Tracey Warr's Blog, page 10
December 20, 2022
An invasion and a curse
I am delighted to announce the new edition of Daughter of the Last King, the first novel in my Conquest trilogy on the turbulent life of the 12th century Welsh noblewoman, Nest ferch Rhys, and the reign of King Henry I.
The book will be published on 1 March 2023, Saint David’s Day.
The ebook can be preordered now on Amazon.
More ways to buy and print book preorders are coming soon. It will be available in hardback, paperback and ebook. Audio book coming in 2024. The fabulous new cover is by award-winning designer, Jessica Bell.
To find out more about the new editions of all my historical novels coming next year, have a look at my publishing imprint, Meanda Books.
December 11, 2022
Christmas Sale! – Sold Out!
Sales always have exclamation marks, don’t they?
Copies of my historical novels, Almodis the Peaceweaver and The Viking Hostage make perfect Christmas presents and are available for the ridiculous Christmas sale price of £6, including postage and packing to anywhere.
The copies I had sold out in a day – thank you readers and good luck to those packages trying to get through to Canada, Sweden, and the UK through strikes and snow. There will be more sales and freebies coming soon. If you haven’t already signed up to my quarterly newsletter, Just Meandering, sign up now for news on offers and new publications.
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Processing… Success! You're on the list. Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.Christmas Sale!
Sales always have exclamation marks, don’t they?
Copies of my historical novels, Almodis the Peaceweaver and The Viking Hostage make perfect Christmas presents and are available for the ridiculous Christmas sale price of £6, including postage and packing to anywhere.
December 1, 2022
King and Lover
On this day, 887 years ago, King Henry I died after eating too many lampreys. Henry was the youngest son of William the Conqueror. He took the throne of England and Wales in 1100 after his older brother King William II (Rufus) was killed in a hunting accident in the New Forest. Henry was a member of the hunting party when his brother was shot by an arrow. Many Norman nobles believed the crown should have gone to the eldest of William the Conqueror’s three surviving sons, Robert (Curthose or Short Legs) Duke of Normandy. In 1106, Henry defeated Robert in battle, imprisoned him for 28 years and added the duchy of Normandy to his Anglo-Norman empire. He was a harsh but effective ruler until his death in 1135 at the age of 67. He died at a hunting lodge in Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy and was buried at Reading Abbey in England.
Henry probably holds the record for the king with the highest number of mistresses and illegitimate children. The majority of his known mistresses, and his first queen, were ‘native’ women – Anglo-Saxons, Welsh and Scottish – from the lands that his father had conquered. He had over 23 illegitimate children and acknowledged and took care of them and their mothers.
Henry’s only legitimate son drowned in a shipwreck in the English Channel in 1120, sparking a succession crisis. Henry named his legitimate daughter, Empress Matilda, as his successor but when he died suddenly in Normandy, his nephew Stephen de Blois rushed to England and usurped the throne. A long period of civil war ensued between Stephen and Matilda. Stephen, however, was not fated to displace Henry’s bloodline on the throne. His son Eustace died in 1153 and his other son William renounced his claim to the throne, in favour of his cousin Henry FitzEmpress. King Stephen died in 1154 and Henry I’s grandson and Matilda’s son became King Henry II.
New editions of my historical fiction trilogy, Conquest, are published in spring 2023 and can be preordered at Meanda Books. The novels centre on the reign of Henry I and the turbulent life of the Welsh noblewoman Nest ferch Rhys who was one of Henry’s mistresses and is pictured in bed with the king above.
November 25, 2022
Tonight’s History Mystery
On this November evening, around midnight, 902 years ago,
The White Ship set sail from Barfleur carrying the heir of King Henry I of England, Wales and Normandy. The Anglo-Norman empire created by William the Conqueror necessitated frequent, often annual, travel across the English sea by the ruler and many of his entourage. That night, King Henry had already set sail for England on another ship, an hour or so ahead.
There were 300 young Norman nobles aboard The White Ship and wine was flowing for passengers and crew alike. It was a moonless night. Less than a mile from the shore, the newly-built ship struck a rock and swiftly sank. There was only one survivor – a butcher from Rouen – who clung to a broken plank.
King Henry lost his only legitimate son, 17-year-old William Adelin, in the wreck. Also aboard were two of the king’s illegitimate children, Richard and Mathilde, countess of Perche, the king’s niece, the Earl of Chester and many other nobles and friends. Some of the drowned washed ashore but the body of the prince was never found. Vestiges of the wreck were discovered by divers only last year.
The disaster set off a succession crisis. The ageing king took a new wife but there were no more royal children. In desperation, King Henry made his barons swear an oath of allegiance to his daughter, Empress Maud, and named her as his successor. When Henry died, his nephew Stephen de Blois usurped the throne. Empress Maud and King Stephen fought a civil war, known as The Anarchy, which dragged on for years. When Stephen died, Maud’s son Henry II took the throne.
Was the sinking of The White Ship an accident or was it mass murder? There are unsolved mysteries about the wreck, with the most glaring being that Stephen de Blois was on the ship but disembarked shortly before it sailed.
My historical fiction trilogy, Conquest, deals with The White Ship wreck and the following succession crisis. One of my characters, Sheriff Haith, sets about trying to solve the mystery. New editions of my trilogy will be published in the spring and can be preordered from Meanda Books. And don’t miss the Christmas sale of two of my other historical novels set in 10th and 11th century Europe.
Further down the coast from Barfleur, in contemporary Honfleur, The La Mora Association are currently working on recreating the vessel that William Adelin’s grandfather William the Conqueror used to cross the Channel in the 1066 invasion of England. La Mora was a Viking-type warship with a slender profile, which could sail up rivers and run aground on the shore. It was 34 m long, built from oak, with a 150-square-metre sail, and could carry a crew of 70 people including 60 rowers. The ship and the accompanying invasion fleet are depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry (left). The recreation of the ship is part of a living history project, which will include an ambitious exhibition of the maritime history of Normandy. The original Bayeux Tapestry is on exhibition in Bayeux in France, and a replica can be seen at Reading Museum in the UK.
For more on The White Ship mystery see:
Charles Spencer, The White Ship, 2021.
Victoria Chandler, “The Wreck of the White Ship”, in The Final Argument: The Imprint of Violence on Society in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, edited by Donald J. Kagay and L.J. Andrew Villalon (1998).
‘What Was The White Ship Disaster’, History Hit
What Was the White Ship Disaster?
‘Death and Anarchy: The White Ship Disaster’, Reading Museum
‘Charles Spencer on The White Ship’, History Extra
November 8, 2022
The Tinkle of Sleigh Bells Coming
I will be at the Laguepie Salon du Livre in France in December with eight English books and one French book on sale at discount prices – historical fiction and speculative fiction. Perfect Christmas presents!
Salon du Livres
Sunday 4 December
9.30am-5.30pm
Salles des Fetes, Rue de la Mairie,
82250 Laguepie, France
My historical fiction centres on female protagonists in early medieval Europe –
Almodis de la Marche, Countess of Toulouse and Barcelona – ‘she was afflicted with a Godless female itch’ according to the monk historian, William of Malmesbury
Aina of Segur, Viscountess of Limoges – kidnapped by Vikings, and
Nest ferch Rhys, the daughter of the last independent Welsh king during the Norman conquest and the mistress of the Norman king, Henry I.
Reviewers comment:
Almodis the Peaceweaver – ‘I read the book over a couple of days when I really should have been doing something else.’
The Viking Hostage – ‘Human chess played with lives and lands.’
Daughter of the Last King: ‘I could not put this book down from the moment I started it. I practically inhaled the content.’
October 31, 2022
New editions coming soon
New editions of my Conquest series will be launched in spring 2023.
Almodis the Peaceweaver and The Viking Hostage are on Christmas Sale at Meanda Books. Free postage and packing anywhere in the world.
Almodis the Peaceweaver is the story of an 11th century female lord.
The Viking Hostage tells the story of Sigrid who is sold into slavery and separated from her brothers. Set in 10th century France and Wales.
Check out the Christmas Sale at Meanda Books now.
Sorry! Event Cancellation… but discounted books available
My planned talk for The English Library in Villefranche-de-Rouergue on Friday 4 November 2022 has been cancelled. It is postponed to spring 2023 when new editions of my historical novels will be launched. Watch this space for news on the new editions.
In the meantime, if you were planning to come along to Villefranche and would like to buy some books as Christmas presents, I will be at
Salon du Livres
Laguepie, 82250,
France
on 3 & 4 December.
I will be selling copies of all my historical novels at the Salon du Livres at the discounted price of 10 euros.
October 11, 2022
Author Event in France
Villefranche-de-Rouergue By MOSSOT [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) via Wikimedia Commons]Friday 4 November 2022, 6pm
The English Library
Centre Sociale, 19 Rue Sergent Bories
12200 Villefranche-de-Rouergue, France
Imagining Medieval Women
Local author Tracey Warr returns to The English Library to speak about concluding her trilogy on the medieval Welsh noblewoman, Nest ferch Rhys, and to talk about her next writing project. Her new medieval mystery series is set in 12th-century Toulouse and features a female troubadour who solves murders as a sideline. Tracey’s fiction draws on historical chronicles, old maps, objects in museums, and medieval literature to create vivid fictional worlds.
Tracey Warr was born in London, lived for a time in Wales and is now living near Villefranche-de-Rouergue in France. She was a contemporary art curator and an art history academic, and is currently writing fiction full time. She has published five novels and several books on contemporary art.
Reviewers comment:
Almodis the Peaceweaver – ‘I read the book over a couple of days when I really should have been doing something else.’
The Viking Hostage – ‘Human chess played with lives and land.’
Daughter of the Last King: ‘I could not put this book down from the moment I started it. I practically inhaled the content.’
September 13, 2022
Carew Castle and Nest ferch Rhys
Nest is the heroine of my Conquest trilogy and Carew was one of her castle homes. It may have been the site of her kidnap by the Welsh prince, Owain ap Cadwagn, when her Norman husband Gerald FitzWalter was forced to escape down the castle’s toilet chute. (See my article for further information on this incident and the wily Gerald.)
