richard iii is found!

Also, forgot to put this in last entry:

Richard III found under parking lot.

I'll be completely honest; I had tears in my eyes reading that he's been found. Richard III is my number one historical crush, with Caesar and Elizabeth I taking second and third (I have like, forty of these, but they're mostly unnumbered, but these three are the loves of my life, okay?).

For all your woobie Richard III professional novel needs:
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman - this is one of my buy-in-all-formats books. I have bought it twice in paperback and once in ebook for my Kindle. This is the epic story of Richard III, who is the bestest brother, husband, and father ever, and everyone who hates him is just like, stupid, okay? Stupid.

I have many varied feelings on Richard. All of them are about how everyone else sucks.

Dear Henry Tudor (and Stanley, you fucker),

Suck it.

love,
seperis

Comments

[drlense]

I have to comment and I'm going to be THAT person, which is terrible, please forgive me in advance.

Tey's novel is definitely well written, but as a historian of the time period I found it incredibly insulting. I appreciate that her characters do research, but they way Grant so quickly and easily discards sources and evidence that don't fit his hypothesis is the exact opposite of what a trained historian should do. That Grant's entire hypothesis is based around what he thinks Richard III could or could not do based on his portrait is mind boggling.

I am endlessly sorry about this!! I have been biting my tongue for DAYS and I just... couldn't anymore. Please forgive me- I disagree as respectfully as I possibly can.

[ciaan]

On the other hand, if you read Tey's other novels, especially about Grant, well, that's her style as an author and that is exactly how he as a character works. He's not a trained historian; he's a detective famous for his intuitive "flair" and both Tey as a novelist and Grant as a person and an inspector have an obsession with facial features revealing personality. While that novel was my first introduction to the idea that Richard III didn't do it, it's not actually trying to be a work of historical scholarship, it's trying to be a mystery novel, and it does quite clearly show the quirks of both character and author. Obviously I disagree with the facial thing in real life but it's one of Tey's main stylistic narrative themes.