Introduction

Richard III. A man. A king. A legend.

He ruled England for only two years, but the legacy of Richard III remains both fascinating and divisive.

From his childhood in the intensely loyal and close-knit York family to his rise as a thoughtful but troubled ruler, This Son of York is a passionate and deeply personal account of the life of Richard III. A man who loved his family and his country. A king who struggled to overcome the challenges not only of a turbulent time but his own human frailties. A legend whose true life is only now coming to light.

Inspired by the discovery of Richard III's grave and its revelations, award-winning author Anne Easter Smith brings together her decades of intense research, five celebrated novels on the Wars of the Roses, and her sustained passion for Richard III in this culminating book on the last Plantagenet king.

“Anne Easter Smith has brought to life like no one else the most fascinating figures of the York dynasty of England, and now, in this long-awaited novel, she writes the definitive story of Richard III. Deeply researched, the book bursts with action but even more importantly we are given passages of real feeling between human beings we think we may know but perhaps never completely understood until this book. It is a moving, insightful, and engrossing depiction of the controversial king.” Nancy Bilyeau, best-selling author of “The Blue”

"A wonderfully realized life of tragic, doomed Richard. The author uses the latest discoveries and old texts to fully explore the complicated ‘crouchback’, and give us a fine portrait of the lover and the warrior, a noble, flawed and heroic king and man.” C. C. Humphreys, author of “Vlad: The Last Confession”

“Anne Easter Smith has written five well-regarded novels set in the War of the Roses, but the one she has been preparing to write, both in her imagination and after fifty years of research, is this novel about Richard III. Her mission was to bring Richard Plantagenet the man to life and let him speak directly to us in this meticulously rendered novel.” Margaret George, International best-selling author of “Elizabeth I” and “The Confessions of Young Nero”

Editorial Review

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Excerpt

Summer 1459

Runt.

When was the first time Richard became aware the unsavory word was being used to describe him? Possibly as early as age seven, and it was then he began to understand he would have to fight for his place in his illustrious family and indeed the world. Far too young, in truth.

It did not help to dispel the cruel moniker often given to a last-born that Richard, nicknamed Dickon to avoid confusion with his father, the duke of York, had a short, skeletal stature and had succumbed to frequent childhood illnesses. However, not long after Richard’s birth, when King Henry had happened by Fotheringhay, principal residence of the house of York, the king had raised the infant Richard high and proclaimed him, “A perfect prince!

“He shall be king some day,” the king had declared. Duchess Cecily’s smile had frozen on her beautiful face as attendants gasped their horror. Not that the statement was untrue, but no one present could possibly have guessed Richard’s destiny. He was the fourth son of a duke—of royal blood, it needs to be said—but he was no king’s heir. Certainly there was mounting conflict between Henry’s house of Lancaster and the house of York as to which had the better claim to the Plantagenet crown, but war between these cousins was far from anyone’s mind. No, poor befuddled Henry had simply and sadly mistaken this child for his own, as yet, unborn son—although the queen was indeed pregnant. The king had had lapses of sanity of late, it was true, but he appeared perfectly well, and thus the York courtiers could be excused for believing the king’s words, which they thought tantamount to treason. But how could a king speak treason against himself? Or, more intriguing, was the king’s gaffe an omen? Being superstitious, many of them crossed themselves.

But Cecily knew better; she recognized the blank stare with which Henry gazed on her son and knew the king’s fragile mind had drifted. She realized he had no inkling of his lapse, and she felt sorry for him. Despite their quarrels, she and Henry had always liked each other—Cecily’s feelings more of concern, to tell the truth—and now to silence the murmurings around the room, she swiftly came to the king’s rescue.

“Your Grace, this is my son Richard,” she had declared brightly. “Let me take him from you before he pulls off that pearl button. We cannot have him swallowing such a treasure!” She chuckled. “I see he already has good taste.

“Your son will be born soon, I hear,” she had run on smoothly. “Such happy news!” Turning to her steward she asked that he escort the king to his chamber. “I can see you are weary, Your Grace. I pray you allow Sir Henry to make you comfortable.” And with her gracious and quick-witted intervention, the duchess dispelled what had been an embarrassing but prophetic slip of Henry’s tongue. Looking down at her child, gurgling in his cradle, she could not possibly have dreamed what Fortune had in store for him.

Dickon was told this story years later by his nurse, Anne of Caux, when he was old enough to understand it, and it became their little joke whenever Dickon broke a nursery rule. She would click her tongue and reprimand him: “Not such a perfect prince now, are you?”

However, Nurse Anne was his champion whenever he came running to her for sympathy during his first half dozen years of trying to learn his place. His brother George, three years older, and his playmates had used the delicate child for target practice during “who-can-kick-the-ball-and-hit-Dickon first” game they had invented, as Dickon scampered around the inner bailey avoiding the inflated pig’s bladder. George would leave Dickon far behind while the bigger boys streaked on longer legs through boggy fens around Fotheringhay to hunt for tadpoles and frogs on fine spring mornings. George callously dubbed the lad “babykins” when Dickon ran to hide from the taunting or cried when George wrestled him easily to the ground. How he hated that name.

***** view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1.How did the book change your opinion (or not) of Richard III, one of Shakespeare’s obvious villains?
2.Discuss how Richard’s place in his 15th century family affected his character and led to his actions up until he was faced with securing the Young Edward at Stony Stratford. Do you think his motives were honorable and in keeping with his character?
3.Richard experienced many betrayals in his short life. Which do you think was the greatest?
4.What do you think happened to the princes in the Tower, if you disagree with Anne’s theory?

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