cess or otherwise of his policies (p. 309). The only time that Richard’s proactivity failed him was following his seizure of the throne. Hicks perfectly encapsulates the brief period where Richard could have justifiably felt he had achieved it all, only to discover that the seizure of the throne was the very thing that took the control of his destiny out of his hands. Despite Hicks’ warning against inevitability, it is hard to avoid the sense of doomed instability that his portrayal evokes. In some ways, Hicks’ Richard is a man desperately having to push more and more boundaries and climb higher and higher, gaining more power and influence just to preserve that which he had already cultivated. Once he had reached the pinnacle, his own methods were then used against him, emphasising the ultimate fragility of his position and power. Richard III was undoubtedly a self-made king, yet in doing so he alienated all of those who may have been able to sustain his kingship. Even down to the last moment of his life, where Hicks recounts the events of the Battle of Bosworth, Richard’s leadership and initiative is plainly on display. Richard’s destiny was made by him alone – although he did not ask to die, he went down on his own terms, fighting for his crown as he had fought for every title and landholding he owned before that crown had been set on his head. It was up to Richard to make something of himself; yet taking that final step to the throne meant he reached the top to find that it was not his decision how long he stayed there. Hicks’ work restores Richard to his rightful place as one of the most intelligent and significant politicians of his age. The title of the book declares Richard III the ‘selfmade king’, a label that, this volume demonstrates, it is clear he deserves.

中文翻译：

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机械时代：工程与工业革命，1770-1850

他的政策（第 309 页）。唯一一次让理查德的主动性失败的是他夺取了王位。希克斯完美地概括了理查德本可以有理由认为他已经实现了这一切的短暂时期，却发现夺取王位正是让他无法掌控自己命运的事情。尽管希克斯对不可避免性提出警告，但很难避免他的描绘所唤起的注定不稳定的感觉。在某些方面，希克斯的理查德是一个拼命地必须突破越来越多的界限，爬得越来越高，获得更多权力和影响力的人，只是为了保护他已经培养的东西。一到巅峰，就用自己的手段对付他，凸显了他的地位和权力的极度脆弱。理查三世无疑是一位白手起家的国王，但这样做却疏远了所有可能维持他的王权的人。甚至直到他生命的最后一刻，希克斯讲述博斯沃思战役的事件，理查德的领导力和主动性也显而易见。理查的命运是由他一个人决定的——虽然他没有要求死，但他按照自己的意愿走下坡路，为自己的王位而战，就像在王位戴在他头上之前，他为自己拥有的每一个头衔和土地而战一样。理查德要为自己做点什么。然而，迈向王位的最后一步意味着他到达了顶峰，发现在那里待多久并不是他的决定。希克斯的工作使理查德恢复了他作为他那个时代最聪明和最重要的政治家之一的应有地位。