When Knighthood Was In Flower

For political reasons, King Henry VIII is determined that his sister, Mary Tudor, will marry King Louis XII of France, even though she wishes to be the wife of commoner Charles Brandon. The lovers run away but are captured, and Mary agrees to the king's demands provided that she may choose her second husband. Louis dies shortly after the wedding, and, although King Francis I connives to make her his, Mary finally marries Brandon with Henry's blessing.

When Knighthood Was in Flower; or, the Love Story of Charles Brandon and Mary Tudor the King's Sister, and Happening in the Reign of His August Majesty King Henry the Eighth

Set during the Tudor period of English history, When Knighthood Was in Flower tells the tribulations of Mary Tudor, a younger sister of Henry VIII of England who has fallen in love with a commoner. However, for political reasons, King Henry has arranged for her to wed King Louis XII of France and demands his sister put the House of Tudor first, threatening, "You will marry France and I will give you a wedding present – Charles Brandon's head!"

When Knighthood Was in Flower is the debut novel of American author Charles Major written under the pseudonym, Edwin Caskoden. It was first published by The Bobbs-Merrill Company (then the Bowen-Merrill Company) in 1898 and proved an enormous success. According to the New York Times, in its third year on the market the book was still selling so well that it was #9 on the list of bestselling novels in the United States for 1900. The book spawned an entire industry of historical romantic novels and films. In 1901, playwright Paul Kester wrote the Broadway play and by 1907 When Knighthood Was in Flower was still being printed by the reprint publisher, Grosset & Dunlap, when the film rights were sold to Biograph Studios. It was sometimes known by the title When Knights Were Bold and should not be confused with the 1906 play When Knights Were Bold which also inspired several film adaptations. Set during the Tudor period of English history, When Knighthood Was in Flower tells the tribulations of Mary Tudor, a younger sister of Henry VIII of England who has fallen in love with a commoner. However, for political reasons, King Henry has arranged for her to wed King Louis XII of France and demands his sister put the House of Tudor first, threatening, "You will marry France and I will give you a wedding present - Charles Brandon's head!"