*g* To be completely fair, I think she does a good Richard (not evil nor sugarcoated) and I appreciated that Elizabeth's being the heroine didn't keep her from being jealous and vindictive. But ugh, the witchcraft and the Melusine stuff. I was okay with Melusine until we got to the end of the fairytale, where what made the knight afraid was not that she was a mermaid, but that she was ~a woman~, because we are of course mysterious and terrifying. I just....I think I'm the more irritated because I kind of presumed that if you want to retell a period of history through the eyes of a strong woman, you must be a feminist! And that really isn't. I also really disliked that Elizabeth and Jacquetta are the only woman who seem to be portrayed sympathetically -- Cecily Neville in particular badly got the short straw. Of course, Elizabeth has no reason to like her, and I'm sure that through Anne's eyes she would look different, but there's no hint ever that the narrator is unreliable.
Wow, a book? :D
I'm trying to figure out how on earth a person writes Richard/Anne fluff...
I think it plays up the childhood sweethearts angle quite a lot. :) And then it ends at the birth of their son, rather than taking things all the way to the end of their lives. I'm about halfway through at the moment, and it's less fluffy than I thought - poor Anne has to endure quite a lot at the hands of Margaret of Anjou and Edward of Lancaster. (who are a biiiit overdone, though convincingly portrayed as people who've been warped and made co-dependent by brooding over deposition and exile.)
I'm glad to hear that Pollard's Warwick biography is good, because I didn't really want to read anything by Michael Hicks, after his treatment of Richard III! And he is fascinating -- I think I'm mostly intrigued by how you get from putting Edward on the throne, to trying to depose him. And then to support the Leicestershire rebellion after he was forgiven for the Robin of Redesdale thing. (also, I quite like straightforward, heart-on-their-sleeve types, which he seems to have been.) Thanks for the fic links - I liked them both very much! Especially the first one, because you're willing him to turn back, to give in, and you know that he's too proud to do anything other than see that course through all the way to the end. (also, "I've already gone to the trouble of choosing sides" really cracked me up. And yay for the inclusion of John Neville -- it's such a big family, and I always think it's a bit of a shame we don't see much of Warwick's siblings in fic.)
Bearing in mind that I don't know very much about the Histories (I've seen Richard II and III, and that's it! I tried to watch the Hollow Crown Henry IV and found myself struggling to follow it a bit), it could be! :) What's the alternate universe?
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-09-10 10:21 pm (UTC)Wow, a book? :D
I'm trying to figure out how on earth a person writes Richard/Anne fluff...
I think it plays up the childhood sweethearts angle quite a lot. :) And then it ends at the birth of their son, rather than taking things all the way to the end of their lives. I'm about halfway through at the moment, and it's less fluffy than I thought - poor Anne has to endure quite a lot at the hands of Margaret of Anjou and Edward of Lancaster. (who are a biiiit overdone, though convincingly portrayed as people who've been warped and made co-dependent by brooding over deposition and exile.)
I'm glad to hear that Pollard's Warwick biography is good, because I didn't really want to read anything by Michael Hicks, after his treatment of Richard III! And he is fascinating -- I think I'm mostly intrigued by how you get from putting Edward on the throne, to trying to depose him. And then to support the Leicestershire rebellion after he was forgiven for the Robin of Redesdale thing. (also, I quite like straightforward, heart-on-their-sleeve types, which he seems to have been.) Thanks for the fic links - I liked them both very much! Especially the first one, because you're willing him to turn back, to give in, and you know that he's too proud to do anything other than see that course through all the way to the end. (also, "I've already gone to the trouble of choosing sides" really cracked me up. And yay for the inclusion of John Neville -- it's such a big family, and I always think it's a bit of a shame we don't see much of Warwick's siblings in fic.)
Bearing in mind that I don't know very much about the Histories (I've seen Richard II and III, and that's it! I tried to watch the Hollow Crown Henry IV and found myself struggling to follow it a bit), it could be! :) What's the alternate universe?