num_pages: 214
description: “The character of Richard is unjustly blackened by our great dramatist, and it is well-nigh impossible to rid the mind of the impression produced by his art.”In this classic history, written in 1885, Alfred Owen Legge tries to set the reputation of Richard III right.This first volume takes us through the Yorkist and Plantagenet rulers before him, placing his reign in historical context. He himself writes that this period, in which the printing press brought to light many conflicting opinions to the masses and to posterity, needs to be studied “calmly, dispassionately, patiently”.Refuting many other accounts, including the plays of William Shakespeare and histories by Polydore Vergil, Fabyan and Thomas More, Legge begins to put forward his more tender portrait of the King helped by the passage of four centuries of English life and unclouded by recent criticism of a king who came before the Tudor dynasty.With the gaze of an experienced historian, and in subjective prose which is always centred on truth and balance, Legge writes an unbiased history of fifteenth-century England, chronicling the affairs of the despotic King Edward IV in particular and his relationship with the future king Richard III.In addition, Legge refutes Richard’s alleged physical deformity, which Shakespeare incorporated into his own portrait that clouds today’s memory of Richard III. He writes about his childhood and adolescence in the context of the times.Legge describes rebellions in the field of battle, royal affairs and the public reaction to proclamations and events; the feudal system was still in place in the 1400s, and the noble families such as the Woodvilles who made up the gentry are talked about at length.Christianity looms large over the country’s affairs, with Archbishops protesting against the Violation of Sanctuary. Civil war had broken out on the accession of a child to the English throne in 1422, and the period was marked by conflict and a struggle for power where there were several claims to sovereignty. This led to murders and, famously, imprisonment for those who dared challenge the authority of the king.Alfred Owen Legge wrote biographical works on figures including Pope Pius IX, and works focused on religion such as The Temporal Power of the Papacy and A Life of Consecration.
language: English
title: The Unpopular King: The Life and Times of Richard III
publisher: Albion Press