History Literature / TheSunneInSplendour

* TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch: Ned puts out a story that Henry VI died of a broken heart, but he tells Elizabeth that he killed the man himself to prevent more rebellions forming around him. Ned doesn't feel good about it, but he feels it was necessary and did it himself because he didn't want to order anyone else to kill an innocent man.

* DomesticAbuse: George physically abused Isabel after she tried to speak for her sister's cause. Anne was shocked after seeing her swollen eyes and bruises on the face. George's treatment towards Anne when she was his ward also applies since he was taking away her freedom, stealing her fortune, and even planning for her disappearance.

* ForegoneConclusion: if you know history, then you know how the it ends

** [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged]] with the fate of the Princes in the Tower. The book was written when even Ricardian historians presumed the Princes in the Tower were dead by the time of Bosworth Field. Thanks to new information, some Ricardians now believe that the princes were alive at that time, with Richard III having sent them into exile. That said, Penman's depiction of the princes being dead, and being dead whilst in Richard's custody (albeit on Buckingham's initiative) remains the consensus of professional historians.

** The book was written when even Ricardian historians presumed the Princes in the Tower were dead by the time of Bosworth Field. Thanks to new information, most Ricardians now believe that the princes were alive at that time, with Richard III having sent them into exile.

* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: The way most of the main characters react to Elizabeth Woodville Grey and Margurite of Anjou.

** The book was written when even Ricardian historians presumed the Princes in the Tower were dead by the time of Bosworth field. Thanks to new information, most Ricardians now believe that the princes were alive at that time, with Richard III having sent them into exile.

* DatedHistory: The book was written long before Richard's remains were discovered, and it imagines that his uneven shoulders were the result of a fall from a horse compounded by other injuries. It truth, Richard had scoliosis.

The book is, along with Josephine Tey's ''Literature/TheDaughterOfTime'' considered to be one of the classics of Ricardian fiction.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Sir William Stanley takes great pleasure in breaking Marguerite d'Anjou after her capture, telling her that if he had his way, she'd be presently joining her most loyal battle commander and "bastard-born whelp" in Hell everlasting. He then spells out the details of her son's ignominious death, painting him as a coward who begged for mercy before being skewered. Privately, the news brings about Marguerite's DespairEventHorizon.

* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: the marriage between Bess and Henry Tudor turned out surprisingly well

* BlackSheep: George of course.

* TheReveal: A few in-universe ones happen.
** After Richard rides into Aldgate, Anne is revealed to be a great lady rather than a kitchen maid.
** Edward reveals that he was already married to Nell Butler before he married Elizabeth, and she is, to put it mildly, horrified.
** Jane Shore sweetly defends Edward IV's debauchery to a disapproving stranger in fine clothes. When he calls Edward Ned and scolds the king for being sharp with Jane, Jane realizes she's been talking to Richard, the King's brother.

* CreatorBreakdown: Penman's first copy of the manuscript was stolen, making her so depressed that she didn't write a word for five years. Finally she rewrote the whole thing from scratch.