Richard III: The road to Bosworth Field

Richard of Gloucester became King of England as Richard III in June 1483. His reign lasted a mere 26 months, and he was only 33 years of age when he was killed at the Battle of Bosworth. Despite this short career, he is one of the best known of English monarchs, and one of the most vilified. He has been accused of a number of atrocious crimes, including the murder of his brother and his wife as well as political rivals, culminating the murder of his nephews, the "Princes in the Tower". This book tells the story of his life in a way that has never been told before - from the personal and official documents written during his lifetime. From these emerge the picture of a human being, subject to the influences and ideas of his violent times, rather than the monster of the later Tudor writers. Readers can see Richard's life and actions as his contemporaries saw them, and judge the controversies surrounding him for themselves. The book was published to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Richard's death at the Battle of Bosworth; it is superbly illustrated, and some of the pictures were produced especially for this book.