Title: The Betrayal of Richard III
Genre: History
Year: 1965
Pages: 110
Origin: bought in a charity shop for £2.99
Nod Rating: 3 nods out of 5
Lamb attempts to do away with hundreds of years of
whitewashing and Tudor propaganda. Instead of the villainous Richard who, as
Shakespeare once wrote, murdered his brother, a king and his son, his wife, and
nephews, the case of Richard’s innocence is put forward. The villainy lies not
with Richard’s actions, but rather with the treachery of those he surrounded
himself with.
The reader is shown the beginnings of Richard, his reign as
king, his removal and then the succeeding historical writing that has painted
the former king – arguably England
It is refreshing to see the flipside to this established
debate. However, such is Lamb’s blindness that annoyance is a constant factor
within this read. Richard, no longer the villain, is taken to the extreme:
portrayed as a saint. Let us read a few examples:
‘There is no truth in the story that the people turned against him; his downfall was brought about by a combination of adverse circumstances, the disloyalty of three discontented nobles, and one scheming woman.’
All of which ignores the importance and causes of the small
rebellions against Richard, as well as the reasoning behind the Stanleys switch
of allegiance between Richard and his successor, Henry Tudor. Also, we have
this:
‘Entirely loyal himself, he was unable to recognise treachery in others or to deal with it with sufficient ruthlessness.’
This, the same Richard who had some of his closest advisors
and friends – Hastings and Buckingham – alienated and then executed.
Lamb speaks of ‘facts’; but cannot see the woods for the
trees. Furthermore, Lamb uses the defence of “no evidence” time and again. Yes,
there may be minimal evidence for some of these events, but this does not mean
the historian should simply shrug and move on. No, the historian – a historian
who wishes to piece together the dots – must go beyond and attempt to weave
together a narrative with the best information possible.
However, despite being a book ignored for its flaws, the
book should be read and enjoyed for this very reason. There are many mistakes
and annoyances, particularly in Lamb’s ignorance of reality. However, like a
good pantomime, it is nice to have a read every now and then in which the Worm
is shouting at the words running on the line.
Richard continues to have both his detractors and
supporters. The recent find of his body will undoubtedly encourage more
scholarly activity. Hopefully it keeps the same spirit of Lamb’s work, but
instead injected with reason and intelligence.
Buy it here
