ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN DE MODE DECEMBER 2023 VOL VI. ISSUE XXXVIII | LITERATURE
Article Published on: 04TH JAN 2024 | www.demodemagazine.com
"AT THE COURT OF BROKEN DREAMS" - BY AUTHOR LAURENCE BAILLIE BROWN
'At the Court of Broken Dreams: Love and War in the Middle Ages' is embedded in late fifteenth-century England, United Kingdom during the era of internecine warfare known as the Wars of the Roses, between the two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty, the Houses of York and Lancaster. In a real, historical 'Game of Thrones', a disgruntled younger son of a disgraced Duke, Edward De-la-Pole, ironic and ambitious, develops a bromance with Anthony Wydeville, the glamorous brother of the Yorkist Queen.
But the jealous Queen separates them. How will Eddie choose between his beloved friend and his political ambitions, linked to the rising star of the Yorkist dynasty, the ambivalent Richard of Gloucester? And who is the mysterious Catalan Rabbi Abraham, who haunts the English Court and eventually will have a profound influence over Eddie's life? Also, discover what really happened to the two lost 'Princes in the Tower'. The story unfolds with powerful women and both gay and Jewish elements. Asked to sum up his book in three words, Laurence Baillie Brown replied: Romance, Remorse, Redemption. Kirkus Reviews said: "Get it!" and the Historical Fiction Company called it "Truly brilliant" and gave it 5 stars.
BOOK REVIEWS
At the Court of Broken Dreams is a brilliant historical novel. Funny and informative, the novel makes the Middle Ages come alive. As an American, I learned a great of English history and could relate easily to the historical characters as human beings. A wonderful novel. - Reviewed in the United States
This is the story of Eddie De-la-Pole, the fictional younger son of William de la Pole and Alice Chaucer, aka Beloved Mother or B.M. To paraphrase the author’s blurb, Eddie is disgruntled, sardonic, and bisexual, nurturing a bromance with Anthony Woodville until separated by the queen. “How will [he] choose between his beloved friend and the rising, sinister star of the dynastic firmament, Richard, Duke of Gloucester?” - Reviewed in the United States
DIRECT LINK TO BUY 'AT THE COURT OF BROKEN DREAMS' IN INDIA - CLICK HERE
DIRECT LINK TO BUY 'AT THE COURT OF BROKEN DREAMS' IN ALL COUNTRIES - CLICK HERE
JOURNEY OF THE AUTHOR LAURENCE BAILLIE BROWN
Laurence Baillie Brown was born in Hull in the North of England, but after reading Law at Cambridge University came to live in London. After qualifying as a lawyer, he taught Law for (too) many years in colleges. In his spare time he wrote journalism for the London gay press, and also poetry and short stories, seeing his first novel 'Addictions' published in 2000. It was a critical success both in the press and with established authors (e.g. "In the end it turns out all these characters have been inhabiting a farce - and a Shakespearian one at that. Delightful": Gay Times Magazine) but his publishers had no publicity budget. As a result he has brought out a second edition this year, with a sequel following.
Laurence's passions include playing the piano and reading history, and in 2012 he was fascinated by the discovery of the skeleton of King Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England, beneath a car-park in Leicester. This extraordinary story combined with his lifelong interest in the De-la-Pole family of Hull, who rose in the late Middle Ages from local merchants to Royal Dukes in just 3 generations, to germinate his historical novel 'At the Court of Broken Dreams: Love and War in the Middle Ages'. After 2 years of research he started writing the book, but was interrupted by a serious mental and physical breakdown brought on by years of over-work and anxiety for the future.
Nevertheless, after a two-year period of recovery, Brown persevered and completed the book. His work garnered praise from esteemed reviewers like Kirkus Reviews and The Historical Fiction Company. Buoyed by this success, Brown went on to produce two more books and is currently immersed in researching his next historical novel, exploring an entirely different era and setting. His dedication to storytelling and historical exploration continues to shape his literary endeavors with promising new tales on the horizon.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW OF AUTHOR LAURENCE BAILLIE BROWN WITH DE MODE
Q: Your novels, such as 'Addictions: Bears and Bitches' and '97 or Sex and Sensibility,' delve into diverse themes. What inspires the intricate plots and characters in your stories?
A. The inspiration for my books comes from diverse sources but mainly my own 'lived experience' and also inspirational books. In the case of 'At the Court of Broken Dreams' I was very excited by the wonderful historical novelists I loved reading as a child: Robert Graves ('I, Claudius), Gore Vidal ('Burr' and Lincoln'), and the great but largely forgotten Mary Renault, whose books ('The King Must Die' etc) are embedded in the milieu of Ancient Greece.
Q: Having come out as gay in the late '70s and experienced the evolving London gay scene, how has your journey influenced your storytelling and characters?
A. Well, look, I'm Jewish, I'm gay and I'm an Englishman! All three elements are blended in my character and, no doubt, in my writing. 'Addictions: Bears and Bitches', like most first novels, is partly autobiographical and the 'Sketches' in the book reflect many of my formative experiences coming out in 80's London, in the teeth of the AIDS crisis. In 'At the Court of Broken Dreams' I'm evoking an era before 'gay' or 'bisexual' were recognized as categories, which is why I deliberately leave open the question of whether the narrator Eddie's passions are consummated.
Q: Your teaching career included instructing law and English. How did your experiences in education contribute to your understanding of human nature, which is vividly portrayed in your novels?
A. I enjoyed teaching and it taught me a lot about human nature, but the preparation and marking it entailed left me very little time for writing, which was always my vocation. I do miss the contact with young people; my students were generally 16 to 19 year olds. For example, about 15 years ago, I was teaching a law-class, which included several very grown-up young men. It was the time when teen-agers were just becoming obsessed with their phones and, through this class, phones kept ringing and being answered. Finally I got really annoyed. "Right, the next one of you who answers their phone will have to leave the room." Inevitably a phone rang and a male student couldn't resist answering it. "Right, Mustafa" I said, "you know what you have to do." He stood up and was about a foot taller than me. He moved to the door, then looked round and said "It's OK, I still love you, sir. But not in a gay way of course." Funny and disarming, like a six year old.
Q: 'Addictions' explores the challenges of coming out. How do you think the literary landscape has evolved in its treatment of LGBTQ+ themes since the publication of your book in 2000?
A. One disadvantage is that, in 2000, Waterstones (the UK's equivalent to Barnes and Noble) would have 'Gay sections' in each of their many outlets where I knew I could always find 'Addictions'. Now they've disappeared; which is arguably retrograde. Another alarming development is that in the 90s and early 2000s, prejudice against gay people was still pretty mainstream (which is why my first novel, published by Gay Men's Press, was not reviewed by the major newspapers) while antisemitism certainly was not. Sadly, as we have seen in recent months, these days the exact reverse is the case.
Q: Your writing journey was interrupted by a three-year mental/physical breakdown. How did you find the strength to resume your work, and how did this experience impact your creative process?
A. It's very good that there is now much more openness - certainly in the UK - about mental health and the fact that so many people suffer with it in silence. I was very lucky to have a group of close friends around me who realized there was something seriously wrong when my appetite, usually healthy, gradually began to vanish. They took me to hospital and I spent about 2 years in and out of those institutions including several months on a psychiatric ward which, believe me, was more truly medieval in its methods and surroundings than the milieu of my novel. However, I was advised to move into the nursing home where I now live and I gradually recovered. I think finishing this novel completed my recovery!
Q: You self-published 'At the Court of Broken Dreams.' What led you to take this route, and what advice do you have for aspiring authors considering self-publishing?
A. After I had sent the typescript to numerous literary agents (so-called) and then the usual big publishing houses (who have sadly devoured all the little ones), it was my ex-partner George (we had lived together for 12 years and are still friends) who said: "Self-publishing is the future!" Being retired I had time to do it, and it was very satisfying to choose the cover design, write the blurb etc. But it's really hard work; and expensive. If you can get a good publisher, then stick with them! I'm open to offers for the future.
Q: Now a full-time writer, how has this transition affected your approach to storytelling, and what can readers anticipate from your future literary endeavours?
A. I now spend my time advertising and discussing my books on social media, playing (mainly classical) piano and researching for my next historical novel. However, as it's still in an embryonic stage, I can't talk about it. Suffice it to say, it's set in a very different period and place from 'At the Court of broken Dreams'. I would be bored re-treading the same ground.