Author: Majorie Bowen
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Publication Date: 23 October 2015 (1929)
Pages: 282
Format: eBook - PDF
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: ARC via NetGalley
Shaken by the tragic loss of his father and his older brother at the Battle of Wakefield, Richard and his elder brother George, later Duke of Clarence, are forced to flee the House of York to the Low Countries.
Here he overhears the gory details of the murders which have dealt him such a devastating blow and is visited by strange visions of a devil.
These haunting manifestations stay with him as he returns to England following the defeat of the Lancastrians.
As his eldest brother is crowned he trains as a knight and learns skills he later puts to the test as King of England.
Despite his growing sense of foreboding, Richard becomes a powerful and honourable ruler who struggles valiantly to ensure peace in England, offering leniency and mercy to some of the traitors brought before him.
But he is shocked when Richard Warwick, his cousin, nicknamed “Kingmaker”, betrays him in his hour of need and when George Clarence, his beloved brother, is seduced into treachery by his own lust for power.
A web of dynastic plots and treason trouble him.
He learns that the women surrounding him would sooner become nuns than witness more violence in the name of war and he tries to shield Anne Neville, his devoted wife, from his vicious enemies.
But will his efforts be in vain?
This is a story of conflict, violence and heartache. From his lonely childhood, to happier moments with Anne and the glory of victory, to his fateful death on Bosworth Field, the life of Richard III is written in the blood of those he most loved.
This is a riveting fictional account of the life of Richard III. Far from the black portrayal of Shakespeare, Dickon, offers a far more balanced view of Richard, showing him as a strong knight, a builder of churches, and a competent administrator. Bowen's writing and characterisation held my interest right from the start and the book was a great page-turner. I highly recommend this title for lovers of historical fiction you'd like to see Richard III in a different light.
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