Ebook The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck Mary Shelley Books

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The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck A Romance is an 1830 historical novel by Mary Shelley about the life of Perkin Warbeck. The book takes a Yorkist point of view and proceeds from the conceit that Perkin Warbeck died in childhood and the supposed impostor was indeed Richard of Shrewsbury. Henry VII of England is repeatedly described as a "fiend" who hates Elizabeth of York, his wife and Richard's sister, and the future Henry VIII, mentioned only twice in the novel, is a vile youth who abuses dogs. Her preface establishes that records of the Tower of London, as well as the histories of Edward Hall, Raphael Holinshed, and Francis Bacon, the letters of Sir John Ramsay to Henry VII that are printed in the Appendix to John Pinkerton's History of Scotland establish this as fact. Each chapter opens with a quotation. The entire book is prefaced with a quotation in French by Georges Chastellain and Jean Molinet.

Ebook The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck Mary Shelley Books

"action, intrique, and romance wonderfully recounted."

Product details Hardcover 156 pages Publisher Blurb (January 9, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 1388818906

Tags : The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (9781388818906) Mary Shelley Books,Mary Shelley,The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck,Blurb,1388818906,FICTION / General,Fiction/Historical - General

The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck Mary Shelley Books Reviews :

The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck Mary Shelley Books Reviews

• I'm fairly passionate about the Wars of the Roses and their Tudor sequel with the campaigns of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, two lads who attempted to persuade the Englishmen of the day that they were one of the sons of Edward IV, both of whom disappeared during the reign of Richard III, who has long been blamed for their murder. I was attracted to this novel since it was written by a well-known author of the nineteenth century, Mary Shelley, the author of *Frankenstein*. The thing I enjoyed the most about it was that Shelley internationalizes the story, showing us Perkin Warbeck's sojourns and supporters in Flanders, Burgundy, Spain, Scotland, and Ireland. The idea that he learned military strategy by helping Ferdinand and Isabella end the Muslim occupation of Spain seemed entirely plausible, and the episodes in Scotland, Ireland, and Burgundy are based on historical fact Ireland was a long-time ally of the House of York; the duchess of Burgundy was the aunt of the two princes who went missing from the Tower; and the Scottish king did see fit to marry his own kinswoman to Perkin, the presumed duke of York, and, hence, the true king of England (as opposed to Henry VII, the first Tudor king). It takes a genealogy chart to keep everyone straight, but even without knowing much of the historical background, most readers could follow the action well enough. In addition to internationalizing the story, Shelley plumbs fifteenth-century history for other threads that might well have impacted Perkin's story, including a character plotting to run off to the New World with a Yorkist lass (yes, this is post-1492, so it makes for a spot of probability) and the lass, not quite so enamored with the idea, disguising herself as a pilgrim to Canterbury Cathedral--another atmospheric of the time period. With all these plusses and the well-turned phrases of a classic writer, I kept wondering why this book was so little known, and I think I discovered it about half-way through, where the narrator (not a character of the evil or good sort, just the plain old narrator of the tale) makes a disparaging use of the term "Jew." My heart sank when I read that, as I realized I wouldn't be able to make an unqualified endorsement of this book to any of my students. Shelley was a citizen of her own time period and must, I suppose, be viewed that way, but it did taint an otherwise fun read. One last note about the edition. In the first few chapters, there were a number of typos, but they tended to diminish as I went further into the text.
• action, intrique, and romance wonderfully recounted.