AN acclaimed writer and historian is giving a talk in Keighley which could shed new light on the death of a 14th-century king.

Alison Harrop will be guest speaker at a Keighley and District Local History Society meeting, which is open to everyone.

She will speak on Lady Mortimer and Edward II: From Skipton to Berkeley Castles.

The talk is upstairs at Keighley Library on Wednesday, May 8.

Keighley-born Alison trained as a doctor and worked for more than 20 years in the Wirral and North Wales, before moving back to this area following the death of her husband in 2019.

Her novel, The Mortimer Affair: Joan De Joinville’s Story, was published in 2020.

Tim Neal, for Keighley and District Local History Society, says: "Alison's novel tells the story of Joan de Joinville, wife of the infamous Roger Mortimer – she was imprisoned in Hampshire and then at Skipton Castle because of her husband’s rebellion against King Edward II in the 14th century.

"Mortimer was alleged to have ordered the murder of Edward at Berkeley Castle in 1327, but the novel gives Joan a voice and tells an alternative story through her eyes."

Alison, who writes under the pen-name Alice Mitchell, carried out several years of research for the novel.

"It necessitated a great deal of historical research and took me seven years to complete," she adds.

"For many years, it's been alleged that Edward II was murdered by red hot poker whilst a prisoner in Berkeley Castle. So much of what we know as history was originally written by the victors in any conflict, so ‘alleged’ is an appropriate word because this is probably not what happened.

"Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, was certainly accused of ordering the murder of King Edward II – becoming the lover of Queen Isabella and the power behind the throne of England for four years, during the minority of young King Edward III. Yet in later years Edward III declared that the accusation of regicide had been made in error, so what did he know, and why has this never been revealed?"

Admission to the meeting is £3.50, or free for history society members.

Doors open at 7pm, the meeting starts at 7.20pm and the talk will begin about ten minutes later, and last around an hour.

Anyone arriving after 7pm is asked to use the library side entrance, in Albert Street.