#SundaySnippet
King in Waiting
The Order of the White Boar, Books 3 & 4
by Alex Marchant
What happened to the ‘Princes in the Tower’? And does Matthew Wansford know the truth?
Two bestselling books in one – King in Waiting and Sons of York
1486
These are dangerous days for the Order of the White Boar
King Richard III has been betrayed and killed
Victorious Henry Tudor sits uneasily on the throne of England
Richard’s loyal friend, Francis Lovell, plots revenge
Alys Langdown, ward of the Queen, awaits an unknown fate
And ever-loyal Matthew Wansford serves his new master, Edward Plantagenet, true King of England – who now must seek his own road …
From exile in Flanders to a homecoming in the dales of Yorkshire, Matthew, Alys and Roger must brave old enemies and rise to their greatest challenge
Can the Order and the King in Waiting claim victory against usurper Henry Tudor?
Read Books 3 and 4 of ‘The Order of the White Boar’ sequence together for the first time, ‘bringing the uncertain and dangerous times after the Battle of Bosworth to life’ (Wendy Johnson, member of the Looking for Richard Project)
Young Matthew Wansford has been sent on a perilous mission to England in late 1486, a year after Lancastrian pretender Henry Tudor has defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth and taken his crown.
The aim of the mission is to persuade John, Earl of Lincoln, Tudor’s new favourite, to join a rebellion to place a Yorkist king on the throne of England. Francis Lovell, once King Richard’s friend and chancellor, ushers Matt into Lincoln’s presence…
I bowed to my lord of Lincoln. The earl’s gaze held me for some moments before he motioned to me to be seated.
‘Lord Lovell tells me that you served my uncle, King Richard, well – both as his page and afterwards. And that now you serve his nephew, my cousin Edward, son of my uncle Edward, who was king before. That you fled England with him more than a year ago.’
‘Aye, my lord. I serve him gladly. As my master King Richard instructed me.’
‘Where is my cousin now?’
I hesitated.
Yet this man, as he said, was family to King Richard, to Edward himself. Lord Francis trusted him. I must overcome my natural caution.
‘He is residing in Flanders, my lord – at present in Mechelen. With his aunt, the dowager Duchess of Burgundy.’
Earl John was thoughtful a moment.
‘My aunt too. Margaret. Who swore never to rest until Henry Tudor is defeated.’
‘Aye, my lord. She will do all she can to restore her family to the throne.’
She had said as much even to me as she asked me to undertake this mission. To brave a crossing of the northern sea in this late season. To risk this meeting…
‘All she can? Would that include putting up an impostor in hopes that Yorkists will flock to his cause?’
Stunned to silence, I swallowed hard to recover my voice, to protest.
‘My lord, no! Why would she do that? How would that return her family, the mighty Plantagenets, to their rightful place? No, my lord, Edward is no impostor.’
‘It is what the rumours say around London and at court. That the boy Edward and his brother died at my uncle Richard’s hands. That my uncle did away with them so he could be king…’
Alex Marchant
Born and raised in the rolling Surrey downs, and following stints in archaeology and publishing in London, Stirling and Gloucester, Alex now lives and writes surrounded by moors in King Richard III’s northern heartland, not far from his beloved York and Middleham. Her first novel, Time out of Time (published June 2021), a timeslip adventures set during the long, hot summer of 1976, won the 2012 Chapter One Children’s Book Award and her second was put to one side in 2013 when the rediscovery of King Richard’s grave in a car park in Leicester was announced. A Ricardian since her teens, it prompted her at last to write a novel about the real Richard III for older children. So The Order of the White Boar and its sequel, The King’s Man, were born, soon followed by the third and fourth novels in the sequence, King in Waiting and Sons of York.
Together the four books explore the life and legacy of the real King Richard III, not the fictionalized villain of Shakespeare's play and 'traditional' history. They have been called 'A wonderful work of historical fiction for both children and adults' by the Bulletin of the Richard III Society.
Alex has also edited two anthologies of short fiction by authors inspired by King Richard: Grant Me the Carving of My Name and Right Trusty and Well Beloved... Both are sold in support of Scoliosis Association UK (SAUK), helping people today who have the same spinal condition as King Richard. She is currently working on another novel based around an archaeological dig in Scotland, and has not yet ruled out continuing the story of the ‘sons of York’ beyond 1487…
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