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Loyalty Binds Me
A biographical novel of Richard III from his training at age 11 in the household of the Earl of Warwick until the beginning of the Battle of Bosworth.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1966
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December 29, 2020
A biographical novel of Richard III from his time in the household of the Earl of Warwick until the beginning of the Battle of Bosworth. We first see Richard as an 11-year-old truant racing over the moors, trying to get back to Middleham Castle before the curfew bell when he will be missed. He is caught by the master of henchmen and is about to whipped when the Earl of Warwick comes upon the scene. Warwick gives him a scolding but decides against a beating this once because he understands the temptation to go “rabbiting” on such a fine day. Richard, however, is even more humiliated because he feels Warwick has treated him as a child. His lack of self-confidence is even more in evidence when in the presence of his two older, handsome, and charming brothers. But he grows up and shows his true worth the night he rejects Warwick’s and George’s proposal to join them in rebelling against Edward, giving up any hope of his heart’s desire, Warwick’s daughter Anne. (Yes, they are childhood sweethearts.)
And Richard goes on to earn Edward’s undying trust. At their last meeting, Edward acknowledges to Richard that in favoring the Woodvilles he has only created another faction. Realizing that he will leave a world of hatred, treachery, and war in his wake, Edward has Richard promise to look after his son and “[w]hatever happens, look after England.” But following his brother’s death, Richard finds himself unable to keep faith with both.
There is nothing in the treatment of Richard’s story that is startlingly different, but it does provide good characterizations and a bit of depth to the relationships. Even though the relationship with Anne is “air brushed,” a playful element is added to it and the one with Francis Lovell. It also offers some insight into Richard’s friendship with Buckingham. He recognizes the Plantagenet failings: “George’s for drink, Edward’s for women and mine for charm.” While Richard believes Buckingham killed his nephews, he is not certain and is thus paralyzed from proclaiming the latter’s guilt and his own innocence.
Above all, the story is told through some effective scenes—letting us hear what the characters are saying and showing us what they are doing. I had to smile when Morton was tempted by the 1000 pd. reward offered for Buckingham, but, upon second thought, he decided, no, he could never work in harness with Richard. On the other extreme, what can someone feel but sadness when Richard overhears some women discussing his rumored affair with his niece and question why any woman would want the attentions of one like him with a “face like something off a tomb and those cold eyes that seem to look right through you.” Knowing that others see him as “a cold, shriveled, heartless dwarf who would flirt with another woman while his wife was on her deathbed,” Richard once again feels the lack of personal magnetism that his brothers and Buckingham had in abundance.
I didn’t expect much when I started reading this obscure 1966 novel, but I was pleasantly surprised. 3.5⭐️
And Richard goes on to earn Edward’s undying trust. At their last meeting, Edward acknowledges to Richard that in favoring the Woodvilles he has only created another faction. Realizing that he will leave a world of hatred, treachery, and war in his wake, Edward has Richard promise to look after his son and “[w]hatever happens, look after England.” But following his brother’s death, Richard finds himself unable to keep faith with both.
There is nothing in the treatment of Richard’s story that is startlingly different, but it does provide good characterizations and a bit of depth to the relationships. Even though the relationship with Anne is “air brushed,” a playful element is added to it and the one with Francis Lovell. It also offers some insight into Richard’s friendship with Buckingham. He recognizes the Plantagenet failings: “George’s for drink, Edward’s for women and mine for charm.” While Richard believes Buckingham killed his nephews, he is not certain and is thus paralyzed from proclaiming the latter’s guilt and his own innocence.
Above all, the story is told through some effective scenes—letting us hear what the characters are saying and showing us what they are doing. I had to smile when Morton was tempted by the 1000 pd. reward offered for Buckingham, but, upon second thought, he decided, no, he could never work in harness with Richard. On the other extreme, what can someone feel but sadness when Richard overhears some women discussing his rumored affair with his niece and question why any woman would want the attentions of one like him with a “face like something off a tomb and those cold eyes that seem to look right through you.” Knowing that others see him as “a cold, shriveled, heartless dwarf who would flirt with another woman while his wife was on her deathbed,” Richard once again feels the lack of personal magnetism that his brothers and Buckingham had in abundance.
I didn’t expect much when I started reading this obscure 1966 novel, but I was pleasantly surprised. 3.5⭐️
May 19, 2021
Loyalty Binds Me by Ruth Trevan
Reviewed May 15, 2021
Loyalty Binds Me was published back in 1966, and is one of a number of older works of Ricardian fiction I am working my way through. Again, thanks to the Society’s fiction library for loaning me a copy because this one is hard to find, and if you do find it, it’s more than a bit pricey.
The book follows Richard of Gloucester’s life from an 11-year-old lad at Middleham Castle, one of the Earl of Warwick’s henchmen-in-training, to the final hours just before the Battle of Bosworth.
There are two men young Richard admires, his brother Edward, the king, and Richard, Earl of Warwick. Eventually, conflict arises between these two heroes, drawing Richard into the open hostilities created and giving him a taste of what the future has in store.
But it is also while at Middleham that Richard meets his cousin Anne Neville. Thankfully (for this reader, at least), their relationship is portrayed in a way that I found much more realistic than the overly saccharine versions that show up in far too many stories.
The book is divided into four parts, and Part One takes us through Warwick’s rebellion and ends on a high note, with Edward IV supreme after the Battle of Barnet.
“And the sun shone and overhead a lark was singing. It was April and England was at peace again.”
Part Two covers the years 1471-April 1483. Here an older, more mature Richard emerges. We follow him through the major events of this period, particularly those involving his brother, George of Clarence.
“George of Clarence was a good hater and as a rule never got any further. From the day of his birth he had played second fiddle to Edward and bore him a grudge for that….He had hated his father-in-law before the end of that affair and now he had another grievance for, as he saw it, Richard had robbed him of his rightful dues by marrying Anne.”
George is, in short, what might these days be called an Injustice Collector, and this finding grievance in anything brothers Edward or Richard do brings about his downfall.
This section ends with a scene touched with melancholy, as Richard and Edward meet for what will end up being the last time. Edwards tells his brother,
“…sometimes I grow so weary that I long to die, to lay down the burden of my trust and find rest at last in a quiet sleep. To leave treachery, hatred, double-dealing, war, leave all behind and take wing with the swans to a fair country that I can only guess at now.”
In many ways, this is a foreshadowing of what Richard will later face.
Part Three (April to June, 1483) and Part Four (1483-1485) take us through the many tribulations that Richard has to face the last three years of his life – from the unexpected death of Edward, the plots against his life by the Woodville faction, triumph and loss, all leading inevitably to that last battle.
The author does a good job with Richard’s characterization, using soft strokes of the pen rather than indulging in excessive, over-the-top narrative. Richard can be stubborn, even pompous at times, but as Edwards says,
“You are a good friend, a good brother and a good general. I did right to trust you.”
His relationship with Anne has a gentle quality to it, as when he says to her,
“When you laugh I want to sing and when you cry I adore comforting you.”
As for what Richard ever saw in Buckingham? Ms Trevan offers the suggestion that Richard saw in Buckingham someone to replace Edward after his brother was gone. But as Bishop Morton notes, Richard can be too trusting, can’t always see beyond the glamorous exterior.
“An honest man expects all men to be honest and it is all the more bitter when rogues take advantage of it,” he thinks to himself, while Richard “cursed himself day and night for his fatal habit of giving all his heart to brilliance that was unbacked by worth of character.”
Then there’s that old bugaboo, The Princes in the Tower. Spoiler here – Bucky did it, but Richard never learns the details of where and how it happened, or where the bodies are buried, and remains wracked with guilt that he keeps bottled up, blaming himself for allowing this to happen. There is a very touching scene when Richard visits Tewkesbury Abbey in mufti and speaks to a monk, looking for some kind of guidance.
His final days with Anne are touchingly portrayed, and I could feel the grief welling up in the man as I read this section, his feeling of everything in his life falling apart. Even his relationship with his niece, which is completely innocent as Bess tries to cheer her uncle during these trying times, is interpreted by the gossip mongers as something much more sinister.
Prior to that final, fatal battle, Richard ponders the future. He looks back at what he’s done, what he wanted to do.
“He had tried to do his best for his people, for ever striving to justify his taking the throne, and in these first two years of his reign he had laid a foundation of order and justice on which he could build. He had tried to keep peace and hold out friendly hands to his enemies so that the last bitter shreds of civil war might vanish. He had ascended the throne because he believed he could do more for the country from there than from behind one.”
But he is tired and finds himself contemplating death in battle, as all those dearest to him were gone and there seems nothing to hold him here, in this life.
Eventually, the time comes to face his demons.
“The enemy had rounded the marsh. Norfolk’s men were spread out along the hillside to meet them. Richard saw Howard look round for the signal to attack and raised his sword. The whole army watched it, shining in the sun. Down flashed the blade and with a might roar the front ranks rolled down on their foes. The battle of Bosworth Field had begun.”
The writing is smooth and very readable. It is descriptive without getting bogged down with unnecessary detail. Transitions are handled well, with no confusion or jumpiness such as I’ve encountered in some books. While Loyalty Binds Me may not have the sweep and pageantry of We Speak No Treason or The Sunne in Splendour, it is a book that should be better known in Ricardian circles and is certainly worth reading.
Reviewed May 15, 2021
Loyalty Binds Me was published back in 1966, and is one of a number of older works of Ricardian fiction I am working my way through. Again, thanks to the Society’s fiction library for loaning me a copy because this one is hard to find, and if you do find it, it’s more than a bit pricey.
The book follows Richard of Gloucester’s life from an 11-year-old lad at Middleham Castle, one of the Earl of Warwick’s henchmen-in-training, to the final hours just before the Battle of Bosworth.
There are two men young Richard admires, his brother Edward, the king, and Richard, Earl of Warwick. Eventually, conflict arises between these two heroes, drawing Richard into the open hostilities created and giving him a taste of what the future has in store.
But it is also while at Middleham that Richard meets his cousin Anne Neville. Thankfully (for this reader, at least), their relationship is portrayed in a way that I found much more realistic than the overly saccharine versions that show up in far too many stories.
The book is divided into four parts, and Part One takes us through Warwick’s rebellion and ends on a high note, with Edward IV supreme after the Battle of Barnet.
“And the sun shone and overhead a lark was singing. It was April and England was at peace again.”
Part Two covers the years 1471-April 1483. Here an older, more mature Richard emerges. We follow him through the major events of this period, particularly those involving his brother, George of Clarence.
“George of Clarence was a good hater and as a rule never got any further. From the day of his birth he had played second fiddle to Edward and bore him a grudge for that….He had hated his father-in-law before the end of that affair and now he had another grievance for, as he saw it, Richard had robbed him of his rightful dues by marrying Anne.”
George is, in short, what might these days be called an Injustice Collector, and this finding grievance in anything brothers Edward or Richard do brings about his downfall.
This section ends with a scene touched with melancholy, as Richard and Edward meet for what will end up being the last time. Edwards tells his brother,
“…sometimes I grow so weary that I long to die, to lay down the burden of my trust and find rest at last in a quiet sleep. To leave treachery, hatred, double-dealing, war, leave all behind and take wing with the swans to a fair country that I can only guess at now.”
In many ways, this is a foreshadowing of what Richard will later face.
Part Three (April to June, 1483) and Part Four (1483-1485) take us through the many tribulations that Richard has to face the last three years of his life – from the unexpected death of Edward, the plots against his life by the Woodville faction, triumph and loss, all leading inevitably to that last battle.
The author does a good job with Richard’s characterization, using soft strokes of the pen rather than indulging in excessive, over-the-top narrative. Richard can be stubborn, even pompous at times, but as Edwards says,
“You are a good friend, a good brother and a good general. I did right to trust you.”
His relationship with Anne has a gentle quality to it, as when he says to her,
“When you laugh I want to sing and when you cry I adore comforting you.”
As for what Richard ever saw in Buckingham? Ms Trevan offers the suggestion that Richard saw in Buckingham someone to replace Edward after his brother was gone. But as Bishop Morton notes, Richard can be too trusting, can’t always see beyond the glamorous exterior.
“An honest man expects all men to be honest and it is all the more bitter when rogues take advantage of it,” he thinks to himself, while Richard “cursed himself day and night for his fatal habit of giving all his heart to brilliance that was unbacked by worth of character.”
Then there’s that old bugaboo, The Princes in the Tower. Spoiler here – Bucky did it, but Richard never learns the details of where and how it happened, or where the bodies are buried, and remains wracked with guilt that he keeps bottled up, blaming himself for allowing this to happen. There is a very touching scene when Richard visits Tewkesbury Abbey in mufti and speaks to a monk, looking for some kind of guidance.
His final days with Anne are touchingly portrayed, and I could feel the grief welling up in the man as I read this section, his feeling of everything in his life falling apart. Even his relationship with his niece, which is completely innocent as Bess tries to cheer her uncle during these trying times, is interpreted by the gossip mongers as something much more sinister.
Prior to that final, fatal battle, Richard ponders the future. He looks back at what he’s done, what he wanted to do.
“He had tried to do his best for his people, for ever striving to justify his taking the throne, and in these first two years of his reign he had laid a foundation of order and justice on which he could build. He had tried to keep peace and hold out friendly hands to his enemies so that the last bitter shreds of civil war might vanish. He had ascended the throne because he believed he could do more for the country from there than from behind one.”
But he is tired and finds himself contemplating death in battle, as all those dearest to him were gone and there seems nothing to hold him here, in this life.
Eventually, the time comes to face his demons.
“The enemy had rounded the marsh. Norfolk’s men were spread out along the hillside to meet them. Richard saw Howard look round for the signal to attack and raised his sword. The whole army watched it, shining in the sun. Down flashed the blade and with a might roar the front ranks rolled down on their foes. The battle of Bosworth Field had begun.”
The writing is smooth and very readable. It is descriptive without getting bogged down with unnecessary detail. Transitions are handled well, with no confusion or jumpiness such as I’ve encountered in some books. While Loyalty Binds Me may not have the sweep and pageantry of We Speak No Treason or The Sunne in Splendour, it is a book that should be better known in Ricardian circles and is certainly worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews