Richard III (biography)
Richard III is a biography of said King of England by American historian Paul Murray Kendall. The book, published in 1955, has remained the standard popular work on the controversial monarch.
Contents
The book consists of 31 chapters (with an epilogue) and is divided into two main parts, the first dealing Richard's youth and his life as Duke of Gloucester - including both his role as Edward IV's lieutenant in the north and Edward V's Lord Protector - the second with his reign as King.
A first appendix deals with the question of the Princes in the Tower, weighing the evidence about their fate. Kendall considers Richard III, his successor Henry VII and Richard's temporary ally, the Duke of Buckingham as possible culprits. Kendall makes the case for Buckingham. Though he never denies that Richard might have ordered the killings, perhaps on Buckingham's advice, but also thinks it possible that Buckingham could have acted of his own accord. A second appendix deals with Richard's posthumous reputation.
Critical reception
The work was critically very well received and was a runner-up for the National Book Award in 1956, also picked one of the best books of the year by the American Library Association.
The Chicago Tribune's A. L. Rowse called it "The best biography of Richard III that has been written.", whereas Saturday Review's Geoffrey Bruun opined: "A definitive biography of Richard III. It is a noteworthy performance." The Times Literary Supplement wrote: "Brilliantly successful... combines sound scholarship with literary distinction... his descriptions... are always stimulating and sometimes beautiful."
Historian Desmond Seward and popular historical biographer Alison Weir, both extremely hostile to Richard, called the book "a discredited work", superseeded by Charles Ross's 1981 biography.
Charles Ross himself both praised and criticised Kendall's work, stating: "Although the author admits that at times he goes beyond the facts and 'reconstructs'..., and in spite of an empurpled prose style which tends to enhance his partisanship, the book is soundly based on a wide range of primary sources, for which it shows a proper respect."[1]
Release details
- Kendall, Paul Murray, Richard III, 1955, London, Allen & Unwin, 514 p., bibliography, maps, genealogy table, ISBN 0-04-942048-8 ISBN 0-04-923035-2 (pbk)
- Kendall, Paul Murray, Richard The Third, 1956, New York, W.W. Norton & Company, 602 pp., bibliography, genealogy, 16 monochrome illustrations, 5 maps, paperback ISBN 0-393-00785-5
- Kendall, Paul Murray, Richard The Third, 1956, New York, W. W. Norton & Company, 602 pages, special printing 1996 Book of the Month Club edition, bibliography, genealogy table, maps, illustrations. (hardback).
- Kendall, Paul Murray, Richard III, 2002, W.W. Norton & Co Ltd, 608 pages, paperback ISBN 0-393-00785-5
References
- ^ Charles Ross, Richard III, London (1981), p. li, note 95.