Gloucester: You may partake of any thing we say; We speak no treason, man; we say the King Is wise Shakespear: Richard III: Act I, Sc I. He was the youngest brother of the King of England. He was the Duke of Gloucester and the Lord of theNorth. He was respected by all as a moral man and a fair-handed judge, and later as a responsible king.He was Richard III -- and millions know him as the most evil monarch in history. Thanks to Shakespeareand other Tudor propagandists, the picture of Richard III that has been passed down to us is anything butsympathetic. But, as many historians and historical novelists are now pointing out, it is also far from thetruth. One writer who has contradicted the traditional image of Richard III is Rosemary Hawley Jarman,whose novel We Speak No Treason is a masterful work of Ricardian fiction. Jarman tells Richard's story in four parts, with the first three sections narrated by different characters,and the fourth narrated by the first character in the years after the events of the story have taken place.The first (and last) narrator is the Maiden, whose brief encounters with Duke Richard become the mostimportant moments of her life. Even when rumors that Richard is evil swirl around her, she remainsconvinced of his goodness. Patch, the second narrator, is a court jester of King Edward IV's who is given to Richard as a weddingpresent. Though Patch resents having to leave London for northern England, he comes to appreciateRichard's character and values. He realizes that even though Richard is not as fun-loving as his brother,Edward IV, his somber manner hides a man who is thoughtful and just. The third narrator is the man of keen sight, a man-at-arms who serves with Richard from his years asDuke of Gloucester through his time as king of England. As is the case with the maiden, the man of keensight's encounters with Richard come to be the defining moments of his life. He forms an understandingof Richard's chara...
