WITHIN THE HOLLOW CROWN

by Margaret Campbell Barnes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 1947

My Lady of Cleves was a singularly satisfying biographical novel, so we welcome this new novel in the same pattern- an historical romance dealing with the reign of Richard II, son of the resplendent Black Prince. Richard as a youth had distaste for physical encounters, he reveled in the great works and in the pleasant wit of his friend, Robert de Vere. But when the peasant revolt led by Wat Tyler in 1381 challenged him, he proved that he had inherited the valor of his father. Always on guard against the scheming of his uncles, against the propaganda they fed his people- putting blame for high taxes on the young king, rather than on Parliament, until only with the impeachment of Arundel and the murder of Gloucester was he secure. Anne of Austria was his first and only love, but after her death, he wed the child Isabel of France. A brief period of repose- the lull before the storm- as he is set upon in Ireland by Henry of Lancaster, imprisoned and forced to abdicate, and eventually to die violently in his cell. A poignant story, well told, reflecting the conflicting elements that drove men of that tumultuous era. Perhaps Richard II is not so sympathetic a character as Anne of Cleves, but again the biographer has given her characters and her period full measure of her gifts.

Pub Date: Oct. 27, 1947

ISBN: 1402248202

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macrae-Smith

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1947

Categories: FICTION