Brief Candles

About the book

In 1483, twelve year old Edward V ascended the throne as King of England, following the sudden death of his father. Edward IV had reigned for twenty years, bringing England the stability and prosperity that had eluded it during the early years of those tumultuous times popularly known as the Wars of the Roses. Althou ... gh there were more periods of peace than the popular name would suggest, the Wars were the final dispute over succession by the colorful and dynamic Plantagenet dynasty, which had ruled England for three hundred years and whose history was marked by family conflict. The Wars of the Roses themselves were a struggle between the families of Lancaster and York, cousins descended from Edward III. Under the leadership of Edward IV, York was victorious, but the legacy of the Plantagenets would not die. Edward had made a love match with Elizabeth Woodville, the daughter of English gentry, an ambitious woman with many relatives. This and other efforts by Edward to rule as a King on his own did not please his cousin and mentor, Richard Neville, nor his younger brothers, the treacherous George, Duke of Clarence and Richard, Duke of Gloucester. In time, Edward was forced to destroy his Neville cousin and to execute his brother George, who never ceased to conspire against him. For the remainder of Edward's reign, Richard of Gloucester bided his time, eager for revenge against Edward's queen and her family. This was the history that young Edward V inherited in 1483, as t