The Exile and the Rose

By Richard A. Allen

The Exile and the Rose is a novel about Henry Tudor, who became King Henry VII of England by defeating King Richard III in 1485, thereby ending the War of the Roses and founding the Tudor Dynasty. The novel explores two years in the life of a little-known but very interesting English monarch. It begins in 1483 in Brittany, where Henry, aged 27 and heir to the House of Lancaster, had been in exile for fourteen years following the accession of the Yorkist King Edward IV to the English throne. The main theme of the novel is the unlikely relationship between the rough-hewn Henry and Edward's beautiful daughter Elizabeth of York, 19, whom Henry, for political reasons had sworn to marry if and when he gained the throne but who, when they finally meet, is initially repulsed by him.

During the same period, the novel also follows the troubled lives and relationships in the English court of Princess Elizabeth, her mother and sisters, King Richard and his wife Anne and young son Edward, and Henry's mother Margaret and her conflicted husband Lord Stanley. The last part of the novel occurs after Henry's victory at Bosworth, when he finally meets the 19-year old Elizabeth of York. Her initial aversion to him creates a breach between them which, due largely to the efforts of Henry's mother, is eventually repaired, leading to one of the most enduring love matches in the history of the English monarchy.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HKLM54LS
• ISBN13: 9798902523741
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Richard A. Allen
• Length: 326 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"