My Lord John – Georgette Heyer

Up until now, I’ve read Heyer’s Regency romances, but she wrote some historical novels as well.   (What I didn’t know about this one until I read the forward is that it’s unfinished – she never had the concentrated time to devote to it that she wanted to.)

This is the story of John of Bedford, the third son of Henry IV, the first king of the Lancaster line (who pushed his cousin Richard II out of the throne.)   The story starts when John and his brothers and sisters are young, and traces the story of how their grandfather and father interacted with King Richard.     Richard’s deposition is not directly dealt with, but you get a nice flavor for the political machinations in the court, as well as what it’s like to suddenly be a prince.    Definitely an interesting story – one area of English history I had not studied as much as others.