Arthur R.G. Solmssen

Still another story about Richard III? Yes, but from a fresh point of view.

The wife of Shore, as she was called by all the writers of her time, was the beautiful mistress of Richard's older brother, King Edward IV. This king has been forgotten, perhaps because Shakespeare found Richard more interesting. Edward was in fact a popular king, a tall and handsome warlord, a brilliant general who defeated the armies of Lancaster and seized the throne when he was only nineteen. His victories ended the chaotic civil wars between the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York--at least for the rest of his life.

Edward IV liked lots of food, lots of drink, and lots of women. Shortly after he became king, he astounded his staunchest supporters--especially his brothers--by marrying, for love, one Elizabeth Woodville, Lady Grey, widow of an ordinary knight who had been killed in battle against Edward's troops. This marriage produced many children, including the two famous Princes in the Tower.

For a medieval ruler, Edward IV showed an extraordinary in trade and commerce. His father, Duke of York and largest landholder in England, had never quite captured the crown, because he never had enough cash to hire enough soldiers. (He was killed leading a cavalry charge against overwhelming odds.) Edward IV learned as a boy that political power requires lots of money, and that money is made in the market place, so he cultivated the merchants of the City of London. He put through laws to help their trade, he insisted in being included in their deals--and he mingled with them socially, which is how he met the subject of this story, daughter of one rich merchant and wife of another.

Josephine Tey's brilliant novel The Daughter of Time has provided us with most of what we know about how badly Richard III has been treaty by history, and by William Shakespeare. Richard was not a monster. While Edward IV was alive, Richard duke of Gloucester was his loyal younger brother. He killed many people, but so did Edward. It was Richard's later struggles against Edward's widow and her many greedy relatives that drove Richard to the deeds that have made him so infamous--and so fascinating.

Arthur Solmssen the novelist steps in to the supply details, but historians confirm. that soon after Edward IV got a look at her, the wife of Shore was moved to Windsor--not reluctantly--while her husband transferred himself, and his business, to Brussels.

All that is background for our story, which begins on
April 8, 1483, when Edward IV, only forty years old, suddenly collapses.