History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Average customer rating:

Fiction attempting to pass for serious history
Just OK
"Because I said so!"
definite edge of your seat
Mediocre writing, biased presentation

The Princes in the Tower
Alison Weir
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0345391780
Release Date: 1995-07-10

Book Description

"A SURPRISINGLY FRESH AND TREMENDOUSLY THOROUGH CONTRIBUTION to the debate...Weir's book is, no doubt, not the last on this subject, but it might be the best....[She] constructs a devastating case...[and] brilliantly illuminates the nature of late-medieval political power."
--The Boston Globe
Despite five centuries of investigation by historians, the sinister deaths of the boy king Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, remain two of the most fascinating murder mysteries in English history. Did Richard III really kill "the Princes in the Tower," as is commonly believed, or was the murderer someone else entirely? Carefully examining every shred of contemporary evidence as well as dozens of modern accounts, English historian Alison Weir reconstructs the entire chain of events leading to the double murder. We are witnesses to the rivalry, ambition, intrigue, and struggle for power that culminated in the imprisonment of the prince and the hushed-up murders that secured Richard's claim to the throne as Richard III. A masterpiece of historical research and a riveting story of conspiracy and deception, The Princes in the Tower at last provides a solution to this age-old puzzle.
"Weir takes on this delicious mystery with a fearsome vengeance. The result is a fascinating and completely credible account."
--Milwaukee Journal
"Did Richard III do in his nephews or didn't he? How much of the evil-uncle legend was later Tudor propaganda and how much was true?...This is exciting reading."
--The Denver Post
"A fascinating historical whodunit in which truth is more sordid than fiction."
--Kirkus Reviews
A MAIN SELECTION OF
THE BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB

Customer Reviews:

Fiction attempting to pass for serious history.......2007-08-05

This book has a bibliography but no footnotes or source citations. If you are a serious history student, don't waste your time on this book. It isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Just OK.......2007-06-10

Historical accuracy aside, I was a bit disappointed in this book. I realize it's not a novel, and is written more like a history book. The first 90 pages jump around the bloodlines etc, and the information is repeated later in the book. Get past the first 90 pages and it becomes more readable.

"Because I said so!".......2007-05-30

Weir's earnest claims of neutrality aside, it should be fairly obvious to any reader, whether they agree with her or not, that she allows her personal bias to color her account in ways that, personally, I think are fairly inappropriate. It's one thing to state all your evidence and then the conclusion that you draw from it; it's another to say, "This is what I think, and here are the reasons I'm right." What irks me most is that there is no consistency in her dependence on sources. If she agrees with a source, then obviously the source is correct. If not - even if it is the same source - all of a sudden it is no longer to be trusted. You can't dismiss a source as unreliable in one chapter and then base your entire argument on it in the next.

Another thing that bugs me is that Weir does not use footnotes. There is a bibliography, and she does use in-text citations for most of her primary sources, but at times it is impossible to tell if her argument is her own or if it's coming from someone else. This is such a huge no-no, but it seems like it's becoming more common in "popular" histories - a bad sign.

Now, the fact that I tend to disagree with Weir's conclusion - which is, despite what she claims in her introduction, that Richard III was a grade-A jerk - might bias my own review. But the truth is, Weir's methodology makes her thesis rather unconvincing. I'm sure if you went into this book already certain that Richard did it, this book will be a great confirmation. And if you didn't know anything about Richard, Weir's long list of grievances against him (even if many of them are highly subjective) may be enough to convince you to accept the conventional wisdom about the princes' deaths. But I suspect few, if any, of the people who have actually done their own research into the subject, and who have come to doubt whether Richard really killed his nephews, will be won over by Weir's flimsy accusations. "Because I said so" is not a terribly persuasive argument for anyone to make, much less a respected historian.

definite edge of your seat.......2007-04-11

Power, Corruption, Jealousy, Imprisonment and Murder. The Princs in the Tower is tale as oold as time and still to this day an unsolved mystery of England's greatest period. Tantalizing and intriguing Weir did a fantasitc job researching this project and has done a wonderful job giving those details to the readers.

Mediocre writing, biased presentation.......2006-12-27

I am amazed that so many people find Weir's writing engaging. Compared to many modern writers - historical and not - it is mediocre at best. As for her presentation of "facts" - she is extremely biased. It is clear even for anyone like me who vaguely knows of Shakespeare's "Richard the III" and having been born in Russia never studied British history in earnest. I do read a lot of documentary mysteries and am inclined to logic and reasoning by occupation (financial accounting) and I should agree with all the previous reviewers who comments on her inclination to bent facts to fit the preconceptions Mrs. Weir has to reach the conclusions she obviously had before she wrote the book (and probably started the research).

One good thing did come out of reading this book, though - it caused me to seek more material about the period and I have red, among others, the Paul Murrey Kendall's "Richard the III" and can highly recommend it as a book of high scholarly standards and excellent example of truly engaging historical writing. I don't think King Richard the III was a saint, and I am sure anybody is capable of murder under certain circumstances, but I tend to agree with "revisionists" that it is hard to believe that he was behind this particular murder and definitely was not the one who would benefit from it the way it was done. On me "The Princes in the Tower" had the opposite effect from the one intended by the author. But if you are seeking a melodrama presented in the guise of historical writing - it is a book for you.

Great Tales from English History (Book 2): Joan of Arc, the Princes in the Tower, Bloody Mary, Oliver Cromwell, Sir Isaac Newton, and More

Average customer rating:

A real treat as an audiobook (a history teacher's review)
volume 2 as fun as volume 1.
History in Shorts
Accessible history
The Nightstand History of England

Great Tales from English History (Book 2): Joan of Arc, the Princes in the Tower, Bloody Mary, Oliver Cromwell, Sir Isaac Newton, and More
Robert Lacey
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 031610924X

Book Description

Unforgettable stories from the England of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and beyond-the rich second volume of great tales by a master of British popular history.

Customer Reviews:

A real treat as an audiobook (a history teacher's review).......2007-04-18

Robert Lacey has done something that many writers have failed to do (unfortunately) - he has written history in a fun, accessible, easy to grasp manner. After all, as Lacey points out in his introduction to Volume 1, the "history" and "story" come from the same Latin root word. Essentially, history should be the simple story of how things happened, to the best of the teller's knowledge.

Lacey's power as a storyteller is highlighted here in spades. He narrates his audiobook as well so there is the added bonus of hearing the author add nuance to the reading - essentially reading it the way he meant it to be heard.

The stories are short and entertaining. Only a couple of times in nearly six hours of listening did I find my attention wandering. This is a terrificly fun experience for any history lover. Full of interesting tidbits but not lacking in the larger themes or commentaries.

I am going to look for volume 3 and hopefully he has written or is writing his promised volumes on Scotland and Ireland as well.

Bravo!

I give this one an enthusiastic A+.

volume 2 as fun as volume 1........2007-02-12

i read the first volume of "great tales from english history," and had to immediately dive into the 2nd volume. this book covers the years 1387 to 1689, and is every bit as fun as its predecessor. these books are completely addicting. I just got the 3rd volume and having it here in the house waiting to be read has made life seem worth living a bit longer. buy all 3 of them and read them. you really should.

History in Shorts.......2005-09-08

Great Tales from English History Volume II, written by Robert Lacey, covers a wide section of history. Starting in the year 1387 with Geoffry Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales, Lacey continues until the year 1687. He includes smaller stories about various topics such as the first children's book. In Great Tales, Lacey also writes about the Plague, the London Fire, beheading, and burning traders.

Great Tales from English History Volume II covers all of the Kings ranging from Richard to James. It includes their multiple wives (especially in King Henry VIII) and children (King Charles II's 14 illegitimate children) who fought over the chance to become the next king or queen. Lacey also writes about the number of wars, both with other countries and the civil war. Religion also plays a big role in the book.

Robert Lacey's Great Tales from English History Volume II is definitely a nonfiction history book but he keeps a cheerful story telling prospective. Lacey manages to keep interest by including several smaller sections in between wars and kings. He includes smaller incidents and people to add to a person's understanding of history. Not a history person, I learned plenty about the history, most which is not taught in school.

Accessible history.......2005-09-04

I first discovered Robert Lacey as an author from his book 'The Year 1000'. Interesting, accessible, easy to follow, with a good balance of detail and breadth (always a tricky task when writing a popular history), that book was one of my favourites around the turn of the second millennium. I discovered this book on the shelves of my local library, and have found it equally worthwhile and fun to read.

This book concentrates on the late Middle Ages to the post-Reformation era in English history - in royal terms, the times of the end of the Plantagenets, the Tudors, the Stuarts, the Interregnum and Glorious Revolution (which a history professor of mine once intoned dramatically, 'was neither glorious nor a revolution'). In years, this goes from the late 1300s to the late 1600s.

One of the things that I like a lot about this particular history is that the stories are brief and self-contained while being part of the overall flow of the history of England. They make for good bed-time reading (the longest of the stories is barely seven pages long, in easy print and easy, storytelling language). Many of the characters are already familiar figures even to those who aren't Anglophiles - Joan of Arc, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth the First, Shakespeare, King James and the English Bible. Then there will be figures that are lesser known but just as interesting - the Roundheads and Cavaliers, Rabbi Manasseh, Titus Oates, the Bloody Assizes. These are tales told in a simplified but memorable manner, and could serve for younger and older readers as a stimulus for further reading and investigation about topics brought up in the text.

There are a few maps, royal lineage charts, and woodcut/line art drawings throughout the text. Lacey includes a bibliography for further reading (this contains a good number of website addresses for making further research very easy). There is also an index, which many popular histories forget, but Lacey is to be highly praised for including one here, making looking up particular names, places and events very easy.

The Nightstand History of England.......2005-08-31

A second collection of vignettes from English history by Robert Lacy, pithy and enjoyable. The drawings and layout give the book a cozy, old-fashioned feel. The stories are presented simply and clearly, and make the book an ideal choice for bedtime reading.

Richard III and the Princes in the Tower

Average customer rating:

One of the first books I'd recommend on the subject
Well written and gorgeous to look at

Richard III and the Princes in the Tower
A.J. Pollard
Manufacturer: Sutton Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0750930225

Book Description

Was Richard III a victim or villian? This book explores the events surrounding his life to look at the facts behind the folklore. surrounding his life.

Customer Reviews:

One of the first books I'd recommend on the subject.......2002-05-29

If someone wanted to read one book to find out about the Richard III controversy, this is the one that I would recommend, although I think that it is valuable for anyone interested in the topic. In addition to a history of the man and the times, it also brings "richardology" up to date with discussions of romance novels and the Richard III society. If that's not enough, it's gorgeously and generously illustrated.

I have some disagreements with the author, but he is relatively fair-minded and even-handed. Pollard hews to the traditionalist view, i.e. that Richard III was a usurper and murdered his nephews, but unlike so many authors (on either side) he is not consumed with a desperation to prove his case that leads him into nonsensical arguments. He even punctures a few of the sillier traditionalist arguments. He goes into some detail about some of the fine points of the arguments, e.g., the symbolism of the hog, that will be valuable even to people who are already knowledgeable. Pollard also has a dry sense of humor that enlivens the writing.

If the reader wants more, most scholarly biographies of Richard III are traditionalist, i.e., regard him as guilty. The classic Richardian (pro-Richard) biography is Paul Kendall's massive but readable Richard the Third.

Well written and gorgeous to look at.......1999-12-27

Pollard gives an excellent discussion and history of his subject, thorough and clearly written. Much of the material can be found in any book on the subject, but some of it cannot, particularly his discussion of a popular play of the Babes in the Wood and its influence on Shakespeare's version of Richard. Pollard believes Richard murdered his nephews, although he softens it by saying it's OK because everybody did it--well, lots of people anyway. He makes a strong case, perhaps the strongest of anyone who argues that Richard was guilty, but is not biased against Richard. His discussion of the bones found in the the Tower during the reign of Charles II would have been more valuable, however, had Pollard researched forensic pathology even a tiny bit; he reports what this scientist says and what that scientist says, throwing anatomical terms around and then in parenthese saying "whatever that is." (A glance at Gray's Anatomy could have told you, Pollard.) Pollard is simply parroting, with only a hazy idea of what he is saying, which pretty much destroys the worth of any conclusions he draws. But the bones are ultimately not conclusive, even assuming that they are the bones of the Princes, and the rest of the book is of solid worth. Every library should own a copy; individuals may well hesitate at the stiff price, cause by the fact that the book is printed on glossy paper and stuffed with colour pictures. Go for the paperback if you must, but the content makes this book in some form essential for those interested in Richard.

Knights' Kingdom: Quest for the Tower (Lego Knight's Kingdom)

Average customer rating:

Great series of books
Great book for boys!

Knights' Kingdom: Quest for the Tower (Lego Knight's Kingdom)
Michael Anthony Steele
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0439788013

Book Description

The peaceful reign of King Jayko is threatened when Lord Vladek unexpectedly returns with an army of Rogue Knights. The fate of Morcia is determined by King Jayko and his two newest knights as they race against Lord Vladek and his evil warriors to protect the Tower of Ages. Will their strength and courage enable them to get past the dangers and defend the tower from falling into the hands of evil?

Customer Reviews:

Great series of books.......2007-02-06

My boys love this series of books. They'll start with legos next year but they already get excited about them due to these books. The stories are classic good vs evil, easy for them to understand and the artwork is attractive and exciting.

Most of these books come with stickers or trading cards and that's an added kick. They never dull of hearing these.

Great book for boys!.......2007-01-15

My son likes the part when Karzon sets the traps to catch the King, Sir Adric and Sir Kentis. I highly recommend this book for boys that like knight stories. My son is in first grade and can read it himself.

To the Tower Born: A Novel of the Lost Princes

Average customer rating:

More fiction than history
Good twist to the old Tower Tale
Entertaining but flawed
A compelling look into an ages-old mystery
To The Tower Born

To the Tower Born: A Novel of the Lost Princes
Robin Maxwell
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060580518
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Customer Reviews:

More fiction than history.......2007-01-31

What a waste of my time and money! This is the authosr's second book that I read, and I beleive the last. If you like historical fiction this is not for you. I don't think the characters are well developed, she had a wonderful piece of history to work on and did not do it justice. As someone wrote here before maybe the author was influenced by Hollywood because the explosions and the involvement of women of the time ( especially a princess ) on the "action packed" part is somewhat unbelievable. Sometimes the book made me feel it was written for teens.

Good twist to the old Tower Tale.......2006-09-08

3.5 stars

Ms. Maxwell's take on what happened to the two sons of Edward IV who disappeared from the Tower of London shortly after Richard III "usurped" the crown from the eldest of them adds a clever layer to the two most commonly told versions of this story (that Richard III had them murdered, or that he was innocent & uninvolved and the Duke of Buckingham did it in attempt to gain the crown for himself).

I absolutely love the possibility of Margaret Beaufort's involvement which Maxwell has added in this story. Her ambitiousness, political machniations and involvement in intrigue have been well documented. It's entirely plausable to see her as the pupeteer behind Buckingham... however, other aspects of Maxwell's take on how she and Buckingham may have been involved are completely far-fetched. This story provides a "happy ending" to a tale that simply could not have ended so. In writing it as thus, Maxwell pushes the reader beyond the bounds of believability and left this particular one feeling quite disappointed after reading 7/8 of the story only to find a Hollywood ending complete with explosions.

Maxwell relies on an overly used formula to set the stage for the story. The main character, Nell Caxton, is uncommonly educated for a woman of her time, has maintained a childhood friendship with Princess Elizabeth and thus has access to Royal circles, and yet is so likeable and street smart that she is also friends with every street-dwelling pauper and prostitute in the vacinity of Westminster. Nell's cleverness also opens doors to romance with a man of the court, a position as tutor to the young king-to-be, and an appointment as scribe to Margaret Beaufort. Nell has a surprising amount of unchaperoned time, much of which she manages to spend with her also-strangely-unchaperoned princess friend. As one would expect, the girls even get to sneak around undetected disguised as young men.

Despite the kitsch formula and over-the-top ending, the book is entertaining. The story of Richard of York / Richard III and his ascention to the throne and coinciding disappearance of the Princes in the Tower has intrigued the public for 500+ years. Maxwell has contributed a smart, mostly plausable and formerly unexplored possible answer to the mystery.

Entertaining but flawed.......2006-08-13

This is the first book by this author that I've read. I only chose it because it has to do with Richard III and the Princes in the Tower, a mystery that has always fascinated me.

I'm not going through the storyline here, as numerous reviewers before me have already done so. The main question is, who was responsible for the disappearance of the Princes?

Ms. Maxwell's answer as to the identity of the culprit is clever and credible (psychologically and historically speaking), but the whole rescue-of-the-princes scene is such a stretch it's not believable for one second.

Also, though Ms. Maxwell did read some previous books of the subject, she didn't assimilate them very well and makes several historical mistakes, like the people in the crowd circa 1500 referring to Richard III as a hunchback. If they lived at the time, they should have known he was no such thing, that's only Shakespeare's take on it. Besides, by general accounts, Richard III was loved in his time. He was a good king for the little time he had ruling England.

She also absolves Henry VII from the crime on the grounds that he wasn't in England at the time. She obviously didn't read, or conveniently forgot, Josephine Tey's and others' theories that the Princes were alive and well when Henry Tudor took over the Tower (which was not a prison at the time, but a royal residence) and that he (supposedly) only did away with them after he took the throne. Another theory of course is that they were never murdered at all.

Being a stickler for at least some historical accuracy even in a work of historical fiction, that irked me and detracted from my enjoyment of an otherwise entertaining book. I liked Nell Caxton's romance with Lord Rivers, and the fact (which might be true) that Elizabeth of York was in love with Richard III.

The ending left one hanging, because the two friends, Nell and Bessie, tell the whole "true" story to the future Henry VIII. What good did it do? We all know he didn't lift a single finger to rehabilitate his great-uncle's memory. Actually he finished what his father had started, killing off what was left of the heirs of York. And what became of the Princes after they were rescued is also left to the reader's imagination. It would have been nice if she had hinted at the "pretender and impostor" Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be the younger of the two princes during a rebellion under Henry VII.

All in all, I did enjoy the story but purely as a work of suspense/mystery fiction. As historical fiction, it was sadly disappointing.

A compelling look into an ages-old mystery.......2006-06-06

(This review was first published in The Historical Novels Review, Issue 34, November 2005 - ISSN 1471-7492)
The disappearance and alleged murder of Edward IV's young sons in the Tower has fueled centuries of speculation, both in fiction and nonfiction. Shakespeare was one of the first dramatists to peg the crime on Richard III, in part because the playwright lived under Elizabeth I, a Tudor. The Tudors were invested in having history record Richard III as the perpetrator, seeing as Henry VII had killed Richard in battle, founding the Tudor line. Nevertheless, a staunch cadre of Richard III defenders believes he was not to blame. The princes themselves were never seen again, and on this intriguing, if oft-explored, mystery does Robin Maxwell build her fourth novel, as told through Nell Caxton, daughter of an innovative English printer, and Princess Elizabeth (Bessie) of York, the doomed princes' sister. Maxwell has shown her skill in previous historicals, most notably her masterful The Wild Irish; here, she moves back in time to the tumultuous final days of Edward IV's reign and Richard III's usurpation of his nephew's throne. The history itself offers a compelling story line, with the added dimension of the entrepreneurial Caxton family, and we are quickly swept into the chaotic events leading to the princes' disappearance. Maxwell conjures an intelligent, credible alternative to the Richard III theory, with Nell unraveling the mystery. Nell is an engaging lead, a commoner whose educational skills and familial connections allow her to penetrate the royal circle. The tale is accessible even to English history novices, and Maxwell's scheming Buckingham, icy Elizabeth Woodville, and implacable Margaret Beaufort offer a complex glimpse into the often-lethal struggle for power at court.

To The Tower Born.......2006-03-17

This subject has always attracted controversy as to what really happened to the two princes. It is however expressed in a way which leaves the door still slightly ajar for the readers own assumption. I liked this book very much I liked the authors style of writing and the wonderful way it has been told through the eyes of two very different ladies one a royel born the other a commoner with a lasting bond of firm frienship which endures through many trials and tribulations. A great read and I highly recommend it.

The Magic Of The Tower (Knights' Kingdom)

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Continuation of the Knights Kingdom series
Great series of books

The Magic Of The Tower (Knights' Kingdom)
Michael Anthony Steele
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0439828120

Book Description

King Jayko and his loyal knights Adric and Kentis try to stop the Dark Lord Vladek and his Rogue Knights Dracus and Karzon from claiming the power hidden deep within the Mistlands Tower.

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Continuation of the Knights Kingdom series.......2007-03-02

My son is in kindergarten and loves playing with Legos. He enjoys the Knights Kingdom books, which are a perfect length for reading aloud to him and also have excellent graphics. However, they are part of a series of books about Knights Kingdom, and when read out of order the books can be slightly confusing. I highly recommend they be read in the order they were published. The book published prior to "Magic of the Tower" (which is called "Quest for the Tower") ends abruptly, and you need to read "Magic of the Tower" to finish the story.

Great series of books.......2007-02-06

Elizabeth Woodville: Mother of the Princes in the Tower

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Mothers In and Out of Power
An fascinating lady
Great Biography
A fun biography of an interesting woman
Worth reading, but not compelling

Elizabeth Woodville: Mother of the Princes in the Tower
David Baldwin
Manufacturer: Sutton Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0750927747

Book Description

A historical character whose life no novelist would ever have dared to write. A woman whose contemporaries portrayed her as a sorceress demands the attention of all who are interested in medieval and royal history

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Mothers In and Out of Power.......2007-09-05

Elizabeth Woodville was of good stock (despite the slander put about by her detractors). She was descended from Charlemagne on her mother's side; her father was a knight. She was married very young to the eldest son (John Grey) of another knight (who, like her father, had married up), and bore two sons before her husband was killed fighting on the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses. When the new Yorkist King Edward IV traveled through the region consolidating new alliances with these old enemies, he saw the beautiful young widow and, legend has it, fell for her then and there. But perhaps his "falling in love" was hardly the romantic chance encounter it was made out to be afterwards. Edward's choice shook loose Warwick's and probably his mother's efforts to set his agenda. Elizabeth bore him ten children, including two sons who were murdered in the Tower after Edward died. Meanwhile the Yorkist nobility, abetted later by the Lancastrian Tudors, slandered Elizabeth and her family in terms republished even in this century. The story was an eye-opener about the power of slander in shaping enduring public opinion. Five hundred years later, I have a book in front of me published in 2002, by a respectable historian, which characterizes the king's marriage to Elizabeth as "ill-fated," and the Woodvilles as a "horde" of impoverished, grasping nobodies with nothing to offer. Apparently Edward IV did not share that opinion.

When Edward IV died, Elizabeth's luck ran out. Richard III seized power and clapped her boys in the Tower, and by autumn of 1483 she knew she would never be the mother of a king. But she didn't have ten royal pregnancies for nothing. After she knew her boys must be dead, she thought it would be a good idea if Richard married her daughter Elizabeth of York (a plan Richard was later obliged to repudiate). You have to be impressed by this woman in her situation who could still keep her eye on the ball. If she couldn't be the mother of a king, then she would be the mother of a queen. She did get her daughter Elizabeth of York on the throne, finally, as wife of Henry VII. It was actually Henry's mother Margaret Beaufort who sought the alliance, which Elizabeth must have thought was appropriate.

It may have been partly the old contempt for the Beauforts' illegitimacy (Baldwin could have done a much better job explaining who this Henry Tudor was); but Elizabeth probably believed that it was her daughter's royal blood that legitimatized Henry's claim to the throne. The honor was all on his side.

Henry did not act very honored. On the contrary, it seemed he had married one of Edward IV's daughters for no other purpose than to eclipse them. A year and a-half after Bosworth and the birth of their first son, Henry hadn't agreed to his wife's coronation yet. He would not have it said he ruled by right of his wife. And he neither needed nor listened to anybody's counsel but his mother's. So much for being the power behind the throne. Elizabeth was completely outclassed.

In early 1487 Elizabeth took some part, it is not known exactly what it was, in the serious Simnel conspiracy leading to what Baldwin calls the Last Battle of the Wars of the Roses. Her object, Baldwin thinks, was to get rid of the king and his mother, then marry her daughter to her Yorkist cousin Warwick. Then she would be the power behind the throne for sure. She must have been clumsy or she trusted someone she shouldn't have, because Henry learned her part in it. What a disaster for her in this, her last throw of the dice as Baldwin calls it. Henry stripped Elizabeth of all her lands and income, and confined her to an abbey for the remainder of her life where she could cause no more mischief. Her role in the conspiracy, and the roles of other people Henry may have trusted, were covered up because it would not have helped the stability of his reign right then. The former Queen of England, once so powerful and beloved, died in poverty during the reign of a man and his mother who must have loathed her. She was buried without ceremony. Nobody important came to the requiem mass.

She tried!

It just goes to show: Medieval noblewomen liked power as much as men did. A wife of the king might influence him (but not if her mother-in-law was still around; witness Elizabeth of York), but she really came into her own as the widowed mother of a king. That is, of course, if the child listened to her. According to Michael Jones in Bosworth 1485, Edward IV's mother Cecily was so enraged when her son thumbed his nose at her by marrying Elizabeth instead of the French king's sister-in-law, she usurped the queen's apartments and attempted to have him overthrown in favor of his younger brother Clarence by claiming he was illegitimate! This was clearly a mother angry that she didn't have more influence. (Odd that Baldwin does not mention this; perhaps he regarded it as gossip meant to denigrate Elizabeth.) Skeptics argue that Elizabeth was unlikely to do anything to injure her own daughter and grandson, but look. Medieval parents regarded children as personal assets. They created them; they expected to use them. (Wait a minute. I know a mother just like that today.) Elizabeth had other young unmarried daughters with royal blood, too, don't forget. Like Cecily, she might have thought of herself as a sort of kingmaker. She didn't like the present situation. She was frustrated. She thought she could do better. The example of Cecily's willingness to skewer one disobedient son because she had others in stock suggests something about human nature that transcends the cultural ideal. Or perhaps power corrupts. Maybe mothers like Margaret of Anjou and Margaret Beaufort were selflessly committed to one royal child because one was all they had--there was no other avenue to power for them. Yes, I can believe that of Elizabeth. And there's no reason to disapprove of her any more than we should presume to disapprove of Henry and his mother, who used her.

My main complaint about the book is the writing style. A reviewer here said the book was readable but not compelling. Funny, I thought it was the other way around. Or rather, it was intrinsically compelling despite the writing. Baldwin seems allergic to the short, declarative sentence. Paragraphs are often too long. Key points may be buried two or three thousand words deep. Consider this mess of a sentence: "It was the more ascetic, gentler monarchs, like Henry III, Richard II, and Henry VI, who either lost their thrones or came close to losing them, and it can be argued, quite reasonably, that if Richard III had not possessed a comparable streak of determination in his character he would not have found government easy even if he had won the Battle of Bosworth." Huh?

Fascinating times, a real and very human woman. Wish it were a better read.

An fascinating lady.......2007-06-17

A complex book about a complex woman in complex times. I knew little about Elizabeth Woodville until I discovered this book but after digesting the detailed material within, you are completely briefed on the person, the extended family, the politics and the times. The tragedy of her children, the ruthlessness of power around her etc, can only mean you conclude the book with great sympathy for Woodville. I commend this book despite the rather dull prose (at times)

Great Biography.......2007-02-21

I've always been looking for a book on Elizabeth Woodville. History hasn't been too kind to her yet she was the mother of the princes in the tower. She went from being a widow with two children among the English class to being Queen of England. Its so rare for that to happen. You can understand the secrecy surrounding the marriage in the beginning because the other nobles weren't thrilled to say the least and most likely tried to find ways to keep the marriage from happening unfortunately that would later be used to declare her marriage invalid. How horrible it must have been to lose her husband, have her marriage invalid and lose her two sons. At least she got to live long enough to see her daughter become queen.

A fun biography of an interesting woman.......2004-01-02

My primary interest in history--or at least that period in which I did my MA--has always been in the ancient near east. Over the past four or five years, however, I have been branching out more. Of late in particular I have been filling in what I learned of English history in a survey course I took years ago. I've read some on Richard III, on Edward I, II, III, and IV and on Edward the Black Prince. I've followed up on King Harold and his "difference of opinion" with William of Normandy, etc.

In reading some of these works, I find that I've learned only tangentially anything about the women of these episodes. When I came upon a reference to David Baldwin's book on Elizabeth Woodville Mother of the Princes in the Tower, my curiosity was immediately aroused, and I decided to find out something more about one of these women in the background, to see what part they actually played in the drama of their times.

Like most people interested in English history, I know the Shakespeare Richard III and the story of the little princes in the tower. Having read some of the history of the period, I realized too that the queen was not well liked by many of the more influential and established nobility of her husband's realm. These individuals tended to depict her as a small town upstart who capitalized on her personal beauty to better all of the members of her family at the expense of the "legitimate" nobility. This set the stage for a very shaky government; one tested more than once by the disaffected, and created the drama of the Tower and of Richard III. Baldwin gets at the character of Elizabeth by looking at the extant documents of the time and by analyzing how the woman fit into the on going politics of her husband's reign rather than by following the contemporary accounts circulated by the woman's detractors.

I was particularly fascinated by the degree to which each phase of English history links naturally with its predecessor and its successor--not that this is particularly surprising perhaps. Some of the histories of other countries have far more discrete hiatuses between phases. This flow is particularly noticeable when it is viewed from the perspective of Elizabeth Woodville and her family. The royal genetics of the period was definitely convoluted. It was amazing how interrelated were not only the branches of the royal family with one another but with some of the nobility as well. (Looking at other genealogies reveals the degree to which the nobility of most of Europe were interrelated.) That "six degrees of separation" thing was definitely in operation here and pushed to the limit. It left the possibility of Elizabeth's either mending the rift between the houses of Lancaster and York, which is what the author theorizes was the intention of Edward IV, or exacerbating it. It also left a lot of people with a potential claim on the throne and with incentive to cause trouble--which is how the rift began in the first place. The chain continues into the future through the connection of the Tudors with the ultimate patriarch, Edward III. Elizabeth, her daughter--mother of Henry VIII--and her two sons help complete that link. Fascinating.

FOR THOSE WRITING PAPERS IN HISTORY, HISTRIOGRAPHY, SOCIOLOGY, POLITICAL SCIENCES, WOMENS' STUDIES: One might look at how documents like accounts can be used to clarify lifestyles (clothing, expenses for servants, etc), status, power structures, etc or to write a biography such as this one. One might write a paper on the use of power by women in history, on how women acquire power within a society or at what the study of women and other "background" figures reveal about events during a particular episode in time. One might compare less favorable studies of Elizabeth Woodville with this one to determine to what extent the author's assessment of her reign is accurate. One might look at the story of the princes in the tower as it is told in Shakespeare--or Josephine Tey's novel Daughter of Time--and as it is presented in Baldwin's biography of Elizabeth to determine who might actually have committed the murders.

A fun biography of an interesting woman

Worth reading, but not compelling.......2003-12-10

Readers with an interest in the Wars of the Roses will find this book about Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV's Queen, and the mother of the "Princes in the Tower", perfectly readable, but not extremely compelling. This may be due to the relative scarcity of reliable, original source information about her. (I think much of the contemporary information about her is speculation about how she, a widow from the gentry class with two children, managed to attract and win the King, suggesting that witchcraft was involved.) My sense is the book may go a little far in "white-washing" her historical reputation as grasping, selfish, proud and haughty. I just don't think the sketchy information the author was able to marshall was convincing enough to really establish what kind of person Elizabeth actually was, one way or other.

Book Description

Princess Charlotte's first day at Silver Towers isn't going as planned. She's come to the wrong door, she can't find her friends, and it's starting to rain! Then Charlotte finds a magical rose lying in a puddle. . . .

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