Rosemary Hawley Jarman (1935–2015)
Author of We Speak No Treason
About the Author
Series
Works by Rosemary Hawley Jarman
The Mists Of Melusine 1 copy
Between Ourselves 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1935-04-27
- Date of death
- 2015-03-17
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Alice Ottley School, Worcester, England, UK
- Occupations
- historical novelist
short story writer
poet
novelist - Organizations
- Society of Authors
Richard III Society - Relationships
- Plumb, R.T. (husband)
- Short biography
- At age 18, Rosemary Hawley Jarman went to London to study singing. Family circumstances prevented her from continuing in this direction and she worked for a time in local government in Upton-on-Severn. She was a member of the Richard III Society and a staunch defender of the king's reputation many years before the public recognition aroused by the discovery of his remains. She helped fulfill her personal obsession with King Richard by writing a long novel, We Speak No Treason, based on his true history. It was only by chance that this book, her first work of fiction, was published in 1971. It became a bestseller, received wide acclaim, and launched her career as an author. She lived with writer R.T. Plumb for 18 years before they married in 2002, about a year before his death. After several more historical novels, including The King's Grey Mare (1972) and The Courts of Illusion (1983), she published her first fantasy, The Captain's Witch, in 2009. In 2010, her Middleham Poems on the life of her hero Richard III, which were set to music by Ted Watson, were performed for the first time with The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-on-Avon.
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Worcester, Worcestershire, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Worcester, Worcestershire, England, UK
London, England, UK
Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK - Place of death
- Worcester, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
I read this when it first came out in 1971 (for some reason the paperback edition I now have is in two parts). It came close on the heels of reading Josephine Tey's "The Daughter of Time", and for many years I was a romantic Ricardian. Nowadays I think on balance he probably was quite ruthless and did indeed have poor little Ned and Dick killed. But I'm still fascinated by the period, was very excited when they discovered his bones in the car park, and went with a friend in a rainy March show more 2015 to stand in a wet Leicester street watching the long-delayed obsequies at Leicester Cathedral on a big screen. I think the romance lies in it being the end of the Middle Ages; soon Henry VII's son would strip us of our saints and shrines, our candles and prayers for our dead loved ones....
But to Ms Jarman's book. This is a really good, well-written, beautifully imagined historical novel. She avoids the knee-slapping fustian of "Gadzooks, my lord!", inventing a hybrid language between modern and medieval speech, which swings the story along: "Gardening is all of my pleasure now. It was ever more a joy than a duty, to watch the tender shoots burst forth in spring, and to know that I had a part of them, in the cold season".
There's a richness and immediacy to it all: the casting of weird spells to ensnare King Edward, the Maiden watching the far-off revels at Court from her draughty hiding place above, the old nun at the end casting her beautiful embroidery as a pall over the dead king...
Here Richard is portrayed as the verray parfit gentil knight. An alternative, what-might-have-been history. show less
But to Ms Jarman's book. This is a really good, well-written, beautifully imagined historical novel. She avoids the knee-slapping fustian of "Gadzooks, my lord!", inventing a hybrid language between modern and medieval speech, which swings the story along: "Gardening is all of my pleasure now. It was ever more a joy than a duty, to watch the tender shoots burst forth in spring, and to know that I had a part of them, in the cold season".
There's a richness and immediacy to it all: the casting of weird spells to ensnare King Edward, the Maiden watching the far-off revels at Court from her draughty hiding place above, the old nun at the end casting her beautiful embroidery as a pall over the dead king...
Here Richard is portrayed as the verray parfit gentil knight. An alternative, what-might-have-been history. show less
Henry V, after winning the Battle of Agincourt, demanded that all poets give the glory to God, not to the king. Naturally, the result is that he became the most renowned, indeed worshipped, of all English kings -- the man who would have conquered France had he lived.
Most moderns take a more jaundiced view. Yes, Henry V won all his battles in France -- all one of them. Yes, he had taken over the government of France. Yes, he appeared to be on his way to absolute victory. But he still had a show more lot to do, and while he might have had the military power to conquer France, did he really know how to run it? And would it have been a good thing if he had?
Jarman doesn't worry about any of that. This volume probably shows more hero-worship of Henry V than any other study I've read of the Hundred Years' War. It pays little attention to the iron fist with which he ruled, to his lack of mercy, to his persecution of even the tiniest hints of disagreement with the Catholic Church. Nor does it point out his hypocrisy in claiming to be the legitimate King of France when this claim was based on the female line -- although there was a senior claimant to the throne of England in female line!
Much of what is found in this book is interpretation rather than fact, and the interpretation is consistently pro-Henry. Is it a bad book? No; it is interesting in its way, and it is only mildly off-base (certainly it's more accurate than, say, Shakespeare). But if you want a truly reliable history of Agincourt, there are plenty of them out there -- and, believe me, they'll give Henry V more than sufficient praise without going to this book's extremes. show less
Most moderns take a more jaundiced view. Yes, Henry V won all his battles in France -- all one of them. Yes, he had taken over the government of France. Yes, he appeared to be on his way to absolute victory. But he still had a show more lot to do, and while he might have had the military power to conquer France, did he really know how to run it? And would it have been a good thing if he had?
Jarman doesn't worry about any of that. This volume probably shows more hero-worship of Henry V than any other study I've read of the Hundred Years' War. It pays little attention to the iron fist with which he ruled, to his lack of mercy, to his persecution of even the tiniest hints of disagreement with the Catholic Church. Nor does it point out his hypocrisy in claiming to be the legitimate King of France when this claim was based on the female line -- although there was a senior claimant to the throne of England in female line!
Much of what is found in this book is interpretation rather than fact, and the interpretation is consistently pro-Henry. Is it a bad book? No; it is interesting in its way, and it is only mildly off-base (certainly it's more accurate than, say, Shakespeare). But if you want a truly reliable history of Agincourt, there are plenty of them out there -- and, believe me, they'll give Henry V more than sufficient praise without going to this book's extremes. show less
I admit my high rating may be due to early imprinting and nostalgia, but this was one the novels that made me fall in love with both English history and historical fiction. I was maybe fourteen when I still read this book but I can still remember it vividly decades later. Jarman is known as someone sympathetic to Richard III, who thinks him much maligned--you can see that in his depiction in Jarman's We Speak No Treason centered on Richard III. Ordinarily, ardent Ricardians are harsh on show more Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of the minor gentry who caught the eye of a king and became Queen and mother of the Two Princes in the Tower and an ancestor of Elizabeth I (and II). This portrait does have its hard edges, but I did feel sympathy for her Elizabeth--more I felt the pull of her charisma, and I think Jarman does well by her subject. I also enjoyed Jarman's We Speak No Treason and Crown in Candlelight about the wife of Henry V who'd become an ancestress of the Tudors. The King's Grey Mare though remains my favorite novel by her. (And when a friend I lent my copy to returned it with the copy ripped off, let me tell you that was the beginning of the end of our friendship.) show less
The King’s Grey Mare by Rosemary Hawley Jarman tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville who became the wife of Edward the IV and the mother of the two lost princes of the tower. She lived during extremely turbulent times and played a major role in many of the events that have become known as the War of the Roses.
Elizabeth’s capturing of Edward was very good for the Woodville family as they had previously backed the Lancaster side of the dispute, now married to the House of York’s heir, show more they benefited mightily. Unfortunately some of the House of York’s top players were against this marriage, most prominently was Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and Edward’s own brother, Richard of Gloucester who went on to become Richard III.
Her life was one of contrasts rising to become the Queen of England, but also sinking to having to beg for sanctuary from the church in order to stay out of grasp of Richard III. She saw her marriage declared unlawful and her children named bastards by Richard, but also saw this act overturned by Henry Tudor and herself and her children declared “Royal” once again. Her daughter married Henry VII and this alliance put an end to the War of the Roses.
I enjoyed this book and found Elizabeth to be a very engaging woman and appreciated all the 15th century details that the author added. I believe the history is accurate and her speculation as to the fate of the two doomed princes was interesting and believable. What I didn’t care for was the hint of witchcraft that I believe was sheer propaganda spread by her enemies and the author used simply to enhance Elizabeth’s mystique. Also I didn't care much for the format, the book was broken into long segments with no chapters. Often years would have gone by from one paragraph to another which was disconcerting.
Overall I found The King’s Grey Mare to be a pretty good blend of fiction and history. It is definitely among the books that I would recommend to anyone wanting to read of this time period, with The Sunne in Spendour still holding top spot. show less
Elizabeth’s capturing of Edward was very good for the Woodville family as they had previously backed the Lancaster side of the dispute, now married to the House of York’s heir, show more they benefited mightily. Unfortunately some of the House of York’s top players were against this marriage, most prominently was Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and Edward’s own brother, Richard of Gloucester who went on to become Richard III.
Her life was one of contrasts rising to become the Queen of England, but also sinking to having to beg for sanctuary from the church in order to stay out of grasp of Richard III. She saw her marriage declared unlawful and her children named bastards by Richard, but also saw this act overturned by Henry Tudor and herself and her children declared “Royal” once again. Her daughter married Henry VII and this alliance put an end to the War of the Roses.
I enjoyed this book and found Elizabeth to be a very engaging woman and appreciated all the 15th century details that the author added. I believe the history is accurate and her speculation as to the fate of the two doomed princes was interesting and believable. What I didn’t care for was the hint of witchcraft that I believe was sheer propaganda spread by her enemies and the author used simply to enhance Elizabeth’s mystique. Also I didn't care much for the format, the book was broken into long segments with no chapters. Often years would have gone by from one paragraph to another which was disconcerting.
Overall I found The King’s Grey Mare to be a pretty good blend of fiction and history. It is definitely among the books that I would recommend to anyone wanting to read of this time period, with The Sunne in Spendour still holding top spot. show less
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