Friday 12 January 2018

The matter of George Howell



Some -- surprisingly few -- of my readers have noticed that, by mistake, there are two men called George Howell  in the saga. One of them is Squire George Howell of Henllys, one of the trio of dastardly squires who make life hell for Martha in the first book of the series.  He commits suicide towards the end of the book, following the exposure of his crimes.  But he is important because he is a part of the feud between the Howell and Morgan families, and because his son John continues the feud in subsequent volumes.  His shadow, shall we say,  is a long one, which darkens a good deal of the narrative as Martha grows older.

The other George Howell  (mistakenly called Charles in the saga companion volume, to make things even more confusing) is Martha's father, the squire of Brawdy.  He is a relatively minor figure who pops up every now and then, but if one of the names has to be changed, it has to be his.  So in the Corgi editions of the first three books he is called George Tudor -- and of course Martha's maiden name is then also given as Tudor.   In discussion with the editor of the Corgi books we thought it would be rather nice to suggest a hint of ancient royalty in the family name, given the fact that Henry Tudor had very strong Pembrokeshire connections.

So there we are then.  Martha Morgan, a woman with royal blood in her veins -- warrior princess.........




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