Seventh Son
A superb historical novel about Richard III, the notorious hunchback king whose burial site was recently uncovered, which will appeal to fans of Josephine Tey's THE DAUGHTER OF TIME, Philippa Gregory's THE KINGMAKER'S DAUGHTER, and readers of Hilary Mantel.
At the heart of this stunning novel is the complex human being known to history as Richard III, a king whose reign is darkened by the murder of the young Princes in the Tower, but who also found a touching love with the woman he married, and possessed immense courage. As goes the old adage 'history is written by the victors', so Richard III's own story was corrupted by the spokesman of the Tudor regime, William Shakespeare. And yet here is a man who inspired loyalty and hatred in almost equal measure, until at last the implacable enmity of one woman brought about his downfall.
In this classic novel, the paradox of England's most enigmatic king is vividly brought to life. It is a family drama in the grand tradition, a tale of brother against brother, cousin against cousin, of love, hate and intrigue, of women inescapably entangled in the fates of their men, and of a mystery that has exercised people's minds for more than five hundred years.
Born and brought up in Scotland, Reay Tannahill would have liked to have gone either to art or drama school but fell victim to the traditional Scottish passion for formal education and found herself instead at the University of Glasgow, from where she emerged with an MA in history and a postgraduate certificate in social sciences. Until her death in 2007 she lived in London.
After a varied career - as a probation officer, advertising copy-writer, newspaper reporter, historical researcher and graphic designer - she was asked by the Folio Society to write a short illustrated study of Regency England. This allowed her to combine her interests in art and history and was followed by PARIS IN THE REVOLUTION, THE FINE ART OF FOOD, FOOD IN HISTORY and SEX IN HISTORY. Having spent twelve years researching and writing these last two books (translated into eleven languages), Reay Tannahill felt that a change was called for and embarked on her first historical novel, A DARK AND DISTANT SHORE, which was an instant bestseller. Her following historical novels were all critically acclaimed and included PASSING GLORY, winner of the Romantic Novel of the Year Award.