Richard III: A Life [Hardcover]

A thorough review of the life of the last king of the House of York. Many facts are based on information obtained before the exhumation of Richard at Grey Friars. It will be interesting to see if the finding of the body changes history.

I wanted to read David Baldwin's biography of Richard III for two primary reasons: First, I was drawn to these two sentences from the Introduction: "It seems improbable that any human being could be as evil -- or alternatively as misunderstood -- as Richard, and my starting point is that somewhere behind all the conflicting argument stands a real man who had both qualities and failings. Neither black nor white, but -- like all of us -- somewhere in between." Second, the new paperback edition has an additional chapter added after the University of Leicester announced that the skeleton discovered in a parking lot was confirmed beyond reasonable doubt to be that of the last Plantagenet king of England.

I was definitely not disappointed in this biography. I read Paul Murray Kendall's biography decades ago and just recently I read "Richard III and the Death of Chivalry". It's been too long since I read Kendall's biography to make any comparisons, but I do think Baldwin's biography is superior to "Richard III and the Death of Chivalry". In my opinion he does deliver a balanced view of Richard III. At the end of the eighth chapter he provides an excellent summary of Richard's character:

"He knew the difference between right and wrong, but the terrible uncertainty of his earliest years compelled him to behave in ways he himself would not have thought acceptable in other circumstances. The Richard who was prepared to treat the two women closest to him so callously was the Richard who seized his nephew's throne: not the Richard who was devoted to his religion and who wanted to be remembered for his sense of justice and fairness. Not `good' or `bad', but both."

What I find especially fascinating is how closely Baldwin's portrait of Richard agrees with the theory of two University of Leicester psychologists, Professor Mark Lansdale and Dr. Julian Boon, that Richard suffered from "intolerance to uncertainty syndrome" as a result of his insecure childhood.

I highly recommend this biography to anyone interested in a balanced view of the life and reign of Richard III. Richard III

Summary:
David Baldwin quickly states in the first sentence of his introduction, that previous books about Richard III have either painted him as "very good or very bad". Baldwin's aim in his book, was to portray Richard III as accurately as possible---to have Richard III come to life through its pages, showing a dimensional personality. Baldwin wants to put to rest myths about Richard III, and instead show what in fact we do know about him.
Richard III was the youngest child in a large family. The eldest son Edmund, and their father, died when Richard was age 8. His early life was marked by death and grief. His mother sent him and older brother George away to be hidden. Then, the family's life dramatically changed, when the eldest surviving brother became Edward IV. George and Richard gained titles, prestige, and a hope for future security and establishment.
At this point, no one envisioned that Richard would one day become king.

My Thoughts:

This is the first biography of Richard III that has the results of DNA testing done recently, as well as the history of finding his grave, and the archeology work involved in it. I'm sure there will be other books to follow.
David Baldwin is a medieval historian and is knowledgeable about Richard III.
I appreciated David Baldwin's goal in focusing on the facts, and not build on any myths surrounding Richard III. This was my main aim in reading Baldwin's book, I wanted history, not fantasy.
Baldwin began at the beginning of what is known about Richard III early life, as well as his siblings, and parents. Baldwin did not just begin at The War of the Roses key battle.
There are 81 photographs in the book, 57 are in color!
Geography and culture is described during this time period of 1400's.
The story of the 2 nephews of Richard III who were placed in the tower for "safe keeping" by Richard III is examined.
A list of books Richard III owned (of course only another bibliophile would love this information).
Richard III accomplishments listed.
Richard III had key people he could rely on, as well as those he mistrusted. Baldwin factors in these people, as well as how the kingdom felt when Richard III seized the throne.

I enjoyed reading this book! The added material about the newest findings on Richard III added sparkle to it.
Thank you to Amberley for my free review copy!