(For those of you keeping score, that’s four Richards!) Never fear, though, our author has things well under control and is able to keep us from total confusion with all these Richards hanging around. There’s his uncle, Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and his cousin, Richard of Gloucester. And this is where problems could arise with the story because other family members who play important roles in this story include two more Richards. It is this Richard who history will later call the Kingmaker. They decide to name their first-born son Richard, after his father.
The story opens with the long-awaited birth of a son to Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury and Alice Montagu. But recently, I’ve started rethinking things, and while this is a fictional version of the man’s life, it has helped me in my reevaluation of the Kingmaker. Why did he do this? Because he was supposed to be too arrogant and full of himself was the usual answer. He was important to the main story, but not important enough for me to know much about him other than that he helped Edward IV in his quest for the throne of England, and later turned coat and rebelled against the man he’d once helped. Warwick: The Man behind the Wars of the Rosesįor a long time, Warwick, often referred to as The Kingmaker, was for me more or less a background figure in many of the books I’ve read, on the order of a major but secondary character. Whatever the truth, his story is one of adventure, power and influence at the heart of one of the most dangerous times in the history of England. Others describe him as the ‘last of the barons’, ruling his fiefdom like an uncrowned king. Sometimes Warwick is portrayed as the skilled political manipulator behind the throne, shaping events for his own advantage. Writers from William Shakespeare to best-selling modern authors have tried to show what sort of man Richard Neville must have been, with quite different results.
Then, in an amazing change of heart, why does he risk everything to fight for her cause? The friend of kings, he is the sworn enemy of Queen Margaret of Anjou.
As Captain of Calais, he turns privateer, daring to take on the might of the Spanish fleet and becoming Admiral of England. A key figure in what have become known as ‘the Wars of the Roses,’ he fought in most of the important battles. He becomes a warrior knight, bravely protecting the north against invasion by the Scots. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, is the wealthiest noble in England. ‘A story of adventure, power and influence at the heart of one of the most dangerous times in the history of England.’
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