[The Image of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York in “Richard III” by William Shakespeare and “The Sunne in Splendour” by Sharon Penman

Abstract

The article discusses  the images of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York in W. Shakespeare's play "Richard III" and Sharon Penman's novel "The Sunne in Splendour". Despite the "alternative" interpretation of the events and characters of the War of the Roses, Sharon Penman creates an image of the heroine in some respect similar to Shakespeare's: a wise, knowing mother, courageously bearing the blows of fate. However, the wisdom of Cecily Neville’s wisdom in Sharon Penman’s novel is also  the ability to find balance between  the standards of the historical era with love for children and self–realization.