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Matthew Jenkyn #1
The Whyte Harte
The 1st in the Matthew Jenkyn series. An historical mystery set around the turn of the 15th century that addresses the mystery surrounding the purported death of King Richard II.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published July 14, 1988
29 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
Paul Doherty
236 books607 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
He has been published under several pseudonyms: P.C. Doherty, Celia L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas, Vanessa Alexander, Michael Clynes and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name.
Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough (North-Eastern England) in 1946. He had the usual education before studying at Durham for three years for the Catholic priesthood but decided not to proceed. He went to Liverpool University where he gained a First Class Honours Degree in History and won a state scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford, whilst there he met his wife Carla Lynn Corbitt. He continued his studies but decided that the academic world was not for him and became a secondary school teacher.
Paul worked in Ascot, Nottingham and Crawley West Sussex before being appointed as Headmaster to Trinity Catholic School in September 1981. Trinity is a large comprehensive [1700 on roll] which teaches the full ability range, ages 11-18. The school has been described as one of the leading comprehensives in the U.K. In April, 2000 H. M. Inspectorate describe it as an 'Outstanding School', and it was given Beacon status as a Centre of Excellence whilst, in the Chief Inspector’s Report to the Secretary of State for January 2001, Trinity Catholic High School was singled out for praise and received a public accolade.
Paul’s other incarnation is as a novelist. He finished his doctorate on the reign of Edward II of England and, in 1987, began to publish a series of outstanding historical mysteries set in the Middle Age, Classical, Greek, Ancient Egypt and elsewhere. These have been published in the United States by St. Martin’s Press of New York, Edhasa in Spain, and Eichborn, Heyne, Knaur and others in Germany. They have also been published in Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Romania, Estonia, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Bulgaria, Portugal and China, as well as Argentina and Mexico.
He has been published under several pseudonyms (see the bibliography): C. L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name. He recently launched a very successful series based around the life of Alexander the Great, published by Constable & Robinson in the U.K., and Carroll and Graf in the U.S.A., whilst his novels set in Ancient Egypt have won critical acclaim. Paul has also written several non-fiction titles; A Life of Isabella the She-wolf of France, Wife of Edward II of England, as well as study of the possible murder of Tutankhamun, the boy Pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, and a study on the true fate of Alexander the Great.
Paul and Carla live on the borders of London and Essex, not far from Epping Forest and six of their children have been through his own school. His wife Carla currently owns two horses and is training, for showing and dressage, a beautiful Arab filly named Polly.
Paul lectures for a number of organisations, particularly on historical mysteries, many of which later feature in his writings. A born speaker and trained lecturer Paul Doherty can hold and entertain audiences.
His one great ambition is to petition the Privy Council of England to open the Purbeck marble tomb of Edward II in Gloucester Cathedral. Paul believes the tomb does not house the body
He has been published under several pseudonyms: P.C. Doherty, Celia L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas, Vanessa Alexander, Michael Clynes and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name.
Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough (North-Eastern England) in 1946. He had the usual education before studying at Durham for three years for the Catholic priesthood but decided not to proceed. He went to Liverpool University where he gained a First Class Honours Degree in History and won a state scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford, whilst there he met his wife Carla Lynn Corbitt. He continued his studies but decided that the academic world was not for him and became a secondary school teacher.
Paul worked in Ascot, Nottingham and Crawley West Sussex before being appointed as Headmaster to Trinity Catholic School in September 1981. Trinity is a large comprehensive [1700 on roll] which teaches the full ability range, ages 11-18. The school has been described as one of the leading comprehensives in the U.K. In April, 2000 H. M. Inspectorate describe it as an 'Outstanding School', and it was given Beacon status as a Centre of Excellence whilst, in the Chief Inspector’s Report to the Secretary of State for January 2001, Trinity Catholic High School was singled out for praise and received a public accolade.
Paul’s other incarnation is as a novelist. He finished his doctorate on the reign of Edward II of England and, in 1987, began to publish a series of outstanding historical mysteries set in the Middle Age, Classical, Greek, Ancient Egypt and elsewhere. These have been published in the United States by St. Martin’s Press of New York, Edhasa in Spain, and Eichborn, Heyne, Knaur and others in Germany. They have also been published in Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Romania, Estonia, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Bulgaria, Portugal and China, as well as Argentina and Mexico.
He has been published under several pseudonyms (see the bibliography): C. L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name. He recently launched a very successful series based around the life of Alexander the Great, published by Constable & Robinson in the U.K., and Carroll and Graf in the U.S.A., whilst his novels set in Ancient Egypt have won critical acclaim. Paul has also written several non-fiction titles; A Life of Isabella the She-wolf of France, Wife of Edward II of England, as well as study of the possible murder of Tutankhamun, the boy Pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, and a study on the true fate of Alexander the Great.
Paul and Carla live on the borders of London and Essex, not far from Epping Forest and six of their children have been through his own school. His wife Carla currently owns two horses and is training, for showing and dressage, a beautiful Arab filly named Polly.
Paul lectures for a number of organisations, particularly on historical mysteries, many of which later feature in his writings. A born speaker and trained lecturer Paul Doherty can hold and entertain audiences.
His one great ambition is to petition the Privy Council of England to open the Purbeck marble tomb of Edward II in Gloucester Cathedral. Paul believes the tomb does not house the body
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 4, 2025
It took me awhile to get into this book but as usual, Doherty’s writing style and historical accuracy sucked me in. We meet Matthew Jankyn, rogue, cheat, liar, and now a client of the powerful Bishop Beaufort of Winchester. The tale of the White Hart is that King Richard II, thought dead at Pontefract Castle in 1400 is still alive; the white hart was Richard’s heraldic badge. Countless men and women have gone to their deaths in support of a King they thought unfairly deposed by his cousin, Henry of Lancaster subsequently Henry IV. It didn’t seem to matter that Richard was a tyrant and possibly not playing with a full deck; to them he was the anointed king and nothing could change that. So Matthew, whose father, his mentor, and later the only woman he ever loved all die because the white hart, is employed by Beaufort ostensibly because the present king, Henry V, is worried about the rumours that Richard II did not starve himself to death at Pontefract, will themselves not die. His searching takes him all over England, Scotland, and Wales, and ever over to France but he eventually finds the truth, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.
January 22, 2018
1st of two books featuring Matthew Jankyns, a penniless, young man with a formal education, who becomes involved in an investigation into the truth behind the death of Richard II, whose throne was usurped by Henry V. The Whyte Harte movement maintains 20 years later that Richard is still alive and waiting to regain his throne. Jankyns must work his way through the historical evidence to find the truth. The book is well written and engaging with several twists and turns.
May 30, 2020
Good but...
I don't think Paul Doherty can write a bad book (as I've only read 32 of them). This is not a bad book, it just has a main character that is unlikeable. I will grit my teeth and read the second book knowing that it is only a 2 book series.
I don't think Paul Doherty can write a bad book (as I've only read 32 of them). This is not a bad book, it just has a main character that is unlikeable. I will grit my teeth and read the second book knowing that it is only a 2 book series.
March 21, 2015
I am a big fan of Paul Doherty but I did not relate well with this one. From the get-go I disliked the central character, Matthew Jenkyn. The man has little substance, way too shallow. I generally relate well to anything concerning the eleventh through sixteen century time period. For some unrecognizable reason the continued search for Richard II left me cold. No big deal - I still have many more Corbett novels to keep me content.
November 11, 2015
I really got into this very interesting historical mystery about Richard the II. Based on a historical incident it was a nice mixer to all the Philippa Gregory books I've read, if you like her "English history" writing then give this book a chance. It is well written and easily pulled me into the palpable medieval streets and every man for himself society.
April 11, 2009
pc doherty rocks.
August 19, 2010
I actually liked Matthew better than Hugh Corbett.
July 15, 2013
Wasn't a fan of the main character. Seems like author used research from Death of a King.
September 19, 2015
This was not the best book ever written by this author. Still all things considered it was still a pretty good read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews