The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses and calling card is a black arrow, cause Dick to suspect that his guardian Sir Daniel Brackley and his retainers are responsible for his father's murder. Dick's suspicions are enough to turn Sir Daniel against him, so he has no recourse but to escape from Sir Daniel and join the outlaws of the Black Arrow against him. This struggle sweeps him up into the greater conflict surrounding them all. The novel is set in the reign of "old King Henry VI" (1422–1461, 1470–1471) and during the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487). The story begins with the Tunstall Moat House alarm
Henry Stafford (c. 1425 – 1471) Henry Stafford (c. 1425 – 1471) Sir Henry Stafford (c. 1425 – 4 October 1471) was the second son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Anne Neville, daughter of Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and Lady Joan Beaufort. Henry's elder brother, also named Humphrey, died before their father, and so it was Henry's nephew, also Henry, who became the 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Stafford was the third husband of Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby. The marriage was relatively long and successful and coincided roughly with the minority of Margaret's son, the future Henry VII