Sunne in Splendour

 

This book was fantastic. It's the first fiction title I've read from Richard's point of view. The others have all been from his wife, Anne Neville, and therefore ended before he died. 

I liked Penman's Richard. Not as much as O'Brien's, Penman's Richard did some things that made me want to smack him, but he was honestly very well rounded and had his flaws, like I'm sure he did in real life. She brought the time period and all the dozens of characters to life, it was very skillfully done. We got to see Richard on the battlefield with his older brother, King Edward, we got to see him in conversation with his mother (surprisingly touching), his wife, his best friends. Penman makes it clear that Richard's downfall was due to treason and trusting the wrong people. After he died, several of the remaining characters worried about his reputation, since it seemed like Henry Tudor was trying to erase everything good about him and make him out to be a monster. One day history would only know what was written about him and no one would be around to speak up for him, they lamented. I'm so glad history is finally able to speak up for him again. I had to admit, when I got to the last 100 pages or so, I had a hard time reading it, knowing what was coming.