RICHARD III: The Young King To Be [Hardcover]

Josephine Wilkinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2009

A major new biography of the young Richard III. Richard III is a paradox - the most hated of English kings, yet the most beloved, a deeply pious man, yet materialistic to the point of obsession, puritan, yet the father of at least two illegitimate children. This new biography concentrates on the much neglected early part of Richard's life - from his birth in 1452 as a cadet of the House of York to his marriage to the beautiful Anne Neville - and shows how his experiences as the son of an ambitious duke, a prisoner of war, an exile, his knightly training and awe of his elder brother, King Edward IV, shaped the character of England's most controversial monarch.

From the insignificant younger brother of a would-be king to Knight of the Garter, duke, respected soldier and loyal supporter to Edward IV, Richard faced extreme danger and heady triumph, poverty and abundance, neglect and acclamation as the House of York rose to the heights of power and propelled him a glorious career at Court.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Josephine Wilkinson received a First from the University of Newcastle where she also took her PhD. She has received British Academy funding for her research into Richard III's early life and is currently and scholar-in-residence at St Deiniol's Library, Britain's only residential library founded by the great Victorian statesman, William Gladstone. Richard III, The Young King To Be is the first volume of what will be a two volume biography of Richard III, the second volume will be published in 2010. She lives in York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Amberley (March 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184868083X
• ISBN-13: 978-1848680838
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,824,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great start, covers 1452 to 1475, April 11, 2009

By 

Beth E. Williams "miguels girl" (south new jersey) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: RICHARD III: The Young King To Be (Hardcover)

For a long time Ricardian I am leery of new biographies on this last Plantagenet king; however, Wilkinson has impressed me with her research, her big view juxtaposed against the more minute, or intimate, details of an issue; she has done her homework and is neither condescending to the reader (ie.Hicks, for just one) nor drifts into romantic flights of conjecture. She has produced a readable, engrossing biography that explains where Richard came from, the insignificant youngest son of a attainted duke, and concludes once he has established his improbable role, by 1475, as "Lord of the North" for his brother, Edward IV.

I highly recommend this book, both for its grasp of the sources that are available but have apparently been overlooked, and for its effort to portray a contextual Richard. I can only hope that the author is now working on the later years of Richard of Gloucester; I fully expect she will pursue the full events behind the execution of George Duke of Clarence and the pivotal machinations of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crosses the boundary between academic and popular history, January 25, 2010

By 

Nicklaus (Notting Hill) - See all my reviews

This review is from: RICHARD III: The Young King To Be (Hardcover)

This is the first of a two part biography of Richard III. As someone who has read everything about Richard, I was very much looking forward to this and it does not disappoint. Volume one covers Richard's life from birth to 1475, ending just after Edward IV's anti-climactic invasion of France. Therefore, this book deals in depth with a part of Richard's life that is usually neglected or restricted to one or two chapters.

In taking this approach Dr Wilkinson is able to highlight various factors that helped to shape the future, adult Richard. It also places him in his proper context of the politics, the intrigues and the violence behind the Wars of the Roses.

Dr Wilkinson also describes in detail the symbolism behind many of the rituals Richard took part in as a child - his investiture as a Knight of the Bath is an excellent example - and shows how they applied to and shaped Richard's own outlook. She also offers a study of Richard's alleged deformity and her appendix, which discusses the origins of the blackening of Richard's name, is simply superb.

More controversially, Dr Wilkinson suggests that Richard did not marry for love, but that his union with Anne Neville was little more than a business venture in which both parties benefited (it will be interesting to see how this will pan out in the second volume!). Also, she is daring in her suggestion that one of Richard's illegitimate children was born after his marriage, differing from the accepted wisdom as promulgated by Ricardians.

Josephine Wilkinson has an excellent grasp of her sources, using them objectively to look at Richard from several angles. Her style is authoritative but accessible. Although she is clearly on Richard's side, she is not afraid to point out his faults. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the second volume!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Richard III as he should be seen, October 13, 2009

By 

Mars Ultor "Eagle" (Alabama, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: RICHARD III: The Young King To Be (Hardcover)

Richard: The Young King To Be is a really good book. Miss. Wilkinson has certianly done her homework. She made good use of the sources on Richard and stripped away the Shakespearian monster we all know.

First off is Richard's intense piety. This is something that I had never come across, and I was delighted when I did. Richard had extreme devotion to God and the saints. In his book of hours we can see that even at the age of eight, Richard had strong religious convictions. This was certianly a great new find for men and I'm sure from many others.

Another fascinating find was Richard's birth. We all know that Shakespeare had said that Richard had stayed in his mothers womb for two years, and when he emerged, he had a full set of hair and a full set of teeth. Wilkinson clearly states the impossiblity of the event, but she also give detials on how astrology was used for him, stating which stars he was born under and how that would shape his personality.

The best thing for me in this book was Richard's military role under his brother, Edward IV. At Barnet and again at Teweskbury, Richard, at the age of ninteen, is in charge of the vanguard, the advance force. He is also very brave and is usually in the thick of the fighting. That Richard is brave does not adear to the cowardly and corrupt Richard we know on the stage.

Wilkinson has succeded very well. This is certianly a fascinating biography of Richard III.