The King's Grace

by Anne Easter Smith

  What are you working on next?

  As I mentioned, my fourth book is about Cecily of York, also known as the Rose of Raby and Proud Cis. She and Richard, duke of York, were betrothed at a very young age and by all accounts had a strong, happy marriage with thirteen children, two of whom became king and another the wealthiest duchess in Europe. I have visited Rouen, where they lived during the end of the Hundred Years War when Richard was governor of Normandy, and then Dublin, where Richard was also sent as governor by Henry VI and where Cecily had George of Clarence. Before Henry married Margaret of Anjou, Cecily was the first lady of England.

  Enhance Your Book Club

  Play a round of Balderdash featuring the words in the glossary. Have members in the group write false definitions for words like catafalque, excedra, houppelande, and sackbut, including the correct definition. Members vote on the definition they think is correct. Get one point if you are able to identify the correct definition and one point for every vote your false definition gets.

  Provide a bowl of Richard of York’s favorite fruit—oranges—and scent your home with cloves!

  Research the characters of historical basis in the novel: Richard III, Henry VII, Edward IV, and Margaret of York. Where and how are these characters portrayed in other works?

  * Historians are unsure of the reason for the discrepancies in the names of Perkin’s family name of “Osbeck” instead of “Werbeque” and “Kateryn de Faro” instead of “Nicaise Farou.” I have attempted to explain it away in my narrative, as it is still confusing scholars.

  * I have used Elizabeth’s will as she wrote it on April 10, 1492.