So Richard III didn't kill the little boys in the Tower?

[Lex]

Wow.

You must read The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.

What a great book and it'll make you question whether everything you read in your history texts was correct or if some was just "tonypandy."

The book isn't very lengthy but it is excellent!

[displacedtexan]

1. There's a Richard III Society at Bosworth Field...

(he's one of my favorite villains), and the society's motto is : "More sinned against than sinning."

I don't want Richard to be a good guy! Waaah!

[LWolf]

15. I saw Richard III a couple of weeks ago

at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Richard was as deliciously wicked as anyone could want.

More or less fiction, but so well done.

[democrat in Tallahassee]

2. Great book. I'v always thought that Richard got a bad rap.

It was perpetuated by Shakespeare writing under Queen Elizabeth; the Tudors had to be made to look legitimate and discrediting the Yorks was a good start.

[El Supremo]

3. But Richard the Fourth did break into Watergate.

in spite of the Republicans wanting to rewrite that history too.

[unrepuke]

5. LOL, what's with all these Dicks claiming not to be crooks?

[libbygurl]

4. 'Tis a classic. nt

[pretzel4gore]

6. Too bad Josephine Tey's such a bloody repuke

i read the book as a kids, then reread it a couple years ago...i was struck when reading it the 2nd time by how mean spirited tey was (yes, richard3rd got swift boated, but why mock sir thomas more, just because he was sainted?) and the tonypandy strike riots: why were the military side the good guys? and the boston massacre...tey says that there were only 4 caualties, but 3 of the injuries were fatal!
the book is a great read, but history is full of examples of outright lies which have become entrenched as fact (julius ceasar was assassinated because he wanted to break up the monopoly held by the rich families on wheat and corn etc; they then overcharged the people, who were driven to despair by high prices...yet ceasar is called a tyrant) Josephine Tey chooses what injustice to rage about, while shrugging her shoulders at others.....

[Lex]

7. Well, she died in 1952 and was certainly not a liberal, however . . .

the book is GREAT, her writing is impeccable, and she does get at the larger issue of "do you trust everything written in your history books?"

And as for your assertion that "Josephine Tey chooses what injustice to rage about, while shrugging her shoulders at others....." -- I don't think any one of us is above that accusation.

I stand by my statement that The Daughter of Time is a worthwhile read, despite yours or my differences politically with the author.

[pretzel4gore]

8. call me curmugeonly!

daughter of time' is one of the books i read that i never forgot...years later, many years like 2 decades, i still remembered josephine tey's name, and when i saw it in 2nd hand book store a couple years ago, recognized the remarkable detective job instantly!anything that raises interest in history, even if flawed, is good, but this book even moreso has deserved every bit of the extrordinary fame it earned, despite josephine's less then liberal attitudes towards certain events. my copy remains within easy reach, and 20 years hence, i'll read it again,(and possible find josephine too much the bleeding heart! lol)
And thanks for dragging me away from the dreary bush extravaganza unfolding endlessly around me.... it's too easy to forget that richard 3rd is important, and that shakespeare pictured him wrong (swiftboated?) well that's another discussion!

[Lex]

9. Richard III Swiftboated!

Now that brought a wry smile. I believe it *was* something like that!

:hi:

[okasha]

10. If you're inclined to follow-up

read Paul Murray Kendall's bio of Richard and Marion Palmer's novel The White Boar. The latter may be a little hard to come by; try used bookstores and E-bay.

[yellowdogintexas]

11. The White Boar was wonderful. nt

[okasha]

13. The White Boar

has a distinct sense of time and place, as well as stylistic restraint, that most other "Ricardian" novels lack. For my money, it's still the best, though one of the least showy.

[Matilda]

18. I think Tey really only skimmed the surface of the subject,

but for me it was a great lead to reading other studies of Richard and learning more about him.

I'm still not absolutely certain about the death of the boys, but I think Richard was a good soldier,
a capable administrator and a loyal brother. I do think he had to take power - after so many years
of civil war, England couldn't afford another boy-king, and having taken the throne, he couldn't
really afford to have the boys as a magnet for any disaffected nobles. So I don't know, but if he
did do it, I don't believe it was out of greed or malice, but sheer necessity.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

12. I saw a documentary on Richard III a few years ago

which suggested the same. I can't remember the details though (and despite being a Brit, my knowledge of our royalty is shocking). The only thing I do remember was that the portrait of Richard III was actaully doctored to add the hunchback.

[DrZeeLit]

14. Thanks for the tip. I have a copy and it's just sitting here.

I got it on a recommendation and then when it came (used, of course) it was so thin and uninviting (okay...book by cover not a good idea..duh)... so it sat while I delved into other tomes.

Ah, for a warm fire and a rainy night!
Oh, that would be... TONIGHT!

Thanks, again!

[Crunchy Frog]

16. Not if you watch the first season of Black Adder.

You'll see that Richard III was really a kindly old uncle and that one of the boys, Richard IV succeeded him and had a lengthy reign at the end of the 15th Century.

People need to learn more of their history from British comedy.

Edit to add a picture of King Richard IV.

[LiviaOlivia]

17. I need to dig that book out and read again

Thanks for the post. Sharon Kay Penman's "Sunne in Splendour" is another good one.

[Coexist]

19. The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir

is another take on the story - and a good read to boot!