Bettie's Books

bookshelves archaeology, e-book, lifestyles-deathstyles, medieval5c-16c, net-galley, nonfiction, plantagenet-1154-1485, published-2013, read

Read from September 11 to 16, 2013

ARC from NetGalley via ♥St. Martin's Press♥

Blurbification: The first full-length book about the discover of Richard III's remains by the person who led the team and the historian whose book spurred her on.Colour me excited.

Opening: On 22 August 1485 two armies faced each other at Bosworth Field in Leicestershire.

This Eco  quote could be altered slightly to encompass the fever that has surrounded the disinterment of Richard's skeleton and tapeworm eggs from the carpark in Leicester:

“The lunatic is all idée fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars.”

Change 'Templars' into 'Ricardians' and you have it nailed. This is a co-authored work of differing ideas as to Richard III's character. Was he the instigator of the murder of the Princes in the Tower? We will never know and that is why this subject will always be alluring; people will cling onto their pet theories until hell freezes over. Although Langley and Jones display mutual admiration, they disagree on several points yet never let the subject disintegrate into full-on spat. All is measured discussion and maybe this is why it loses a star.

This is a book that will have you resembling a cat with a mouse no matter which view you subscribe to. You pick it up and hold it close, then just as quickly toss it away only to grasp it once again, and heaven help the person who would relieve you of it thinking that would be the charitable thing to do.Where do my loyalties lay, you wonder. How could Richard III be other than as so brilliantly portrayed by Ian McKellen.

3.5* Recommended.