- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Penguin UK; New edition edition (Jan 14 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0140266348
- ISBN-13: 978-0140266344
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,312,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
This text argues that the traditional view of Richard III is very near the truth - Shakespeare's Richard is closer to reality than the image of a betrayed hero favoured by his modern defenders. The author believes the king to have been "the most terrifying man ever to occupy the English throne, not excepting his great nephew Henry VIII. His short life was filled with intrigue and slaughter, and he was the only king of England - other than Harold - to be defeated and killed in battle". In the author's opinion, Richard undoubtedly murdered his nephews, almost certainly his cousin Henry VI and, just possibly, Henry's son as well.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Readable History; Great Subject; Naive Author,
By
This review is from: Richard Iii Englands Black Legend (Paperback)
Reading this book is a good way to get to know the basic story of Richard III, and the related context of English history in the time of the "War of the Roses." To my mind, the greatest virtue of the book is Seward's recognition of Richard as a prince in the Machiavellian style: a ruthless, conniving tyrant. What is weakest in the book is the author's pronounced psychological naivete: even as he writes of Richard as an alert political strategist, willing to do anything to advance his own cause, the author interprets his attitudes and decisions as if they were being made by someone with average working-class values and education. Overall, though, the story is well-told, with a readable mix of engaging narrative and scholarly history.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Diabolical rubbish,
By Max Holt (North Wales, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Richard III: England's Black Legend (Hardcover)
This is the worst book I've ever read about Richard III. It is full of guess work & supposition & leans heavily on Thomas More's writings - which are not contemporary (More was 5 when Richard came to the throne! Consider the same scenario if someone who was 5 when Princess Diana died -then writing 'facts' about her life & what she thought.) He is simply re-writing the Tudor diatribe that we all now know to be propaganda.Steer clear. A dreadful read.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent accessible scholarly history,
By "cloudia" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Richard Iii Englands Black Legend (Paperback)
I got this as a result of seeing Ian McKellen's film version of the Shakespearean play. It left me wanting more History as well as more Drama. I had heard that Shakespeare was essentially writing anti-Richard propaganda, since the man who defeated him, Richmond, went on to become Henry VII grandfather of Queen Elizabeth. But while the truth is no doubt more complicated than the play suggests, Seward convincingly shows that Shakespeare got the essentials right even if he did take a few liberties. He doesn't merely elucidate the character of Richard himself, but of those around him. The Woodvilles, Ann, Catesby, Tyrell, Brackenbury, the Duke of Buckingham and Lord Stanley were all real players in Richard's rise and fall, well known at the time for their victimizations through or their contributions to his tyranny. (Catesby for example was known as the Cat in a popular rhyme of the day.) Seward gives an in depth though not necessarily complete view of the constraints and shared assumptions they were operating under which eventually leads to the characterization of the King himself. It's difficult to tell how much of Richard's tyranny stemmed from the bloodthirstiness of the times he lived in, or if good really triumphed over evil at Bosworth field, and Seward makes no assertions to that effect. But he does throw into sharp relief the flaws that earned Richard his bloody reputation, and they aren't saintly ones. He is also very clear cut about which primary sources he is drawing from, Thomas More, Dominic Mancini and the Croyland Chronicler, how they culled their information, and how he reads them. I'm sure there's a wealth of information on this subject, yet I found this book to be a very satisfying introduction.
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