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A Spirited and Most Courageous Prince: A third anthology of short stories inspired by King Richard III
‘Lies! All lies!’
So many falsehoods have been proclaimed about King Richard III for 500 years – by William Shakespeare, Thomas More, Polydore Vergil and others. But not here!
A Spirited and Most Courageous Prince is a collection of short stories with a single to restore the reputation good King Richard enjoyed during his lifetime.
Strip away the Tudor propaganda and what will you discover?
The valiant knight? The generous master? The even-handed lawgiver? The anxious boy? The gentle uncle? The fond lover?
All these faces can be found ‘Not the face of a saint, no, but neither that of a monster or a murderer. The face of a good man, a just man – and the face of a troubled man who had seen too much …’
This follow-up anthology to Grant Me the Carving of My Name (2018) and Right Trusty and Well Beloved… (2019) showcases stories by international authors inspired by all aspects of King Richard III.
Sold in support of Scoliosis Support and Research with a Foreword by Robert Lindsay and edited by Alex Marchant.
With contributions from Judith Arnopp, Bridget Beauchamp, Darren Harris, Narrelle M. Harris, Wendy Johnson, Susan Lamb, Joanne R. Larner, Matthew Lewis, Kit Mareska, Alice Mitchell, Nancy Northcott, J. P. Reedman, Brian Wainwright and Jennifer C. Wilson. Cover illustration by Marion Moffatt of MadeMarionArt.
So many falsehoods have been proclaimed about King Richard III for 500 years – by William Shakespeare, Thomas More, Polydore Vergil and others. But not here!
A Spirited and Most Courageous Prince is a collection of short stories with a single to restore the reputation good King Richard enjoyed during his lifetime.
Strip away the Tudor propaganda and what will you discover?
The valiant knight? The generous master? The even-handed lawgiver? The anxious boy? The gentle uncle? The fond lover?
All these faces can be found ‘Not the face of a saint, no, but neither that of a monster or a murderer. The face of a good man, a just man – and the face of a troubled man who had seen too much …’
This follow-up anthology to Grant Me the Carving of My Name (2018) and Right Trusty and Well Beloved… (2019) showcases stories by international authors inspired by all aspects of King Richard III.
Sold in support of Scoliosis Support and Research with a Foreword by Robert Lindsay and edited by Alex Marchant.
With contributions from Judith Arnopp, Bridget Beauchamp, Darren Harris, Narrelle M. Harris, Wendy Johnson, Susan Lamb, Joanne R. Larner, Matthew Lewis, Kit Mareska, Alice Mitchell, Nancy Northcott, J. P. Reedman, Brian Wainwright and Jennifer C. Wilson. Cover illustration by Marion Moffatt of MadeMarionArt.
197 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 2, 2024
7 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Alex Marchant
16 books37 followersBorn and raised in the rolling Surrey downs, and following stints as an archaeologist and in publishing in London and Gloucester, I now live surrounded by moors in King Richard III’s northern heartland, working as a freelance copyeditor, proofreader and, more recently, independent author of books for children aged 10+.
My first novel, Time out of Time (pub. 2021), won the 2012 Chapter One Children’s Book Award, and my second (to be published in May 2025 as Tower of Shadows) was put on the backburner in 2013 at the announcement of the discovery of King Richard’s grave in a car park in Leicester. As a Ricardian since my teens, that momentous announcement prompted me to write about the real Richard III for older children (there being no such book available), and so The Order of the White Boar and its sequel The King’s Man were born.
The Order of the White Boar has been described by the Bulletin of the Richard III Society as ‘a wonderful work of historical fiction for both children and adults’ and The King’s Man as ‘a brilliant, gripping, heart-wrenching sequel’
The third and fourth books in the sequence, King in Waiting and Sons of York take the story of Matthew Wansford and his friends beyond 1485 to explore the legacy of Richard III in terms of the fate of the so-called 'Princes in the Tower'. My standalone timeslip book, Time out of Time, set in the legendary hot summer of 1976, was at last published in June 2021.
I have also edited three anthologies of short stories by a variety of international authors also inspired by King Richard III, Grant Me the Carving of My Name, Right Trusty and Well Beloved... and A Spirited and Most Courageous Prince, all sold in support of Scoliosis Association UK (SAUK).
My first novel, Time out of Time (pub. 2021), won the 2012 Chapter One Children’s Book Award, and my second (to be published in May 2025 as Tower of Shadows) was put on the backburner in 2013 at the announcement of the discovery of King Richard’s grave in a car park in Leicester. As a Ricardian since my teens, that momentous announcement prompted me to write about the real Richard III for older children (there being no such book available), and so The Order of the White Boar and its sequel The King’s Man were born.
The Order of the White Boar has been described by the Bulletin of the Richard III Society as ‘a wonderful work of historical fiction for both children and adults’ and The King’s Man as ‘a brilliant, gripping, heart-wrenching sequel’
The third and fourth books in the sequence, King in Waiting and Sons of York take the story of Matthew Wansford and his friends beyond 1485 to explore the legacy of Richard III in terms of the fate of the so-called 'Princes in the Tower'. My standalone timeslip book, Time out of Time, set in the legendary hot summer of 1976, was at last published in June 2021.
I have also edited three anthologies of short stories by a variety of international authors also inspired by King Richard III, Grant Me the Carving of My Name, Right Trusty and Well Beloved... and A Spirited and Most Courageous Prince, all sold in support of Scoliosis Association UK (SAUK).
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 21, 2025
Great stories
I really enjoyed this. Hope to read more by these authors in the future. Also interested in reading more about King Richard III.
I really enjoyed this. Hope to read more by these authors in the future. Also interested in reading more about King Richard III.
December 15, 2024
A nice and enjoyable collection of short stories. As usual with collections of short stories some I found brilliant and some less brilliant, but all in all the level was pretty high, and I found none badly written, and all enjoyable in their own way. So 4 stars.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews