Synopsis: Richard III is England's most controversial king. Forever associated with the murder of his nephews, the Princes in the Tower, he divides the nation. As spectacular as his death at Bosworth in August 1485 - the last king of England to die in battle - the astonishing discovery of his bones under a Leicester car park five centuries later renewed interest in him and re-opened old debates. Is he the world's most wicked uncle; or is he (in the words of the man who most smeared him) 'a prince more sinned against than sinning'?
Richard was not born in the North; neither did he die there, but this detailed look at his life, tracing his steps over the thirty-three years that he lived, focuses on the area that he loved and made his own. As Lord of the North, he had castles at Middleham and Sheriff Hutton, Penrith and Sandal. He fought the Scots along the northern border and on their own territory. His son was born at Middleham and was invested as Prince of Wales at York Minster, where Richard planned to set up a college of 100 priests.
His white boar device can be found in obscure corners of churches and castles; his laws, framed in the single parliament of his short reign, gave rights to the people who served him and loved him north of the Trent. And when he felt threatened or outnumbered by his enemies during the turbulent years of the Wars of the Roses, it was to the men of the North that he turned for support and advice. They became his knights of the body; members of the Council of the North which outlived Richard by a 150 years. They died with him at Bosworth.
Although we cannot divorce Richard from the violent politics of the day or from events that happened far to the South, it was in the North that Richard's heart lay. The North was his home. It was the place he loved.
I will admit to being a little biased - I have read a number of non-fiction (Vlad) and fiction (Marlowe) by MJ Trow. I find the writing style to be more conversational than academic, more so in this tome.
What we have here is a great (abridged) introduction to the Wars of the Roses and the family of Richard III. Trow uses the fortifications and castles associated with the Yorkist cause and with Richard himself as the anchor point from which to condense and recount Richard's thirty-three years.
As many would already know, following the accession of Edward IV, Richard received many honours and land, predominantly based in the north of England - t would be here that he would create long lasting ties with local landowners, religious and civil leaders - he was a popular figure.
However, not all the anchor points are linked with the north but with the family, and there is much discussion about these places not only associated with Richard, but also key points in the family history and with events being played out.
Richard's links to the north were not only about his own time there, but also with how the northern barons - more often or not Lancastrians - impacted his childhood, adulthood, his political and personal perceptions. Trow tells us that Richard was often associated as a "northerner" due to his deliberate decision to base himself there - to live and to work - and muses that had things followed the anticipated successional course, Richard may have indeed spent much more time in the North. Regardless of how things finally played out, his legacy is and will always be associated with the North. And funnily enough, much of what Richard set about creating, the Tudors adopted themselves.
Trow also delves into the myths and perceptions of Richard himself, including the vexing question of the Princes in the Tower, finishing up with the discovery of Richard 's remains and his final internment.
Trow provides a "floor plan" for all the anchor buildings and possible plans for the major battles. All sources (of which a selected few are listed at the end) are considered and scrutinised, but here also Trow laments that lack of contemporary sources that shed light into the man himself that have not be "rewritten" or "formualted" with a specific target audience or patron in mind.
There are many books on the Wars of the Roses, Richard III and the Tudors, Trow's book will appeal to many - it is an accessible, uncomplicated history of the period and the man.
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