Rating: 
Summary: Best Historical Fiction
Review: Penman is the greatest historical fiction author I have ever read and I believe that this is her best book. She does a great job of presenting an alternate viewpoint to the story of Richard III. I find it to be very admirable that Penman is able to include so much detail in her books without becoming pedantic and dull. Her stories are full of action and intrigue and are in no danger of becoming the dry histories that are so cocmmon in her genre.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Once again this talented author gave us a deeper insight into the mideval world. Her depiction of Richard the III is unique as well as a pleasant change. Her theories are well supported by fact, and make far more sense than the simple stamps of "hunchback" and "murderer" placed on Richard the III by his enemies. This book is followed by an author's note supporting her novel as fact, and explaining any discrepancies the book contained. Overall a great read, a wonderful reference, and a fabulous window to the mystery of the two princes in the Tower of London.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely terrific!
Review: Read this for the first time while recovering from a nasty bout of the flu, and instead of getting much needed rest sat up all night reading! Sharon Kay Penman is probably the only novelist who presents Richard III in a fair light. Also, she is one of the few female writers I've read who can write male characters extremely well. Don't let the length of it (the paperback is over nine hundred pages) keep you away--this is a truly great book.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: I bought this book, and promptly put it on a shelf for 6 months. Feeling bored I read it. This is a brilliantly researched book, with real depth. Since reading it I have read every available work on Richard lll from Phillipe de Commines to A.L.Rowse, and am a dedicated Richardian.One of histories most maligined monarchs given an identity, and a humanity which has been lacking heretofore. Buy this book and live the past
Rating:
Summary: Penman turns Richard III into a hero
Review: About a hundred pages into this book, I found myself rather liking the young Richard. I wondered, "How in the heck can this be the same boy who will grow up to murder his own nephews?" Penman seemed to be tackling a very difficult dilemma: how to make a sympathetic character out of so dastardly a villain. Well, she certainly pulled it off! By the end of the book, and after reading the author's notes, I was seeing King Richard's history in a different light. I am learning more and more about how a historian's biases and motives can color their commentary. Could it be that Richard III is, at least partially, the victim of bad press? Penman's novel has made me realize that historical events may be examined from many different angles.
Rating:
Summary: Score one for the good guys!
Review: I doubt Richard was the near saint he is portrayed to be in this novel (You don't take the throne of England unless you truly want it, even if it would have been your duty), but Penman's novel is superb and gives a real introduction to this period and the debate about this much too-maligned monarch in a thoroughly entertaining and fascinating way. As a medieval historian, I loved it. My brother, who hates history, also loved it. You will too!
Rating:
Summary: great great
Review: Really a gem .This subject is very difficult to write about well without having a vast amount of research and study.The author has both and has a magical pen. She excelled in her prior books 'Here be Dragons'and 'Fall the Shadow' the story of the Welsh wars.And particularly about the heroic yet little known Simon Monfort. Those books made you stay up all night without being able to put them down.This does the same. This topic is much closer to us in time and in reality as political intrigue and betrayal are still with us. Wonderful reading
Rating: 
Summary: A better fictional account of RIII is We Speak no Treason
Review: This massive piece of historical fiction is admirable for its length and the amount of research that went into the writing of it. Having been a Ricardian enthusiast for 20 years, I have read a number of fictional (and non-fictional) books about Richard III, and I can honestly say that most rate poor or average. Penman's work is superior to most fictional treatments of Richard III in the breadth of it's scope and it's general prose. I did find her attempts at 'archaic' English (scrambling word order in her sentences, the use of the word 'be') rather annoying and distracting, but overall a far better work than most. However, nothing in the Ricardian pantheon of fictional writing comes close to Rosemary Hawley Jarman's 'We Speak no Treason.' And may I put in an apology here to all who may say that this is supposed to be a review of Penman's book - I simply must direct readers attention to Ms. Hawley Jarman's exquisite works. 'We Speak no Treason' is quite simply one of the most moving and beautifully written pieces of fiction in ANY genre. WSNT tells Richard's story from the point of view of Edward IV's fool, Richard's mistress - the mother of his daughter, and his friend and companion in arms. The stance is pro-Ricardian, the details are perfect, and Hawley Jarman never puts a foot wrong - no anachronisms, not a word to jar you out of your 15th century reverie. Sadly, this book is out of print, but can sometimes be found via internet auction sites, or in your local used bookstore. Other books by Hawley Jarman that are equally beautiful - the King's Grey Mare (the life of Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV's queen, which peripherally includes Richard's story too); The Crown in Candlelight (Katherine Valois, Henry VI's queen) and Courts of Illusion (which takes off where WSNT ends, with characters familiar from that book, into the reign of Henry VII). Please do look for these books and if you find them, post a review on Amazon.com (Hawley Jarman's books are listed as out of print). I plan to write a longer review of each, and hope others will do the same, so that other readers might also be thrilled by these books. If you love reading about 15th England, Richard III or just lingering over evocative, resonant prose, you must read them, as well as Penman's 'The Sunne in Splendor.'
Rating:
Summary: Redemption of Richard III
Review: This was the first of the 2 SKP books I've read so far, and the one that got me hooked. I love historical fiction, but I've never before seen any period brought to life as in this book (or When Christ and his Saints Slept). The detail that SKP brings to her work is astouding, and leaves the reader hungry for more. In Sunne in Splendour she vindicates the much maligned Richard III, showing to us historically, as well as entertainingly the true man, not the one the Tudor's conjured up, and the one immortalized by Shakespeare. Richard was a caring, loving, and generous man whose only faults were he trusted too easily, and hoped his problems would go away.
Rating:
Summary: this is what reading should be.
Review: Never has a book drawn me in as much as this one.Intellegent and informing, you can trust that Sharon Penman has made it her mission to relay the facts. She provides a story that is as liable, if not more, as any other Richard III story. I have read similar historical novels that have drifted off along the way, losing the reality of how these people actually did live. Creating the characters to be so obsolete that it is impossible to identify or relate with them. Sharons Richard, Anne, Llywelyn and Joanna have instilled an exciting, lasting interest within me. A most recommended read.
|
