Customer Reviews

Edward V: The Prince in the Tower

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Not much can be said about a king who died at age 12 and reigned less than three months. When talking about a late medieval child-king, even less can be said with any authority. That is the problem with this book. Anyone who is looking for a current historical account of the mystery of the Princes in the Tower would do well to read the last two chapters of this book - 57 pages. The rest of the book up to that point is almost all context. It just is impossible to make gripping reading what is happening to a toddler or 8-year-old. Hicks does talk about Edward's education but it is limited again by available data. The best part of the first 136 pages is the inability of Edward IV to control his sexual desires and the consequences of that. Hicks argues the real possibility that the father of Edward V never intended to take the marriage to Elizabeth Wydeville (or Woodville) seriously. Apparently Edward as a last resort took vows with women in order to bed them and then promptly ignored the vows. It was his word against that of a subject. In Elizabeth's case it appears there were too many factors that led him to have to accept this woman as his wife. Hicks also discusses other possibilities for this unusual and ill-chosen marriage. Generally, however, I found the first 70% of the book tough sledding. Hicks puts in volumes of names, dates and details often without much if any explanation. It is all supposed to be context for the birth and young childhood of the book's subject but I did not find most of it very helpful in understanding Edward V. Much of it seems tangential, but perhaps not to a professional historian. The heart of the book to most readers is the drama raised in the last couple chapters. Hicks does what he can given the material available, and the last chapters are reasonably well done, but the book as a whole I found dry and not sharply focused.