Customer Reviews

To the Tower Born: A Novel of the Lost Princes

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the first book by this author that I've read. I only chose it because it has to do with Richard III and the Princes in the Tower, a mystery that has always fascinated me.

I'm not going through the storyline here, as numerous reviewers before me have already done so. The main question is, who was responsible for the disappearance of the Princes?

Ms. Maxwell's answer as to the identity of the culprit is clever and credible (psychologically and historically speaking), but the whole rescue-of-the-princes scene is such a stretch it's not believable for one second.

Also, though Ms. Maxwell did read some previous books of the subject, she didn't assimilate them very well and makes several historical mistakes, like the people in the crowd circa 1500 referring to Richard III as a hunchback. If they lived at the time, they should have known he was no such thing, that's only Shakespeare's take on it. Besides, by general accounts, Richard III was loved in his time. He was a good king for the little time he had ruling England.

She also absolves Henry VII from the crime on the grounds that he wasn't in England at the time. She obviously didn't read, or conveniently forgot, Josephine Tey's and others' theories that the Princes were alive and well when Henry Tudor took over the Tower (which was not a prison at the time, but a royal residence) and that he (supposedly) only did away with them after he took the throne. Another theory of course is that they were never murdered at all.

Being a stickler for at least some historical accuracy even in a work of historical fiction, that irked me and detracted from my enjoyment of an otherwise entertaining book. I liked Nell Caxton's romance with Lord Rivers, and the fact (which might be true) that Elizabeth of York was in love with Richard III.

The ending left one hanging, because the two friends, Nell and Bessie, tell the whole "true" story to the future Henry VIII. What good did it do? We all know he didn't lift a single finger to rehabilitate his great-uncle's memory. Actually he finished what his father had started, killing off what was left of the heirs of York. And what became of the Princes after they were rescued is also left to the reader's imagination. It would have been nice if she had hinted at the "pretender and impostor" Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be the younger of the two princes during a rebellion under Henry VII.

All in all, I did enjoy the story but purely as a work of suspense/mystery fiction. As historical fiction, it was sadly disappointing.

When King Edward IV of England died, he left behind a widow, Elizabeth Woodville, an unpopular commoner by whom he had two sons, Edward and Richard, as well a number of daughters, the eldest of which was named Elizabeth after her mother. Richard of Gloucester, brother to Edward IV, was named Protector of England and was to rule as regent on behalf of young King Edward V. Richard then usurped the throne of his young nephew, claiming that the children of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville were illegitimate, due to King Edward IV's prior binding betrothal to a Lady Eleanor Butler, and had himself crowned as King Richard III. With Elizabeth Woodville and her children in sanctuary, the two boys were eventually released to their Uncle Richard and sent to the Tower of London. From there they would disappear, never again to be seen. For centuries, the general consensus has been that King Richard III murdered them. The author offers a new and intriguing theory as to what may have happened.

It is against this backdrop that this story takes place. The events that transpire and set the stage for what was to happen to the two young princes are seen through the eyes of Nell Caxton, daughter of William Caxton, who was the first English printer, as well as her best friend, Elizabeth, oldest daughter of King Edward IV. While her theory as to what really happened to Edward and Richard is an intriguing one, it fails somewhat in its execution. There are simply too many modern sensibilities interjected throughout the story that are often jarring to the reader. Moreover, the characters tend to be somewhat two dimensional and not fully fleshed, making for a less than satisfying book. This author has written a number of fine books of historical fiction, but this is simply not one of her best. Those who are aficionados of English history and historical fiction, however, may still derive some enjoyment from this book.

I am a student of the 15th century and of the ruling family of
the times. While Robin Maxwell's TO THE TOWER BORN has an interesting twist on the murder of the princes in the tower, she needs to do better research. On one page she has Henry VII preparing his younger son Harry to be "the first English pope." Sorry, that was Adrian IV (1154-59). Also she credits Elizabeth Woodville with trying to marry off her brother Antony Woodville to "the queen of Scotland." Again, there was no queen of Scotland until the 16th century.
The story is quick moving and interesting, but a historical novelist needs to be more careful in researching her characters and times.

3.5 stars

Ms. Maxwell's take on what happened to the two sons of Edward IV who disappeared from the Tower of London shortly after Richard III "usurped" the crown from the eldest of them adds a clever layer to the two most commonly told versions of this story (that Richard III had them murdered, or that he was innocent & uninvolved and the Duke of Buckingham did it in attempt to gain the crown for himself).

I absolutely love the possibility of Margaret Beaufort's involvement which Maxwell has added in this story. Her ambitiousness, political machniations and involvement in intrigue have been well documented. It's entirely plausable to see her as the pupeteer behind Buckingham... however, other aspects of Maxwell's take on how she and Buckingham may have been involved are completely far-fetched. This story provides a "happy ending" to a tale that simply could not have ended so. In writing it as thus, Maxwell pushes the reader beyond the bounds of believability and left this particular one feeling quite disappointed after reading 7/8 of the story only to find a Hollywood ending complete with explosions.

Maxwell relies on an overly used formula to set the stage for the story. The main character, Nell Caxton, is uncommonly educated for a woman of her time, has maintained a childhood friendship with Princess Elizabeth and thus has access to Royal circles, and yet is so likeable and street smart that she is also friends with every street-dwelling pauper and prostitute in the vacinity of Westminster. Nell's cleverness also opens doors to romance with a man of the court, a position as tutor to the young king-to-be, and an appointment as scribe to Margaret Beaufort. Nell has a surprising amount of unchaperoned time, much of which she manages to spend with her also-strangely-unchaperoned princess friend. As one would expect, the girls even get to sneak around undetected disguised as young men.

Despite the kitsch formula and over-the-top ending, the book is entertaining. The story of Richard of York / Richard III and his ascention to the throne and coinciding disappearance of the Princes in the Tower has intrigued the public for 500+ years. Maxwell has contributed a smart, mostly plausable and formerly unexplored possible answer to the mystery.

What a waste of my time and money! This is the authosr's second book that I read, and I beleive the last. If you like historical fiction this is not for you. I don't think the characters are well developed, she had a wonderful piece of history to work on and did not do it justice. As someone wrote here before maybe the author was influenced by Hollywood because the explosions and the involvement of women of the time ( especially a princess ) on the "action packed" part is somewhat unbelievable. Sometimes the book made me feel it was written for teens.

To the Tower Born is an enjoyable historical novel revolving around the enduring mystery of what happened to the "Princes in the Tower," the one-time Edward V and his brother Richard. Were they murdered by Richard III, the original Wicked Uncle? Was it Richard's closest adviser, their calculating cousin the Duke of Buckingham, who had his own eye on the throne? Was it Henry VII, who defeated Richard III at Bosworth Field? Or is it possible that they were not killed at all but kidnapped and/or rescued by other interested parties?

Robin Maxwell, the author of several books set in the Tudor period, serves up some gripping suspense, well-drawn characters and an original and intriguing solution to the mystery in this novel, which is told from the point of view of the princes' sister Elizabeth (Bessie), later the queen of Henry VII and the mother of Henry VIII. Since Elizabeth was in sanctuary with her mother and sisters during the crucial time and a lot of it takes place away from London, she is provided with an additional pair of eyes and ears in the person of Nell Caxton (based on a real person), the daughter of England's earliest printer, William Caxton, who was patronized by the kings throughout this period. As the author argues in her afterword, Caxton's daughter would certainly have been educated, which provides the opening to place her first at the side of Edward as his temporary Latin tutor and later as a secretary to Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII's mother, where she is a witness to vital events and picks up important information.

As was pointed out by one reviewer, there are a couple of annoying historical inaccuracies, but I found the story and characters to be compelling enough that they are mere annoyances. (Also, although Elizabeth Woodville did not attempt to marry her brother to the queen of Scotland, she did try to marry him to a Scottish princess.) There was also doubt expressed that a princess of England would have been allowed as much freedom as Bessie appears to have, but as I recall, the medieval courts were much less formal than those of the Renaissance, and I can imagine Edward IV, who was known for his "common touch," not being overly concerned with protocol. Some readers who are used to the later customs of keeping young noblewomen innocent of sexual matters may find the bawdy jokes and remarks of the two girls to be a bit jarring, but I suspect that there is a certain amount of accuracy in this as well.

I've read all of Robin Maxwell's books (except for The Wild Irish: A Novel of Elizabeth I and the Pirate O'Malley) and I'm happy to say that her writing style, which can sometimes be a bit sticky, has improved much in this book. The story is much more readable then in her past books, and the plot is fantastic. Her characters (all real historical figures) have clear motivations for what they do in this book.

But anyway, to the plot. This is a novel about the tower princes, Edward IV's two sons who disappeared after their uncle Richard III steals the crown. Although popular history has Richard murdering his two nephews, Maxwell has a different and very credible theory. The story is told as a narrative to young Henry VIII, by his mother Queen Elizabeth and his godmother Nell Caxton, daughter of the first man to print books in English.

The amount of freedom that Nell and Bessie have may seem odd to some, but its in accord with their status (which was privelaged) and education backround. England at the time before Edward IV's death was fairly peaceful, and this book is really about the change from that peace into the harsh danger of war time and roayl takeovers.

Readable and entertaining, this book is perfect for the Tudor maniac or just plain historical fiction fans out there.

I enjoyed this imaginative tale that 'explains' the fate of the two Princes in the Tower. It was very entertaining and I couldn't wait to finish the novel. The ending is a bit far fetched in my opinion, but that does not hinder this book's readability.

I previously attempted to read Robin Maxwell's 'The Secret Diary' of Anne Boleyn and I just couldn't get into it, I thought it a bit smutty for serious literature and I had to pass on finishing it. So, I wasn't sure what I would think of this book from the same author.

I recently finished 'A Rose For the Crown' by Anne Easter Smith and I wanted to read more about Richard III and the princes in the tower. I had this on the shelf and thought it was the perfect next choice.

The story of the lost princes is a fascinating one and I really enjoyed Maxwell's conclusion. I thought she did a very nice job of simply communicating the frightening chain of events that are historically known to have happened and weaving in her ideas about what happened to the princes. And while her heroines aren't perfectly Medieval I certainly didn't mind.

I enjoyed the way she told the story, I enjoyed the characters and the only criticism I have is that the dialog was often very obviously a tool used to inform the reader of the history of events rather than what would likely have been said between the characters.

I enjoyed this book and will look for others by Robin Maxwell.

The Princes in the Tower (Edward and Richard, the young sons of Edward IV and his queen, Elizabeth Woodville) have been a favorite subject and ongoing topic of discussion by historians, novelists, detectives and Anglophiles for some 500 years. As there is no way to know anything about them and what happened to them-absolutely-they will surely continue to be `persons of interest' during the next centuries as well.

Drawing on the known historical connection and friendship between Edward and William Caxton, the first English printer, the author has developed a friendship between Edward's oldest daughter, Bessie, and Caxton's only daughter, Nell. The two young women maintain this relationship over a period of some twenty years, in spite of the trauma and turmoil surrounding them.

Soon after Bessie's oldest son Arthur dies suddenly, not long after his marriage to Katherine of Spain, the supposed traitor James Tyrell is executed after having confessed to having murdered the nephews of his employer Richard III. Bessie's next son Henry hears the gossip and asks his mother for a clarification of this horrid tale. As Nell is visiting Bessie at the time, the two women decide to tell Henry the truth about the situation.

Almost all of the book is thus told in flashback. In fact, I was startled near the end to be brought back to the room where Bessie and Nell are consoling young Henry, so real was the narration. The action was incredibly well described, using known events as the foundation and possible speculative details for support.

Having spent many hours researching this very period of history, I found the solution to the mystery as advanced by the author to be entirely plausible and realistic. Good for her, I say! Other solutions have been advanced through the years, some believable, some not. For now, I'm perfectly happy to believe this one, until it's proven to be entirely fiction.