“Five hundred years after he died on the field of battle, Richard is still a figure of controversy and his story still fascinates and casts a spell. Betrayed in life by his allies, Richard was betrayed in death by history. Leaving no heir, his reputation was like his corps: left to his enemies, mutilated beyond recognition.
Filled with the sights and sounds of battle, the customs and lore of daily life, the rigors and risks of Court politics, the passions and infidelities of the high-born, and the touching concerns of very real men and women, The Sunne in Splendour brings to life this gifted man whose greatest sin, perhaps, was that he held principles too firm for the times he lived in and loved too deeply to survive love’s loss.” thus ends the jacket of the book.
The Sunne in Splendour is one of those epic novels the size of a dictionary and I bought the e-book about two years ago after I read the Vulpes Libris interview.
Given that historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, the fact that I’ve started it more than once without finishing it, is no reflection of the book but rather of mine, noticable in my blog title 🙂
Richard III has been on our minds with King Richard Week behind us and the current Greyfriars Project in Leicester, UK.
I hope everyone has signed the petition in support of Richard Armitage’s effort of exploring a more historically accurate portrayal of King Richard III of England.
Heidi proposed the idea to read it all together using the #ArmitageWatch concept, how could I resist!
Richard III Bloggers will be cheering us on with fun activities
If you blog; consider yourself invited to post your thoughts & host those readers who connect via blogs.
In hopes of making an enjoyable reading experience, I carefully pondered a schedule that would allow for progress in a timely manner with breaks for Thanksgiving (1 wk) and the Holiday’s (2 wks) allowing time for family obligations or catch up time for those who need it.
The end result is 5 chapters a week which brings our last discussion on Sunday February 24th!
The first 5 chapters contain the most pages; 80, the remainder are around 60 pg of reading per week, 10 pg a day give or take.
This requires a commitment but a very attainable one and I hope discussion will prove to be a motivator.
I for one will certainly use it as such. 🙂
Twice in the middle of the book and back to back we’ll read 6 chapters, because of reduces chapter sizes, both are carefully indicated on the list and calendar.
For those in need of specific meeting time to chat with regards to the book, watch ArmitageWatch Blogspot
For those on Facebook : chapters will also be posted on The Institute of Armitage Studies
The King Richard Armitage site will also keep people updated
Most of the fun will happen on twitter be sure to use #RA4R3 when posting any comments during the week.
To be fair we should refrain from spoilers until the Sunday after (whenever its Sunday in your timezone)
If unfamiliar with twitter more info here
Join many ReAders this Fall with The Sunne into Splendour
*******
Sept 23rd : Chapters 1 + 5 of Book One : Edward
Sept 30th : Chapters 6 + 10
Oct 7th : Chapters 11 + 15
Oct 14th : Chapters 16 + 20
Oct 21st : Chapters 21 + 25
Oct 28th : Chapters 26 + 30
Nov 4th : Chapters 31 + 3 of Book Two : Anne
Nov 11th : Chapters 4 + 8
Nov 18th : Chapters 9 + 13
break for Thanksgiving
Dec 2nd : Chapters 14 + 4 of Book Three : Lord Of The North
Dec 9th : Chapters 5 + 9
Dec 16th : Chapters 10 + 15 : YES : 6 chapters
break for the Holidays
Jan 6th : Chapters 16 + 21 : YES : 6 chapters
Jan 13th : Chapters 1 + 5 of Book Four : “Richard, By The Grace Of God…”
Jan 20th : Chapters 6 + 10
Jan 27th : Chapters 11 + 15
Feb 3rd : Chapters 16 + 20
Feb 10th : Chapters 21 + 25
Feb 17th : Chapters 26 + 32 HOMERUN
Feb 24th : Last discussion
Feel free to ask questions!
September 7th, 2012 at 12:43 pm
Reblogged this on the armitage effect and commented:
Reblogged from DistRActed Musings of ReAlity. Come join us for a joint reading of the book that inspired RA and his RIII dream project!
September 7th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
Reblogged at The Armitage Effect and said Come and join us for a joint read of the book that inspired RA and his RIII dream project!
September 7th, 2012 at 12:45 pm
Reblogged this on Me + Richard Armitage and commented:
The first announcement of the logistics of the Sunne in Splendour group read. I guess I’ve signed up to write a quiz. Bwa ha ha ha!!!!!
September 7th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
You have! otherwise it’s baking cake at the very end 🙂
September 7th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
I managed to accidentally delete your scavenger post I reblogged, erasing the evidence of my complaints LOL
September 7th, 2012 at 12:45 pm
Sorry for the double posting. And I meant to add that chocolate cake looks worthy of Benny the Master Baker and it’s making me salivate. 😉
September 7th, 2012 at 12:54 pm
I was hoping to motivate! No cake until the (bitter) end 😉
September 7th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
Chocolate always works as the carrot on the stick for me. *two thumbs up* ; 😉
September 7th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
I’m rewarding myself with some now, just exhausted from figuring it out 🙂
September 7th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Reblogged this on RAFrenzy and commented:
Sinjoor and some others are proposing and activiy for our autumn leisure time. I’m game. 😀
September 7th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
I am so in!!! Thanks to all who are helping to organize this 🙂
September 7th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Super, this will be fun!
September 7th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
Fun! Nice writeup! Can’t wait!
September 7th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
This will be fun, reading is usually a solitary experience
September 7th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
My schedule in coming months is going to be insane, but I’ll try to hang with it! And forgive my typos on the reblog. I’ve since edited. LOL!
September 7th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Thanks for the support! Should I give you a pass on Spark notes? 😉
September 7th, 2012 at 1:27 pm
LOL. I”m fine. This time. I’ve already read it 😀
September 7th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
You probably read twice the speed 🙂
September 7th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
Just double checking on that promise. If you can guarantee Richard, I am definitely in. 8)
September 7th, 2012 at 6:30 pm
[…] Splendour” by Sharon Kay Penman. Fanny/iz4blue has announced the details on her blog! Distracted Musings of one ReAlity If you want to join in and still need a copy of the book, please consider to make your […]
September 8th, 2012 at 4:20 am
Interesting! I’m just getting my hands on the book as I type. I’m one of those ignorant people who isn’t a huge fan of Richard III *bows head in shame* but I’ve heard wonderful things about the book, so I’m game! BTW, I’d just like to add that it’s important to remember that a huge group of our fandom aren’t native speakers, so I was thinking about how we could somehow incorporate them into the RIII project, Maybe I could write a few RIII for Dummies posts (me being the biggest dummy of them all!). Maybe I could chop down the chapters, and explain some words, phrases etc? What do you think?
I just really want this to be a project for all the Armitage Admirers, and I don’t want anyone to feel excluded because of their language skills or lack of knowledge about British history 🙂
September 8th, 2012 at 6:49 am
That’s a great idea! I could use it too, I’m more familiar with the Tudors. I’m curious now in how many languages it’s been translated.
September 8th, 2012 at 6:56 am
I’ve just posted my infoduction to the collective reading, so we’ll see what the feeback is 🙂
September 8th, 2012 at 6:10 am
[…] autumn and winter Fanny/iz4blue over at DistRActed musings of one ReAlity is organising a collective read of this historical fiction […]
September 8th, 2012 at 8:33 am
Reblogged this on Well, There You Go … and commented:
Who said being a fan isn’t educational? 😉
Fanny has organized a group reading of The Sunne in Splendour. Check out the schedule and please join us!
September 8th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Great idea Fanny, I’m in!
I already got the first book, in spanish, of course. (I’ll try to get an english edition too, but we’ll see…)
I believe that this will be a wonderful experience and I’m really looking forward to read and share impressions with all you. 🙂
September 8th, 2012 at 9:40 pm
That’s great!!
September 8th, 2012 at 8:31 pm
[…] The Sunne in Splendour group read plans are now complete. The schedule of activities is here; you can participate on twitter, or facebook, or possibly in other places, as well, as the event develops. I suspect that since this is the first time #ArmitageWatch has done this there’ll be some intermediate tweaking. I’ve been recruited to do a “fun” quiz. Hmmm. Reader beware! […]
September 9th, 2012 at 12:06 am
As a lover of history and an RA admirer, I’m intrigued by this book. For anyone interested in this viewpoint on Richard III, there is a similar book that I read more than 15 years ago called The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. Once I had read it, I have always had a hard time with most representations of RIII. Enjoy
December 27th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
There is also another book, similar in style to this one (in that it is set in the time of Richard) called “We Speak No Treason” (by Rosemary Hawley Jarman. Not sure if it’s in print anymore but I read it years ago and really enjoyed it.
December 27th, 2012 at 2:21 pm
Thanks and yeah it’s at my library!!
December 27th, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Moreover it IS still in print and even available for Kindle.
September 9th, 2012 at 1:03 am
Thank you for mentioning it.
September 9th, 2012 at 1:58 am
[…] hope it will help with the collective reading of Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne in […]
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September 13th, 2012 at 10:43 pm
Amazing and really interesting.
September 16th, 2012 at 5:26 pm
Yes and the timing of this read even more so! Thank you for commenting.
September 16th, 2012 at 3:32 pm
Okay–I’m in. I’ve been wanting to read this book for years, and a group read with a reasonable schedule seems like the perfect way to do it.
September 16th, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Excellent, Glad you agree and will be joining us! Thank you for posting a link on your blog. The more the merrier!
September 22nd, 2012 at 10:17 pm
[…] discussion, I’m told by Fanny, is intended to be freeform with no advance questions or themes. When you get there, drop your […]
September 24th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
[…] on Distracted in Reality (Also available for Google Calendar there.) Posted in Filmography, History, News, Richard III | Tagged Leicester, Sharon Kay Penman, York […]
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