Canelo first paperback edition - 2024
This is the third volume in Ethan Bale's trilogy on the adventures of the fictitious Sir John Hawker and it certainly lives up to the standard of the first. The first and third stories can be likened to quality granary bread in a sandwich, whereas the central spam/corned beef of the second did not quite live up to its coverings. Whilst I rather plodded through The Lost Prince, I thoroughly enjoyed reliving with Hawker and his little band the forlorn attempt to unseat Henry Tudor in 1487.
The reader is back in Venice, but not before we are reminded of the specific 'cross' Hawker has to bear. Ever since 1471, when he was of the party deputed to wrest the Lancastrians from their sanctuary in Tewkesbury Abbey, his conscience has bedevilled him. Now, though, he has to concentrate on rescuing his lover Chiara from her despicable husband Don Contanto (she is pregnant, but her husband has beaten her more than once). From the first, the author has us hooked. The description of the raid on the Venetian's house, the death of Contanto by the hand of Hawker himself and the subsequent flight north to Flanders is on a par with the account of the escape from Bosworth two years earlier. Moreover, the reader can again delve into the characters of Hawker knight without lord; Jacob de Grood, his last remaining man-at arms; Jack Perry, a boy on the cusp of manhood; Sir Giles Ellingham, the blond youth bastard son of Richard Plantagenet; and Gaston Dieudonné, the Burgundian (or was he French?), a secretive character whose loyalty has never been above suspicion.
We then move on eleven months to Malines (Mechelen) in Flanders. It is February 1487; Chiara, now Dame Hawker, has a seven month-old baby, Nicholas - Hawker's longed-for son. Both want to settle down, he to forsake his mercenary past and start up in trade with his wife, her to link up with trading opportunities with Italy. No chance. Rumours abound of another attempt to unseat Tudor. At the centre of this web is Edward IV and Richard III's sister, the widowed Margaret of Burgundy. Sir Oliver de la Marche, knight of the Golden Fleece and tutor to nine year-old Philip, Duke of Burgundy, has other plans for Hawker.
Here fictitious people meet real historical figures. Viscount [Francis] Lovell - a man with nine lives: he had survived Bosworth, led an uprising in the north that failed, gone on the run, escaped, and then, finally, made it across the sea to safety; the boyish earl, John de la Pole, the Earl of Lincoln, who seemed to have chosen his side rather late in the game, perhaps when all other options were closed off. But he knew his claim to the throne was far better than Henry Tudor's was. Moreover, there is a succinct introduction of Duchess Margaret herself: her high forehead accentuated her large grey eyes, fine nose and alabaster complexion...in widowhood, she still stood proud and commanding, a daughter of the House of York and regal in her own right. Between them all, they force Hawker once more to join in the fight against Tudor, which means he has to cross the Channel with his trusty band and spy out the position in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire for a potential landing by the main force. Hawker does not take long to realise this is a ruse, possibly even to get them captured and made to give the lie to a follow-up invasion - rather than just the main one from Ireland (shades of the D-Day landing rumours?)
The author cleverly brings in another real life figure - the bastard son of Richard III, John of Gloucester, onetime Captain of Calais. Unfortunately, John knows which side his bread is buttered on and he serves at the king's pleasure. And he has seen fit to give me twenty marks a year. He spurns Ellingham's attempt to attach himself to the rebels: I do not know you. And I reject you. You bring only trouble with you.
Sensibly, for the plot's purpose, the author has Jack break away from Hawker and join Martin Swartz's mercenaries (landsknechts). This means Jack (and the novel) can follow Lincoln and Lovell to Dublin, where 'Edward V' is crowned; cross the Irish Sea to Lancashire; tramp over the Pennines to Yorkshire; and move down to the denouement at Stoke Field. Bale is excellent at conveying life amongst the mercenary force; the hardships of a disorganised army (they have been joined by unruly Irish contingents) on the march; the forceful disagreements amongst the rebel commanders; and a realistic account of the Battle of Stoke. We have been prepared for the demise of Hawker (his widow and son will be well cared for back in Malines) and de Groot. Both Ellingham and Jack may live for another day, but not so the devious Gaston Dieudonné, who changes sides yet again and meets a timely end at Stoke by the hand of Ellingham.
In his Historical Note, at the end of the novel, the author rightly draws attention - the most definite historical assessments in print - to Michael Bennett's Lambert Simnel and the Battle of Stoke (1987) and David Baldwin's Stoke Field (2006). It is clear he has used both sources to good effect, as his account of the battle is very realistic, even if the 'facts' are still in dispute. Ethan Bale has thoroughly redeemed himself in my view! This third novel can rightly join the first as an example of a well-researched, vibrant piece of work.
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