Richard III's 'Beloved Cousyn': John Howard and the House of York Paperback – Import, 6 April 2015

A fascinating and well written book thank you

This book is a true eye-opener for the average person who thinks he or she knows what went on during the Wars of the Roses. So much that we've been taught was true simply isn't.For example, Henry VII's chief publicist Thomas More (aka Bishop John Morton's favorite stenographer) has in his biography of Richard III a passage, cited as an example of RIII's alleged nastiness, of Richard inveighing against a woman named "Jane Shore" for among other things performing sorcery to wither his arm. For starters, we know from the discovery of Richard's skeleton that he didn't have a withered arm. As for "Jane Shore", we find out from Dr. Ashdown-Hill that she was really Elizabeth (never Jane) Lambert, that her marriage to a William Shore was annulled, and that Richard's only real commentary concerning her is in a letter that allowed her -- who was still under close watch as she'd been caught up in a rebellion against Richard -- to marry one of his friends, Thomas Lynom.Meticulously researched, and with every claim footnoted with copious documentation, this is yet another of Dr. Ashdown-Hill's superb works in the field of fifteenth-century English history.

I have to start out saying I am biased. I LIKE Richard III. I feel history and Shakespeare have tarnished him for centuries. So this book was a delightful and realistic view of a man of his times - some good, some bad but most of all placing him in the center of events and pressures of a time far distant from ours. I hope that schoolchildren of the future get a more realistic view not only of Richard III but of the times in which he lived. There are so many parallels in our times - ok, no knights and pomp and circumstance - but the stresses of different power centers and the necessity of making hard and sometimes wrong decisions but having the courage to make them. The recognition though that these decisions in Richard's time was often being made by very young people. And the propensity of victors to re-write history to minimize their enemies and maximize their rights.

I became interested in John Howard when reading about Richard III,I don't really know why, but he just struck me as an interesting character.I initially thought Howard was just some random chap who Richard III bribed onto his side by letting him have the disputed Mowbray lands, but he was a long standing and faithful servant of the Plantagenet family.I enjoyed the insights into his life, his involvement with the navy, his career as a faithful servant of Edward IV and to Cecily. Also, the more personal aspects were interesting. I had read elsewhere Howard was a violent man, but he does not emerge from this book in that way. He had a bit of an incident with the Pastons, but that was it.He is portrayed as a lover of music and interested in modern developments such as the mechanised clock.Little things, such as his ordering a quarter of a porpoise (can't say I'd fancy that much- fishy blubber anyone??), his shoes, medicines,trips to the inn, etc bring him to life.His religous life is also presented, showing a deep and seemingly genuine piety.The book does, as the title suggests, deal with his involvement with Richard III. I found Howard's reaction to Richard interesting and quite perplexing.He obviously knew the family well; he was involved with Cecily, Edward and Richard over many years. There seemed to be more to his involvement in the whole Richard/usurpation situation than just getting his hands on the Mowbray inheritance, maybe I'm being too generous to Howard here and he was just looking after no.1, but it does seem as if he genuinely did support the idea of Richard taking the throne.Why, though, is unclear. The precontract theory is raised, though I'm personally a bit sceptical with this (bit too convenient for my liking).I also find it interesting that he did not distance himself from Richard in light of the princes in the tower debacle, staying loyal to the king till the end; maybe he did'nt believe Richard was responsible, or maybe he just did'nt really care?I found the exploration of Howard's supposed tomb interesting and quite poignant, although inconclusive.For me, the book raised more questions than it answered, but it was a well written book and I enjoyed reading it.

Adds to the background info of the period.