The novel "The crest of the Little Wolf: a tale of "the young Lovell" and the wars of the roses" was written by the American author T.D.Rhodes in 1904, in his own words, "for the pleasure of some youthful descendants of the House of Lovell". By those descendants, he presumably meant the descendants of Francis`s sister Joan, who had in the mid of the 19th century successfully lobbied to have the title of Lord Beaumont returned to them.
Potentially, however, he also meant some relatives of his wife, May Lovell Rhodes, together with whom he wrote "A Biographical Genealogy of the Lovell Family in England and America", in which an interesting, if completely wrong, claim is made that she is descended from a branch of Francis`s family who emigrated in the seventeenth century.
The whole book is, in fact, filled with errors, ranging from uninformed speculation showing a lack of knowledge about the most basic facts about Francis such as the claim that he "despite his youth was high in [the Yorkis party`s] counsels, which fact probably saved John Lovell from attainder or harm" - when in reality Francis was just four when Edward IV came to the throne - to downright inventions such as that Anne Lovell was "a Lady in waiting to the Queen of Edward IV, with whom the young Lord Lovell was a great favourite".
"The crest of the Little Wolf" is very clearly based on the information used in this book, and as a result, it is wildly inaccurate on all counts, even more so than other fictional depictions of him. It has, however, the distinction of being one of the very few which shows Francis and his wife to be loving - to an almost ridiculous extent, in fact - and giving him more significance than he historically had, rather then less.
The story told in the book begins in 1470. A rather clunky narrative informs the reader on the first pages of the book that the only danger "Edward of York" faced at the moment of the story`s opening was "the ever-widening gulf between the earl of Warwick, to whose mighty prowess the White Rose King was perhaps more indebted than to aught else for his crown."
Warwick, though not his rebellion of 1469, mentioned, he is then promptly forgotten about, for the story focuses on introducing Francis, as "the son of Lord John Lovell, a staunch Lancastrian noble of much influence at the court of Henry VI", the latter of which is an exaggeration to the point of ridicule. While John Lovell was involved in Henry VI`s government and actions against the Yorkist fraction, there is no evidence he was ever considered particularly important. This is, however, rather minor, for the novel goes on to then echo the claim made in the non-fiction book mentioned above, that "owing to the signal services rendered by his son to the Yorkist side", he was pardoned by Edward - which is in itself wrong, for while John Lovell did regain control of his possessions fairly quickly, he was dispossessed by Edward when he first came to the throne.
The book never dwells on any of this, however, never mentions just what services Francis supposedly rendered the Yorkists then, nor does it go into the supposedly extremely noble and beloved Francis`s obvious rejection of his father in such important matters. Instead, it goes on to give a fairly wrong backstory of the Lovell family as a whole, including the claim that the name Lovell means "wolf" and to then, hilariously, claim that Francis, "though scarcely more than a boy at the time, had, by reason of his youthful friendship with young Richard of York, cast his fortunes with the White Rose Plantagenets" and was present at "Towton, where he rode in the prince`s train".
There is no clear indication whether Richard of York means the the future Richard III, who was of course himself only eight years old and in exile with his eleven-year-old brother George at the time of Towton and would not meet Francis for another four years, or if it means his father, Richard, Duke of York, who was 45 years Francis`s senior, never met him and moreover, was dead by the time of Towton. Given the garbled narrative at the beginning of the book, neither is impossible. Since, however, Shakespeare is mentioned, it can probably be assumed that the future Richard III was meant who, thanks to Shakespeare`s famous plays, was thought by the author to be older than he really was.
All these mistakes are especially notable since they are given in the form of a historical background to the book`s story that is to follow, suggesting accuracy with some minor alterations to make it a better story. For modern readers, who know more of the time and of Francis and everyone else involved, it also serves as an introduction to characters who have little in common with their historical counterparts.
Francis is said to be "youthful, gallant and well-looking", at least the first of which he definitely was in 1470 - barely a teenager, in fact. He is also said to have been "a chosen friend of Princess Margaret [of York]" and to have been "one of the knightliest figures in her brilliant escort when she wedded Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy". Again, this information is simply given like a fact, with no details to explain it or give the utterly inaccurate information any colour to justify its inclusion for the sake of a good story.
When the backstory is finally told, the narrative plunges right into an encounter between Francis and Anne FitzHugh. Anne, for once described as "beautiful", which is an extreme rarity for any fiction mentioning her, is immediately taken with him, and he woos her by talking about how much he enjoyed staying with her family when he was younger. He also assures her that "I love thee passionately and devotedly and have so loved thee ever", only to then tell her he does not like her making eyes at "Hastings or that vain puppet, Anthony Woodville".
Given that in real life, Anne was ten in 1470, the undertones of this are rather creepy, if naturally unintentional - Anne is described as "a woman" and clearly, like Francis, aged up. Nor is this a problem, unlike many in the narrative, that is only in this book. Many modern books have Anne Lovell portrayed as frigid and horrible for disliking sex at a time when in real life, she was twelve, or even declare her marriage a failure by that time.
However, "The Crest of the Little Wolf" has one more inaccuracy than those novels, namely having Francis and Anne not yet married at that point. Their first encounter ends with Anne telling Francis to ask her father for her hand. Curiously, after saying that, she then leaves, and he remains where he is, perhaps hoping Lord FitzHugh will magically drop from the skies to give him the opportunity to do so. He does not; instead, Elizabeth Woodville and her brother Anthony do. At least, that is the only sensible explanation for Elizabeth`s "peal of laughter sound[ing] close by him" as soon as Anne has left.
Elizabeth entertains herself a bit by teasing Francis for his courtship of Anne, and Anthony for being jealous of him for having won Anne`s affection, before the Earl of Warwick appears in the distance, having clearly chosen to move in a more conventional method than the queen and her brother did some pages previously. Elizabeth exclaims that she wishes "the foul fiend [would] seize him", a wish that the book could have made more understandable by pointing out Warwick had in the previous year executed her father and brother. It does not, and Anthony seems to be more or less fine with Warwick, though he does leave with his sister, so Francis can be alone when he meets Warwick, which he duly does.
Warwick does not lose any time in establishing himself as one of the villains of the piece by attacking Francis for no good reason, accusing him of wanting to "supplant a Nevil, wed the heiress of FitzHugh, and by the king`s favour be created Viscount Beaumont".
Rather than advising Warwick to go talk to his sister about the birth order of her children, which would inform him that Anne not only had several brothers who all stood to inherit before her, but also two older sisters and was therefore not only not her father`s heiress but in fact the last of the eight FitzHugh children who would have inherited anything of his lands, or ask him why on earth getting the viscouncy from his exiled uncle would be supplanting a Nevil, Francis instead points out that Warwick`s own "kinsman`s father" - presumably Richard of York - was not "less beholden to Henry of Windsor than my gallant sire - Saints rest his soul" and that he himself was as good a fighter for York as anyone else.
At this point, Warwick could end the whole book prematurely by pointing out what Francis said is treason, but he does not, nor does he comment on Francis calling his father his "gallant sire", which the real Francis never would have done, but instead complains that he is hanging around with the Woodvilles, whom he calls "traitors to his family".
Francis, like Warwick, decides to let the chance slide to point out he is talking treason, and instead goes on about the great nobility of his family and how the Nevilles do not surpass it. Before Warwick gets the chance to point out that there is a king, two dukes, several duchesses and countesses and a marquis in the Neville family and that he himself is an earl, and if the Lovells can boast that, his brother John intervenes, telling Warwick that Francis and all those who swear homage to him are not the Nevils` enemies. Francis hastens to say that he would love to be Warwick`s friend, who again does not get a chance to respond, for Richard of Gloucester turns up to say loudly for everyone to hear he "answers for the young Lord Lovell as well as for himself." He then demands: "Francis, thine arm, for I have matters to discuss with thee."
These matters, it turns out, is talking about the political situation, in a talk that is more realistic than anything else in this book, until Francis points out he dislikes both Warwick as well as the Woodvilles, and would love to fight for Richard instead. Richard, enigmatically, replies "We shall see", a foreshadowing that will have no pay-off since the book ends in 1471.
The next scene then starts some time later with King Edward, Richard and Francis discussing the fact that Warwick has left court in a huff at some point and Lord FitzHugh is among those therefore displeased with the king. Francis does not yet comment that this does not bode well for his intentions to marry the man`s daughter. Perhaps he is distracted by Richard describing his brother George of Clarence as "a silly weather cock" whose actions do not matter.
This goes a step farther than even modern novels do, in which Richard, against all evidence, is also usually described as disliking George, but no one so much as comments on this extraordinary statement. Instead, Edward is annoyed by Richard saying that Warwick`s brother, John Nevil, shouldn`t be trusted. William Hastings points out he said the same, which Edward dismisses as absurd. Then he gives orders to Francis to raise men for his cause in case Warwick openly starts rebelling.
Francis prepares to do so, but before he can do much, he is shocked to learn that Warwick is indeed in rebellion and Lord FitzHugh declared his sympathies, and he ponders what this will mean for "his suit for the hand of Lady Anne". He comes to the conclusion that as long as Edward keeps him at court to make sure he can`t join Warwick, nothing will happen, because "the young FitzHugh - [Anne`s] brother - fearful for his father`s safety - would not dare to raise the standards of revolt". Of course, that Richard FitzHugh was all of eleven years old at the time may also play a part but Francis never thinks that, which probably means he was also aged up.
Francis, it appears, is pretty naive though, for he is very much shocked when, literally seconds after he has consoled himself with that though, "his favourite squire, young Bryan Stapleton" comes up to him to tell him Lord FitzHugh, and Anne with him, left court. Francis treats Bryan as if he is much younger than himself, even though the real man was probably around four years older, and after some teasing that sounds as if Francis is trying to make himself sound older than he really is, like calling poor Bryan "Master Hot-head", an especially weird tease since Bryan does not at any point show a tendency to be hot-headed, Bryan hands him a piece of silk Anne gave him for Francis.
Despite having just worried about his chances to marry Anne, Francis doesn`t really give it much heed, instead showing he has his priorities in the face of an upcoming revolt in order, and he decides to follow the FitzHughs. They catch up with them just as they arrive at their ancestral manor of Ravensworth, and Henry FitzHugh, for some reason, is delighted to see Francis, assuring him that his family and Francis`s were always friends "from the Conqueror`s day to this." Francis, showing admirable restraint not often found in historical romance novels, does not ask if this means he can marry the man`s daughter, but instead says he is riding from court to his own ancestral manor in Minster Lovell to raise men for a rebellion and just happened to pass their manor on his way there.
Apparently accepting this paper-thin excuse because he just likes Francis, or perhaps having no idea of the geography of England, Lord FitzHugh does not ask why on earth Francis needs to ride over Ravensworth in the north of England if he wants to go from Westminster to Minster Lovell in Oxfordshire. Instead he says that despite being annoyed at Edward, he is no rebel, and invites Francis and Bryan Stapleton in, not without almost causing a paradox by addressing the latter as "Sir Squire".
Francis accepts, is happily greeted by Lady FitzHugh, is in some detail described to change "their travel stained apparel for garments more in keeping with their quality." The stress on this is explained a paragraph later, where Francis rejoices in a greeting by Anne which "showed no traces of embarrassment, though her bright eyes were somewhat veiled by their wonderous lashes". Francis, again showing a restraint quite unheard of for gentlemanly heroes of historical romances, does not comment on them, instead talking with her father about politics.
This talk has Francis openly scorning George of Clarence, saying he "hath neither brains nor character" and that he would "sooner [see] the meanest baron in broad England seated on the Conqueror`s throne than that poor weathercock, as Gloucester calleth him". No one is much surprised at this, perhaps because in fiction Francis always despises George for no good reason, even though it is not known if they even knew each other and if so, what their relationship was like.
Not that anyone even gets the chance to react much, for a non-existant younger sister of Anne, named Margery, bursts in to embarrass Anne in the time-honoured fashion of younger siblings, by asking "Anne, dear Anne, where is thy wolf?". Anne does her best to gloss over it, but Margery, in a scene that is actually quite cute, relates how she and the rest of her siblings - all, apparently, younger than Anne - have delighted in saying she caught a "wolf" and he followed her home.
Francis and Anne take it with a sense of humour, and even lord and lady FitzHugh are amused. Under their knowing stares, Anne flees the room, ending the best and most psychologically if not historically plausible scene in the book. Francis uses the opportunity to ask for Anne`s hand, to which Lord FitzHugh answers with a long speech, saying that Warwick has only recently asked him for Anne`s hand for Guy Neville, a man who had the good grace not to exist and therefore will not seriously stand in the way of Francis and Anne`s romance as the book goes on. Nor does Lord FitzHugh forbid it, as he professes the astonishing belief that "the women of my house in wedding should ever please themselves." Before Francis can get too happy about this, Lady FitzHugh intervenes, saying she likes Francis and completely approves of him as a husband for her daughter but a rebellion is coming up and therefore she asks that "ye press not your marriage till peace be come again". Rather than asking why Anne can`t be a married woman during a rebellion, Francis agrees to this and everyone is pleased, and Francis goes to tell Anne.
Finding her in the manor`s gardens together with her sister Margery, he tells her in the most complicated way possible, and then agrees to tell the child, whom Anne has told that he is the "wolf" their siblings spoke about, why his family got the name. Despite, judging from her behaviour and the fact she happily sits first on her sister`s and then his lap, being no older than five years, Margery happily listens to this, not even protesting against in all ways ludicrous sentences such as this one: "He was confined by Ascelin the Wolf in his castle of Breherval for three whole months, which time he was treated with great rigor, even being exposed at the upper window of the fortress in the depth of winter to the frost, attired in naught but his shirt until it was frozen to his back, having been previously dipped in water."
Having somehow managed not to bore the child to either sleep or tears or both with his inaccurate tale, Francis then sends Margery back into the manor and she leaves without protesting, finally leaving the two love birds alone to spent "happy evening hours" together, before Francis leaves her to sleep early, so he can leave early the next morning. As she does so, she throws a white rose to him from the window of her bedchamber and he catches a glimpse of her, "a sight that warmed his heart and brightened his life through the weary months of separation and exile that elapsed before the varying fortunes of the warring houses of York and Lancaster permitted them to meet again."
Francis then, as he originally intended to do, goes to his ancestral manor of Minster Lovell Hall, where perhaps his life is equally brightened by seeing "his mother, a stately, silver-haired dame" waiting for him, having apparently missed the memo that she died four years prior to the events of the book, in childbirth at the age of 25. Francis greets her and his sisters, Joane and an unidentified child - Frideswide, who despite the fact she is not seen as important enough to be named, is the only character to be of the correct age.
Joane makes eyes at Bryan Stapleton, who reciprocates. Francis catches her in the very risqué act of him kissing her hand, but despite both expecting to be told off, Francis only tells Joane to be careful, perhaps because he is still happy his own romance finally took off. Not that he needs to worry about his sister and her virtue anyway, because Bryan Stapleton leaves Minster Lovell Hall with him after what seems only minutes after arriving, without either of them having established anything but that Joane exists and likes Bryan.
Francis then takes a step back for the next few pages, so more clunky backstory can be told, this time about Warwick`s exile and his first rebellion, which curiously is said to happen only after Francis arrived in Minster Lovell Hall - that is, in 1470. His actions of 1469 and 1470 are rushed together until the narratives arrives at what actually happened in mid 1470 and he is threatening Edward, whose response is to ignore it, despite Richard, Lord Hastings and Francis warning him against that, until he finally gives in to them and decides to prepare against Warwick actually doing something. His choice of action is sending Francis to Burgundy as an ambassador to convince Charles to support him in such a case.
Being "brilliant" at this job, Charles instantly agrees, within half a page, leaving Francis at his court without a purpose. Instead of leaving and going back to England, he spends his time with Margaret, who has nothing better to do than try and set him up with a Burgundian countess. Francis, however, only becomes "fast friends" with her because "the witching memory of Anne FitzHugh`s grace and beauty" firmly holds him in its spell. Presumably Margaret gives up at some point, and after an interval during which Francis worries Charles will double-cross him, he leaves for England again, to find "the country in a turmoil of insurrection", in which "young FitzHugh", all of eleven, takes an important part.
Francis does not worry about this treason from his future brother-in-law, instead thinking only of raising more men and helping Edward quell the rebellion. He does not get to do so, however; since when he rides, together with Bryan Stapleton, to Minster Lovell Hall, the two are attacked by men crying "Oxford and Lancaster". First Bryan and then Francis try to fight them and go down injured, which sounds brave until it is said that one man called Giles Cromwell single-handedly drove the attackers away and killed them. This of course leaves them in no position to say who employed them, though the novel states "Lord Oxford indignantly disavowed the affair" and Francis and his friends believed ""bloody Somerset"" to be responsible.
Francis is critically injured, more so than Stapleton, who is soon up and about and bringing messages to Anne. This takes him out of the action for some weeks, and Edward therefore has to flee to exile, missing his support. Some more backstory takes place until Francis is recovered enough to try and ride a horse, to visit Anne. However, she and her father send him messages to say if he even attempts to do so, he will be taken prisoner. Why he was not already taken prisoner when he was ill and not able to put up a fight is not explained. Francis accepts that under the circumstances it is not wise to visit them and intends to go to exile to meet with Richard and Edward.
His family support this, although they are not happy about him leaving. Joane is in fact said to be the unhappiest about it, for despite the fact she had hardly any interaction with him in the novel, she "fairly worshipped her galant brother" because "there had always been a feeling of confidence and good comeradery [between them], nothwithstanding the difference in their years". This becomes more understandable that the "difference in their years" was in fact an age difference ranging from something like thirty minutes at the least to fifteen months at the most.
In any case, Joane sobs long into the night because of her brother leaving her, enabling her to be awake then and hear hoovebeats she knows are following her brother. She alerts the resident Deux-ex-machina, Giles Cromwell, who is only there when needed and whose presence is never explained, and he rised to catch up with Francis and warn him he is being followed.
Some more months pass, until Anne decided to visit Joane Lovell, the two of whom apparently knowing each other. No sooner has Anne arrived that the two notice that something strange is up and the inexplicable Giles Cromwell as well as Bryan and some unnamed men are coming and going at the strangest hours. Presumably less because they fear something and more because they are bored out of their minds in the remarkably calm supposedly civil-war-shredded England, they decide to follow them, and in some sort of hut inside a maze, they find Francis, playing at exile.
Just why he never left England but instead decided to hide inside a hut is never adequately explained, nor is the earlier claim he would only see Anne again after exile when in reality he only saw her again after a long time of spending in a hut pretending to be in exile. Now that Anne has found him, however, he assures her it won`t last much longer, and he sends away Joane and Bryan to then give Anne completely chaste assurances of his love.
Around two weeks pass during which Francis and Anne are happily in love in everyone`s sight, for apparently Anne`s return stopped any necessity to hide in small huts inside mazes and Francis "no longer scrupled to return" to the great hall of his own manor, and Joan and Bryan are "no less happy". So much happiness around him gives Francis near magical powers, so much so he knows exactly when Edward, Richard and their troops return from their own, real, exile, and when they do so "scarcely an hour elapsed before their eyes were gladdened by the sight of a considerable body of troops wearing the Lovell cognizance".
Edward is so glad about this he manages to win the battle of Barnet within less than a page soon afterwards, and more backstory occurs as "Henry of Lancaster [is] again dethroned". Warwick, perhaps helped by the speed of Barnet, somehow manages to survive but falls at Tewkesbury, which lasts longer and is described in rather clincial language. Notably, "young FitzHugh", who at that time had become older and was all of twelve, is noted to fight fiercely on the Lancastrian side and to be wounded there.
Francis, never having given him a thought before, has him escorted to Minster Lovell Hall, whwere he is cared for, and sends for Anne, who has apparently left as soon as he did. Bryan is to escort her to his manor, but while they are on the way there, they encounter Guy Nevil, the man mentioned once before as Warwick`s candidate for Anne`s hand. He wants her, though just why he so desperately wants her when she clearly barely knows him and her words show she rightfully scorns him is something of a mystery. Perhaps Anne is a pretext and he is simply spoiling for a fight, which he gets. Bryan manages to get himself injured again, and Guy manages to abduct Anne.
Meanwhile, unaware of all this, Francis is at Edward`s court and created Viscount Beaumont. Why he is given his uncle`s viscouncy in this, which he never had, instead of his own, which would only be off by 12 years is anyone`s guess. Not that Francis gets to enjoy it long, for as soon as he wants to leave for home, probably to finally marry Anne, he is told of her abduction. Deciding to free her alone, rather than sending for the king, Francis manages to track where he went, overtake him and await him in one town in such breath-taking speed it is nothing short of miraculous.
Guy and Francis have a good old-fashioned sword fight for the hand of the fair lady, which Francis wins. Anne pleads with him not to kill Guy because she doesn`t like murder, which is fair enough and also unncecessary because Guy would hang anyway as soon as he was handed over to the king`s justices.
Francis is also completely aware of this and promptly does just that, explicitly saying to Richard he does not doubt "the swiftness and ignominy of his punishment". He also says that he wants Joane to marry Bryan if they both so wish. Which they, of course, do, though Lady Lovell, Francis and Joane`s mother, says she is too young for marriage yet. Brian promises to wait, and Joane does not comment, being occupied by preparing to be Anne`s bridesmaid. Anne worries a bit about marrying when her brother is injured, but Giles Cromwell turns up to say his wounds are healing and he is no more danger.
Thus, Anne and Francis marry, are "feted" at court and then return to Minster Lovell Hall to be "busy" themselves in "loving association in its pleasures and duties". The authors states that while things would happen to Francis later in his life that weren`t so happy, those are not good to end a book with and "our thoughts and dreams bids with the young Lovell of Edward`s time, and his winsome bride in the woodland paths, sweet flower gardens and stately towers of Minster Lovell".
It is, of course, a book so wildly inaccurate it is hard to find any fact got right even on accident, with Francis so perfect and noble it borders on parody. However, in this, at least, the story of Francis and Anne, however wrong, is their story and their spotlight is not, as in so many novels, stolen by the supposedly supreme unparallelled happiness of Richard and Anne Neville and the latter`s supposed superiority over Anne Lovell in all ways.
Because there can be no claim made to anything like accuracy, it is quite an amusing read, and it gives an interesting idea how the late Middle Ages were seen around the turn of the century.
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