I don't know why I haven't read Sharon Kay Penman's "The Sunne in Splendour" before now. Although it is over 25 years old and has recently been reprinted, I had never heard of it. I am sad that it took me this long to discover it. I think it is one of the finest books that I have ever read. I cannot praise it highly enough. It is quite simply phenomenal. There isn't a dull moment in the entire 900+ pages.
But, I should tell you something about this book. It is such a daring tome. Can one imagine turning King Richard III, he of the hunched back, he of the murder of the Princes in the Tower,
he of the lame foot/leg, into a likable, heroic character, even a noble prince?
It is difficult to imagine such an undertaking. It is even difficult to consider that it might be plausible. But Penman's writing, research and gifts make the impossible not only plausible but possible and probable. Yes, she did it. She has literally turned everything most of us think we know about Richard III.
The story is a complete cast of characters including Richard's parents, Richard's older brothers King Edward IV (Ned), and George, Duke of Clarence, as well as the various relations associated with the house of York including the Kingmaker, Warwick, his family and daughters who were both married to George and Richard. Even with a overabundance of characters who share names and the various alliances, marriages, etc., within the nobility, Penman manages to draw out character traits of each one and convincingly portrays Richard as perhaps the only principled, noble, earnest man in the lot!
I don't want to give away Penman's solution to who killed the Princes, but I do believe her conclusion to be possible. We shall never know, and again, this is a work of historical fiction, but I daresay that William Shakespeare has some explaining to do! (Not really .... we know he wrote populist history, and how could one very well portray the house of York sympathetically when it was not so far in the past and the Tudors were the very killers of Richard.)
In any case, if you enjoy historical fiction, if you think you know all there is to know about the War of the Roses, if you enjoy some romance with a bit of history, then you must read this book. You won't regret it.
And if you really get interested, check out the Richard III Society, dedicated to research and scholarship on the king.
Until next time, may your reading be both pleasurable and profitable.
