The Adventures of Alianore Audley

A wonderful romp set in 15th-century England.

The machinations of the Wars of the Roses and life at the court of Richard III are seen through the eyes of royal spy Alianore Audley. Told with zest, a deep love and knowledge of the period, not to say a wicked sense of humour and plenty of tongue in cheek, Brian Wainwright deserves far greater recognition than he currently gets.

See complete review online.    

Alianore’s riotously funny insights into the obnoxious and abusive Warwicks, tongue-in-cheek barbs at Margaret Beaufort and Lord Stanley, disrespectful comments about everyone from “Cousin Edward” to the “Tudor Slimebag” (Henry VII), and loving remembrances of Richard and Anne liberally pepper this all-too-brief book. Wainwright has a feel for the period and presents it in a unique and enjoyable fashion.

How to give you who read this review a flavor of the times as seen through Alianore’s wickedly funny but loving perspective is tantamount to impossible. You’ve just got to be there. Read it.   

Review by Ilysa Magnus, The Historical Novels Review, August 2003.

You don't mess with Alianore - she's a cross between Vikki Pollard and Margaret Thatcher - but you can't help loving her. She storms through the haphazard life of a medieval noblewoman with panache and ease... 

Within The Fetterlock

Although his mastery of the complicated myriad of events that began the Wars of the Roses is impressive, Wainwright’s true forte lies in his vivid characterization. All the characters in the novel, including the minor players, are richly illustrated. Constance is a passionate woman, intelligent, brave, forthright and tenaciously loyal to those she loves. And although she ultimately obeys her husband, she is also capable of a degree of independent thought and action that does not at all conform to the ideology of the age.   

Wainwright wisely avoids the stereotypes of hero and villain – his characters are refreshingly three-dimensional, and he examines the hopes, fears and passions that drive them to the courses they pursue. Although the novel’s intrigue, love, hate and war give it a gripping pace, it is the depth of the storytelling that transports the reader to medieval England and makes this book such a good read. Wainwright brings the novel to a compelling conclusion, although after the nonstop twists and turns, the end of the novel feels almost abrupt. Nevertheless, Within the Fetterlock is an exciting and historically detailed account that brings to life the politics and people who populated 14^th century England . Highly recommended.   

Review by Bethany Skaggs, The Historical Novel Review, August 2004

Despite the overwhelming cast of characters, including the Lancasters , Yorks , Gloucesters, Mortimers, Despensers, and Hollands , the story never bogs down in genealogical minutiae but is carried along by the intrigue and suspense. Nor does Wainwright spare us detail. "Constance, making her way back from one of the overflowing garderobes, had gathered the spare folds of her sideless surcote in the crook of her arm to save it further punishment," he writes, a deceptively simple picture that conveys the mountain of knowledge of the medieval England that Wainwright brings to the story. History buffs and anybody who likes good historical fiction will love Within the Fetterlock for the intricate political intrigues and rivalries the story involves, which ultimately had enormous historical implications involving the British throne, and from which William Shakespeare derived his timeless histories.

--Charles Rammelkamp

Renaissance Magazine ( USA )

The above are extracts from reviews. For full copies of the reviews, please see the publication cited.