March Bravely Into Hell: The Rise of the Tudors (Tudor Quartet #1)

Henry of Lancaster suffers from catatonic schizophrenia and is incapable of ruling but his queen, Margaret of Anjou, is determined to keep him on the throne. His rival, Richard of York, grows increasingly powerful but he has many enemies and, when he overreaches himself and is subsequently killed at the Battle of Wakefield, it seems as if Margaret has won. However, York’s eldest son, Edward of March, defeats the Welsh under Owen and Jasper Tudor and marches towards London. Meanwhile, whilst King Henry is held prisoner by the Yorkists, his queen rides south with an army of victorious northerners, accompanied by a contingent of brutal Scottish Highlanders, despoiling, raping and pillaging as they go. When Edward's ally, the Earl of Warwick, is defeated and the king is freed it seems that the Lancastrians are unstoppable. However, many have turned against the plundering Lancastrians and London holds firm for York. The Lancastrians are forced to retreat back to the North or starve. Edward, now Duke of York, pursues them and the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil sees Lancaster finally defeated. Henry VI, his wife and young son are forced to flee into exile and only Jasper Tudor is left to carry on the war in Wales. As the dynastic struggle raged, a baby is born to the dead Edmund Tudor and his thirteen year old widow, Lady Margaret Beaufort, at Pembroke Castle. Only his mother believes the prophesy that the baby, Henry Tudor, would one day sit on the throne of England. Not only are there many Lancastrians with a much better claim, it seems as if the days of their dynasty are over when Edward of York is crowned king by the victorious Yorkists. As the nephew of Jasper, an attainted traitor, the four year old Henry Tudor is taken to Raglan Castle as the prisoner of Lord Herbert. His life hangs in the balance as parliament meets to consider his fate.