The game of kings

The Game of Kings is a historical novel by the German writer Rebecca Gablé , which was published in 2007. With this book, Gablé presents the third part of her Waringham saga . The novel is set in England at the end of the Middle Ages (15th century), at the time of the Wars of the Roses .

content

The plot follows a generation after that of John of Waringham, main character in the novel The Keepers of the Rose , and two generations after Robin of Waringham from The Smile of Fortuna . The story, which spans more than 30 years, traces the checkered fate of the noble von Waringham family parallel to the equally turbulent history of the English kings and heirs to the throne during this time.

The noble houses of Lancaster and York are in dispute over which offspring of their families has more right to the throne of the English king. Henry VI. of the House of Lancaster is a weak king, more inclined to prayer and melancholy than to government affairs. His French wife is unpopular with the people and the nobility. Edward from the House of York seeks his chance - with intrigue and on the battlefield. The Battle of Towton in 1461 brings the House of York to power and Edward to the throne. But the French queen and the Lancaster loyalists do not give up the fight, and so they succeed in defeating King Henry VI. to be put on the throne again for a few months. Ultimately, however, the latter - meanwhile completely incapable of government - cannot hold his position and has to give way to Edward IV again. After Edward IV died, his younger brother Richard took over as Richard III after he had murdered Edward's sons , the heir to the throne . the crown. Then there is Henry Tudor, the Earl of Richmond , who is waiting for his hour. He spent most of his childhood as a hostage to the Yorkists in Wales , later hiding in exile in Brittany for years . At the end of the book he wins the English crown as Henry VII , unites the noble houses of York and Lancaster through his marriage to Elizabeth of York and ends the Wars of the Roses . With him the rule of the Tudors begins in England. The Earl of Warwick plays an extremely important role in all intrigues , alliances and battle plans: although he does not reach out to the crown himself, no claim to power can assert himself against him in the long term. He is called the "kingmaker" .

Like his ancestors, Julian of Waringham, despite justified doubts, is firm and loyal to the House of Lancaster, even to the unpopular Queen Margaret of Anjou . King Edward IV, anxious to reconcile the warring parties after his first accession to the throne in 1461, arranges a forced marriage with an ardent York supporter - a difficult constellation for the main character. Julian's twin sister Blanche meets a hard fate: Her husband turns out to be a cruel sinister who had already brought two young wives underground before Blanche. She escapes this unhappy marriage only by fleeing after she has cut off her husband's hand. She later enters into a happy relationship with Jasper Tudor , the king's half-brother, who, however, has to remain without the blessing of the church, since her husband is still alive - and she seeks revenge on her. Jasper Tudor and Julian of Waringham become sailors and shipowners who organize the resistance across the water in France, in Brittany, in Normandy. As in the previous novels, the Waringhams fight for their title, their belongings and often find it difficult to escape death before, after years of exile in 1485, everything turns for the better with the Battle of Bosworth Field .

Remarks

In this novel, too, Gablé links the members of the Waringham family to various historical people, places and events. There is an abundance of people who either all have the same first name or appear under different names, almost all of whom are related and constantly refer to themselves as cousins . The author has therefore included the family trees of the various branches of the family to give readers a better overview. In this novel by Gablés, the number of historical persons is considerably larger than in the previous novels, whereas the number of fictional persons is kept comparatively small. Aside from the Waringhams, the Durham family known from Gablé's book The King of the Purple City also appears.

End of September 2007 reported Der Spiegel the book at No. 4 of his fiction - bestseller list.