Rose of Rapture (1984) is a Romance Novel by American author Rebecca Brandewyne which takes place during the Wars of the Roses and contains a Love Across Battlelines plot in which the Official Couple find themselves on the opposite sides of the war, with the hero siding with Henry Tudor and the heroine siding with Richard III. The main plot is of the standard, bodice ripper variety, but the novel has gained a cult following due to its well-researched and complex political backstory. The author takes pains to show neither side as being right or wrong in the conflict, though it does give Richard III a Historical Hero Upgrade.
This book provides examples of:
- Altar Diplomacy: At the end, Princess Elizabeth and Henry Tudor are married, effectively ending the war.
- A Minor Kidroduction:
- Isabella is introduced as a Heartwarming Orphan terrified of her new, villainous warden.
- Warrick is introduced as a sullen boy torn away from his mother to live with his father.
- As You Know: At Richard's coronation, Isabella and Warrick have a long conversation about the princes' disappearance that lays out the reasons various players would have to kill the boys.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Isabella stays loyal to Richard III even after his death because he was kind to her as a child.
- Beta Couple: Jocelyn and Caerllywel fall in love as they serve Isabella and Warrick.
- Big Brother Instinct: Giles is very protective of his little sister, Isabella.
- Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Isabella and Warrick fall squarely into this category, with him being moody and quiet and her being kind and naive.
- Byronic Hero: Warrick is brooding and, at the start of the book bitter about women. He also has no problem threatening to kill anyone who gets between him and Isabella, and he follows through more than once. Plus, he firmly believes a child has no place on the throne of England but whoever takes the throne will need to kill the Princes in the Tower out of necessity.
- Childhood Friends: Warrick's childhood friend Henry Tudor has a paper thin claim to the throne.
- The Cynic: At first Warrick is much like the Stanleys, always on the winning side. This shocks the Yorkist partisan Isabella. But eventually, Warrick's loyalty to Wales causes him to swear fealty to Henry Tudor.
- Dated History: In the novel, Richard's shoulders are uneven due to his using his battle-ax. When his remains were discovered, it was clear he had scoliosis.
- Decadent Court: Edward IV's court is this, with the courtiers all taking bets with each other as to who can seduce Isabella away from Warrick. Warrick even worries that the king might try this himself, but he's pleased to see that Isabella wants nothing to do with this.
- Didn't Think This Through: When they first meet, Isabella judges Warrick for not having loyalty to any cause but his own. She hits a nerve, but she doesn't realize that eventually Warrick will swear his loyalty to Henry Tudor and be instrumental in overthrowing Isabella's beloved House of York.
- Dirty Coward: Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham double crosses Richard, plans on double crossing Henry Tudor and helps murder the princes. It doesn't shock Warrick or Henry that he doesn't die well.
- Depraved Homosexual: Lord Montecantini , a villainous Italian, count sets his sights on Giles and is not happy when Warrick thwarts his seduction. Very much a case of
Values Dissonance. - Domestic Abuse: Lionel abuses his wife Gilliane, and Isabella even witnesses him nearly beat her to death. Overlaps with Financial Abuse as he keeps her penniless and won't allow her to annul the marriage because he'd lose her money.
- Earth Mother: Warrick's Welsh mother, Hywelis is this, as well as a loving mother to her four sons.
- The Fate of the Princes in the Tower: Warrick realizes that Richard didn't kill the princes, and to his horror, he realizes the only one who could have is Henry Tudor's mother, Margaret Beaufort with an assist from Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. He's reluctant to tell Henry about this. But the very fact that he won't say who he suspects clues Henry in and Henry is sickened. This is a rare case in fiction where both Henry Tudor and Richard III are not to blame for the boys deaths not only for moral reasons but both recognize the optics of killing children are bad and don't want that taint on the crown.
- Friend to All Living Things: Isabella rejects the traditional pursuits of her sex in favor of caring for wounded animals.
- Genre Mashup: It's a romance novel mashed up with a medieval political thriller.
- Grand Romantic Gesture: Warrick secretly has Isabella's menagerie moved from her childhood home to their home as a Christmas gift.
- Happily Arranged Marriage: The is the crux of the main plot. Initially reluctant, Isabella and Warrick are forced to marry and gradually fall in love.
- Happily Married: Warrick and Isabella, most of the time. Richard and Anne. Jocelyn and Caerllywel.
- The Heart: Caerllywel is this. The fact that he loves his brother but is also willing to stand up to him, makes Warrick far more likable and less threatening.
- Historical Domain Character: Side characters include Richard III, Henry Tudor, Anne Neville, Richard Neville, Anthony Woodville, Will Hastings, Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort, Henry Stafford, Thomas Grey, Francis Lovell and Elizabeth of York. Margaret of York gets a mention.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: Margaret Beaufort gets one of these as she is the one who arranges the death of the princes in the tower.
- The Idealist: Isabella, in spades. She wants to believe the best of everyone and she is horrified at the brutal acts that are necessary to keep peace and order.
- Idealized Sex: Plenty of it, as per the genre.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Isabella realizes, to her horror, that Queen Anne has one of these.
- Meet Cute: Warrick meets his future bride when she is surrounded by her menagerie of animals, including a goat that charges him and knocks him down. Both Isabella and Caerllywel burst into laughter.
- Mood Whiplash: Goes from gothic romance to romantic comedy to political thriller, with sex and violence aplenty.
- Noble Bird of Prey: Warrick's badge is the hawk, and Edward IV gifts a tied up and wounded one to the couple as a prank. Isabella heals it and it becomes her beloved pet.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed:
- Madog, Warrick, Caerllywel and Emyrs are very loosely based on the sons of Gruffydd Ap Thomas, whose castle was taken by Richard, Duke of Gloucester a decade before he became king and whose sons are reported to have sworn revenge. One of them claimed to have hit the fatal blow at Bosworth.
- Lord Montecantini is very loosely based on Dominic Mancini, an Italian monk and diplomat who reported on the rumors that Richard had killed the princes.
- Official Couple Ordeal Syndrome: Oh boy, do Isabella and Warrick go through it. By the end of the book, they've both lost love ones, including both of them losing their beloved brothers and are shellshocked by the war.
- Pet the Dog: We know this is a Ricardian take on Richard when he is kind and compassionate to the tearful little Isabella and asks her to write his wife letters.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Isabella suffers through a number of near-rapes, rescuing herself twice and Warrick rescuing her a couple of other times. Unfortunately, towards the end Jocelyn is not lucky enough to escape when she's attacked. Her recovery is treated seriously.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: When Isabella meets King Edward, she is fascinated at how different he is from his younger brother, Richard. Her musings outline why Edward is the red and Richard is the blue.
- Royal Brat: Warrick tells Henry Tudor that Edward V has been terribly spoiled by his uncle, Anthony Woodville and is preening and arrogant, but he adds that he younger of the two princes, Richard of Shrewbury, is nothing like his brother.
- Royal Favorite: Warrick is one of Edward IV's favorites, and he benefits greatly from it. So, Isabella is unnerved when she realizes Warrick may be plotting against Edward with his childhood friend, Henry Tudor.
- Second Love: Both Warrick and Isabella have been in love and heartbroken when they marry and both tell themselves love is for fools.
- Seduction-Proof Marriage: After marrying Isabella, Warrick becomes so faithful that his vassals are afraid to take mistresses for fear of upsetting him. Although it takes awhile for Warrick to trust her, Isabella rejects all her many suitors and even refuses Lionel's attempt at seduction.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Warrick and Caerllywel initially see Isabella when she has been caring for wounded animals and deliberately dressed plainly. They are shocked when she emerges later looking beautiful in a Pimped-Out Dress.
- Something about a Rose: The morning after Isabella makes her debut at court, the courtiers all send Isabella white roses from the king's garden to the point her chambers become full of them. But she sends them all away, except for the single rose that Warrick gives her. He starts to think she might actually care for him when she does this.
- Spy Speak: Isabella keeps getting letters from Margaret Beaufort, who she hardly knows, asking for advice about caring for animals. She suspects the letters contain coded messages for Warrick.
- Team Mercy vs. Team Murder: Warrick is firmly on Team Murder when it comes to the Princes. England has been ripped apart by nearly a century of war thanks to not one but two boy kings. For the greater good, Warrick thinks the princes have to die whether its Richard or Henry on the throne. Isabella strongly disagrees and argues that the murdering of children is wrong and would taint the crown.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Queen Anne, definitely is this. Also, Giles is this as well.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Isabella, and pretty much everyone else, reacts this way to Richard's immediate execution of Will Hastings.
- Would Hurt a Child: Warrick tells Isabella that anyone wearing the crown would have to kill the princes to remain secure, as ugly as it is. But it turns out that neither Richard III or Henry Tudor have the stomach for killing children, but the Duke of Buckingham and Margaret Beaufort do.
- Wrong Guy First: Young Isabella falls madly in love with her brother's foster brother, Lionel, who turns out to be a Prince Charmless who was betrothed to another woman the whole time.*
