Roseblood

In 1455 Henry VI’s inability to govern has brought England close to civil war. Simon Roseblood, a powerful London taverner and alderman, remains loyal to the Lancastrian king, while Amadeus Sevigny enforces the authority of Richard, Duke of York. When Sevigny summons Roseblood to answer a crime he denies committing, their personal conflict becomes entangled with the struggle over the crown.

London’s guilds, criminal networks and political households divide as the red and white rose factions prepare for violence. Both men discover that a further enemy is exploiting the approaching war for private ends. The novel presents the opening of the Wars of the Roses from the capital’s streets, where allegiance is shaped as much by commerce, neighbourhood and survival as by noble lineage.