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The Plantagenets #5
The Lord of Greenwich
"Loyalty and Beauty"
For Humfrey of Gloucester, youngest son of Henry IV, this family motto is more than a matter of heritage: it is a life creed.
Rich, charismatic and adored by the citizens of London, Humfrey is free to indulge his twin loves of women and books. But when his father dies and his eldest brother becomes Henry V, Humfrey is forced to face up to his responsibilities as a Plantagenet, and as a man. But can he serve his brother and protect the crown from the machinations of the powerful Beaufort family while continuing his roistering lifestyle, or must he give up beauty for loyalty?
The Lord of Greenwich is the fifth in Juliet Dymoke's exhilarating Plantagenet series, an epic chronicle of love, heroism, loyalty and the fierce rivalries within the Plantagenet court.
For fans of Sharon Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick.
For Humfrey of Gloucester, youngest son of Henry IV, this family motto is more than a matter of heritage: it is a life creed.
Rich, charismatic and adored by the citizens of London, Humfrey is free to indulge his twin loves of women and books. But when his father dies and his eldest brother becomes Henry V, Humfrey is forced to face up to his responsibilities as a Plantagenet, and as a man. But can he serve his brother and protect the crown from the machinations of the powerful Beaufort family while continuing his roistering lifestyle, or must he give up beauty for loyalty?
The Lord of Greenwich is the fifth in Juliet Dymoke's exhilarating Plantagenet series, an epic chronicle of love, heroism, loyalty and the fierce rivalries within the Plantagenet court.
For fans of Sharon Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick.
231 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 1980
About the author
Juliet Dymoke
34 books25 followersJuliet Dymoke was born at Enfield in Middlesex and educated at a boarding school in the country. During the war she worked for The Canadian Army Medical Records and at that time married Hugo de Schanschieff who was then serving as an air gunner in he Royal Air Force.
It was while her husband was away in the R.A.F. that Juliet Dymoke turned her attention to writing and also to work on scripts for various films companies. She has published several books for children but counts historical novels with "more fact than fiction" as her particular field. She has travelled all over the British Isles in the course of her research, as she makes a special point of authenticity. Among her main interests are music, television drama and "anything to do with the countryside".
It was while her husband was away in the R.A.F. that Juliet Dymoke turned her attention to writing and also to work on scripts for various films companies. She has published several books for children but counts historical novels with "more fact than fiction" as her particular field. She has travelled all over the British Isles in the course of her research, as she makes a special point of authenticity. Among her main interests are music, television drama and "anything to do with the countryside".
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 29, 2018
The youngest son of Henry IV, Humfrey of Gloucester is free from the responsibilities dogging his older brothers and is able to indulge himself in his pleasures – books, women and drink. When Harry, his eldest brother, succeeds their father as Henry V, Humfrey must step up to support his brother – but it is no great burden, for he loves Harry above all else. But when Harry dies, leaving Humfrey in a position of power he has little training for, his vices might prove his underdoing.
I was thrilled to find The Lord of Greenwich, a novel about Humfrey (or Humphrey), Duke of Gloucester, one of my favourite figures from the reigns of Henry V and Henry VI, and reading it was an absolute pleasure (apart from the sloppy formatting of the Kindle edition). In fact, my biggest complaint is that this book could have easily been longer and should have been.
Everything is at a break-neck speed. The early chapters I believe go something like: the young princes have a wild night out – Henry IV is dead – the Southampton Plot – Agincourt, and so on. There’s just so much time jumped through in such a short amount of pages, and while I might say that Humfrey’s character arc doesn’t suffer as a result, it feels very much like we’re reading the highlights of his life and I would have liked to stop and delve into his life a little more.
For instance, we get very little about his relationships with his two wives, Jacqueline, Countess of Hainault, and Eleanor Cobham. We get told how much he loves Eleanor and his reaction to her downfall make for powerful reading, but there wasn’t enough of their interactions with each other to lay the groundwork for such emotion (and what we do see tends to be foreshadowing for her downfall, rather than illustrative of how they cared about each other). Similarly, I’m not entirely sure how he felt about Jacqueline – early chapters seemed to suggest that he was fond of her, later chapters depicted their relationship as beginning to fray and I would have liked to see more of how and why their relationship declined.
Oddly, too, the book ends before Humfrey’s own downfall and death, which is dealt with in a historical note at the end.
However, Dymoke’s characterisation of Humfrey was well-thought out. He isn’t particularly heroic, driven mainly by anger and desire, but he isn’t a villain and one is sympathetic towards him even in his follies. I particularly liked his relationship with Henry V, even if the depiction suffers from the same issues as Humfrey’s relationship with Eleanor. There’s something very businesslike in the way their interactions are written, driven by the need to further the plot rather that develop or portray their relationship. I particularly loved the scene where Humfrey hears of Harry’s death, that brilliant, painful reaction – but I would have loved seeing more of their bond earlier to make this scene hurt all the more.
I have little to say about the writing or the historical accuracy of the book, which never dragged me out of the world to complain. Indeed, the biggest issue is how fast Dymoke moved through events, giving little chance for the reader to breathe in and immerse themselves in each event.
I was thrilled to find The Lord of Greenwich, a novel about Humfrey (or Humphrey), Duke of Gloucester, one of my favourite figures from the reigns of Henry V and Henry VI, and reading it was an absolute pleasure (apart from the sloppy formatting of the Kindle edition). In fact, my biggest complaint is that this book could have easily been longer and should have been.
Everything is at a break-neck speed. The early chapters I believe go something like: the young princes have a wild night out – Henry IV is dead – the Southampton Plot – Agincourt, and so on. There’s just so much time jumped through in such a short amount of pages, and while I might say that Humfrey’s character arc doesn’t suffer as a result, it feels very much like we’re reading the highlights of his life and I would have liked to stop and delve into his life a little more.
For instance, we get very little about his relationships with his two wives, Jacqueline, Countess of Hainault, and Eleanor Cobham. We get told how much he loves Eleanor and his reaction to her downfall make for powerful reading, but there wasn’t enough of their interactions with each other to lay the groundwork for such emotion (and what we do see tends to be foreshadowing for her downfall, rather than illustrative of how they cared about each other). Similarly, I’m not entirely sure how he felt about Jacqueline – early chapters seemed to suggest that he was fond of her, later chapters depicted their relationship as beginning to fray and I would have liked to see more of how and why their relationship declined.
Oddly, too, the book ends before Humfrey’s own downfall and death, which is dealt with in a historical note at the end.
However, Dymoke’s characterisation of Humfrey was well-thought out. He isn’t particularly heroic, driven mainly by anger and desire, but he isn’t a villain and one is sympathetic towards him even in his follies. I particularly liked his relationship with Henry V, even if the depiction suffers from the same issues as Humfrey’s relationship with Eleanor. There’s something very businesslike in the way their interactions are written, driven by the need to further the plot rather that develop or portray their relationship. I particularly loved the scene where Humfrey hears of Harry’s death, that brilliant, painful reaction – but I would have loved seeing more of their bond earlier to make this scene hurt all the more.
I have little to say about the writing or the historical accuracy of the book, which never dragged me out of the world to complain. Indeed, the biggest issue is how fast Dymoke moved through events, giving little chance for the reader to breathe in and immerse themselves in each event.
September 16, 2017
A real human
Juliet Dymoke has achieved the humanization of Humphrey. Through all his emotions and fights with the factions seeking power during this time Humphrey always sought peace.
Juliet Dymoke has achieved the humanization of Humphrey. Through all his emotions and fights with the factions seeking power during this time Humphrey always sought peace.
August 4, 2019
Haunting
This is the hauntingly sad story of Duke Humfrey and Eleanor Cobham. A true love story with a tragic ending.
This is the hauntingly sad story of Duke Humfrey and Eleanor Cobham. A true love story with a tragic ending.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews