Customer Reviews

Seventh Son

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Richard III is a figure without whom historical novelists would surely be lost. I'm happy to report I enjoyed this novel better than most about this king.

Tannahill's novel picks up shortly after the battle of Tewkesbury, with Richard and his brother George fighting over the Warwick inheritance, and ends at Bosworth. It's written in a sardonic, somewhat emotionally detached style that may be off-putting to some readers but which I liked.

Richard III is portrayed by Tannahill as neither a villain nor a saint, but something in between--in other words, as a fallible human being. He marries Anne for her lands, not for love, but he's a faithful husband who eventually comes to love his wife and is devastated by her death. Though he governs fairly, he has a ruthless streak and has no qualms about taking the lands of the Countess of Oxford or about his mother-in-law's dispossession. He makes mistakes: Richard's act of executing Hastings without trial on very flimsy grounds engenders distrust and hostility that haunt Richard throughout his reign, ultimately leading to his defeat at Bosworth.

Anne Neville is attractively portrayed as a resilient young woman with a backbone and opinions of her own. The episode where she works as a kitchen maid, pure melodrama in the hands of some novelists, is almost farcical here--Anne, seeing Richard come to rescue her, does not swoon or burst into tears of relief, but tidies her hair. She has a sense of humor, which Richard does not always appreciate. ("'Two more bastards?'" she asks when Richard, having already invited his out-of-wedlock children to spend Christmas at court, proposes to invite his nieces as well.) Her death scene is moving without being maudlin.

The Woodvilles are their usual villainous selves, but at least they're villains with a sense of style. ("'Dear me. I will have to think of something else,'" says Elizabeth Woodville when Richard tells her he always checks his food for poison.) With a few exceptions, such as Richard's friend Francis Lovell, a major character with a well developed personality, most of the other characters are sketched in, but they're vivid sketches. I liked this sentence in particular, uttered by Edward IV's womanizing friend about Jane Shore: "'Lovely woman,' sighed Lord Hastings, doggy-eyed."

For those of us who like author's notes, Tannahill provides a long one, including a section on further reading.

There were many things to enjoy about Reay Tannahill's book The Seventh Son. I so appreciate it when an author includes a family tree and the one Tannahill includes in her book is very nice and includes the ten children born to Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville as well as the four marriages of Margaret Beaufort. There is also a map of Medieval England showing the roads available at the time.

This story is about the War of the Roses, the princes in the tower and Richard III. I'm somewhat familiar with the events that transpired, having read several books on the subject, I find the history fascinating.

I thought that Tannahill's portrayal of Richard III as a shrewd and calculating man of his times is probably a bit more realistic than some of the depictions I have previously read.

I really enjoyed the many smirky comments offered by the characters. Here's one from Will Hastings, talking about finding a rich wife for Richard Duke of Gloucester "the Lady Anne seems to be the only candidate, since the queen's brothers have already appropriated to themselves all the other great heiresses in the realm... However, I understand that Henry Stafford is close to death, which will make a widow of that clever wife of his, the Lady Margaret Beaufort. She might be available."

Another amusing exchange between Richard and his dear friend Francis Lovell.
"When has civil war developed out of anything other than personal ambition?"
"You are becoming unpleasantly cynical."
"Realistic."
"Cynical."

And here where the Duke of Buckingham is described: "The future may not prove so rosy for him." Buckingham remarked in the end with his special friendly smile, the slack-muscled and rabbity one that displayed the entire battery of his admirably white teeth, the upper and the lower. There must be some trick to it, Francis thought sleepily. Most people showed only their upper teeth, and not even those if they were black and decaying, as most men's were.

And here's one more from one of Elizabeth Woodville's ladies-in-waiting. "It's just as I have always said. Scratch a Woodville and you find a commoner."

These were some of my favorite parts of the book. But I also enjoyed the inclusion of several historical bits of information that give the whole chain of events that unfolded a very different perspective. One important one being the fact that when young George Neville died the properties that Richard Duke of Gloucester had been given by his brother the king would revert back to a member of the Neville family. And that the Protectorship that Edward IV wanted for his son did not hold up legally after his death.

This was the same story with a different focus and included several important pieces of information that I don't recall reading about before. I thought that Tannahill did a nice job laying out the history and I really enjoyed the smart and biting comments from these 'characters'. I think that people who like their historical fiction to focus on the facts will enjoy this. I did enjoy it as well but I think I would have loved it if the author had offered greater character development and more personal insights, fictional as they would have been. But another enjoyable book about the controversial King Richard III.

How nice to have a novel with a realistic, well rounded Richard instead of the pure and saintly one we're always finding in the latest and *cough* greatest historical novels. Tannahill begins her novel in 1471 as Richard is planning to marry Anne Neville and recounts his life until that fateful day at Bosworth. Most of this is known history and enough reviewers have recounted what's covered in the book I needn't rehash it again.

As noted earlier, what I most enjoyed was the more life-like Richard - although depicted as an honorable man he was still very much a man of his times and ruthless when he needed to be. I really enjoyed how the relationship between Richard and Anne slowly developed during their marriage, instead of the pure as the driven snow instantaneous true love we're always seeing these days. Outside of Francis, none of the other main players are as fully developed as you might find in some other novels on this period, but at the same time you're not getting all black and white - everyone has their shades of gray - even Margaret Beaufort and Elizabeth Woodville - a very refreshing change.

All in all I found this to be a very enjoyable read, although Tannahill's dry wit and sarcasm may not appeal to all readers. Still tops with me for books on Richard III is still Sharon Kay Penman's fabulous The Sunne In Splendour: A Novel of Richard III, but it's always fun to read another author's take on the always enigmatic Richard and the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. Four stars.

Perhaps I've just read to many books on this subject, I fear I was not inspired by this book.