Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours Book Review: This Son Of York

This Son of York by Anne Easter Smith

Publication Date: November 10, 2019

Bellastoria Press

eBook & Paperback; 504 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Read an excerpt.

"Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by This Son of York..." -- William Shakespeare, Richard III

Richard III was Anne's muse for her first five books, but, finally, in This Son of York he becomes her protagonist. The story of this English king is one of history's most compelling, made even more fascinating through the discovery in 2012 of his bones buried under a car park in Leicester.

This new portrait of England's most controversial king is meticulously researched and brings to vivid life the troubled, complex Richard of Gloucester, who ruled for two years over an England tired of war and civil strife. The loyal and dutiful youngest son of York, Richard lived most of his short life in the shadow of his brother, Edward IV, loyally supporting his sibling until the mantle of power was thrust unexpectedly on him.

Some of his actions and motives were misunderstood by his enemies to have been a deliberate usurpation of the throne, but throughout his life, Richard never demonstrated any loftier ambitions than to honorably discharge his duty to his family and his country.

In a gentler vein, despite the cruel onset of severe scoliosis in his teens, Richard did find love, first with a lover and then in his marriage to Anne Neville. Between these two devoted women in his life, he sired three and perhaps four children.

Bringing the Plantagenet dynasty to a violent end, Richard was the last king of England to die in battle. This Son of York is a faithful chronicle of this much maligned man.

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Review:  From the time I was a little girl, I was fascinated with all things to do with England. Maybe it had to do with my huge crush on Davy Jones, and then Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Whatever it was that made me so interested, that interest stuck. And authors like Anne Easter Smith fuel my hunger for more when it comes to learning about the kings and queens of England.

Richard III isn't one of the royals I've read much about, so I dove into this book straight away. It took me awhile to finish it, because I have a very short attention span these days, but oh was it worth it. Anne has a great flair for bringing these historical figures to life again, and making them seem much more human than any history book ever could.

Richard's story is very moving. I remember when they unearthed his remains in 2012. I vaguely remember reading about him in one of Philippa Gregory's books.

It took me a long time to finish this one, but as I tell people, I usually take quite a bit of time with chunky books and ones that I want to do research with as I read. I have googled so much about Richard and Anne while reading this one. It was a major history lesson for me.

I really like the favorable way Richard was portrayed. The more I read, the more I could tell, he was given the bad deal in history, and some of the things he was accused of doing likely weren't done by him, or weren't done any differently by any other member of royalty at that time. And that play by William Shakespeare...well its not at all accurate and Richard's short period of time as king should really have him painted as a good king.

My heart ached for him most of the time.

If you are looking for a great read and have an interest in UK history, this is your book.

Rating: 5 flowers

About the Author
Anne is the award-winning author of The King's Grace and the best-selling A Rose for the Crown, Daughter of York, Queen By Right, and Royal Mistress. She is an expert on Richard III, having studied the king and his times for decades. Her sixth book, This Son of York, will be published soon. She grew up in England, Germany and Egypt, and has been a resident/citizen of the US since 1968. Anne was the Features Editor at a daily newspaper in northern New York State for ten years, and her writing has been published in several national magazines.

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Blog Tour Schedule
Sunday, November 10
Review at Broken Teepee
Review at Gwendalyn's Books

Monday, November 11
Excerpt at Words and Peace
Review at Jorie Loves a Story

Tuesday, November 12
Review at Passages to the Past
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time

Wednesday, November 13
Review at Macsbooks
Interview at The Writing Desk

Thursday, November 14
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Friday, November 15
Excerpt at The Lit Bitch
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story

Saturday, November 16
Review at Curling up by the Fire
Review & Excerpt at Nursebookie
Review at Red Headed Book Lady
Review at WTF Are You Reading?
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Sunday, November 17
Review at Bookramblings
Review at Just One More Chapter
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books
Review at Carole Rae's Random Ramblings

Giveaway
During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a copy of Royal Beauty Bright by Ryan Byrnes! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

- Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on November 14th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
- Paperback giveaway is open to the US only.
- Only one entry per household.
- All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
- The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.

This Son of York