Cicely’s Sovereign Secret
Henry VII has claimed the throne after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, but the new King has a secret that he is anxious to keep hidden. Cicely Plantagenet, sister to Henry’s Queen, Elizabeth of York, also has a secret which Henry must not know about yet. Intrigue and danger abound.
In her notes at the end of the book, the author states: ‘Historical fiction is fact with the addition of make-believe… So I must repeat that the love between Cicely and Richard III, John de la Pole (whom she resurrects after the Battle of Stoke) and Henry VII are my invention’, as indeed are other characters and most of the book. In other words, Sandra Heath Wilson has taken a group of historical people and woven a completely fictitious story around them with not a shred of historical fact to back up her imaginings. The ‘great secret’, when it is eventually revealed, is also total fiction and fairly easily anticipated.
Can this really be classed as an historical novel? She also appears to have written some Regency novels. Maybe these are her real forte.
