This is the second installment of the author’s prequel to her I, Richard Plantagenet series. Richard has just entered his teenage years and has come to his brother’s court after finishing his knightly training with his Cousin Dick (Earl of Warwick). He is a serious-minded, idealistic youth who is uneasy because of the conflict between his mentor, Cousin Dick, and his brother and king, Edward IV. He is searching for some worthy person to emulate. Richard finds that person when talking to his sister Meg who describes their father as kingly in bearing, stern but just, and one who loved all his family. Richard promises himself that he will be like his father—although without the trust in others that proved fatal. He vows to follow his brother Edward as the inheritor of their father’s mantle, adopting the motto A Vous me lie (“I bind myself to you”). Expressing his desire to be a perfect knight, he also finds appealing the motto Tante le Desiree (“I desire it so much”), writing it in the chivalric romance Ipoedmon.
Richard soon learns that Edward’s court can be a treacherous place as he becomes implicated (quite innocently) in brother George’s traitorous schemes, and Edward decides to teach both his brothers a lesson by imprisoning them for a night in the Tower. Richard is also repelled by the licentiousness at court. Concerned that his Richard is far too monkish, Edward recruits John “Jockey” Howard to take the lad to a Southbank brothel to gain some experience with women. Jockey assures Richard that he frequents a “clean establishment, free of disease.” What follows is an entertaining episode that does not turn out exactly as Edward and Jockey might have expected.
We know from history Richard fathered two illegitimate children most probably when he was a teenager. Many writers believe that Alice Brugh was the mother of his son John of Pontefract and Katherine Haute bore his daughter Katherine. This writer follows this convention, and Richard’s relationships are not idealized but seem realistic. Alice is practical and intelligent while Kate is, well, beautiful. His feelings for Kate are more romantic and passionate, but by the end of the novel when he is about to go into exile in Burgundy, a certain cooling has taken place as both people realize that they could never be together “beyond the occasional grappling in secret.” Throughout the novel, Richard’s thoughts occasionally wander to Anne Neville. When he learns of her betrothal to Edward of Lancaster, he is sickened to think of that vicious lad pawing at her, the girl who had once been his intended bride. He tells himself that he does not love her, but he has always felt affection for her. They shared a connection as two quiet children “like little brown starlings huddled in the shadow of bright-plumed peacocks. That drew me to her, along with her steady, practical nature.”
As tensions between Edward and Cousin Dick mount and eventually erupt into open warfare, the maturing Richard becomes an active participant. From this point, the book becomes episodic: retaking the castles in Wales; the confrontation with Lord Stanley over Hornsby Castle; and, even the horrific executions at Southampton ordered by John Tiptoft, the “Butcher of England.” While the pace of the book seemed to drag a bit in the second half, I appreciated that the author detailed the events that are usually glossed over in other works. After all, Richard’s encounters with Rhys Ap Thomas in Wales and Stanley may have been significant factors in Richard’s ultimate fate.
The weakness of the book may be the failure to show that Richard was in any way conflicted during the struggle between his brother Edward and Cousin Dick, who had been in mentor. In fact, Cousin Dick makes only a fleeting appearance. (In the first prequel, Cousin Dick remembered Richard’s name day and gave him a dagger. Richard’s father apparently did not remember his son’s birthday, but after he was shown the dagger, he gave his son a jeweled sheath for it. In this book, Richard refers to the dagger his father gave him at Ludlow. Why the discrepancy? Could be a different knife, I suppose. Or, maybe, Richard’s memory was faulty?) Certainly, Edward is not portrayed as someone that Richard would want to emulate, but on the eve of their flight to Burgundy he sees Richard as their noble father’s inheritor. Edward’s action then ultimately justifies Richard’s faith. While this prequel seems to complete the I, Richard Plantagenet series, readers like me will still want to hear Richard’s first-hand account of the events during his second exile in Burgundy.
OR
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Shop this series
See full series
Shop this series
There are 3 books in this series.
Bundle price:
Kindle price
$11.20
By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.
This option includes 3 books.
Bundle price:
Kindle price
$11.20
By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.
Customers also bought or read
Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1
- The Queen's Rival: A novel of Lady Margaret Clifford (Raymond Wemmlinger Tudor Royals Series)Just releasedKindle Edition$0.99
Loading...
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2021
- Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2022
Top reviews from other countries
- Amazon Customer Pat HReviewed in Canada on November 23, 2023
Interesting perspective of Richad Plantagenet
-
- arthurReviewed in Canada on February 13, 2023
well written book. lots of great detail.
