gilda_elise

The first biography of the evil genius and rebel baron who deposed and murdered Edward II.

One night in August 1323 a captive rebel baron, Sir Roger Mortimer, drugged his guards and escaped from the Tower of London. With the king's men-at-arms in pursuit he fled to the south coast, and sailed to France. There he was joined by Isabella, the Queen of England, who threw herself into his arms. A year later, as lovers, they returned with an invading army: King Edward II's forces crumbled before them, and Mortimer took power. He removed Edward II in the first deposition of a monarch in British history. Then the ex-king was apparently murdered, some said with a red-hot poker, in Berkeley Castle. Brutal, intelligent, passionate, profligate, imaginative and violent: Sir Roger Mortimer was an extraordinary character. It is not surprising that the queen lost her heart to him. Nor is it surprising that his contemporaries were terrified of him. But until now no one has appreciated the full evil genius of the man. This first biography reveals not only the man's career as a feudal lord, a governor of Ireland, a rebel leader and a dictator of England but also the truth of what happened that night in Berkeley Castle.

There’s a lot to take in with this book. And I did learn quite a bit about the man who, until now, I only knew as the lover of Queen Isabella. Unfortunately, at times there was maybe a bit too much information. If there was a meeting, every single participant is named. If someone owned manors, every single manner is named, which could be a list of more than a dozen. Did I remember them? Not at all.

But the questioning of when Edward II died was probably the most difficult to accept. While I can understand the author’s questioning of some of the reports regarding that death, it undercut his argument when his “evidence” of Edward living for several more years isn’t there. It’s conjecture, and seemed to be more wishful thinking than anything else. Which is disingenuous, considering that that’s what he accuses those who accept that Edward II died at Berkeley Castle in 1327.

The argument has recently been picked up, but, yet again, without any real proof.