Book review: "Wars of the Roses: Trinity", by Conn Iggulden (part 2 of a 4 part series)

Synopsis: As Henry VI is no longer seen as healthy enough to run jolly old England, Richard of York is official protector of the realm while he recovers... much to the disgust of many. It seems that, although Richard is doing a pretty good job at 1) not being invaded by France, and 2) not letting the country burn to the ground on the whole, still only the sight of Henry VI sitting on his throne will satisfy York's harshest critics, the fiercest of those being Queen Margaret. And what better Christmas present for her than for her husband to come to on Christmas day, march to London, and reclaim the throne?

Cast out with his tail between his legs, York faces accusations of treason, a bud he is very keen to see nipped. He (rather unwillingly) gets the chance at the dramatic battle of St. Albans, which sees York clear his name, keep his fame and fortune... and then some! But is he safe from the Queen's clutches? You might think so... but no. As she calls in innumerable favours from abroad, she takes a gamble on a manoeuvre that is designed to see York and his family tree ousted from the power struggle in England. But will it be enough? And if so, what roots of the York family remain waiting under the surface...?

Review: I can see why Conn Iggulden wrote this as a series- the character development would have been impossible if it were any shorter. Take Yorky-boy (Richard). In my last review, I compared him to Lord Farquaad from Shrek, a similarity which although I still hold to be largely true (ESPECIALLY the rubbing-his-hands-with-glee malevolence), I also feel a pang of guilt because it doesn't tell the whole story of the man. Much more so in "Trilogy" than in "Stormbird", you feel a real sympathy for York. At times, you just think "He's not a bad bloke. He's just trying to make a quick buck, obtain another 50 manor houses, and be irrefutable divine-appointed leader of a nation. Who DOESN'T want that???".

He's a man with ambition, a quality in most circumstances, but apparently a vice if your ambition is to become "God's man-on-the-ground". And here's where Richard's character is truly exposed to his credit. He doesn't appear to WANT to be king, even though his various promotions seem to be leading straight towards that path. In fact, he throws somewhat of a hissy-fit when the chant "Richard of York is a stinky traitor" does the rounds. To which his response is- and his logic is questionable, here- to "accidentally" go to battle with the king's troops at St. Albans. What better way to show you love your king than by getting all your forces together, slaughtering half his army, and basically standing over his broken body saying "NOW: SAY I'M NOT A TRAITOR!".

In the wacky world of Pre-Tudor politics, apparently that's a great way to get yourself promoted, as Richard is then named heir (for some reason that, I must admit, I wasn't able to pick up on... I think it was something to do with the condition that he'd stop killing everyone first). What's more, he's never short of chances to "do a Macbeth" and get rid of Henry. Barely a page goes by when him or one of his offspring isn't alone with the semi-conscious king, the perfect chance for an unhappy
accident. York and Henry seem to spend more time alone than Henry and his wife! (And DEFINITELY more than York and his). Still, Richard's attitude towards being regent is only slightly above a simple "meh...".

Seriously, though, I think Conn puts it best in his epilogue, as follows:

"He was a complex man, and no clear villain. I could not escape the strong sense that neither York nor the house of Lancaster particularly wanted the struggle. Each house was forced into war, out of fear of the other". 

... and Lady Macbeth.

Fair's fair! Margaret of Anjou...

And while you start to feel that, aside from his over-reaction to a little name-bashing, Richard of York has a genuine cause, you also can't help picturing Margaret of Anjou more and more as Lady Macbeth. She certainly works hard to gain the reputation, pushing Henry to trump every card that York plays, when he's even aware of where he is, of course...

                                                        
Poor Henry- a mere pawn in between Margaret and Richard's deadly game... with the obvious difference that a pawn can at least take any enemy that is directly diagonally in front of them, whereas Henry is usually too ill to even leave his tent (a move which almost proves fatal for him on TWO occasions!).

While we're on the chess metaphor, the queen certainly manages to move far more squares than the king! Tenacious and imaginative in her ways to make sure that York is destroyed, Margaret is a whirlwind to be reckoned with as she does a grand tour of the British Isles, trying to find people that her adopted countrymen the English haven't slaughtered, invaded or pillaged from recently, in order to support her husband's right to the throne... no easy task! In the end, she actually has to settle for a bunch of rowdy Scots who, until their king was killed when his cannon decided to explode more outwards than forwards, actually supported Richard's claim to the English throne. Still, there's nothing that an arranged marriage can't fix (or destroy) apparently, and with Maggie at the helm, off they bloody well trot, happy as Larry, to go kill some English. Which English? To which they reply, "Who knows? And who the hell even cares?".

Margaret has engaged in the age-old English tradition of importing monarchs, and although her late father-in-law Henry V made seeing how many French knights he could fit on a pike somewhat of a hobby, you'd have thought that watching his son let his inheritance fall into anarchy would be fun for her. Again, not so. She's married to him, after all... and that rainy little Euro-sceptic island on the edge of Europe is her son's inheritance. CAN love conquer all? As we head into the third book "Bloodline",  with the House of York scorned and vengeful, and with no more children to marry off, Margaret must be wondering how long it'll be until her luck finally runs out...

Score: 8/10