The Sunne in Splendour

Well, I am certainly never going to be able to process the words "Richard, Duke of Gloucester" or "Richard III" in the same way ever again.

There were so many things that I loved about this book. I'm actually a little mad I didn't come across Penman's writing sooner. Now that I have, I am going to be scouring stores for every single book she has ever written and will not rest until I have read them all. I do have a few criticisms and niggles with this retelling of the War of the Roses, but the overall enjoyment and richness I found in these pages far outweighed any negatives for me. The depth, attention to detail, epic scale, scope of human experiences and emotions covered in its pages, not to mention the very subject matter it dealt show more with, among other things, all came together to make this a delightful and deeply immersive read for me.

Some of the major highlights for me were definitely how Penman wrote characters and relationships. Edward IV's reputation for philandering has always made me view him with a bit of contempt, but I found myself growing quite fond of him over the course of this novel because of the way Penman portrayed him, and I think that is in no small part because of how she handled the brotherly bond between him and Richard. The relationship between Richard and his niece, Elizabeth of York also pleasantly surprised me, and it was a detail relating to their bond that came closest to drawing some tears from me towards the end of the book. In a much smaller word count than that dedicated to Edward IV or Elizabeth of York, Edmund, Earl of Rutland's brief point-of-view scenes endeared me to him so much that despite their brevity and culmination, he—rather unfortunately for me—became and remained my favourite character for the vast bulk of the novel.
The attention paid to Richard's relationship with Anne Neville was also unexpected and quite sweet, although at times it did feel overbearing.
With regards to Richard himself, I enjoyed his journey as a character and sympathised with him throughout. Although there were also a few sections of the novel where he felt a little distant. Before reading this novel I had never given much independent thought to Richard, usually taking what various sources told me about him at face value. But now I am very curious to pick through the sources myself and investigate the historical truth about the man and find out a bit more about how much creative liberty Penman used in her portrayal of him.
I also appreciated the way Penman handled both the brutality and the licentiousness of the era and its players, finding that content generally quite respectfully and tastefully dealt with while avoiding the extremes of gratuitous excess, awkward sanitisation or total omission.

My major issues and niggles are pretty much the same touched on by the user Craig in his review, and are more nitpicks than things which negatively impacted my enjoyment or immersion:
1. I know this book is already very long, but there were some key moments that were summarised or relayed through dialogue instead of shown. I feel like this diminished their impact a little.
2. In her quest to absolve Richard, Penman makes him, at times, a little too saintly and I felt this made his character feel less nuanced and complex. For me Anne Neville suffered a bit of the same, but more from a sense that the author was trying too hard to make her endearing rather than trying too hard to absolve her.
3. In that same quest to absolve Richard, other characters necessarily have to take on the role of instigator, murderer, schemer, etc. The way this was handled for some of the other characters (namely the Woodvilles, and Elizabeth Woodville in particular) made them come across as a little a too villainous and conniving, and so diminished their nuance and complexity as well.

Despite these little qualms, this book was a rich and lavish journey that I am so glad I found! It also happens to be Penman's debut novel, and I am beyond excited to see how her writing and characterisation evolve over the course of her other novels if this is how she starts off!
Before getting to any of Penman's other works, however, I am very much looking forward to letting Anya Seton take me back a hundred or so years before these events to read about Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, First Duke of Lancaster, who are basically the ones to blame for this whole War of the Roses conflict happening in the first place.

9/10 will absolutely be re-reading this door-stopper, even knowing that the character I become most attached to dies on page 42 of the edition I have and I will spend the next 830 pages feeling kind of sad about it. show less

Bravo! I loved this book -- I have been totally absorbed for over two weeks now with King Edward and his frosty fertile Queen, dear Dickon and poor sweet Anne, the princes in the Tower, and I can't forget poor Edmund. I feel rather sad that the novel has ended; especially on such a dispiriting note for our Yorkists.

This book was incredibly entertaining and I marvel at Penman's ability to make medieval history so clear, so relevant. I sometimes find historical fiction to be jarring and incongruent with good storytelling. As they say 'the truth is stranger than fiction' and it is sometimes hard to reconcile facts with a good story. But not in this case -- the confusing War of the Roses came alive with characters you loathed, rooted for, show more battled with, grieved for. Excellent character development, nail - biting dramatic tension, a bit of the melodramatic here and there -- but overall superb!

I will definately be reading more by this author -- a must read for historical fiction fans. show less

Not Shakespeare's Richard III

It's long been generally believed that Richard III probably wasn't as evil as his enemies made him out to be. After his bones were examined it was also clear that the physical deformities he supposedly had were made up. The victors definitely wrote his history. But who was the real Richard and what was he like?

There are people called Ricardians who are dedicated to redeeming his reputation, some within organized groups and others simply on their own. Sharon Kay Penman is obviously one of them though I have no idea if she belongs to any Ricardian societies. Her Richard III is a loving husband, father, brother, son, and yes, even uncle. He is a morally upright man with a conscience who wants to do right by show more everyone. The real Richard III was probably somewhere between the Bard's monster and Penman's all around good guy.

When an author of historical fiction does it right, you find yourself rooting for historical figures even when you know their fate was not what you're hoping for. Penman did it right. She makes you care about them, root for them, and even though you know how it ends, hold out a tiny sliver of hope that maybe it didn't really end that way. show less

I hated nearing the end of this book because I'd fallen in love with Richard and of course knew how horribly it would end. This book prompted me to read a few more novels set in the War of the Roses but none came close to The Sunne in Splendour.

When most people think of Richard III, they picture a hunchbacked villain who was obsessed with being king and who murdered the princes in the Tower as a result. But in this novel, the last Plantagenet king is portrayed in a very different light: Richard (or Dickon, as most characters call him) is noble and loyal to a fault, and these good traits are ultimately what cause his downfall. The novel begins with Dickon's childhood, when his father, the Duke of York, is killed in the war against the Lancastrian Henry VI. Dickon's oldest brother Edward subsequently takes his father's place in leading the Yorkist faction against Henry; eventually, he is crowned as Edward IV, and Dickon becomes one of his most trusted advisers and most skilled show more battle commanders. But as Edward obtains more and more power, Dickon becomes disillusioned with his brother's morally questionable choices, and the struggle of brother against brother mirrors the broader conflict between York and Lancaster.

As always, in this book Sharon Kay Penman manages to bring the Middle Ages to life. I always enjoy her vivid descriptions of daily life during this period, as well as her depictions of medieval religion, warfare, and politics. This book in particular is a fascinating political study, showing that the cutthroat nature of modern politics is rooted in a long tradition. I also like the fact that this novel approaches Richard III from a countercultural perspective. While I don't know enough about the subject to judge whether Penman's interpretation is justified, it makes sense to me that Henry Tudor (who acceded to the throne after Richard's death) would want to do everything in his power to discredit his predecessor. It's always important to remember that history is written by the victors! All in all, I heartily recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Richard III, the War of the Roses, or the Middle Ages in general. show less

The subtitle of this book should be changed from "A Novel of Richard III" to "THE Novel of Richard III". If anyone is looking for a way into the life of Richard III, then this is it. I was hooked from page one and could not put it down. It is meticulously researched and beautifully written. I am definitely sympathetic to Richard and the poignancy of his remains having been found recently only adds to this.
Sharon Penman gets inside the mind and the times of Richard and his family and portrays them as real people, not the monsters or heroes drawn in other works (including Shakespeare). You can see the troubles and loyalties which shaped Richard as a boy; his admiration of his brother, Edward IV; and his love for Anne Neville. The story show more leads us through Richard's inevitable decisions following Edward's death and the revelation that the king's marriage was illegitimate. Penman shows us, not an evil, scheming wicked uncle, but a true statesman faced with impossible situations. The whole spectrum of characters is displayed with a truth which is so engaging you miss them when they've died or once you've finished the book. It's so close to reality that you find yourself hoping that Richard can find a way of avoiding Bosworth and remain king! show less

This book is way too long, though the first part about the early War of the Roses and Edward's reign are rather interesting the remainder is fluffed out with a saccharine telling Richard and Anne's love story, with flavorless sexual details. Once Edward dies there follow endless descriptions of the personal agonies of guilt and grief of Richard III and Anne. None of the other historical characters does more than fill the crudest outlines recorded for them. Penman is so devoted to a blameless Richard that she ignores that he as well as Anne knew their lives depended on wresting power from Edward's queen and her Woodville family. And, ultimately they failed and were wiped out.