A King Under Siege (The Plantagenet Legacy, Book 1) by Mercedes Rochelle (interview & review)

Richard II found himself under siege not once, but

twice in his minority. Crowned king at age ten, he was only fourteen when the Peasants' Revolt terrorized London. But he proved himself every bit the Plantagenet successor, facing Wat Tyler and the rebels when all seemed lost.

Alas, his triumph was short-lived, and for the next ten years he struggled to assert himself against his uncles and increasingly hostile nobles. Just like in the days of his great-grandfather Edward II, vengeful magnates strove to separate him from his friends and advisors, and even threatened to depose him if he refused to do their bidding.

The Lords Appellant, as they came to be known, purged the royal household with the help of the Merciless Parliament. They murdered his closest allies, leaving the King alone and defenseless.

He would never forget his humiliation at the hands of his subjects.

Richard's inability to protect his adherents would haunt him for the rest of his life, and he vowed that next time, retribution would be his.

✨Amazon

✨ Interview

What inspired you to write this story, and what drew you to this particular historical period? 

Unsurprisingly (for me) I was inspired by Shakespeare when I first saw the play Richard II with Derek Jacobi in 1979. I  had never heard of Richard, but I was totally entranced by the play and “filed him away” for the next thirty years. After I finished my Last Great Saxon Earls series, I was finally ready to give Richard my full attention. Was I in for a surprise! I didn’t know how complicated his story would prove to be.

How would you describe your book in a sentence to readers who haven’t discovered it yet?

Crowned king at age 10 and forced to face the Peasant’s Revolt at 14, Richard II struggled to assert himself against his uncles and increasingly hostile nobles who strove to separate him from his friends and advisors, and even threatened to depose him if he refused to do their bidding.. 

How much research went into the novel, and did you uncover anything surprising along the way? 

I spent over a year researching this novel and read a whole pile of history books. I was expecting the Peasant’s Revolt, but the whole Merciless Parliament episode came as a complete surprise to me. It was such a fundamental event in his reign, and yet it is rarely talked about.

How do you balance historical accuracy with creating an engaging story? 

For me, historical accuracy is crucial. This means the plot is already written, and it’s up to me to make it interesting—and tie events together. Connecting the dots, I like to say. What drives the characters? Their motivations inject life into an otherwise sterile account.

Which character was the most interesting or challenging for you to write, and why? 

Actually, I was most challenged by John of Gaunt, Richard’s oldest surviving uncle. At first I thought he was a bit of a villain—egotistical, overbearing, and unsympathetic. The young Richard certainly thought Gaunt was his enemy, until his uncle went off to Spain and all hell broke loose. It wasn’t until then that he—and I—realized just how protective Gaunt had been to the throne and its occupant. He really was an honourable man, and by the end of the book I really appreciated him.

Did the story or any characters evolve in unexpected ways while you were writing? 

Young Henry Bolingbroke was a bit of a puzzle. Since he became one of the Lords Appellant—hence a persecutor of the king—I was confused about his motivations. I don’t think his father would have approved, though John of Gaunt was in Spain at the time. He was such an untroubled young man; why get involved in nasty politics? As we see in the next book, he was the instigator of an even more serious conflict, which ended up in the fatal tournament that precipitated his outlawry. I’m still not sure he knew what he was doing.

What does your writing process look like—are you a planner or do you prefer to write freely? 

With historical fiction, the plot is already in place, though I admit I don’t rely on outlines. Although I read ahead before I start writing, as I come across each major event, I go over my source material once again, more in depth. It’s amazing how many things I discover the second time around! 

What do you hope readers will feel or take away after finishing your book? 

It’s my fondest hope that my readers come away with a significant understanding of the history I’m writing about. If they decide to pick up a history book, that’s a big win.

If you could step into the world of your novel for a day, what would you most want to experience? 

I would love to travel along the Thames in a royal barge. What an experience!

Just for fun—if your book were adapted into a film, who would you love to see in the cast? 

Sorry, I am still stuck on my original inspiration: Derek Jacobi as Richard and the handsome Jon Finch as Bolingbroke.                                                                                                                               

✨ Review

I knew A King Under Siege was going to take me into the turbulent early reign of Richard II, but I wasn't expecting to come away feeling quite so sorry for him.

Richard becomes king at ten, and when the Peasants' Revolt erupts he is still only fourteen. That part of the novel really brought home just how young he was. He is surrounded by older, supposedly wiser men, yet when London is threatened and thousands of rebels are demanding answers, Richard is the one who eventually has to face them.

What interested me most, though, was what happened afterwards. Richard grows older, but everyone around him seems rather reluctant to accept that their boy king is becoming a man who wants to govern for himself. His uncles interfere, Parliament pushes back against him, and the friends he chooses for himself become another source of conflict.

Richard certainly doesn't make life easy for himself. He has a terrible temper and can make decisions in anger that he later regrets. His friendship with Robert de Vere causes endless trouble, but I could also understand why Richard clung to him. Robert treats him like a king when so many others still seem to treat him like a child.

I really liked Anne of Bohemia. Her arrival gives Richard something he has been missing for much of the book: someone who simply loves him. Their marriage is unexpectedly sweet, and some of my favourite scenes were the quiet ones at La Neyt when they could escape all the politics for a little while.

There are some very dark moments later in the novel, particularly during the Merciless Parliament. By then I had become attached to several of Richard's companions, so watching his enemies systematically strip them away from him was difficult. Simon Burley's fate was especially upsetting.

The ending was probably the part I enjoyed most. After spending so much of the novel watching Richard fight to be taken seriously, there is something wonderfully satisfying about seeing him finally realise that he doesn't need anybody's permission to grow up.

I started A King Under Siege knowing Richard II mainly for what happened later in his reign. I finished it thinking much more about the boy who had been handed a crown long before anyone was prepared to let him use it.

A fascinating read, and one that has definitely made me want to know what happens in the next book.

Born in St. Louis, MO, with a degree from University of Missouri, Mercedes Rochelle learned about living history as a re-enactor and has been enamored with historical fiction ever since. A move to New York to do research and two careers ensued, but writing fiction remains her primary vocation. She lives in Sergeantsville, NJ with her husband in a log home they had built themselves.

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