Alex Marchant's Blog, page 22
February 22, 2019
The tenth anniversary of the Looking for Richard Project #RichardIII
“Ten years ago today, on 21st February 2009 at the Cramond Inn in Edinburgh, the Looking for Richard Project began. Thanks to the tireless work and tenacity of the amazing Philippa Langley, aided, of course, by other founder members Annette Carson, Dr David and Wendy Johnson, and the much missed Dr John Ashdown-Hill, Richard was finally found. Thank you!”
What a momentous occasion that was, and what an incredible group of people.
Without them King Richard would probably never have been found. (And almost certainly not within the brief window of opportunity for confirming his DNA…)
Also, without them, my books about King Richard might never have been written, so I owe them a personal debt of gratitude. Not for nothing are they the dedicatees of ‘The Order of the White Boar‘.
So very many thanks to them all
February 21, 2019
The 1482 Invasion of Scotland, via the Scottish Branch of the #RichardIII Society
When ‘The Order of the White Boar’ opens and Matthew enters Middleham Castle’s household, Duke Richard is away on campaign against the Scots.
Here’s an excellent write-up of what that campaign entailed.
via The 1482 Invasion of Scotland
February 16, 2019
Author visit to Grange Technology College
I was delighted to have been asked to visit a local senior school in Bradford, West Yorkshire, this week to discuss and read from The Order of the White Boar.
School library co-ordinator Dianne Blashill had attended a previous library event and, having enjoyed the book herself, thought that the members of the Year 7 and 8 book club at Grange Technology College would too. After all, they are very much in the age group – 11 to 13 – for whom I wrote the book!
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Only a little daunted at the prospect of my first senior school visit, I donned my new medieval-style gown (my old page costume having been returned to the theatrical costumiers) and prepared to introduce these young people to the story of King Richard III – and the disrespect that has been heaped on him over the centuries since his death.
Each of the students was to be given a copy of The Order to start reading it over the half-term holiday, before coming back to discuss it at their club. To my surprise, several had already got hold of copies, some having already read well past the section I had planned to read aloud for them.
Fortunately that didn’t stop them listening to all that I had to say, and to the reading – and perhaps it helped them think beforehand about questions to ask – leading to a lively question & answer session at the end. Among the questions were several on what had inspired me to write, and particularly about King Richard, and several other authors were name-checked, particularly Josephine Tey and, of course, Philippa Langley.
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The students were fascinated by the story of how Philippa found King Richard in the car park with the help of the Looking For Richard team – and of course the shivery feeling when she looked down and saw the ‘R’ painted on the tarmac. They also enjoyed the likening of the layers of archaeology to the layers of a sponge cake! And I thoroughly enjoyed hearing King Henry VIII being described as, not only the one with all the wives, but also ‘the one who ate all the pies’! Clearly these students have been well taught in their history lessons.
Mrs Blashill said, “The students really enjoyed themselves. I’ve never seen our students so engaged. Thank you again, it was brilliant.”
The school has posted about the visit on their website:
http://www.southfieldgrange.org.uk/news/?pid=11&nid=1&storyid=210
So my first senior school author visit was a success. I hope there will be many more to follow.
If you know of any schools (primary or secondary) that would be interested in a similar author visit, do let me know.
February 15, 2019
Guest author on @AuthorsElectric: Jennifer C. Wilson and ‘Kindred Spirits: York’
This week on my regular Authors Electric blog spot, I was joined by fellow Ricardian author and contributor to Grant Me the Carving of My Name, Jennifer C. Wilson, who’s just launched her latest Kindred Spirits book, set in King Richard’s home town of York.
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The full blog post can be found at:
https://authorselectric.blogspot.com/2019/02/guest-author-jennifer-c-wilson-and-her.html
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February 6, 2019
‘The Braveheart effect’? Film-making and history…. #RichardIII
I just came upon this interesting piece on inaccurate ‘history’ in films and TV.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/26/history-vice-uncivil-war-dick-cheney
But the piece itself gets at least one point wrong:
“I am sure the distant past can look after itself. Peddlers of fake history always cite Shakespeare’s Richard III as their template. We should note that it took three centuries for historians to rescue Richard from that hatchet job.”
It has to be said that it’s 534 years and counting … while ‘historians’ still basically draw on Shakespeare’s version and credit Thomas More’s fiction as ‘true’, there’s still a very long way to go before King Richard is fully rescued.
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The piece also says:
“Film-makers claim that everyone knows they make things up. I am not sure everyone does.”
Rarely was a truer word spoken… And sad to say this was very much reflected in some of the reporting even in the Guardian itself during the run up to King Richard’s reinterment. Comments from members of the public and figures in authority were often informed by their knowledge of Shakespeare, and not always rebutted by the journalists. When David Starkey can get away with calling Philippa Langley and others ‘Ricardian loons’ on national television and Julian Fellows isn’t challenged by the presenter when he claims that the discovery of Richard’s grave ‘proved Shakespeare right’, it shows that as Ricardians, we still have a very long road ahead of us.
And one, I have to say, in which a decent film or television drama based on the facts about Richard that we do know to be true – and a realistic and humane interpretation of those that are more open to interpretation – could have a very large role to play. It’s a shame that film-makers feel they have to rely on the sensationalism of Shakespeare’s fiction – which still informs so much of what people think they know about history, not just of Richard – when the reality itself is just as fascinating, dramatic, colourful, blood-thirsty, emotional, tragic, etc.
The film of Philippa Langley’s screenplay can’t come soon enough for this Ricardian.
In the meantime, of course, my own works are available for optioning should any film-maker be interested 
January 31, 2019
‘The King’s Man’ – Cover of the Month by Discovering Diamonds #DDRevs!
‘The Order of the White Boar’ – Cover of the Month with @ChillwithaBook!
Wow! In fact, double WOW!
Can this month (year?) get any better? 
January 24, 2019
‘The Order of the White Boar’ wins Chill with a Book Readers’ Award!
January 22, 2019
First author event of the year! Done and dusted (with a sprinkling of snow….)
I’ve just returned from a lovely trip to Barnard Castle, one of King Richard’s favourite homes.
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Baranard Castle, with the window added by King Richard to take advantage of a beautiful view of the River Tees
I was invited by the Northern Dales Richard III Group to come along to their monthly meeting and read my short story ‘The Beast of Middleham Moor’ (my contribution to the anthology Grant Me the Carving of My Name) and answer questions afterwards. I duly did (in my newly acquired medieval outfit…more about that later) and I’d like to thank the members and other attendees for sitting all the way through it without fidgeting! It was lovely to be welcomed by so many enthusiastic Ricardians and others interested in the history of his period – and thank you also for your kind words afterwards.
Travelling homewards down the old Great North Road (the A1(M) – well, roughly the same route anyway), I was amazed to see my first lambs of the year.
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Up in Bronte Country (though further south), they won’t be in evidence for another month or more. And it reminded me, not only of the ‘grey-wall-bounded fields, speckled white with lamb-heavy sheep’ of ‘The Beast’, but also Matthew’s amazement when travelling south from Yorkshire with Richard in April of 1483 in the early part of The King’s Man:
‘Spring had seemed to be racing ahead of us as we rode down from Middleham. Here the hawthorn was already in full flower although it was not yet May. We had left tiny lambs sheltering from the biting wind behind high stone walls, watching their mothers grazing the sparse late winter grass, while here boys and their dogs stood guard over flocks of sheep almost half-grown.’ (mybook.to/TheKingsMan
What a difference a few metres of altitude or degrees of latitude make!
And I arrived home to snow on the ground.
Spring may be coming, but winter is definitely still here. An ideal time to ‘gather round the flames and tell ghost stories as we hear the villagers do on long winter’s night’, as a certain king says in ‘The Beast’. Perhaps a story or two from Grant Me the Carving…? 
I’ve just returned from a lovely trip to Barnard Castle, ...
I’ve just returned from a lovely trip to Barnard Castle, one of King Richard’s favourite homes.
[image error]
Baranard Castle, with the window added by King Richard to take advantage of a beautiful view of the River Tees
I was invited by the Northern Dales Richard III Group to come along to their monthly meeting and read my short story ‘The Beast of Middleham Moor’ (my contribution to the anthology Grant Me the Carving of My Name) and answer questions afterwards. I duly did (in my newly acquired medieval outfit…more about that later) and I’d like to thank the members and other attendees for sitting all the way through it without fidgeting! It was lovely to be welcomed by so many enthusiastic Ricardians and others interested in the history of his period – and thank you also for your kind words afterwards.
Travelling homewards down the old Great North Road (the A1(M) – well, roughly the same route anyway), I was amazed to see my first lambs of the year.
[image error]
Up in Bronte Country (though further south), they won’t be in evidence for another month or more. And it reminded me, not only of the ‘grey-wall-bounded fields, speckled white with lamb-heavy sheep’ of ‘The Beast’, but also Matthew’s amazement when travelling south from Yorkshire with Richard in April of 1483 in the early part of The King’s Man:
‘Spring had seemed to be racing ahead of us as we rode down from Middleham. Here the hawthorn was already in full flower although it was not yet May. We had left tiny lambs sheltering from the biting wind behind high stone walls, watching their mothers grazing the sparse late winter grass, while here boys and their dogs stood guard over flocks of sheep almost half-grown.’ (mybook.to/TheKingsMan
What a difference a few metres of altitude or degrees of latitude make!
And I arrived home to snow on the ground.
Spring may be coming, but winter is definitely still here. An ideal time to ‘gather round the flames and tell ghost stories as we hear the villagers do on long winter’s night’, as a certain king says in ‘The Beast’. Perhaps a story or two from Grant Me the Carving…?
