Anthony Cheetham

The last Plantagenet.

This biography of Richard III was first published in 1972. I’ve got is a new edition, with an introduction and a new epilogue by Dan Jones.

Most of what we know about Richard III comes from later sources, which are not always reliable. (Hello, Tudor propaganda.) So his life is not easy to reconstruct. The author writes a balanced account, neither presenting a familiar Shakespearean villain, nor whitewashing. I saw an able, reserved, and impulsive man who, when embroiled show more in political machinations, did things that were ”badly staged and politically inept”, and was ”never at his best when it came to diplomacy.”

The book started off really nicely for me, because of Dorothy Dunnett and the House of Niccoló series that I finished recently. The Wars of the Roses and the reign of Edward IV are part of the historical background there. So there were lots of familiar names! Also, there were lots of “Dunnett squeaks”, such as a mention of a Count de St Pol (the wonderful Dunnetters group will know what I mean).

Anthony Cheetham writes very concisely, so names and events crowd the pages sometimes. It might get confusing of you are not familiar with this period in history. Yet the writing itself is excellent, and I could not put the book down.

The epilogue by Dan Jones is about the discovery of Richard’s skeleton in 2012. This is fascinating too, and a fitting ending.

What about the Princes in the Tower, you ask? Yes, he probably did.
”Richard stands convicted not so much by the evidence against him as by the lack of evidence against anybody else.”

Thanks a lot to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC! show less

For those who want a scholarly look at Richard III, there is still a clear first choice, even though it is now decades old: Charles Ross's book Richard III. Nothing written since is as thorough, and nothing written since breaks any new ground. But although Ross is a good writer, it is a hefty tome -- and he clearly considers Richard guilty of many of the accusations against him, although he does not consider him a dreadful king or man.

For those who wish a book with a lighter tone, and one show more that is kinder to Richard, this is a good candidate. Anthony Cheetham is a moderate "revisionist," meaning that he considers Richard more good than bad -- although he admits that Richard is likely responsible for his nephews' deaths. Throw in the illustrations and you have a good book to set at the other end of the bookshelf from Ross. There are books which are more pro-Richard than Cheetham's, and more anti-Richard's than Ross -- but I would bet, if we could somehow find the truth, that it would fall somewhere between Ross and Cheetham, not at one of the extreme. show less

An excellent resource for the chaos surrounding Lancaster vs. York. Each ruler is profiled in turn, with beautiful contemporary color illustrations, maps and illuminations. This book will either impell you to read more histories of the period, or will (as it did for me) help organize what you already know. I've read numerous accounts and biographies from this time period, and this was a good book to marshal it all into one coherent timeline.

Anthony Cheetum theorizes on the questions the amateur Richard enthusiast wants answered:

Did he murder his nephews in a power play for the throne?
What impact did his reign have on the History of England?
Was he really a hunchback?

This biography is organized chronologically beginning with the birth of Richard and ending with his death. The book focuses mainly on the courtly intrigue and military battles of the War of The Roses and Richard’s ascension. We are also treated to many show more illustrations enlivening the key players and time period. The writing is academic and at times dry. It assumes readers only possess basic knowledge of the monarch, and so we are given a thorough account of his life. While Cheetem doesn’t offer any definitive answers, he does dissect the reigning theories with historical context, political analysis and first person narratives. And Cheetem to his credit strives to give a very balanced account of Richard, not painting him as villain or hero, but he lets the reader draw their own conclusions based on the evidence provided.

The life and times of Richard III is a very worthwhile read for anyone with interest. show less