Sunday, November 17

Book Review: This Son of York by Anne Easter Smith


This Son of YorkAuthor: Anne Easter Smith 
Title: This Son of York
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: ebook
Publication Date: November 10th 2019
Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)



Richard III. A man. A king. A legend.

He ruled England for only two years, but the legacy of Richard III remains both fascinating and divisive.

From his childhood in the intensely loyal and close-knit York family to his rise as a thoughtful but troubled ruler, This Son of York is a passionate and deeply personal account of the life of Richard III. A man who loved his family and his country. A king who struggled to overcome the challenges not only of a turbulent time but his own human frailties. A legend whose true life is only now coming to light.

Inspired by the discovery of Richard III's grave and its revelations, award-winning author Anne Easter Smith brings together her decades of intense research, five celebrated novels on the Wars of the Roses, and her sustained passion for Richard III in this culminating book on the last Plantagenet king.


Been an eon since I read a book by this author and this came out about Richard...so I couldn't resist giving this a try.

This follows Richard from childhood until his death on the battle field. This is inspired by the discovery of Richard's grave recently, so we get to have little glimpses of the team who uncovered the body. 

I have always been back and forth about Richard. I never believed he was the monster that is portrayed but was he a saint? Absolutely not. He was a man of his time for sure, but I don't really believe he killed his nephews...but did he know the truth? Probably. Who knows? 

The author is really good and I enjoyed the other book by her. I really must read more. She has such a way of bringing these characters to life and absorbing you into the story and the drama. She makes these characters complex and human. Love it!

Even though I have my doubts about Richard, I really enjoyed his story here. She didn't butter him up to be a hero or a villain. He felt real to me and this version is my favorite of him. I did even pity him at the end there. Poor guy. Lost everything. He was so disrespected in his death. Darn that Henry. BUT you can understand why Henry just wanted to bury him and forget about him. 

At first I wasn't a huge fan of the glimpses of the modern day uncovering of his grave. As we did get closer to the end I appreciated it then. 

Overall, I really did like this story. I was completely absorbed into the story and our characters. Richard felt so real and this was my favorite version of him. This is a must-read if you have any sort of interest in the War of the Roses. I'll stamp this with 4 stars.  










4 comments:

Sophia Rose said...

I've always felt that Richard's story as the monster who killed his nephews was a great deal of propaganda. But, like you, I think that he wasn't even close to innocent and had his own agenda for sure.
Cool that the author portrayed a realistic figure for her book.

Passages to the Past said...

Thanks so much for hosting Anne's tour & reviewing This Son of York!

Amy
HF Virtual Book Tours

Blodeuedd said...

I have not really read any books where he is looked upon other than unfavorable. But then the winner gets to talk shite so of course Henry did that

Carole Rae said...

Sophia, yes. he was a man of his time and was guilty of something. Yes, the author is amazing at this.

PP, thank you Amy for including me!

B, yep! The winner is always the one that gets listened to.