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The Sunne in Splendour

by Sharon Kay Penman

Reviewed by Coral


As a boy, Richard witnesses firsthand the devastation wrought by England’s War of the Roses, losing his father and an older brother. Against all odds, Richard’s eldest brother defeats House Lancaster, claiming the throne for House York as Kind Edward IV.

As a man, Richard is his brother’s staunchest supporter and most faithful ally, even when that proves difficult. Through rebellions, betrayals, Edward’s hedonistic lifestyle that clashes with Richard’s morals and the resentment directed to him by Edward’s wife Elizabeth and her family Richard has stood by his brother.

But Edward has a secret, one that threatens to destroy everything. Once Richard learns his brother’s secret, learns the cost his family has already paid for keeping it, there is only one choice left open to him: claim the crown for himself.

I first read this book as part of the syllabus for one of my High School English classes and remember really liking it. Having just finished watching The White Queen (not to mention having just read another of Sharon Kay Penman’s books Lionheart) I was interested in rereading this book.

It was hard not to compare the two versions as I was rereading the book. The characterizations of Anne Neville and Elizabeth Woodville were very different. I think I liked The White Queen’s Anne better. It’s harder to pick the “better” version of Elizabeth because in The White Queen she’s the central protagonist while in The Sunne in Spelndour she mainly acts as an antagonist to everyone who isn’t Edward or her family.

Both had interesting interpretations on what happened to the princes in the Tower. I liked the driving force behind the Duke of Clarence’s execution in The Sunne in Splendour. I think it gave Elizabeth a more ruthless edge to her personality. I think the whole Tudor side of the story was better handled in The White Queen, where Henry Tudor and his mother were central characters whose goals and motivations were clearly stated early on. In The Sunne in Splendour, the Tudors are rarely mentioned throughout but then suddenly become major players right near the end of the book in such a way that they seemed to come from nowhere (unless you know the history behind it).

I think both versions could have done better with Richard and Edward’s brother George. His descent into madness could have been handled better in the book. With so many pages to tell his story, I found that it wasn’t really explored very well. Whereas in The White Queen, his character seemed to bounce back and forth and act in ways I didn’t understand, though I did still manage to have some sympathy for the character; though that could also be for the actor who I’ve watched in three different shows where he’s played pretty much the same character and I feel bad for him.

The reasons for Richard taking the throne made more sense in The Sunne and Splendour. I didn’t like how he was seemingly manipulated into claiming the throne in The White Queen. Here, I liked that it was his own decision.

Maybe it was because I had just watched the TV show, but I really found myself disliking a lot of the characters who were given their own point of view chapters. It’s one thing for certain characters to have them if it later explains their actions, but I didn’t really see a reason for the characters of Francis Lovell and Anne’s lady in waiting Veronique to have multiple chapters.

Grade: B