Root of the Tudor Rose (49 page)

There are some people whom I must also thank. In London I was given a fascinating tour of Westminster Abbey by retired architect Barbara Potter, one of the Abbey's knowledgeable volunteer visitor guides. In turn, Barbara introduced me to James Rawlinson, the Abbey's Museum Supervisor who was both helpful and enthusiastic.

The same was true of the Rev. Dr Alan Griffin who not only welcomed me warmly to the delightful church of St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe but provided me with the information which enabled me to feature his fifteenth-century predecessor, Marmaduke de Kyrkeby, in the story.

I am indebted to several writers, including the eminent historian and novelist Alison Weir whom I was privileged to meet at Manchester Central Library's imaginatively entitled ‘Pages Ago' conference. Alison has been very supportive, as has Bernard Knight, CBE, the distinguished Home Office pathologist who is also a prolific historical novelist – a true polymath. Under the auspices of the Writers' Workshop, Emma Darwin, Debi Alper, and Andrew Wille provided invaluable guidance. They were all most generous in sharing their extensive understanding of the craft of writing and I learned a great deal from them. (
www.writersworkshop.co.uk
)

Many friends read the manuscript at various stages in its evolution and did me the great favour of honest criticism. I'm grateful to them all for their suggestions.

Lastly, many thanks to Jonah for making graphic sense of the genealogy.

For those who would like to know a little more about the background and family history of Owen Tudor, an occasional journal appears on my web site. It is a purely imaginary record of the journey which took the handsome young Owain ap Maredydd ap Tudur from his home in Anglesey to the royal court in London and set him on course to give his patronymic Welsh name to the best-known and most colourful dynasty in English history.

(
www.marigriffith.co.uk/owen-tudor
)

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Published by Accent Press Ltd 2014

ISBN 9781783752676

Copyright ©
Mari Griffith
2014

The right of
Mari Griffith
to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, Ty Cynon House, Navigation Park, Abercynon, CF45 4SN