#GuestDayTuesday – #NewRelease – Drake-Tudor Corsair by Tony Riches

/ Marcia Meara

Back again with a new #GuestDayTuesday. Today’s special guest is Tony Riches, here to talk about his latest release, Drake – Tudor Corsair. 

Tony has visited us several times in the past, and I know you’ll join me in giving him another warm welcome to The Write Stuff.  The floor’s all yours, Tony. Take it away!

Drake and the Golden Hinde, by Tony Riches, author of Drake – Tudor Corsair

I’d been planning an Elizabethan series for some time, as my aim is to tell the stories of the Tudors from Owen Tudor’s first meeting with Queen Catherine of Valois through to the death of Queen Elizabeth.

I decided to show the fascinating world of the Elizabethan court through the eyes of the queen’s favourite courtiers, starting with Francis Drake. I’ve enjoyed tracking down primary sources to uncover the truth of Drake’s story – and discovering the complex man behind the myths.

The scale of his achievement was brought into focus for me when I visited the replica of the Golden Hinde – Drake’s flagship, in London. Made to the same measurements as the original, the replica is only 121 ft 4 in long, and must have seemed vulnerable in the many storms Drake encountered.

Originally named the Pelican, Drake’s flagship was ahead of its time, and included everything he’d learnt from sailing ships of all shapes and sizes. Sleek and fast, she was renamed the Golden Hinde during his circumnavigation, after the hind emblem of his sponsor, Sir Christopher Hatton.

The only ship of his fleet to survive the voyage, the Golden Hinde was nearly wrecked on a coral reef, but Drake returned on the 26 September 1580, laden with enough gold, silver and jewels to make him one of the richest men in the country.

An appreciative queen ordered the Golden Hinde to be put on public display in a dry dock at Deptford on the south bank of the Thames in London. It was there that she had Drake knighted by the Ambassador of France – and a party of dignitaries fell into the dry dock when the walkway collapsed.

Francis Drake was a self-made man, who built his fortune by discovering the routes used by the Spanish to transport vast quantities of gold and silver. He had a special relationship with Queen Elizabeth, and they spent long hours in private meetings, yet was looked down on by the nobility even after he was knighted. His story is one of the great adventures of Tudor history.

Buy Drake – Tudor Corsair HERE:
Amazon US  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FCTYQF4
Amazon UK  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08FCTYQF4
Amazon CA  https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08FCTYQF4
Amazon AU https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08FCTYQF4


Author Tony Riches

Author Links:
Website: https://www.tonyriches.com
Writing blog: https://tonyriches.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tonyriches
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonyriches.author
Podcasts: https://tonyriches.podbean.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5604088.Tony_Riches

 

22 thoughts on “#GuestDayTuesday – #NewRelease – Drake-Tudor Corsair by Tony Riches”

    • I wouldn’t have been brave enough, either, Harmony. Actually, I’m not brave enough to set sea in anything, truth be told. Eeeep. But that ship is gorgeous, and what fun that you made a model, and thanks for stopping by today to wish Tony well. 🙂

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    • I know! You look at the size of them and wonder why they ever went out on anything bigger than a duck pond! Holy Moly. The Golden Hinde is gorgeous, though, isn’t it? Thanks so much for stopping by to wish Tony well today, Joan. 🙂

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    • So, Craig–how does the HMS Lanternfish compare size-wise to the Golden Hinde? Just wonderin’ … ? 😀
      Ships! I’m stickin’ to my canoe, and never going farther out than swimming distance to the shore! (Yes. You heard it here. I’m a devout coward!)

      Thanks so much for stopping by today, Craig. Tony will be glad you found it interesting.

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        • True, but even back then, I would have thought them way too small to sail on anything as vast as an ocean. At least for ME to do so. Like I say. I have rules about swimming and boating. I never swim in any body of water that isn’t enclosed in turquoise concrete, and I never canoe (or boat) so far out that I couldn’t swim back. See? Coward, here. 😀

          And I was picturing the Lanternfish a bit larger, but then it’s a fantasy world, so that’s easily possible. 🙂

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  6. I was unfamiliar with Drake’s history which sounds thoroughly fascinating from this brief glimpse. It amazes me that his flagship was so small, but at the time I imagine it was considered a large sailing vessel. An excellent post today, Marcia. Sending best wishes to Tony with his latest release!

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    • It really is amazing how tiny the ships were in those days. How brave must they have been to sail out into the unknown in ships that small! Glad you enjoyed the post, Mae. Thanks for stopping by to wish Tony well with his latest! 🙂

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  9. Fascinating! I used to have a Ladybird book about Drake and in my head the scale of the Golden Hinde was much bigger. I went on a course a few years ago and the school had booked me a (miniscule) room that overlooked the replica and it was a shock to think of something that small coping on the high seas without any of our modern gadgetry.

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    • They were a hardy (and hearty) and BRAVE bunch of souls back then, weren’t they? I can’t imagine ever boarding one of those to head out on the vast open sea. (I’m not even going to board one of today’s luxury liners, unless they promise to cruise right around the edges of the state, no farther from shore than I can swim! 😀

      Glad you enjoyed the post, Trish. Thanks for stopping by and letting us know.

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