Review: One of the Best
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 30, 2013
I loved this book and I especially liked the author's style of writing.  I also appreciated the fact that in an afterward he tells the reader what parts of the story are historical fact and which parts he fictionalized based to the best of his ability on the facts available.  His novel approach to the story by having Thomas More telling the account in a secret session with the artist Hans Holbein during the reign of Henry VIII was very original and added interest to the tale.  I have now read 3 or 4 accounts of the life of Richard III, and I am convinced that he was a sensitive, intelligent man, not the monster that Shakespeare made him out to be.  This book shed much light on the known facts of Richard III, including the existence of John Clement, which I never knew before.  Young people or men who like detailed battle stories will find parts to interest them.  For my part, I don't need to know all the gory details.  Richard III was the last king of England to die on the battlefield,  A fact, which I feel is wonderful.  I think Lewis overdid it a little on telling of the twisting feelings in Richard's stomach and the lumps in his throat, even though it was probably true, but I kept thinking, How did Lewis know so much about the state of Richard's stomach?  I guess it could be surmised.  Overall though, this is one of the best historical novels I have read, and I have read a lot.