Good Knight, Sir Terry

This year is the 800th anniversary of King John's barons forcing him to accept the Magna Carta, a document which aimed to curb his tyrannical rule. Magna Carta is undeniably significant in the development of ideas of law, justice and human rights, so 2015 has seen many events aimed at encouraging people to learn more about it and its relevance to the modern world.

This week, I had the pleasure of visiting Salisbury Cathedral, which is hosting 25 of the Baron's Charter statues before they're auctioned off this Thursday in aid of the Trussell Trust. These incredible, life-sized noblemen were designed by local artists to reflect a range of historic and local themes.

One of the most popular - one which I hope will raise a great deal of money for the charity - was a tribute to the late Sir Terry Pratchett, who lived near Salisbury.  Created by Paul Kidby, the talented artist who has been illustrating Sir Terry's Discworld books since 2002, it featured a portrait of the author and a myriad of his famous characters.

If you're feeling flush, don't miss the auction at 6.30pm in Salisbury Cathedral on Thursday 1st October 2015. If not, there's still time to get face-to-face with this brilliant baron and his brethren before they go under the hammer.  Visit the Baron's Charter website to find out more.

 

 

  

Related Links

Paul Kidby's website
The Baron's Charter website
The Magna Carta 800 website
Salisbury Cathedral

UPDATE

The auction raised over £223,000 and someone bought the Discworld Baron for a fantastic £5000.  Congratulations to the lucky bidder and great job to everyone involved.

Girls on Film

Finishing 'The Kingmaker's Daughter' by Philippa Gregory meant I felt ready to watch the BBC series 'The White Queen', starring Rebecca Ferguson (Elizabeth Woodville), Amanda Hale (Margaret Beaufort, 'The Red Queen') and Faye Marsay (Anne Neville, 'The Kingmaker's Daughter').

Originally broadcast  on BBC One in 2013, 'The White Queen' is based on three of the Cousins' War novels, 'The White Queen', 'The Red Queen' and 'The Kingmaker's Daughter'.  It brings to life a dark and complex world of conspiracies, alliances and dynastic ambition, not to mention all the books' key players.

I'm really glad that I waited until I'd read all three of the source novels before watching this.  The reason why films and TV series often fail to convince readers is simply because their writers can't squeeze everything in a book(s) into a few hours of screen time.  This leaves them with a tough choice; cut chunks of the original story or squeeze everything in without covering it properly.  My memory may be letting me down, but I'm pretty sure that the makers of 'The White Queen' went for the latter option, which meant that it was actually a really useful reminder of what happened in the books rather than a standalone piece in its own right.  It may not be what the BBC originally intended, but I feel well prepared for 'The White Princess' and her successors now!

On the whole, I thought the casting was strong and the actors did a good job.  Rebecca Ferguson and the other leading ladies were excellent, but Max Irons (Edward IV) didn't work for me and James Frain (Earl of Warwick) wasn't my image of the Kingmaker at all. Frain's a great actor who I've enjoyed in many other films and programmes, but I feel he's at his best when playing slippery politicians rather than bullish warriors.  I just couldn't imagine him having the physical power to wield a sword in battle, which was slightly distracting.  Just like the books, it was an interesting ensemble piece, however, and it worked because the collective talent present was so strong.  I've spent so much time on IMDb checking people I'd seen somewhere before!

A lot of work had clearly gone into the gorgeous costumes and the use of colour was thoughtful.  Several times I found myself wishing I could wear a few of the stunning gowns - both luxurious and warm looking!  But where were the hats?  Duchess Cecily had a couple of nice bits of headgear,but on the whole they seemed to be completely absent, which seemed a bit odd when they got so many mentions in the books.

The other element I usually like in a historical drama is the locations.  'The White Queen' was filmed in Belgium and provided some stunning backgrounds.  The set piece coronations and court scenes offered a glimpse of medieval glamour and made rooms that seem spartan by today's standards rich and opulent, full of brightly coloured glass and richly embroidered hangings.  But all too often it felt restricted and fairy tale-esque and none of the exteriors really felt like, well, England.

On the whole, I enjoyed 'The White Queen', but it'll probably be a while before I watch it again.  It was a useful revision tool, but on the whole felt too clean and tidy to have the sense of time and place that I always bang on about in historical novels.  On the one hand, I completely understand that the tumble-down structures we see today aren't the highly painted and richly furnished castles and churches our ancestors would've recognised, but equally everything looked a bit too fresh out of the box to be completely believable in this programme.

I've heard rumours that a new series based on 'The White Princess' may follow.  I think I would watch it, but I really do need to read the books first!

Now, back to the books!

Related Links

Official BBC One Website
IMDb site
Philippa Gregory Official Website

Crowning Conspiracies

Hello darlings!  Have you missed me?  Know I've missed you, so let's get cracking.

I recently finished reading 'The Kingmaker's Daughter' by Philippa Gregory, the fourth instalment in her Cousins' War series covering the conflict often called the Wars of the Roses.  It took me a while to get around to reading this because, although I loved the first book ('The Lady of the Rivers'), I didn't enjoy the next two novels as much, so rather lost the impetus to keep reading.  With so much publicity around a new book by Ms. Gregory, however, I was reminded how much I enjoy her work and decided to go back to the 1400s and see what was happening.

'The Kingmaker's Daughter'
by Philippa Gregory
(Simon and Schuster, 2012)

Anne Neville is the youngest daughter for the great Earl of Warwick, known as the Kingmaker for his part in bringing Edward IV to the throne.  But fortune's wheel is always turning and when the King secretly marries Elizabeth Woodville rather than the French princess Warwick has negotiated for him, he realises he's losing both the power and influence for which he fought.  Resourceful and cunning, Warwick decides to use all his assets to regain his status, including his only children, daughters Isabel and Anne.  The girls become pawns in a risky struggle, used by power-hungry men in a game of high stakes and ultimate prizes.  But in a world where people will stop at nothing to win a crown, is anyone truly safe?

Reading this book proves a theory mentioned in my blog about 'The Red Queen', the previous title in this series.  I'd found the novel dull partly because I'd only just read 'The White Queen', which covered the same-ish time period, just from a different character's perspective.  I found it harder to keep reading because I knew what was going to happen.  By 'The Kingmaker's Daughter', however, I'd forgotten the details of the earlier books and found my interest once again piqued by Gregory's choice of narrator and perspective, as well as her superlative skill in conjuring a sense of time and place.

I've always preferred reading historical novels that explore the politics of an era and this is a key theme of 'The Kingmaker's Daughter'.  Though pretty powerless, Anne and her sister are often at the centre of plots and counter-plots that see allegiances change and their status rise and fall.  They get used so often by the men around them over their lifetimes that paranoia takes hold and, even when they do achieve their aims, they are unable to enjoy it or think of anything other than keeping hold of their positions.  As such, this book is full of a tension that kept me reading right until the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  It's even made me want to go back and give its predecessors a second chance.  But I do have another one or two books to read first!

Now, what next..?

Related Posts

Cousins' War Novels

'The Lady of the Rivers'
'The White Queen'
'The Red Queen'

Also by Philippa Gregory

'The Other Queen'
'The Virgin's Lover'