Summer is winding down. It's always difficult for me to try to share my day job with writing, f, but at the end of next week, I'll return to work. So this past week, I began the arduous task of my next project's outline.
Outlining is hard. Everyone does it differently, and some authors don't do it at all! For me, it's integral, as I want to try to balance the plot --I use a three act outline--and be sure to include suggestions, notes, where to find things in my resources... it goes on and on. Anyway, my goal is to have the outline finished prior to returning to work so I can focus on drafting it in the small spurts of time I'll have while working a forty hour work-week.
But I'll still be blogging and writing, however much time is spent working! Why? Because writing is an outlet for me, ridding me of stress and filling me with the joy of creativity and story-telling. Today's guest is no different than I am in that regard. Mercedes Rochelle has been a frequent flyer here on my Journal. She has a passion for the Plantagenets and is well-versed in knowledge about the Middle Ages.
This week, I have a delightful interview with Mercedes that I've included below. As you read it, you see her love for her characters and for English history oozing forth. She has such respect and careful attention awarded to historical detail.
Welcome back to Brook's Journal, Mercedes!
Read ON, everybody!
ALL ABOUT THE BOOK
From the day he was crowned, Henry V was determined to prove the legitimacy of his house. His father's usurpation weighed heavily on his mind. Only a grand gesture would capture the respect of his own countrymen and the rest of Europe. He would follow in his great-grandfather Edward III's footsteps, and recover lost territory in France.
Better yet, why not go for the crown? Poor, deranged Charles VI couldn't manage his own barons. The civil war between the Burgundians and Armagnacs was more of a threat to his country than the English, even after Henry laid siege to Harfleur. But once Harfleur had fallen, the French came to their senses and determined to block his path to Calais and destroy him.
By the time the English reached Agincourt, they were starving, exhausted, and easy pickings. Or so the French thought. Little did they reckon on Henry's leadership and the stout-hearted English archers who proved, once again, that numbers didn't matter when God was on their side.
An Agincourt Interview with Mercedes Rochelle
with Brook Allen
B: Mercedes, you’ve written book after book about the British royals in the Middle Ages. What is different about Henry V in comparison to your other works?
M.: Hi Brook. Thanks for interviewing me for your blog! I think the big difference about Henry is that he brought legitimacy back to the English crown. Although Richard II—the first king in my series—was certainly a legitimate king by birth, he made such a mess of his reign that Henry IV practically waltzed in and took the throne. Unfortunately, the love affair between Henry IV and the people didn't last long, and he spent most of his reign fighting rebellions. Henry V inherited an unstable throne, but he was so competent—so brilliant in ways that counted—that he silenced almost all objections and turned the country around.
B: Most people are aware that Henry V’s big “win” was at Agincourt. What elements were present to aid him in victory, and were there things Henry did to help bring about the desired outcome?
M: Many historians believe that Henry didn't win Agincourt as much as the French lost it. Terribly. Because the only commanders with any experience were outranked by foolish nobles who wouldn't listen to them, the French were outgeneraled by the peerless King of England. The French chose the battlefield that was too narrow for their numbers. All their leaders insisted on the front ranks, so the reserve had no leaders at all. They were so overconfident their few archers were relegated to the rear. This is not to say that Henry didn't perform magnificently, and he certainly inspired his men. He is credited with ordering the archers to set up long pointed stakes before their ranks as protection, but even here, a variation of this strategy was used before—against themselves at the battle of Nicopolis in 1396.
B: What characters other than the King himself were especially colorful to depict, and why?
M: I was quite fortunate that Henry's younger brother Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester spent almost all his time at the king's side. This gave me the opportunity to tell the King's story through Humphrey's eyes, who saw both strengths and peculiarities in his brother's behavior. Humphrey becomes a major protagonist after Henry's death. On the French side, I'm quite absorbed with John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy who single-handedly destroyed any chance of France standing up to the invader. The French were so worried about the conflict between Burgundy and the Orléanists—or Armagnacs, as they were soon to be called—that they had no resources to fight the English.
B: Ha! Sounds like he should have been called "John: Full of FEAR"! You mentioned the English longbow in an answer above. I know it was considered a formidable weapon by the French. Can you discuss why?
M: One would think, after Crécy and Poitiers, that the French would take the longbow more seriously. But we have to remember that the last major field battle in France was fought by their grandparents—only a distant memory. At this stage, there was no real defense when the English archers fought in conjunction with their men-at-arms—a necessary combination that Henry V knew very well how to command. But the French never got the hang of archery. First of all, there was no standing army; the commoners were farmers, not fighters. In England, archery practice every Sunday became mandatory, and these men were ready to go. In fact, the French usually had to hire mercenaries, as we see with the Genoese crossbowmen. And even if they had used the Genoese at Agincourt, the firing rate of a crossbow was pathetic compared to the longbow.
B: Henry V was not a man averse to fighting himself. When a King went into battle, what were the expectations of his men, as far as trying to protect their monarch?
M: The king had his usual collection of bodyguards—probably his chamber knights. If you remember Henry IV at the Battle of Shrewsbury, he actually used surrogates dressed in his coat of arms, at least one of whom was killed in action. Sounds unchivalrous to me! Henry V had none of it. In contrast, he actually wore a crown on his helm, making himself more conspicuous than necessary. He trusted God to protect him and fought valiantly in the front rank.
B: I’ve heard that the peace agreement signed by French King Charles was rather a humiliating thing to agree to. Could you tell us what it entailed and the reasons it was especially shameful?
M: In Shakespeare's play HENRY V, the alliance was signed immediately after the battle. It certainly confused me! But that was Shakespeare, condensing history in favor of drama. In reality, the Treaty of Troyes was signed five years later, and only after John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy was murdered during a peace conference with the Dauphin. As a result, the Dauphin was disinherited and the crown would be ceded to Henry and his heirs after King Charles VI's death; meanwhile Henry would serve as regent since the king was mostly incapacitated by his schizophrenia. All this will be illustrated in my next novel.
B: So what IS next for Mercedes Rochelle? And what is it about whatever is coming that you’re excited about?
M: As I just mentioned, my next novel which I'm entitling HENRY, SCOURGE OF NORMANDY, covers the rest of Henry V's nine-year reign. Conquering Normandy was the next step in his grand plan, but he was soon to learn that this would be an uphill climb. But I'm not finished with the series yet! The Lancastrian line ends with the death of Henry VI, only after a troubled 49-year reign which plunges the country into the Wars of the Roses. Should I go all the way to the end of the Plantagenets? Richard III? I'm not sure I'll live that long!
ALL ABOUT MERCEDES
Mercedes Rochelle is an ardent lover of medieval history, and has channeled this interest into fiction writing. Her first four books cover eleventh-century Britain and events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. The next series is called “The Plantagenet Legacy” and begins with the reign of Richard II.
She also writes a blog: www.HistoricalBritainBlog.com to explore the history behind the story. Born in St. Louis, MO, she received by BA in Literature at the Univ. of Missouri St.Louis in 1979 then moved to New York in 1982 while in her mid-20s to "see the world". The search hasn't ended!
Today she lives in Sergeantsville, NJ with her husband in a log home they had built themselves.
CONNECT WITH MERCEDES
BUY THE BOOK!!!
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
***To purchase, please click on Mercedes'
beautiful cover!***
Thank you so much for hosting Mercedes Rochelle today, with such a brilliant post.
Take care,
Cathie xo
The Coffee Pot Book Club