Medieval Mercenaries by Kenneth Fowler - was Vol 2 ever published?

[Condottiere]

Anyone else have this book by Kenneth Fowler? Came out in 2001 and have been waiting for Volume 2 since, but couldn't find any news. On Amazon JPS has a detailed review, and said

Finally, this book, while very comprehensive, is only the first Tome. The author had planned a second one dealing in particular with the following decades and the mercenaries in Italy. Unfortunately, he never got to publish volume 2.

His review is from 2014 and it's annoying that Amazon removed the comments on reviews section, as I would've appreciated some clarification. Anyone know the author and what happened between 2001 and 2014 that prevented the publication of Volume 2?

A few years ago, I found mention on Google Books, listing the ISBN, page number and release date of 2013,  but this isn't proof of publication. Anyone have Medieval Mercenaries II: Sir John Hawkwood and the English Condottiere in Italy? Was it a limited release and if not, anyone know if it'll ever come out? Doesn't help that Amazon has the author listed as Kenneth Fowler and Kenneth Alan Fowler, so results vary.

Yesterday, I found the author's obituary from 2022 in the Guardian.

[Mad Guru]

Hi Condottiere,

Unfortunately I have no further information to contribute, but I still feel compelled to add a comment, as I bought Kenneth Fowler's "Medieval Mercenaries, Volume 1" when it was first published and I too waited -- somewhat breathlessly at first and with great expectations -- for the early announced follow-up, "Hawkwood & the Mercenaries of Italy" AKA: your illustrious namesake, the Condottiere.  But as far as I know, it never came.  I tried once, circa 2010, to get in touch with Professor Fowler in an effort to find out if it would ever be published, but failed.  After that I stopped checking to see if Volume 2 had come out.  Once every year or two I would spot Volume 1 as I walked past my Medieval bookcase, then go to my computer and do a Google search... but I never saw another mention of Volume 2 until this post of yours.

Could it really have been published backing 2013?!  Now I will have to start searching high and low for a copy... though none may exist.  I'm saddened to hear of Professor Fowler's death, may he Rest In Peace, and it makes me wish I hadn't given up so easily years ago on trying to get in touch with him.  As a miniature wargamer who spent decades interested in the Free Companies of the Hundred Years War, his Volume 1 was a valuable book.

Considering your user name I'm guessing you're aware of and probably already own two books on similar topics.  Just in case I'm wrong and you don't know them, I will take the liberty of mentioning them: William Cafero's, "Hawkwood: An English Mercenary in Fourteenth Century Italy," (2008) and the same author's, "Mercenary Companies and the Decline of Sienna" (1998).  If it turns out you haven't read them, I think they will be worth your time.

[Condottiere]

Hi Condottiere,

Unfortunately I have no further information to contribute, but I still feel compelled to add a comment, as I bought Kenneth Fowler's "Medieval Mercenaries, Volume 1" when it was first published and I too waited -- somewhat breathlessly at first and with great expectations -- for the early announced follow-up, "Hawkwood & the Mercenaries of Italy" AKA: your illustrious namesake, the Condottiere.  But as far as I know, it never came.  I tried once, circa 2010, to get in touch with Professor Fowler in an effort to find out if it would ever be published, but failed.  After that I stopped checking to see if Volume 2 had come out.  Once every year or two I would spot Volume 1 as I walked past my Medieval bookcase, then go to my computer and do a Google search... but I never saw another mention of Volume 2 until this post of yours.

Could it really have been published backing 2013?!  Now I will have to start searching high and low for a copy... though none may exist.  I'm saddened to hear of Professor Fowler's death, may he Rest In Peace, and it makes me wish I hadn't given up so easily years ago on trying to get in touch with him.  As a miniature wargamer who spent decades interested in the Free Companies of the Hundred Years War, his Volume 1 was a valuable book.

I'm convinced volume 2 was never published and might be due to the author's nature. I found a 1969 review of The Age of Plantagenet and Valois: The Struggle for Supremacy 1328–1498 and there's mention of a future monograph on French warfare, but haven't been able to find it. In Medieval Warfare 1300–1450 edited by Kelly Devries, published in 2010, Chapter 5 (18 pages) is Sir John Hawkwood and the English condottieri in Trecento Italy By Kenneth Fowler. Maybe Caferro's book killed the impetus to publish the title, though two other biographies came out since. 

Considering your user name I'm guessing you're aware of and probably already own two books on similar topics.  Just in case I'm wrong and you don't know them, I will take the liberty of mentioning them: William Cafero's, "Hawkwood: An English Mercenary in Fourteenth Century Italy," (2008) and the same author's, "Mercenary Companies and the Decline of Sienna" (1998).  If it turns out you haven't read them, I think they will be worth your time.

I don't have the Sienese title, but I do have Hawkwood and I would say it's the definitive reference ATM and I think Saunders admitted it's better than his biography on Hawkwood, though the review is no longer on Amazon.