A man with ambition

It was wonderful to read a book about Richard Neville as the main character rather as the supporting one. The story gives great insight to the type of man he was and what motivated him. I also loved Luke Tully - what a delightful surprise. A must read for any Plantagenet fans. ( )

Very well written, thoroughly researched! This is historical fiction with more of the history and less of the fiction, yet still manages to portray not only politics, battles etc but give the reader excellent characterisations to relate to.

Riches gives you a glimpse into a turbulent period of history and into the life of a controversial figure - Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick.

It took me a little while to get involved in this story simply as I found the latter stages of Neville's life more interesting than his early childhood. Although I think those passages are entirely necessary to the work.

If you're a history buff, then you'll probably love this book. ( )

This novel stretched over a period of nearly 43 years – from the birth to the death of Richard Neville III (16th Earl of Warwick). He was later dubbed ‘Warwick the Kingmaker’ because he was instrumental in the deposition of two kings. The ‘War of the Roses’ was a later reference to the battles during 1455 – 1485. It’s an analogy to the Heraldic badges of the two royal houses – that of the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster.

I have a bit of historic interest, although usually not of this era. What I loved about Mr. Riches book was that he gave it vivid detail and made it so very simple to understand. Instead of a dry history book, it gives life and depth to the people and the time. We start with the birth of Richard. His father, Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, was fretting over his wife’s labor. He wasn’t allowed in the birthing room – it was bad luck. He had daughters; he needed a son to carry on his name. Snippet:

“Richard dropped to his knees of the cold stone floor and put his hands together.

‘Please, Lord, let me have a strong, healthy son.’

Almost as an afterthought, he whispered, ‘Dear God, keep his mother safe to care for him.’”

We watch Richard grow and we see him being married (betrothed) at seven years of age to Anne Beauchamp, daughter of Richard de Beauchamp. Marriages were arranged during that time. They felt more like brother and sister growing up. His story is told in chronological order; the beginning of each chapter notes the season and the year so the reader can gauge the historical time period. The pacing was great, although I feel it lagged just a bit toward the end. I rated the novel at 4 out of 5. ( )