I, RICHARD PLANTAGENET : Tante le Desiree by J P Reedman @stonehenge2500

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I read and loved earlier books about Richard, Duke of Gloucester by J P Reedman, and finally decided this had been on my TBR list for long enough!

In a Nutshell: Richard's life up until the age of 30.

I loved this book, totally engrossed all the way through.  There is so much detail about customs and the way people lived back then, that I found fascinating to read about.

Throughout the years this novel covers, J P Reedman has cleverly developed the main characters as they age.  Richard becomes harsher, more determined, and with an increasing sense of right and wrong, while the negative aspects of George's personality are magnified; his stubbornness, inconstancy and drinking.  Edward the King becomes almost a parody of himself, and I was struck once more by how his grandson Henry VIII was all him, with few traits inherited from his father, Henry VII.

The book is written in Richard's first person, but I was aware of how deftly the author has made clear to the reader the thoughts of other characters, too, even though they may not have expressed them verbally.  How they thought of Richard, too, as he becomes more and more like the historical figure many perceive him as.  Smart writing!

This part of the story ends when Richard is 30, just after the complicated skirmishes with the Scots, and as Edward's health is failing.  I look forward to reading the next episode very much.

I, RICHARD PLANTAGENET - Part 2 by J P Reedman @stonehenge2500 #TuesdayBookBlog

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Had read its prequel HERE, so sought it out.

In a Nutshell: The life of Richard III - his teenage years.

This is a longer book than the first, and covers the period of Richard of Gloucester's life from the ages 14 - 18, during which time his elder brother Edward IV was on the throne, though not without constant threat from the Earl of Warwick and the Lancastrians.

There is so much description of England itself, in this book; its common people, beliefs, travel, food, the customs, all of which really bring the 15th Century to life, and I loved that aspect of it.  Richard himself is shown as such a loyal, modest and thoughtful young man, so much so that it is hard to picture how he gained such an evil reputation later in history.  I found the way that Elizabeth Woodville and her family are portrayed most interesting; it made me wonder how Edward might have fared had he made a political marriage rather than being swept along by love.

At times I felt that the book was a little padded out, as though the author was determined to get every piece of research into the book; I think it would have been even more enjoyable if it was chopped down a little, but I did love it, and look forward to reading the next one.

I, RICHARD PLANTAGENET by J P Reedman @stonehenge2500 #TuesdayBookBlog

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Recommendation - can't remember who from, alas; Amazon tells me I downloaded it in 2021.  I was looking down my Kindle Unlimited library to decide what to return; when I saw it, I wondered why I had not read it before!

In a Nutshell: Part 1 of a trilogy about Richard Plantagenet, later to become King Richard III

This book covers Richard's childhood, from little more than infancy to the age of fourteen.  It is told in the first person, which I always like best for historical fiction based on fact.

I loved this book, so much that I downloaded the next two before I'd finished it (and am already reading #2).  J P Reedman has written Richard as I imagined him: a loyal, intelligent, studious and serious boy, wise beyond his years in many respects.  The other Yorks and those close to them were also portrayed exactly as I see them - Edward IV the golden, kingly warrior, whose over-confidence and appetites could sometimes be his undoing; the gluttonous, garrulous George, Duke of Clarence; dashing, intense Richard, Earl of Warwick.  Quiet, reserved Anne Neville, flirtatious Isabella, and the ambitious Elizabeth Woodville.

I know the story of this period of history well, so I was most interested to see how various events would be depicted through Richard's eyes.  J P Reedman has artfully executed developments that occurred outside Richard's orbit; there are no clumsy monologues from other characters to let the reader know what is happening, few unrealistically overheard conversations.  This is the history as Richard would have seen it; some events of importance are hardly mentioned, because they would not have meant much to a child.

It is clear that much research about the time has gone into this book, though it is never intrusive.  Instead, it immersed me in the period.  I loved reading about the journeys from one place to another, what the country was like at the time, and about the halcyon days Richard spent at Middleham castle under the tutelage of Warwick.

Incidentally, I have often wondered what Edward IV would have made of his grandson and great-granddaugher: Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

Highly recommended - now, to resume my reading of Book 2!

.... and here's one of the articles about his remains being found under a Leicester car park around 10 years ago: Skeleton of Richard III Found in England.