Ronald Welch - Sun of York

Whether it's a case of cause and effect or some common underlying root cause, it's easy for me to draw a direct line between this historical novel, which focuses on a few years during the War of the Roses in 15th century England and which I think I must have first read some time in primary school and returned to at least once a few years on from then, and much of what I enjoy reading today (most notably, George R R Martin's magnificent 'Song of Ice and Fire' series). Read now, some of the deficiencies in its craft are evident, but it still stands up as a pacy, well-coloured, surprisingly violent bit of historical fiction, dealing of course with an inherently dramatic and interesting period.