Ask the Author: Brian Wainwright
Answered Questions (8)
Brian Wainwright
Stay true to what you want to write (do not be told what to write!) and persist. Never give up.
Brian Wainwright
The mystery of why I have spent my entire life drawn to blonde women, not always with happy outcomes. (Though my wife is indeed a happy outcome!)
Brian Wainwright
The mystery of why I have spent my entire life drawn to blonde women, not always with happy outcomes. (Though my wife is indeed a happy outcome!)
Brian Wainwright
The mystery of why I have spent my entire life drawn to blonde women, not always with happy outcomes. (Though my wife is indeed a happy outcome!)
Brian Wainwright
I am working on a novel about the early years of Constance of York's life. (In effect a prequel to Within the Fetterlock but in a different style and very much from Constance's POV.) it is a big book about two thirds as of October 2021. I have started to enjoy writing again. I also have a second Alianore Audley book on hand - it just needs finishing and tidying, but I have to be in the right mood.
Brian Wainwright
Hi - his mother was named Edith de Willesford, though that's all I know of her. As to his age, he received an annuity of £100 in 1372. This might suggest he was a young man by then, although it's scarcely conclusive. Equally he was married and widowed by 1386. Even this is not conclusive evidence given the frequent practice of child-marriage.
My guess is he was somewhat older than Richard II. The BP did not marry until he was 31, and as heir to the throne it would be amazing if he did not have mistresses before that. Wiki mentions another three children - although, as you know, that is a dodgy source. If we say Roger was born in the late 1350s we are probably not too far out.
My guess is he was somewhat older than Richard II. The BP did not marry until he was 31, and as heir to the throne it would be amazing if he did not have mistresses before that. Wiki mentions another three children - although, as you know, that is a dodgy source. If we say Roger was born in the late 1350s we are probably not too far out.
Brian Wainwright
Badly. It's a real problem for me. When I'm in form, so to speak, writing is a doddle, the story just flows from me like water from a spring. However, when I dry up, I can spend hours at the computer and maybe manage a third of a page. It's very annoying, but I've learned that forcing it is fruitless.
Brian Wainwright
The escape with the Mortimer boys from Windsor. I came across a passing reference to it, and was intrigued. It was such an off-the-wall thing for a noblewoman to do, especially as she was the King's own cousin. So I did a lot of digging. She does appear in government records - mainly after she was widowed - and some published works refer to her, though few in detail.
In point of fact, The House of York in general, not just Constance, gets little attention during this era. This surprises me because her brother, Edward, was enormously influential under Richard II, and increasingly so under both Henry IV and Henry V, right up to his death at Agincourt. Edmund of Langley is often laughed off as a fool of no significance - the truth is more complex. He lacked Gaunt's power and influence because he had only a (relatively) small income. But he stood up against his brother Gloucester in the Parliment of 1387 and actually challenged him to combat over the proposed execution of Simon Burley. He was also a regular attender of councils and witness of charters under Richard II, and there is some evidence to suggest he was instrumental in establishing Henry IV on the throne.
You're right though. Medieval women are harder to pin down, just not impossible. It's particularly difficult with married women who scarcely show in the records at all. Widows who live quietly with no trouble don't show much either. My luck with Constance was that she was actually quite stroppy, even to the point of directly disobeying the King's orders on at least one occasion. So she got herself into the government records.
In point of fact, The House of York in general, not just Constance, gets little attention during this era. This surprises me because her brother, Edward, was enormously influential under Richard II, and increasingly so under both Henry IV and Henry V, right up to his death at Agincourt. Edmund of Langley is often laughed off as a fool of no significance - the truth is more complex. He lacked Gaunt's power and influence because he had only a (relatively) small income. But he stood up against his brother Gloucester in the Parliment of 1387 and actually challenged him to combat over the proposed execution of Simon Burley. He was also a regular attender of councils and witness of charters under Richard II, and there is some evidence to suggest he was instrumental in establishing Henry IV on the throne.
You're right though. Medieval women are harder to pin down, just not impossible. It's particularly difficult with married women who scarcely show in the records at all. Widows who live quietly with no trouble don't show much either. My luck with Constance was that she was actually quite stroppy, even to the point of directly disobeying the King's orders on at least one occasion. So she got herself into the government records.
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