Richard III: England's Black Legend

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Penguin Books, 1997 - Biography & Autobiography - 289 pages
"(A) well-written and colorful account of an intriguing period in English history" -- The New York Times Book Review

Richard III (1452-1485) was the only North-countryman ever to reign over England and the only king since 1066 to be killed in battle -- but was he anything like the scheming monster portrayed by Shakespeare and Sir Thomas More? Desmond Seward, with the aid of modern scholarship, pieces together the facts from the accounts of Richard's contemporaries. Richard III relates the murders of Henry VI, his brother Clarence, the "Princes in the Tower", and the "nightmarish insecurity" that prevailed over his reign. Sweeping aside sentimental fantasy, this superb biography offers a definitive picture of both the man and his age.

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