through his mother’s family – the House of Beaufort. Lady Margaret Beaufort’s great grandfather was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, fourth son of Edward III, and his third wife Katherine Swynford. For 25 years Katherine was Gaunt’s mistress and when they were finally able to marry in 1396 they already had four children. Henry’s great-grandfather John Beaufort was one of them.
“I saw that they had rediscovered the site of the battle of Bosworth, where the Tudors won the crown off Richard III in 1485,” says Skidmore, “and thought, no one has really written about how the Henry Tudor came from nowhere to become king of England.”
“Making new discoveries in the archives is what every historian dreams of,” says Skidmore. While researching his previous book, he found a coroner’s report that had been lost for centuries. “With Bosworth, I’ve found new details about who fought in the battle,” says Skidmore.
Skidmore traveled to archives across the UK and Europe. In London he visited The National Archives. In France he visited archives in Paris, Nantes and also Vannes, where Henry Tudor was exiled.
Skidmore’s last book, The Virgin Queen’s Fatal affair, was turned into a documentary for National Geographic. It won a Royal Television Award in the UK.
Other books by Skidmore include a biography of Edward VI, who was Henry VIII’s son and the last Tudor king. His book about Elizabeth I and her relationship with her courtier Robert Dudley was commended for the Jonathan Rhys Llewellyn Prize.
For Skidmore, a book usually takes three years of research and one year to write. Charlie Spicer is Skidmore’s editor at St Martin’s Press. Georgina Capel is Skidmore’s agent at Capel and Land.
Skidmore is currently writing a biography of Richard III.
As a Member of Parliament, Skidmore divides his time between London and Bristol constituency of Kingswood, for whom he was first elected in 2010. He’s a member of the Commons Select Committee on Health, specializing in health care reform and social care. He was born in Bristol.
The Rise of the Tudors: The Family That Changed English History. Hardcover, 464 pages, Publisher: St. Martin’s Press; 1 edition (January 14, 2014).
Language: English, ISBN-13: 978-0312541392 $22.49
