🌹 The Wars of the Roses: England’s Turbulent Battle for a Crown

Few periods in English history capture the imagination like the War of the Roses—a dynastic struggle marked by political intrigue, shifting loyalties, and dramatic reversals of fortune. This was a series of civil wars fought between 1455 and 1487. Two rival branches of the royal Plantagenet family—the House of Lancaster and the House of York—were pitted against each other in a long and fierce battle for the English throne. 

Why were they called the Wars of the Roses? The name came well after the wars ended but are said to be named for the badges of the rivalry parties—the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster. The symbols were not as common back in the day of the Wars of the Roses as one might think due to how we connect them today to the era's conflict.

Henry VI

The conflicts roots went back to the reign of King Henry VI, a king who struggled with mental illness, placed England in a politically vulnerable position. His poor decisions due to his mental instability opened the door for Richard the Duke of York to step forward and lay his claim to the throne through descent from another son, Edward III. Both houses, York and Lancaster, believed that their bloodline gave them the stronger right to claim the throne. It wasn't long before their rivalry spiraled into full out conflict.  

Richard Duke of York

The sudden shifts of power and dramatic battles unfolded over three decades.   The First Battle of St. Albans in 1455 ignited the conflict, giving the House of York an early advantage. But the struggle was far from straightforward.

One of the bloodiest encounters, the Battle of Towton in 1461, resulted in a decisive York victory and placed Edward IV, son of the Duke of York, on the throne. But even then, Edward’s reign was strown with upheaval. Henry VI briefly regained power in 1470 before Edward reclaimed the crown the following year.

King Edward IV

The Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, where Richard III, the last House of York king, was defeated by Henry Tudor, a House of Lancaster claimant was the last significant conflict between the two rival houses. Henry’s victory ended the Plantagenet line and ushered in the Tudor dynasty, beginning with his coronation as Henry VII.

Victorian depiction of Henry VI (right) sitting while the Dukes of York (left)
and Somerset (center) have an argument

Henry VII’s marriage to Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, symbolically united the warring houses and brought a long‑awaited peace to England. This union blended the red and white roses into the now‑famous Tudor Rose, a lasting emblem of reconciliation.

Elizabeth I

Under the Tudors, England entered a period of relative stability, setting the stage for the cultural and political transformations of the Renaissance and the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

The Wars of the Roses were more than a medieval power struggle—they reshaped the English monarchy, altered the course of European politics, and left a cultural imprint that we can see today. What began as a feud between cousins ended in a national saga of loss, resilience, and renewal.

If you’re intrigued by dynastic conflicts and medieval political intrigue, take a peek at my Winds of Change Series where there’s a whole world of history and romance waiting to be explored. 

Sword of Forgiveness: After the death of her cruel father, Brithwin is determined never again to live under the harsh rule of any man. Independent and resourceful, she longs to be left alone to manage her father's estate. But she soon discovers a woman has few choices when the king decrees she is to marry Royce, the Lord of Rosencraig. As if the unwelcome marriage isn't enough, her new husband accuses her of murdering his family, and she is faced with a challenge of either proving her innocence or facing possible execution.

Royce Warwick returns home after setting down a rebellion to find his family brutally murdered. When all fingers point to his betrothed and attempts are made on his life, Royce must wade through murky waters to uncover the truth. Yet Brithwin's wise and kind nature begins to break down the walls of his heart, and he soon finds himself in a race to discover who is behind the evil plot before Brithwin is the next victim. Purchase here.

NOW AVAILABLE IN AUDIO HERE!

Against the Current: Six Women Who Commanded Mississippi Steamboats

During the heyday of steamboat travel on inland rivers of the U.S., this form of transportation was considered the epitome of comfort and convenience.

Like most other fields of employment in the late 1800s, riverboats offered limited opportunities for women. They could work in the traditional “housekeeping” type roles, such as cooking, serving, laundering, and cleaning, but piloting or captaining the vessels was considered a man’s domain.

Still, six women made names for themselves as steamboat captains in the Mississippi River valley.

On the mid-continent rivers, there were two main types of steamboats: the packet boat and the excursion boat. Packets carried commercial goods, such as cotton, tobacco, or animals, with a limited number of passengers.

Excursion boats are associated with the romance and adventure of river travel, with luxurious cabins and fine dining, as well as grand ballrooms. In the mid-19th century, showboats added music, vaudeville acts, minstrel shows, and even circuses.

Who was really the first?

Nettie Johnson

The first woman to be licensed as a master on inland waterways was Nettie Johnson, who owned a small steam packet in the 1870s with her husband, a pilot. They pioneered operations on the Ohio River and continued throughout World War I, transporting war supplies.

Mary Miller became a licensed pilot after traveling with her husband in 1882 to enter the Ouachita River trade. When he became incapacitated, Mary passed the exam in 1884 and carried on the business. She claimed to be the first female pilot on the Mississippi, though Johnson and others have also been named as the first.

‘Angel of the Mississippi’

Next came Blanche Leathers, who made her maiden trip as skipper of the packet Natchez VIII in 1884. When she first left New Orleans as a captain, ferry boats, ocean liners, tugs and freighters saluted her with whistles, and people on shore waved and shouted.

Like the others, she had learned the occupation from her husband, who she had married in 1880. “I would stand beside him at the wheel,” she said, “and repeat to him each snag, each bank, each plantation, each landing place. He taught me to steer at night when it was so dark you couldn’t actually see your hand before your face.” The couple had seven steamboats until the Natchez VIII sank in 1918.

A mere 5’5” tall, Blanche became known as the “angel of the Mississippi.” She was also called “Little Captain” or “Boss Leathers,” and one newspaper described her as “the most distinguished of Louisiana women.” When she was interviewed in 1927, she had ceased river travel, but she said, “I keep my license just the same, for I shall never be really anything but a pilot.”

‘Dawg-goned’ Callie

A more colorful figure was Callie Leach French, described as a “bell-ringing, horn-tootin’, wheel-turning captain.” She married Augustus Byron French, who ran the New Sensation steamboat.

Captain Callie Leach
French, circa 1890

She was licensed for the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers in 1888, and by 1895, she obtained a master’s license covering almost all of the region’s navigable waterways. She and her husband specialized in running showboats. Known as “Aunt Callie,” she served as pilot and captain alongside Augustus, and she also cooked, mended, nursed, acted, and wrote gags. She was well-known for her favorite saying, “Well, I’ll be dawg-goned!” and she never lost a boat or had an accident.

When her husband died in 1902, Callie took over the business and managed it with the help of another couple until she retired in 1907.

50-Plus years on the rivers

Perhaps the longest-serving female riverboat captain was Mary Becker Greene, who navigated the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers for more than 50 years.

Captains Mary and Gordon Greene aboard one
of their steamers, 1903. UW Digital archives

She married Gordon C. Greene, “a riverman through and through,” in 1890, and they lived aboard his boat, the H. K. Bedford steamer.

“When you marry a riverman,” Mary said, “you marry the river, too. That’s the code of steamboatin’.” Working with and learning from her husband, Mary earned her master’s pilots license by 1892, becoming the only woman captain on the Ohio.

The Greene Line Steamers company grew, but a new vessel, the Argand, was losing money. Mary took it over in 1897 and earned $2,500 in profits on her first round-trip.

The five-foot-tall “petticoat skipper” took great pride in keeping the vessel clean, orderly, and running smoothly. She sewed curtains and linens and focused on comfort and reliability for passengers.

Greene family aboard the Greenland, 1905

Operating on the Ohio, Mississippi, Cumberland, and Tennessee Rivers, the company added the Greenwood and the luxury steamer the Greenland—a 215-foot $40,000 vessel with 50 staterooms and a special suite of five rooms for the Greene family.

After the couple’s oldest son Henry, age 9, died in 1907, Mary focused on the family, staying at their land-based home with their two remaining sons, Tom and Chris. But as they grew, she returned to the river.

Gordon died in 1927, and Mary with her sons continued to run the company. Due to the Great Depression of 1929, they were down to two steamers, but in 1935, the company purchased the Cape Girardeau. With a capacity of 175 passengers and 60 crew, the vessel was renamed after Gordon.

Chris died suddenly in 1944, and Tom took over. Mary, though in her late 70s, remained active on the Gordon C. Greene.

In 1946, Tom learned that the Delta Queen and Delta King, twin steamboats valued at $1 million each, were being auctioned in California. With his mother’s approval, he bid $46,250 for the Queen and was the only bidder.

Following the lengthy journey from Sacramento to Cincinnati, the vessel was given a six-figure renovation. Mary took up residency in stateroom 109 in 1948 and continued her hostess duties. She was on her 12th pilot’s license in 56 years of renewals. In April, 1949, she joined Delta Queen passengers in dancing the Virginia Reel, and two days later, on April 22, Mary died in her stateroom.

The golden days of steamboating may be over, yet a few vessels still travel the mid-continent rivers, bearing passengers and the spirit of these pioneering women who once steered their own courses.

For more details about the era, see also my earlier post,  Heroes, Heroines, and History: Steamboating on the Mississippi River Sternwheelers

Sources

Women in Transportation: Changing America's History

East Carroll Parish, Louisiana Genealogy: Women Steamboat Captains

Blanche Douglass Leathers - Wikipedia

Callie Leach French - Wikipedia

Hadley, Edwin (27 January 1952). "There Goes the Showboat". The Courier-Journal. The Courier-Journal Magazine, p. 16. Retrieved 2018-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.

Interview and story with Blanche Leathers, steamboat captain of the Packett Natchez in 1927. - Page 1 | Louisiana Digital Library

Mary B. Greene: The Ohio River’s Leading Lady (Part 1) - Weelunk

Mary B. Greene: The Ohio River’s Leading Lady (Part 2) - Weelunk

Early Marietta: Captain Mary B. Greene, Pioneering River Lady

Multi-award-winning author Marie Wells Coutu finds beauty in surprising places, like undiscovered treasures, old houses, and gnarly trees. All three books in her Mended Vessels series, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical women, have won awards in multiple contests. She is currently working on historical romances set in her native western Kentucky in the 1930s and ‘40s. An unpublished novel, Shifting Currents, placed second in the inspirational category of the nationally recognized Maggie Awards. Learn more at www.MarieWellsCoutu.com.





When the lights of Broadway dim, Delia leaves the city behind. But will her family welcome her home again?

The historical short story, “All That Glistens,” was included in the 2023 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction collection and is now available free when you sign up for Marie's newsletter here. In her newsletter, she shares about her writing, historical tidbits, recommended books, and sometimes recipes. Soon she'll be sharing a historical romantic short story set in Scotland.

The Dawn of Live Theater

By Kathy Kovach

It might surprise you that performance has been around since the dawn of time. How do we know? One example is cave drawings, where one can envision the artist also reenacting the battle of the sabretooth tiger and the prehistoric python. Even before that, I can imagine Adam and Eve pantomiming the animals they’ve been given dominion over. Eve claps her stiff arms in front of her body, and Adam guesses “crocodile.” He can’t be wrong since he’s the one who named all the animals.

Anthropologists have discovered that early peoples used dramatization for rituals. Through dancing, chanting, and mask wearing, they would convey their beliefs. In Theories of the Theatre (Cornell University Press), Marvin Carlson, a professor of theater studies at CUNY Graduate Center, wrote that drama was “a social act of representation long before it was an art form.”

The Story of Osiris: The Egyptian God of Resurrection

In ancient Egypt, a festival surrounding the Mysteries of Osiris, a god of death and resurrection, performed ritual reenactments. Other celebrations and commemorative moments also incorporated dramatic story telling. “The Triumph of Horus” was performed during the Festival of Victory at Edfou. It included a complete script with a prologue and epilogue, as well as actor instructions and a musical score.

Primeval dramatizations aside, it is believed that the earliest form of literary theater, focusing on dialogue and character development, began in ancient Greece as performers portrayed Grecian myths. Tragedy and Comedy were born in the BC era.

Dionysus: God of Wine, Madness, and Transformation

In the 6th century BC, the god Dionysus had become popular, primarily because of his love of wine. In Athens, Great Dionysia was a festival held in four distinct parts throughout the year. It honored this party god with choral and dance. The songs, or dithyrambs, evolved into what we now know as theater. It’s no secret how much the Greeks loved a good competition. (Olympics, anyone?) A theatrical contest was held over four days in the spring, in which the categories of music, singing, dance, and poetry were performed.

The word theater comes from the Grecian word, theaomai, meaning “to see”. At first, there was merely a choir accompanied by troupe dancing. But one brave individual popped out of the chorus and began acting out what he was singing. By dialoguing with the chorus, he played all the different characters, utilizing masks. He was honored as the first recipient of the award for Tragedy in 534 BC at the afore mentioned competition. This innovative bard, named Thespis, also traveled by wagon with his masks, costumes, and props, performing in various cities. So impactful was this practice, that a new word sprang forth—thespian, or actor. Thus, Thespis became the first actor.

During Great Dionysia, four authors were chosen to write three tragedies and one satyr. (We won’t talk about the latter here. Suffice it to say, it was lascivious in nature involving a creature that was half-man and half-animal.) Four notable playwrights sprang into the annals of history, each winning the yearly Dionysian contests, (as well as losing to each other.)

Aeschylus

Aeschylus (525-426 BC) is known for adding a second actor, upping the potential for conflict. Known as the Father of Tragedy, he won thirteen prizes in that category, his first in 484 BC. Seven of his eighty plays have survived today.

Sophocles

Sophocles (496-406 BC) won his first prize in 468 BC, defeating Aeschylus. Perhaps it was because he added a third actor. Or, because his style differed. While Aeschylus wrote more plot driven work, his most noted piece, the Oresteia, dealing with the politics of Athens, Sophocles wrote character driven pieces, diving into the complexities of plot and subtle characterization. He wrote over 100 plays, but only seven have survived.

Euripides

Euripides (485-406 BC), the youngest of the three major tragedy writers, didn’t win as many prizes, but he is instrumental in introducing deus ex machina, a popular literary term for resolving a situation by contrived or artificial means. Euripides would literally lower an actor portraying a god (deus) from a crane (machina) into the scene, thus making everything better through his divine powers, as it were.

Aristophanes

Aristophanes (450-357 BC) is known as the Father of Comedy. His plots weren’t particularly deep, but his wit more than made up for it. He used parody to make people laugh, particularly at the leaders in Athens. He also poked at the last of the great tragedians, Euripides, in a play titled The Frogs. In it, Euripides dies and goes to Hades. Dionysus goes to retrieve him and holds a competition in the underworld. In the end, Dionysus returns to earth, not with Euripides, but rather with Aeschylus instead. Only eleven of the forty plays he wrote have survived. The following five-minute video delves perfectly, and entertainingly, into the world of Aristophanes.

Why Is Aristophanes called “The Father of Comedy?”

Circus Maximus - Rome

By the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, Rome became heavily influenced by Greek culture. They also had their competitions. However, the Roman games that took place in the Circus Maximus arena were more popular. Gladiators were more entertaining than play acting. Real death over feigning death was more appealing. Even so, two writers of comedy, Plautus and Terence, are remembered. Their styles differed greatly—Plautus utilized a robust form of farce, while Terence was more subtle—however, neither wrote an original plot. Their stories sprang from the Greek myths, even to the point of consistently being set in Athens.

Kabuki theater

Other cultures, including Asian, adopted the Greek style of performance art. China’s Noh theater in the 14th century AD, and later Japan’s Kabuki in the 17th century AD, are reminiscent of the mask-wearing actors telling cultural stories.

As storytelling with the dramatic arts moves through the centuries, it makes its way into the Renaissance, particularly the Elizabethan era. It gave birth to renowned playwrights, such as Christopher Marlow and William Shakespeare. Next month will be dedicated to the romantic Renaissance playwrights of the 16th century.

Do you have a favorite play, either from ancient Greece, the Renaissance, or contemporary? I’m swayed toward Romeo and Juliet as I played the nurse in high school. I also have a passion for musicals, such as The Music Man, where I played Ethel Toffelmier, the gossipy player piano player. (No, that’s not a typo. She played the player piano. Lol.)

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

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Fighting for the Gold Fields: The Land Battle in Georgia

by Denise Farnsworth

Council House Replica at Cherokee Capital

The ancestors of the Cherokee Indians occupied what is now North Georgia long before the inhabitants of the Valley Towns and Lower Towns in that region established trade with Great Britain. The native people allied themselves to the Mother Country during the American Revolution but with the Americans during the War of 1812. Despite Cherokee efforts to assimilate into the culture of their new white neighbors—including adopting the language, religion, their own newspaper printed in English and Cherokee, court system, and business and agricultural methods—when the state of Georgia gave up title to land to the Mississippi River, they received a promise from the federal government that the Indian people would be removed.

In December 1826, the state senate passed a resolution requesting the president take steps for a treaty to gain Cherokee lands. A series of December 1827 senate resolutions stated the Cherokee constitution was inconsistent with Georgia rights and that the General Assembly had the authority to claim Cherokee lands “not only upon ‘peaceable and reasonable terms [as stated by the Compact of 1802], but upon just such terms as they might [be] pleased to prescribe.” This declaration was based on the presumption that the lands which had been part of the British Empire had become Georgia land.

No one asked who the land belonged to before that.

In December 1828, state representatives authored a bill in the General Assembly to extend the laws of the state over the Cherokees. In 1829, the Indian Removal Act was introduced in Congress.

And then gold was discovered in North Georgia, near present-day Dahlonega. The state of Georgia stationed militia throughout the gold region to prevent confrontations between Cherokees and white settlers at mining sites. After the Cherokee land was awarded to white settlers through the land lottery of 1832, these mounted troops were also charged with protecting the Cherokees until they removed to their new homes in Oklahoma. Many chose to leave right away, but others lingered until the May 1838 deadline, hoping their representatives in Congress would find some way to secure their land.

Meanwhile, some settlers impatient to claim their new land harassed Cherokee families. Members of the Pony Club stole horses and cattle and committed other depredations designed to hasten the original owners from the land. Eventually, the mounted militia was tasked with rounding up the remaining Cherokees into removal forts and beginning the forced 800-mile march west now known as the Trail of Tears.

Book Two of The Twenty-Niners of the Georgia Gold Rush, The Maiden and the Mountie, releases February 17. A marriage of necessity. A secret buried deep. In Georgia’s gold country, love may be the most dangerous treasure of all. https://www.amazon.com/Maiden-Mountie-Twenty-Niners-Georgia-Gold-ebook/dp/B0FNYFLLJ3/

Denise Farnsworth, formerly Denise Weimer, writes historical and contemporary romance mostly set in Georgia and also serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A wife and mother, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses. 

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A Splash of Color for Winter

By Suzanne Norquist

Now that the holidays are over and white landscapes abound, I would welcome some color in my dreary world. And what better way to find it than with festive balloons? The colored latex filled with air or helium are just the thing to brighten one’s mood.

Balloons haven’t always been fanciful party decorations. In ancient times, children played with balloons made of animal innards. And scientists used them in experiments. Galileo, in the 14^th century, used a pig’s bladder to measure the weight of air.

That’s enough about body parts—on to more recent history.

Larger balloons came along before the smaller ones. The Montgolfier brothers constructed a hot air balloon capable of carrying people in 1783. They first tested it with a sheep, a hen, and a duck. After that successful flight, people took to the air. That same year, Jacques Charles built a hydrogen balloon for passengers.

The smaller version came about as part of a scientific experiment to study the properties of gases. In 1824, Michael Faraday fashioned balloons out of rubber. He cut two pieces of rubber and pressed the gummy edges together. Flour sprinkled in the middle kept the insides from sticking. One of the things he learned was that hydrogen-filled balloons would float.

 

By the following year, Thomas Hancock, a pioneer in rubber manufacturing, was selling DIY balloon kits in England. They included liquid rubber and a syringe to blow it into a ball.

In 1847, J.G. Ingram of England introduced balloons made from vulcanized rubber latex, the prototype for modern balloons. Latex was harvested from rubber trees, which was then heated and processed with sulfur. The temperature didn’t affect these balloons as much as the natural rubber ones.

By 1889, people could purchase red rubber balloons in the Montgomery Ward catalog. However, they weren’t manufactured in the United States until 1907.

The long, skinny balloons used for balloon twisting were introduced in 1912.

They have provided entertainment for over one hundred years. In the early 1900s, Samuel Sarmiento was known as the "Balloonatic.” Ted Metz went by the title "King of the Balloon Twisters” in the 1920s and 1930s. And “Mr. Balloon” enthralled audiences of the 1950s and 1960s. Marvin Hardy dominated the balloon entertainment scene of the 1970s and 1980s.

When someone wanted balloons to float, they typically filled them with hydrogen. Unfortunately, the gas is notoriously unstable and tends to explode, causing harm to those around it. In the nineteen-teens, firefighters in New York tried to ban the use of this hazardous gas in balloons.

After a serious accident involving hydrogen balloons at a New York City function, hydrogen was banned in the city. Manufacturers switched to helium, which is also lighter than air but is chemically stable.

With the safer gas, creative individuals found all kinds of uses for them. Helen Warny started the Toy Balloon Company in New York, which used them for advertising, parade floats, and fashionable window displays.

In 1931, Neil Tillotson developed the modern process for manufacturing balloons by dipping a mold into the latex. This development enabled the safe and inexpensive mass production of balloons. It turned a novelty item into a party essential.

For fun, Tillotson cut a piece of cardboard into the shape of a cat’s head and dipped it. The result was a “cat’s head” balloon that kept its shape when blown up.

There have been a few other advancements, such as balloon-within-a-balloon and mylar balloons. However, the basic product has remained essentially unchanged for the last hundred years.

If I want to have a party to scare away the winter doldrums, I can decorate with balloons—the kind that don’t explode.

 

***

 

Love In Bloom 4-in-one collection

“A Song for Rose” by Suzanne Norquist

Can a disillusioned tenor convince an aspiring soprano that there is more to music than fame?

“Holly & Ivy” by Mary Davis

At Christmastime, a young woman accompanies her impetuous younger sister on her trip across the country to be a mail-order bride and loses her heart to a gallant stranger.

“Periwinkle in the Park” by Kathleen E. Kovach

A female hiking guide, who is helping to commission a national park, runs into conflict with a mountain man determined to keep the government off his land.

“A Beauty in a Tansy”

Two adjacent store owners are drawn to each other, but their older relatives provide obstacles to their ever becoming close.

Republished from Bouquet of Brides

Buy links: https://books2read.com/u/bOOx8K

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Bloom-Mary-Davis/dp/B0FPLFYCXR/

 

 

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.