Review and Giveaway: "This Son of York" by Anne Easter Smith

Synopsis: Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by This Son of York…” — William Shakespeare, Richard III

Richard III was Anne’s muse for her first five books, but, finally, in This Son of York he becomes her protagonist. The story of this English king is one of history’s most compelling, made even more fascinating through the discovery in 2012 of his bones buried under a car park in Leicester.

This new portrait of England’s most controversial king is meticulously researched and brings to vivid life the troubled, complex Richard of Gloucester, who ruled for two years over an England tired of war and civil strife. The loyal and dutiful youngest son of York, Richard lived most of his short life in the shadow of his brother, Edward IV, loyally supporting his sibling until the mantle of power was thrust unexpectedly on him.

Some of his actions and motives were misunderstood by his enemies to have been a deliberate usurpation of the throne, but throughout his life, Richard never demonstrated any loftier ambitions than to honorably discharge his duty to his family and his country.

In a gentler vein, despite the cruel onset of severe scoliosis in his teens, Richard did find love, first with a lover and then in his marriage to Anne Neville. Between these two devoted women in his life, he sired three and perhaps four children.

Bringing the Plantagenet dynasty to a violent end, Richard was the last king of England to die in battle. This Son of York is a faithful chronicle of this much maligned man.

 My Thoughts:   I love Anne Easter Smith's books and have read them all.  They are some of the first books I read when I started getting really hooked on historical fiction and I absolutely love her work.  Her newest book, This Son of York is an amazing addition to the historical fiction genre and I'm so excited to share it with you all.

This Son of York is a very detailed look at the life of Richard III beginning with his early childhood.  The author clearly did some extensive research in order to write this book and I loved how she went so deep into the intricacies and alliances during the War of the Roses.  It was a very complicated time in England's history but the author did a great job of keeping all of the information interesting.

The story is told mostly from the point of view of Richard III but also has these really unique points where you get to see Richard from the point of view of those around him.  I feel like it gave the reader a more complete picture of who Richard was and how his contemporaries saw him.  It was completely different than anything I've read before but I really enjoyed it.  Richard III is such a complex historical figure and I still can't decide how I feel about him.  I definitely feel sympathy toward him; his life was incredibly tumultuous and full of loss.  Whether I like him or not, his life was so interesting and he's such an enigma that I can't help but want to read more about him.

Another thing I enjoyed was the commentary related to the finding of Richard's remains in the present day.  There was a little blurb before each chapter and then more in the epilogue.  I know the discovery of his remains a few years back was a huge deal and really quite fascinating so I'm glad that she included that along with the story of his life.  

Overall, this is another great book from Anne Easter Smith.  You can see how much she cares about putting forth a fair portrayal of Richard and this is definitely a labor of love on her part.  I would strongly encourage anyone to read this book! 4 stars.

About the Author:

Anne is the award-winning author of The King’s Grace and the best-selling A Rose for the Crown, Daughter of York, Queen By Right, and Royal Mistress. She is an expert on Richard III, having studied the king and his times for decades. Her sixth book, This Son of York, will be published soon. She grew up in England, Germany and Egypt, and has been a resident/citizen of the US since 1968. Anne was the Features Editor at a daily newspaper in northern New York State for ten years, and her writing has been published in several national magazines.

 

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a copy of His Son of York by Anne Easter Smith! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on November 17th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
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– Only one entry per household.
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– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.

This Son of York

I received a copy of this book from HFVBT in exchange for an honest review.