Tyrant

The King's Knight #3

by J.A. Ironside

The King's Knight Book 3

"Ironside writes with insight and wit... The King's Knight skilfully blends action with real historical events and personages... Medieval England is a time of both blood and humanity." Richard Foreman, author of Band of Brothers.

1395.

It has been six years since Gregory Maudesley, sword-for-hire turned baron, unmasked a plot to assassinate the king. Despite saving Richard's life, his friendship with the king has never entirely recovered from the shards of Richard's distrust and autocracy.

Since the Merciless Parliament, in 1388, England has enjoyed a period of peace. But an unfavourable end to the war with France and an alliance with Charles VI threatens to set the Duke of Gloucester and many of the lords against the king once more.

But Richard is no longer a boy, nor a petulant young man. With his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, safely exiled, the king begins a campaign of revenge and tyranny. The realm stands on the brink of civil war.

Torn between the duty he owes an increasingly erratic king and a deep sense of what is right, Gregory must risk everything he holds dear and face his most difficult test of loyalty yet.

Henry will return and Gregory will be forced to make a fatal choice.

The knight will be compelled to draw his sword once more.

Praise for J. A. Ironside:

“Entertaining, well-researched and compelling.” Michael Jecks

“Ælfgifa…steals every scene and is a character who would fit in any George R. R. Martin novel.” Tony Riches

“Intense drama, creative working of the sparse historical record, and a detailed look into what made William and Harold tick… A rousing, page turning tale awaits you…” Paul Bennett

J. A. Ironside grew up in rural Dorset in a house full of books. She was exposed to history at an early age and happily never recovered – the presence of so many Roman ruins in the area inspired a lifelong interest in historical warfare. She has taught and studied martial arts and weaponry for 25 years. Her published works include The King's Knight series and the Oath and Crown series co-written with Matthew Willis.

Genres: Historical Fiction

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 18, 2019

About the author

Urban fantasy and historical fiction author J.A. Ironside masquerades by day as member of the county library service, which strangely enough has less to do with books than you would think.

Jules grew up in Dorset in a house full of books, which probably explains a lot about how her mind works. You might think that folklore, fringe science, history, physics, magic and supernatural mystery wouldn’t go all that well together, but she’s hell bent on proving they do. Her urban fantasy series Harker & Blackthorn is now ten books long and counting. It features a sentient museum because someone needs to keep track of what’s going on. Unveiled – another UF series set in the same universe – is now complete.

Jules is also determined to show that historical fiction can be both factually correct and funny. The King’s Knight series is set during the tumultuous reign of Richard II, while the sweeping Oath and Crown Duology – co-authored with Matthew Willis – follows the events leading up to and around the Battle of Hastings.

When pried her away from her books, Jules enthusiastically engages in martial arts and playing the piano, although never at the same time. At least not yet. She lives on the edge of the Cotswold way with her boyfriend creature and two hell’s kittens. Find out more at www.jaironside.com

Reviews

[Matthew Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Tyrant, JA Ironside’s King’s Knight series comes to its dramatic and inevitable climax. Inevitable because this is historical fiction, and the eventual fate of King Richard II is already set down (though still, to be fair, somewhat obscured by mystery as to its circumstances). But it’s also true for the main character, Baron Gregory Maudesley, when the final, desperate act is underway. Not to give the ending away, but it’s a kick in the guts that forms a perfect culmination of these novellas, which are surprisingly complex and twisting considering their concise word count.

Tyrant opens some years after the conclusion of the second book, Treason, and sees Maudesley tending to his estates, his friendship with King Richard distinctly cooler after the events of ‘Treason’. Inexorably, though, he is drawn back into court life and intrigue. The country is not in a healthy state, and while things have quietened down superficially, scores that have been nursed for years are about to be violently settled.

Once again, Ironside turns the complexities of mediaeval politics into a thrilling page-turner, with authentic characters brought to life from the pages of dusty annals. Those familiar with the Shakespeare play about Richard will be slightly more familiar with the events than those of the previous books, but will see them in a new light. It’s good to see a bit more of Geoffrey Chaucer in this book than we did in the second, as in Ironside’s portrayal he’s a witty but acerbic delight. A perfect conclusion to the series

[Phyllis H. Pajka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished the last of the 3 (the King's Knight) books by J.A. Ironside. I cannot remember enjoying a set of book so much. It all happens in the late 1300's and involves the King and Knights and crooked politicians. The book does end well and I would advise you start at book 1 if you want to read this group of books. These are in with the small group of books I will probably read again in years to come. That's how good they are. Please give them a try and see if I'm right. I think you will love them as much as I did.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

For awhile now, I’ve been trying to think about what to say about Tyrant, the last book in J. A. Ironside’s series The King’s Knight, focusing on a grizzled and grumpy knight with a heart of gold, Gregory, and his experience of three major events of Richard II’s reign – the Peasants Revolt in 1381, the Appellant Crisis in 1386-88 and Richard’s deposition in 1399. I really enjoyed the first book in the series – it was a lot of fun and although most of the focus was on Gregory’s own story, I enjoyed how Richard II and Henry Bolingbroke were characterised. I didn’t like the second book as much and felt my idea of Richard II and Ironside’s were beginning to dramatically part ways. And then I picked up the third volume.

To be perfectly honest, the whole series hits on one of my bugbears in historical fiction and that is the placing of a fictional character at the centre of notable events in history, where they play a vital role in everything that happens. It’s to Ironside’s credit, of course, that I liked Gregory enough that I didn’t really mind when he ended up playing showstopping roles during the Peasants Revolt and the Appellant Crisis. But I also found it to be a detriment in the third book. Because Gregory is pretty much the voice of reason and the moral compass of the series. He’s grumpy and grim but he’s a good egg who is driven by what’s right.

Which is what make the ending so hard to fathom, where we dive head-first into a world of protagonist centred morality. Because Gregory murders Richard II. Richard II dies a painful, long and cruel death – because of Gregory. It’s Gregory’s who tells Henry IV that Richard has to die, it’s Gregory who chooses the method of Richard’s death and it’s Gregory who basically tortures Richard to death. There is no reason for the book to go there. Ironside could have written Gregory reacting to the news of Richard’s death at home or, at the very least, could have given Richard a better death. Yes this is at odds with the historical record, which suggests Richard was starved to death – but Gregory’s entire existence is already at odds with the historical record and there is even room for Ironside to have Gregory kill Richard in a kinder, swifter way while maintaining some historical accuracy. After all, only Richard’s face was exposed when his body was displayed and the examination of his (incomplete) skeleton in the 1800s only revealed there were no signs of violence on his skeleton. Instead, we get a sequence where Gregory sits and listens to Richard’s pain and torment as he dies for days and does nothing.

His motive? Richard is personally responsible for a plot to harm Gregory’s wife and child during the Epiphany Rising. Because fictional Gregory is vitally important to the Rising’s success or something. The historical Richard allegedly claimed full responsibility for the Rising but it’s very unlikely he was involved in any meaningful way. He was imprisoned, surrounded by spies and cut off from his friends and followers. How, then, did he direct his rebels to focus on Gregory’s family?

Nor is there any evidence that Richard himself was cruel to the families of his enemies. In fact, Henry V would probably have a word or two to say about this. Henry V was only 12 or 13, was with Richard when his father, Bolingbroke, returned to England, breaking the terms of his exile to challenge Richard. Richard would have been well within his rights to use Henry V as a hostage or take retribution against him. But he didn’t – and what’s more, Henry V’s actions as king suggest that he was very fond of Richard.

So why does Richard have to die? He’s too dangerous to Henry IV and too insane to be allowed to live. Just put the mentally ill person down like a dog, Gregory, it’s not disturbing at all. Not even the fact that you’d give a dog a more humane death than this. You’re a real hero, aren’t you?

(Ironside suggests in her author’s notes that Richard II may have suffered Borderline Personality Disorder, within the text he is obviously suffering a psychotic break when he gets murdered.)

And why does it have to be so awful and drawn out? Because there has to be no marks on the body. And Ironside thinks the starvation theory is crap, though it is accepted as the most likely scenario by historians who have studied Richard II.

Additionally, Gregory being motivated to kill Richard in such a cruel and nasty way sits at odds with his character, especially when we’ve seen him intervening to give a horrible person he never liked a quick, merciful death. And he did once count Richard as his friend.

And, yes, Ironside’s characterisation of Richard didn’t sit well with me.

Richard II was a very difficult, complex man who did some pretty awful things. But I have a lot of sympathy for him. The experience of becoming king at ten years old was almost certainly distorting and damaging, he went through traumatic events such as the Appellant Crisis – in which people he considered his friends – were killed and exiled. Even framing the crisis as being for “the greater good”, I still cannot work out how anyone can read about it and think that it wasn’t traumatic for Richard to lose people he loved in horrible, violent ways, to be powerless and almost certainly deposed (Ironside via Gregory rubbishes the idea Richard was briefly deposed, historians who have studied Richard have not), before ending up, in effect, as a puppet.

Ironside’s treatment of Richard in Tyrant is without sympathy. He’s antagonistic, irrational, deluded, frequently threatening violence. While the Appellant Crisis wasn’t dressed up as anything particularly pleasant, I’ve never felt that Ironside depicted how traumatic it would have been for Richard. While Richard’s past trauma is briefly brought up in Tyrant, it’s basically concluded that Richard, on his own, should just been better about how he responds to trauma. Of course, Richard’s trauma doesn’t excuse his actions. But for me, this upsettingly close to labelling Richard as a Bad Victim and, thus, not really a victim at all – undeserving of any sympathy or understanding. He should have just pulled himself up by his own bootstraps and been, you know, a proper, good victim, instead of this nasty little tyrant undeserving of the label ‘victim’. That his trauma doesn’t mean jackshit because it made him cruel rather than kind.

But, hey, Tyrant could be fun at times. The last paragraph was a hoot.

[J.A. Ironside]

I know I took a bit longer with this one, but it's out now! No more waiting! ;)

[Carrie Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've given this three stars as it did tie up the true historical events well enough without our hero losing his head, but I'm a bit disappointed other aspects weren't so clean:
1. Having started with the resurrection of the legendary Maudesley family story, I'd hoped we'd have had more of an answer to the missing and slaughtered sheep conundrum. Yes, it was hinted at that the incidents were the doings of his nasty Baron neighbour, but it felt as though a trick had been missed by not revealing the presence of a crocodile or other salt marsh-dwelling fiend.
2. As with the second book, there are huge chunks of time skipped from one chapter to another, followed by a bunch of them dealing with happenings close together, and then back to jumping ahead, sometimes by a whole year. I do understand that they were all organised along a timeline that actually happened, and that the series is called The King's Knight, but I feel this could easily have been an entertaining five-book set rather than three. We know that Gregory is different from his peers and enjoys his Baronial responsibilities, so don't just tell us that - show us! I'm certain many readers besides me would've very much enjoyed some tales from Wynnstree! He had a Welsh, mixed-race man-at-arms who, I'm sure, could've provided an adventure or two. Or what about land disputes and other business Maudesley had at home? Couldn't there have been more made of those on his patch? I'm sure at least one of the traveling merchants passing through may have been a supporter of Richard's enemies. Or perhaps a lord who'd fallen out with the king had passed through and tried to take refuge. So many missed opportunities!
3. I'm afraid I must put my grammar and spelling bitch hat on again, as I'm certain another couple of edits would've fixed a fair few errors along the way.

You see, the reason I'm so irritated by the above points is that I did enjoy the whole series. If I hadn't cared about the central characters or their various imperfections and aims, I wouldn't have bothered with a review this long. I just wanted to see more from them. But I did enjoy the books and that should be the positive note I end upon.

[John Francis]

Great stuff.

Absolutely brilliant series. What a cracking series of novellas. I only wish they'd been full novels. The reign of Richard 11 in a lot of its glory and a lot of its not so glory. The main character Gregory and his beautiful wife Alienor are like bacon and eggs. It didn't start out that way I can assure you. Out of all the characters, Alienor is probably my favourite. A strong, independent and intelligent woman, probably the only woman for Gregory. Read the novellas and see what mean. Historical fiction at its best and J.A. Ironside has joined my, read as soon as her new book comes out list. Funny enough, that list is 99.9% male authors. This lady knows her stuff.
10 out 10.

[Brian Kitchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set 6 years after Gregory Maudesley unmasked a plot to assassinate King Richard, Gregory finds that even though he saved the king's life, their relationship has not entirely recovered from the effects of Richard's distrust and autocracy.

With the war with France ended, although unfavourably and Richards alliance with King Charles of France threatening to set the Duke of Gloucester and many of the Lords against the king, it seems that the period of peace since the Merciless Parliament of 1388 is about to be broken by civil war.

When Richard exiles his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke and the king begins a campaign of revenge and tyranny, Gregory is torn between the duty he owes an increasingly erratic king and his deep sense of what is right. Gregory must risk everything he holds dear and face his most difficult test of loyalty yet.
The end of an excellent trilogy I really enjoyed.

[Mrs Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I loved reading this series and I’m only sorry there aren’t more starring the wonderful and delightfully honest Sir Gregory. Some interesting information in these books about Richard II, some of whIch I already knew and some I didn’t. A great story with a good history lesson. Recommended.

[john temple · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting page turner

A very rich story both in the characters and the conspiracies that emerge all the way through the tale. Fully recommended for fans of historical fiction and anyone who enjoys a well thought out tale

[Graeme J Greenan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant historical fiction

An absolutely superb end to a great trilogy. An enjoyable take on the reign of King Richard II from the eyes of her well-written protagonist, Sir Gregory. I couldn't put it down and eagerly await further works by this fantastic author

[09/01 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great yarn

Having read the previous yarns,this is a brilliant story.Many characters from history play their parts. A well written and researched tale,that gives you a true feel of the times.

[William Colbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read

Good read. Liked the way he used real life events, and put his fictional characters in the mix. Made for an interesting read, especially for one whose favorite historical time frame is during the medieval period.

[ELzabeth Livingstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

Thoroughly enjoyed each book in this series with a very satisfactory conclusion. An interesting reprisal of Richard's reign and its appropriate end g!

[sarah McConnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic reading

Loved all of this. Brilliant follow on from previous books. Have read all 3 and really enjoyed them. Well written, absolutely bloody brilliant

[M.E. Vaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I begin this review, I would just like to note the speed with which J.A. Ironside produces new books. As a keen lover of her work, every second I’m waiting for the next instalment is painful, but she never makes us wait too long. What amazes me more, however, is that despite the miraculous pace in which she produces new materiel and content, there has never been a dip in quality.
With that in mind, let’s begin the review for Tyrant. This book has been my highly anticipated read, and I blazed through it in a matter of hours, and will undoubtedly enjoy it again very soon.
Gregory is back. Older, wiser, even more tired, but as much of a magnet for danger as ever before. His misadventures begin right at the start of the book where Ironside couldn’t resist adding a touch of the fantastical with the inclusion of the Maudsley serpent. This mythical threat provides excellent foreshadowing and background atmosphere for the huge political changes which about to occur. Richard is coming into his own power and with the loss of his mediating wife, is slowly spiralling out of control.
The plot is action packed and fast-paced. Ironside is a master of research and story-craft, seamlessly blending the two. From corpse-theft, to French mummers, to vicious battles and bloody politics, the book is a balance between historical court drama and Gregory’s increasing misadventures, all topped off with fascinating insight and plenty of humour!
Along with Gregory, many other fan-favourites are back, along with some new ones. Alienor lovers will be happy to see her once again taking a more central role in this book, while anyone who was hoping to see more of Chaucer will be thrilled to know that the poet—who, according to Ironside’s own admission, was only supposed to have a brief cameo in book one—is still firmly established in the narrative. The pair act as shining sources of wit and wisdom throughout the book, even if Chaucer does spend a majority of it simply laughing at Gregory from the side-lines.
I would be remiss not to also mention the return of my favourite character, Cuthbert, now all grown-up and fighting alongside Gregory as a man at arms. But not all is well in the life of Cuthbert, who has to contend with the handsome, charming and talented Daffyd—a new young Welshman who has joined Gregory’s ranks, and made a sport of needling Cuthbert. I would gladly read a whole series about these two alone, going off on unwitting adventures and getting into mischief.
Along with Daffyd, other new faces include Percy “Hotspur”, John of Gaunt, and a more detailed introduction to Gregory and Alienor’s eldest daughter, Isobel. Each character feels unique, well-rounded and vibrant, whether real or fictional.
I’m incredibly sad to see this part of the series draw to a close, but will live in hope that there may yet be more of Gregory and his family to come!